krystasonrisa

I'm glad to hear you've got a clear plan. I do not, and I think IU might be my top choice right now so I am really hoping I can pull off an acceptance. I'm happy to have options and time to think about it still.

It's also not wise (or kind) to ignore the many social factors that lend to "scholarly success." There are indeed real differences between the applicants to those two programs, and those differences almost always start with socioeconomic.

I've been chastised for talking about the politics of higher education without a sock account on gradcafe, but I'm in graduate study precisely to be critical, and there are plenty of studies (one excellent project done by a Chilean colleague of mine for example) that show the relationship between university rankings, capital, and colonization. The process is not so much random and arbitrary as it is political, but also, no, nothing about this process reveals your value as a scholar, whether you end up at Princeton or Southeast Missouri State. There are also SO many intersecting factors, and to be very honest, while academia has done a relatively great job at incorporating traditionally marginalized communities, many OpEds this season have criticized academia's inability to be inclusive to working class students. Actually, I believe there's a conference specifically for these issues and for WC academics this Spring at IU. (Example: Someone talked about having the right LoR from just the right people. Odds are those "right" people don't work at community or small state schools. It's politics, not luck.) Tl;Dr University rankings do not reveal your value or capacity as a scholar. P.S. by political, I don't mean to imply that it's shady or unfair or wrong, I mean political, as in something designed and talked about by people, as opposed to natural or random.

@mementomoria, have you heard any news yet? After one of my offers came with an early deadline for accepting funding, I broke down and emailed the DGS, and I got a really great, detailed reply. He responded very kindly, but also honestly, and I found out I'm basically on a waiting list, but not super high up on it. His exact words were "in the Top Cohort, but sufficiently removed from the top 10 that an offer may not be coming." He also said he didn't want me to lose hope because sometimes they have offered ppl at my ranking, but I wouldn't know until late march/early April. I hope you've heard better news! I'm happy it's not a flat reject yet!

I came here because I have an offer from FIU, and honestly as a fat woman I'm a little worried about that. Great to know this is not a space where I can talk about those worries. ALSO, WHERE TF WERE THE MODS ON THIS THREAD?

Whew laddie this thread is a mf m e s s. The blatant display of fat phobia makes me honestly ashamed of academia right now. I sincerely hope I never have to call some of you colleagues. Seriously disgusting.

You're going to do whatever it takes to survive a gap year and you're going to try again next year. And repeat. This process is not fully representative of your aptitude, and if you want to go to grad school, you'll get a random job to make it through the year, and try again. Some schools (like IU, bless them) don't make you pay an application fee if you have applied in the last 12 months, and they keep your records on file, so it is basically free to try again. (This was a pleasant surprise for me this year!) I'm not going to sugar coat anything, rejection hurts like hell and gap years are painful and awful (especially when B2S season starts and it feels like everyone in the universe has a place but you), but because this process is so much about timing and fit and luck, sometimes all you need is to try again. These rejections do not mean it's over forever. And a waitlist is not a no! Hang in there! You may have a place this year

I don't meant to discourage you, but last year UIC "lost" my application, so I would definitely follow up and be that person emailing DGS. Exciting work on Central American history there, too.

Well, I'm here to say don't be hopeless. On Monday I got an admit to UPitt, and today I got one to FIU. There is still hope! Hang in there!

Here to bump this thread. Anyone know if living in Miami is possible on $1200/month? (Personal budget)

About safety- You're going to see/hear people identify East Urbana and North Champaign as "dangerous," but they're not dangerous, just poor and mostly Black/Latinx. Statistically, the most dangerous place in CU is the Champaign side of campus. I don't have exact numbers, but every time there's an incident, it seems to be around W Green St. That said, East Urbana and North Champaign are the least accessible areas by public transportation. (Who could have guessed.) So for that reason only, I would not recommend an apartment in those areas. There is an abundance of apartments, so I wouldn't be worried. Subleasers are everywhere, too. I have a great 1BR on a bus line (15 min to campus) I'll be subleasing around that time. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions!

@mementomoria, I hope you get back positive news! What's your subfield? I would be happy with anything at Indiana that's funded, tbh. They're a perfect fit and only 3 hours from my grandma. And @OHSP, thank you! I love her work on the circulation of internationalism, and she's done significant, though mostly unpublished, work on migrant children. So excited!! @KLZ, thank you!!

I would very much recommend being in and around Urbana most of the time. The political atmosphere is very middle class liberal. I think it is expensive to live here, but mostly just the housing. It's very hard to live independently. One bedroom apartments are minimum $60. Public transport is a gem, except it's v political and some routes are more accessible than others and you'll notice quickly. I love my neighborhood, but it's not as accessible as it could be. Cafes and restaurants ants are perfectly varied for every price point. You can literally eat anything here. And it's probably delivered, too. There are great parks in the area, but I'd go to St. Louis or Chicago for museums and cultural activities. In the summer there is a lot of great live music, and occasionally Krannert will bring really great acts to campus. But for high culture, you'll need a bigger metropolis. CU is just two small towns squished together and you can tell. Yes, there are definitely all for seasons, and this year is mild, but it can be brutal in the winter a n d summer. I don't really like it, but I'm biased against the Midwest because I'm bored and tired of it. (Sorry, Midwest.) You can find some natural beauty in the parks but also its flat. Good luck!

Thank you for this input! I am really hoping to get the chance to work with Dr. Premo But after T H R E E application seasons, I got my first PhD admit! It still doesn't feel real? But I'm sure I'm 100000% happy about it. I was admitted to Pitt, and I love the work Putnam does (and it's actually in my region!) and I'm v interested in children's literature, and there's literally no better place to be than Pitt for that. Congrats to the other UPitt admits! And good luck to those still waiting to hear back. I'm still waiting on IU, anyone ese? I feel like IU is a stretch for me because my GPA and GRE are pretty middle of the pack, but I name dropped jk, but I am hoping our mutual relationship with the UCR (Costa Rica), will give me some sort of "great fit" edge. I'm so anxious!

I relate to this thread so deeply! I applied last season and got 4/4 rejections. This season I have an admittedly much stronger application, but so far I've had 1 interview and silence from the other 2 programs so I'm still just 3? and it's agonizing. On the one hand I'm happy to have dodged some first round rejections (last year I was not so lucky), but my optimism is fading that news this late could be good news? Or am I just corrupted by all the noise? idk.