mastermind1886

Am Studies folk, where will you be attending next year? UT-Austin for this guy... hello, warm weather and football!

I can't speak to grad student housing, but I used to live in Manoa, and might be able to give some advice... Thinking about neighborhoods, Manoa can be a little bit expensive. The houses are very nice and there aren't a huge amount of apartment buildings, even of the small variety. It's a pretty safe area as a result, so biking around there shouldn't be a problem (people do it pretty frequently, as far as I recall). Consider living in Makiki or Moiliili - they border UH pretty closely (the latter more so). Makiki has more reasonably pricing since it's not on the beach and doesn't really offer great views, and it's also just generally a cheaper area (I lived on the border of Manoa and Makiki, so if you have questions about anywhere in that area, send me a message). Moiliili is where you'll probably find more students, since it's between Waikiki and UH. I'm not sure if, in either case, those are the kinds of apartments or rooms that'll show up on Craigslist too frequently. You might have better luck securing a lower-rent location using a realtor. And, since it's probably a far distance for many of you, you might be able to do the realtor process remotely. Do note that your UH ID will get you on the city buses for free, and they run frequently. Living in Waikiki is also doable from a distance standpoint, if you want to be in the thick of the tourist industry. Alternatively, it's something to keep in mind if you'd rather live near the beach but cannot afford to: you can always take the bus there very easily. If you have specific questions about neighborhoods, apartment buildings, or anything like that, feel free to message me. Though I no longer live in Hawaii, tons of my friends do (many in/around UH), so if I don't know the answer, chances are someone I know might Moving there from the mainland can be quite a shock, so gathering information at this point can only help you adjust!

I'm trying to decide between two programs... perhaps some of you can offer some thoughts on this decision? This sort of reduces to the classic "American Studies or History?" issue, so if any of you can speak to that... School A: State school, top 20 program, history department. Solid placement record. No fellowship money, but would receive tuition remission + health insurance + fees + small stipend each semester for TAing second year and beyond (assuming good academic progress). Academically, decent fit - my interests/project are interdisciplinary, though, so I'd have to (with some difficulty) get involved in other departments or centers. School's in a small town: not totally boring, but not near a big city (I'm hoping for a more urban environment, but not totally closed-minded to something smaller scale). School B: State school, not really sure of ranking since American Studies programs aren't traditionally ranked. Small program, okay placement record, not as good as School A. Recruitment fellowship for first two years; have to apply for continuing fellowships after that (but TAship offered). Academically, great fit - there are a lot of faculty members who study what I want to study across several fields. But I wouldn't get a degree in a traditional discipline like history. School's in a great medium-sized city, lots to do, fun area, etc. Any thoughts are much appreciated! I know there are a ton of these threads going on right now but I need all the advice I can find...

No one has any new news (ha) from USC, I assume? Waiting on bated breath here...

Thanks guys! I sent the email. Hopefully someone will respond by the time I leave.

Just looking for a few thoughts on this! One of my programs said that they would "mail decision letters" end of February to early March. Great - I'm happy to wait. Except I'm flying across the country March 6 to the same city where this institution is for vacation! I don't really want, nor can I afford, to make the cross-country trip twice (once for this vacation, and once to visit the campus/faculty). Should I contact the department about admissions decisions in case I somehow got in and can make a visit to meet some people during my trip? Or just wait for them to mail official letters and hope something arrives in advance of my flight? I don't want to be a bother but it'd be great to know before I leave... Not sure what to do! Any advice is much appreciated.

my guess is the weather (snowpocalypse 2: the redux) really screwed things up! slower than normal, maybe?

is it legit? they've called in the past. anyone want to own up?

awesome! it took a while for them to respond to me about something, so don't worry if they take a few days.

this is from an email that's about a month (a bit longer) old: "We plan to mail out decision letters sometime by the end of February or early March." that's all I know... sorry! though it seems that the decisions will come via post?

cat lady

It is on the higher end of my list! I'm not sure about the funding situation there - Texas had a big budget issue so I'm sure the Am. Studies dept. has been affected - but stoked to go visit, nevertheless.

I too had an acceptance listed there. Maybe their decisions went faster than expected, or they're releasing information on a more rolling basis?

has anyone heard anything new? our field has quieted down substantially on the board... I found out UT plans to release decisions beginning of March, but know nothing else.