kaoticfen

Well hope everyone else is doing good. Im headed to MSU! It was a tough decision as i received funding offers from both schools but ultimately went where the funding was the greatest. Thanks to everyone for the advice and support through this process!

Congratulations. Knowing you found the right program is huge.

I was accepted to Oregon, UNC, CU, Michigan State and Wisconsin so I might turn down the Oregon offer. I really liked the people there but I'm not sure it was the best fit for me. I hope you get an offer!

Well hope everyone else is doing good. Im headed to MSU! It was a tough decision as i received funding offers from both schools but ultimately went where the funding was the greatest. Thanks to everyone for the advice and support through this process!

Well hope everyone else is doing good. Im headed to MSU! It was a tough decision as i received funding offers from both schools but ultimately went where the funding was the greatest. Thanks to everyone for the advice and support through this process!

Well hope everyone else is doing good. Im headed to MSU! It was a tough decision as i received funding offers from both schools but ultimately went where the funding was the greatest. Thanks to everyone for the advice and support through this process!

Well hope everyone else is doing good. Im headed to MSU! It was a tough decision as i received funding offers from both schools but ultimately went where the funding was the greatest. Thanks to everyone for the advice and support through this process!

This is awesome. I came up with a few questions on my own but I really like these questions and will used them for my own evaluation. Just got back from my first visit to Michigan State and it was awesome. I thought i knew a lot about the department since i did my MA there but I had no idea. Hope everyone else is having a good times at visits and decisions.

This is awesome. I came up with a few questions on my own but I really like these questions and will used them for my own evaluation. Just got back from my first visit to Michigan State and it was awesome. I thought i knew a lot about the department since i did my MA there but I had no idea. Hope everyone else is having a good times at visits and decisions.

FYI, sharing a master-list of questions from my alma mater's braintrust for applying/visiting:
Are there multiple professors in your field with whom you'd want to work? What do the graduate students have to say without faculty present? Library access Internet/other electronic resource access - will a computer be provided to you? Bureaucracy (how hard is it to get reimbursements filed?) Time to graduate: ask the department administrator or alumni office for statistics (and also on hiring) if they don't give you any. Support through the job hunt: Is there a job placement officer? What does he/she do? Are there workshops for cover letters, dissertation abstracts, teaching statements, CVs, etc? Are there mock interviews? Funding (guaranteed?)  Is it attached to a professor?  Are the grants within the department or school? TA requirements: how many classes, how often, in your department? Are you going to be happy drinking your sorrows away with these graduate students for the next five, six, seven, or eight years? What are recent graduates doing? Not just the numbers of those who eventually get tenure-track jobs, but the actual, current jobs of the recently PhD'd. Is this a city in which you (and a partner, if you're bringing one with you) could comfortably live on a graduate student stipend? (If possible, visit the home of a grad students or two.) What are the milestones leading up to candidacy (Orals? Comps? Qualifying exams?  Language requirements? Dissertation prospectus defense?) What preparation is offered to help students meet those milestones?  Is there recourse if you don't pass? How does the department and/or university administration react to cases of sexual harassment and discrimination? Do the department and/or university make an active effort to be a safe space for students of color, disabled students, women, LGBTQ people, and students from a wide range of economic backgrounds? What are the class requirements?  Will you have the opportunities to take classes that'll help you with your research methods, rather than just journal-reading classes? How often do students meet with multiple faculty members?  Are there regular ways for faculty to offer constructive feedback to students? Are faculty constructive at student colloquia?  Do faculty show up and show some form of engagement?  Do they give constructive feedback? Is there funding to attend conferences or workshops? How soon can you start your own research?  Are there requirements for rotating through labs? How are the administrators?  Supportive or antagonistic? Is the potential advisor a micro-manager?  Will he count your bathroom breaks or will she restrict you to two weeks of vacation a year? Are there journal clubs, internal colloquiums, outings/social events for grad students in the department? Are there opportunities to develop leadership skills outside of the classroom: spearheading clubs, initiatives, or outreach? Can you interact with other parts of the university in good faith (such as taking classes in other departments, or joining clubs), or will you be hiding from your advisor the whole time? Is there an organization for graduate women, graduate LGBT students, graduate students of color, or another group that will be supportive of you and the challenges particular to your background?  (SWE, SACNAS, NSBP, etc.) Who are the most successful graduate students in the department (and recent grads), and what are their characteristics? Is it acceptable, encouraged, and okay to go into a career outside of academia after graduating?  Is there support for non-academic career choices? (If there are TA requirements) What are undergrads like? (enthusiastic, motivated, careerist, disconnected, bored, unprepared...)  [Also relevant if they may be doing research for you!] How do faculty members feel about teaching undergrads? You can ask faculty this directly, *or* you can ask senior grad students what faculty members say about undergrads during coffee hour / lunch / etc. while they're being open about how they think about students. How much time do grad students spend teaching/preparing lessons? Is teaching a major element of the program, or an optional opportunity? Are required courses offered on a regular schedule? If a required course is not offered for an extended period of time (due to institutional or staffing constraints, for instance) is there a well-established and straightforward procedure for substituting an alternate course? Has the relevant advisor graduated women, students of color, LGBT+ students, disabled students, older students?

This is awesome. I came up with a few questions on my own but I really like these questions and will used them for my own evaluation. Just got back from my first visit to Michigan State and it was awesome. I thought i knew a lot about the department since i did my MA there but I had no idea. Hope everyone else is having a good times at visits and decisions.

This is awesome. I came up with a few questions on my own but I really like these questions and will used them for my own evaluation. Just got back from my first visit to Michigan State and it was awesome. I thought i knew a lot about the department since i did my MA there but I had no idea. Hope everyone else is having a good times at visits and decisions.

I lived in Oregon for several years (my undergraduate is from Linfield College and my husband was a grad student in COMM at Oregon State).
U of O is in one of three uber-liberal areas of Oregon. The rest of the state is extremely conservative. Graduate students are part of a union and their health care plan back in the early 2000s was some of the best in the entire nation. They have a nice library system, and Eugene is only an hour from Florence which is a very nice Oregon beach community - I love the Pacific Ocean and its rugged terrain. In Oregon you don't usually swim in the ocean but you'll get great seafood and the beach is a lot of fun. 
I've heard good things about the U of O faculty but don't know any specifics. The down side for me is that Oregon public schools are on the quarter system. This means you only have 10-11 weeks to get into a class, so the pace is faster and often you'll just start sinking your teeth into a course when it ends. On the other hand, if you have a class you hate you'll be done with it sooner than on the semester system.
Oregon is in a rain shadow. You get rain most of the fall/winter - it's not usually heavy and many people refer to "wet rain" or "dry rain." Frequently the rain is enough to use windshield wipers but even standing in it you won't be soaked through for a while. Summers are gorgeous - clear, beautiful. 
The best thing for me about the Oregon geography is that I could within an hour be in the mountains, be at the ocean, be at a lake, be in a city, be in a sleepy community.
 
Florida - 
You also have ocean - it's a little further away to go to a developed area and the beaches are more conducive to sunbathing/swimming so they are a lot more crowded. You're 2 hours from Disney.
Climate is warmer in the fall/winter than Oregon and overall more temperate.
The school is the 8th largest university in the US. It is HUGE. It is also on the semester system, which allows you to spend more time in a class. You were admitted with the advisor you want.
Recommendations - 
Ultimately, what appeals to you more? Are there faculty in OR you want to work with? Would you prefer the quarter system or the semester system? Since you are admitted to study under a faculty you want to study with in FL, I'd be inclined to lean that way, but at the same time I wanted to study with someone before coming to Oklahoma and my entire focus changed so that he is not even on my committee. That's not uncommon. 
If I were picking based on climate I would go with Oregon. But you can live anywhere for the length of time you are in a graduate program because you know that eventually you'll graduate. 
Sit down and write the pros and cons of the academic program as they apply to you. Then go with the one you feel fits you better.

On the merits of the program alone, I'd prefer Georgia. I haven't received funding anywhere. The best Georgia has offered to do is apply for an out-of-state tuition waiver for me so that I can have in-state tuition should I get approved. I'm waitlisted at Pittsburgh and UMass, but I'd prefer either of those programs over Georgia.
If I get into Pittsburgh, it'll come with funding, I know that for sure. Whether or not I get in is another matter. My advisor says it's not about me and my abilities at this point, but critical rhetorical inquiry does not produce grant monies so no one who studies is likely to get funding. I dunno if that's true, but it seems to be the case. 
I'm pregnant and due in June, so no funding means no school. I can't work part time/full time and go to school and take care of my family. So I'm probably done with education if none of my acceptances find a way to fund me. I'm more ok with it than I thought I would be.

So in the interest of sharing something personal, I currently work full time and I thought that getting offers from universities would be the hardest part. I was wrong. I'm learning that it is significantly more difficult to remain working while you have been accepted. If i had been rejected, the disappointment would've been tough but ephemeral. I would then focus on work knowing that next year i would try again. However, I'm finding now that its really hard to care about work at all. This is due largely to the fact that i will be leaving this job and my career as a software developer in the near future. I think the real difference is that instead of putting in two weeks notice I am waiting for the next 3-4 months before i do so. I've never had to wait that long before starting a job so i suppose this is all an exercise in patience? Anyways, this was just a thought i had rolling around.

So in the interest of sharing something personal, I currently work full time and I thought that getting offers from universities would be the hardest part. I was wrong. I'm learning that it is significantly more difficult to remain working while you have been accepted. If i had been rejected, the disappointment would've been tough but ephemeral. I would then focus on work knowing that next year i would try again. However, I'm finding now that its really hard to care about work at all. This is due largely to the fact that i will be leaving this job and my career as a software developer in the near future. I think the real difference is that instead of putting in two weeks notice I am waiting for the next 3-4 months before i do so. I've never had to wait that long before starting a job so i suppose this is all an exercise in patience? Anyways, this was just a thought i had rolling around.

Same here...
Plus all that expense that goes with relocating. That's incredibly daunting for me despite being admitted locally. I have no idea what I'm going to do yet. I'd hate to accept an offer to a university that's not quite right just because I won't have to relocate.

So in the interest of sharing something personal, I currently work full time and I thought that getting offers from universities would be the hardest part. I was wrong. I'm learning that it is significantly more difficult to remain working while you have been accepted. If i had been rejected, the disappointment would've been tough but ephemeral. I would then focus on work knowing that next year i would try again. However, I'm finding now that its really hard to care about work at all. This is due largely to the fact that i will be leaving this job and my career as a software developer in the near future. I think the real difference is that instead of putting in two weeks notice I am waiting for the next 3-4 months before i do so. I've never had to wait that long before starting a job so i suppose this is all an exercise in patience? Anyways, this was just a thought i had rolling around.

So in the interest of sharing something personal, I currently work full time and I thought that getting offers from universities would be the hardest part. I was wrong. I'm learning that it is significantly more difficult to remain working while you have been accepted. If i had been rejected, the disappointment would've been tough but ephemeral. I would then focus on work knowing that next year i would try again. However, I'm finding now that its really hard to care about work at all. This is due largely to the fact that i will be leaving this job and my career as a software developer in the near future. I think the real difference is that instead of putting in two weeks notice I am waiting for the next 3-4 months before i do so. I've never had to wait that long before starting a job so i suppose this is all an exercise in patience? Anyways, this was just a thought i had rolling around.

No idea. Trust me, I wish I knew.
I think it has to do with the department wanting to keep the MA as a distinct program, instead of allowing it to be seen as a pipeline directly into the PhD program. By making it so that the PhD program isn't filled with former MA students it kind of creates the expectation among MA students that they'll need to look elsewhere for PhD programs. 
I think that MCC is a bit of a weird department (I don't mean that in a bad way), it's almost like there are multiple little departments within the department. As a result it seems like each little sub-department gets to pick one student - one for STS type work, one for visual studies, one for media studies, and so forth. Granted, I'm not sure if this makes MCC distinct or not (I really don't know) - I had always been under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that most PhD programs try not to recruit from their own MA pool.

lol no. They rejected my ass! 
And with that, this grad school season is #complete.
Accepted - UNC Chapel Hill, Boulder, Utah, and USC Annenberg
Rejected - Northwestern, NYU, UPenn Annenberg. 
Really, the only program that shocked me was Northwestern. 
I'm grateful that it worked out for me and my partner, though. Our acceptances overlapped at Utah, Boulder, and UNC. A few months ago, I was praying for one school...and I received three to choose from. #blessed #blessedAtheist. 
 

This was really helpful! Now that you say that, I do feel like I know which program is right!

In my cycle I only applied to one program because I KNEW it was the right one for me. My husband and I decided that if I didn't get in my first try we'd move here and try to "back door" my way in - but fortunately that wasn't necessary.
Anyway, I hadn't been here before I was admitted and moved. Not only that, but I'm a cold weather person - my favorite place in the world is Anchorage, AK. I've liked the area a lot more than I expected to, but seriously, grad school is only a handful of years in the grand scheme of things. If the program is right, it's right. 

Tomorrow or Tuesday, UPenn will come through and break some/all of our hearts. Should we share wine suggestions? :-) 
 
(tbh...my heart won't be broken...I'm just hella competitive and hate losing). 

If you look at the  http://cas.msu.edu/misphd/ They have a link that has program statistics http://grad.msu.edu/apply/PHDDataReporting/PhD%20Data%20-%20Communication%20Arts%20and%20Sciences%20Media%20and%20Information%20Studies%202012%20cohort.pdf  It basically says that 93% of PhD students have funding. That being said I have several friends who are there now who are all fully funded and im not sure i know anyone there that was not funded. Are you going to the visitation weekend?