kaoticfen

Bummer did you apply to just those two schools? Are you based in the UK?

I'm curious have any of you contacted the schools that you have received no information from? I'm kinda curious what the protocol is.

No that's totally fine and thanks for sharing. So a bit about myself, my wife has a debilitating medical condition that really limited where i could apply. Ultimately it was an answer to prayer that I was accepted to Michigan State. It was my first choice school but additionally that is where she is grew up. Having the support of family and friends was a huge factor in my applications so i totally get trying to do things together with your partner. Having a support structure is a significant reason why i excelled in my graduate program. also, I love the fact that you have a matrix because i have one as well =)

Dang man that's tough but needs to be done. What was the deciding factor if you dont mind my asking? I went to PhD visitation days and ultimately felt it wasn't for me which was a bummer since i work for USC.

Nice! Yeah me too. BJ Fogg is there and is a fantastic researcher.

I actually knew a former lawyer for Monsanto who now is on the other side of environmental legal issues. Okay that makes sense since the programs you applied to were focused on rhetoric right? Is your work mostly qualitative? Cause to me it seems in COMM "sexy" researcher seems to be quantitative in nature since a lot of grants are geared towards that kind of research. Not saying that's right or anything but that seems to be what I've seen personally. For me I had some great research exposure in my MA program and one thing i felt was that i was being shaped into a quality researcher. However, I feel like its a double edged sword as the research that I ultimately wanted to work on were topics that my professors were working on. So when it came to apply to different schools i found other schools with good fits for me but the best fit was the school that had trained me. I feel like my two years there wasn't enough time and im excited about the possibility of going back you know? Though i welcome the opportunity to study elsewhere (c'mon other offers!)

Oh man its interesting how this is funny now cause lf i had read this a month ago i might have cried in a corner somewhere.

Lol i was about to ask that as well. I'm easy City of Angeles. Congrats! that is awesome. I love Ann arbor so you can't go wrong with Michigan.

Congrats! that's great news. All of those programs are great and assuming the fit is good with all four then i think you have a real tough choice on your hands.

Oh man I missed a bunch over the weekend. Is everyone signing up for one? I guess I should hop on the bandwagon since my thesis advisor is on there. Here's mine

Hang in there! If you got an interview that's a good sign as it means you were a strong candidate. How did your interview go? I interviewed with Dr. Joshua Introne and Dr. Emily Rader and I had worked with neither nor specified either as someone I'd like to work with in my Academic statement. I felt immediately at a disadvantage since i knew almost nothing about them. So i just stuck with what i knew and tried to fill in the blanks for information that wasn't necessarily on my application. Things like my software developer experience and my own research experience (my first study was almost completely supported almost none of my theoretical findings!) but I think the most important thing i shared that wasn't on my statements was that i had left after completing my MA coursework so my wife could receive medical treatment she needed. I had to move to CA and completed my MA thesis remotely (I don't recommend that at all). I feel like that last bit of information humanized me a bit and made me someone they could relate too as we all have medical/familial/personal issues. In the end i could barely tell how i did. As a sign of encouragement, I had a friend who didn't get an interview and was accepted (and secured funding) as late as April!

Congrats! That's awesome. At least you have options! Family means a lot! My wife has a particular medical condition that was a large consideration on where i applied (needed to be near a Urologist who specialized in her condition).

So I have a couple: Health Communication, Persuasion, and Computer mediated Communication. I echo that sentiment. Everyone i talked to there was very welcoming and seemed to have a vested interest in what i wanted to do in regards to research. Good luck on applying there! from the look of your signature though it looks like you might have a difficult time deciding =) I've only been accepted to MSU but it was my first choice anyways so that's good =)

Agreed! You applied to Oklahoma too? I'm hoping to here from them soon but Jan 31st was their deadline so it hasn't even been a full week yet. I had some great correspondence with several professors so im hoping for an interview at least

From what i understand some bigger state schools like UT-Austin will wait list and accept people then try to get them funding. I had a friend that got accepted late but was unable to secure funding. She declined the offer but found out later from a classmate that she could have done a couple different things. Funding is generally listed by the department but there are usually funding opportunities outside of the department. She found out from another doctoral student that she could have secured funding from a different department especially since she was a PhD student. For example, at MSU you can secure a Graduate assistant position in the office of Student affairs, Graduate school and many other departments outside of the Comm dept. Also during my MA at MSU because of all the research opportunities there was at least one or two opportunities per semester for open GA positions. Obviously it would be great to get funding within the department but it's still possible to get it after you arrive. Here at USC I've spoken to the director at Annenberg and once you are admitted to the PhD program everyone who is accepted receives a fellowship and they don't admit students without funding. Hope this helps.

I have no idea but i'm telling you USC is still very old school. That should change in the next few years with the many improvements and overhaul that is going to happen to the Student Information Systems. Did you get accepted?

Hang in there @cannedheat I know some schools do as many as three rounds of interview groups before they finally offer funding.

Well my notices have just started coming in. I just received my acceptance email today from MSU and I'll be flying out there. I'm still hopeful that some of my other schools i'll here back from so i dont want to plan just yet but it certainly is exciting. I feel like towards the end of the month i'll have a better perspective as two my schools werent due till Jan 31st

Sorry to hear that. I assume that was the last of your schools?

Yeah its pretty Crazy. It should be going to a new system here in the next few years but yes all of it is manual. So unfortunately for USC the SIS department is always busy as i've told the schools receives hundreds of applicants a week and peaks during the fall. I would try a skype-to-landline call if you can I think the rates are $0.02 a min if i remember right. I have a brother in Indonesia. Good Luck on your interview too! that's awesome. Yeah I beginning to think it really comes down to fit truthfully. I really liked the program there but I could really only identify with one professor and loosely a second prof there. So i'm not surprised if I get wait-listed or just outright denied. Also it was the first app i turned in which I'm learning that my apps have gotten better as i kept turning them in. Anyone else experience that?

Just wanted to say that I work at USC and the Student Information System was built in 1977 and is still in use today. They have to process all the transcripts via manual entry so I would call to verify they've received your transcripts. I have several friends at Marshall and their applications said incomplete and they had to call to make sure the application would say complete so it would get reviewed. Crazy right?

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to post here and join the party. I kept meaning to post here while i was applying but i've let it slip by somehow. Man was that stressful. I dont think i'd ever wish that on my enemies but I got through it and I think i'm done. So the main thing i am looking at studying is Health Communication, persuasion and computer mediated communication. I finished my MA at Michigan State in Media and Information at the Comm school and absolutely loved it. I have every intention on returning to the PhD but i've also applied to other schools im interested in working with the most. I've applied to MSU-Media and Information, Texas A&M, Oklahoma University-Comm, University of Tennessee-Comm and Info, and Florida State. As of right now i have only heard from MSU. FYI they are currently doing PhD interview in case anyone here is applying there. So besides getting an interview there, its been pretty quiet so far which is kinda hard truthfully. Most of my schools have later dates so i imagine it'll get busy in late Feb/Mar? The school that i'm really hoping for (Outside of MSU) is Oklahoma University. There are two profs in the comm school there that i've conversed with that i absolutely loved talking too and they both think that i'd be a really good fit there so i'm hopeful that i'll at least get an interview there. I think there is someone on this forum that is at OU right now @lyrehc I believe. Anyways, it seems like a lot of people here have had some great advice so i thought i would just chime in, say thanks and wish everyone the best of luck!