Ilspflouz

@HedgieLove Thank you so much, your reply is very helpful!

Out of curiosity, what were some things that made you guys so confident in your decision? Any insight on post-admit visits/what to expect/things to look out for? I'm just in a position where I formally declined one offer I felt certain wasn't a good match, but still have 4 schools that I don't feel ready to cross off the list (2 stand out ahead of the other two right now, but I was offered a university fellowship at one school I applied to that was much lower ranked than all the others and spoke to my POI there and I really liked her and got along well with her, but my POIs at the two programs I'm leaning toward are a bit more in line with my interests and were very nice via email so I'm a bit conflicted). I'm visiting the two programs I think my decision might ultimately come down to in about a week and my only comparable experience is UCI's pre-admit interview weekend so any insight would be much welcomed— if you don't mind of course

Good luck to all of you still trying to make decisions.
I'll be honest my decision was pretty simple, UCI had been my top choice entering into the application process. Although I was admitted and waitlisted at other programs I made my decision based on the impression I got during my visits. The faculty members, the students, the feel of the campus were the most important factors for me. Although I think I would have been happy with any of the programs that I applied to. 
Best wishes to all as you make your final choice. 

Congratulations @warwick, @RoadtoPhD, and all others that have already made their decision. Making a choice can be extremely difficult, but finally making a decision is a huge relief.
Best wishes and good luck to all those still trying to make their final choice. 

Hi guys! Congrats to all of you who have made decisions on great programs. I'm officially going to attend Northeastern in the fall. It was a little bit of a tough choice between there and Cincinnati but I feel like I picked the best fit for me!
 
Good luck to everyone making their decisions

Hi everyone! 
Just wanted to post that I'm attending UAlbany's PhD program starting this fall. Albany was my top choice for awhile, and after attending the visiting weekend I knew my decision was made.
Good luck to everyone else who is contemplating decisions and nervously waiting replies. Just remember in the long run nothing is ever worth worrying about because we are all in the same situation. Everything happens for a reason! ? 

Personally, I would not go somewhere unfunded if I had other, funded choices. The intensity of a PhD program usually means you will not have any time to work. This means you would have to borrow not only for tuition, but also for living expenses (unless you have a spouse or parent or something you can live with who is able to support you). IMO it is not worth going into debt to get a PhD, based on the competitiveness of the job market and the amount you will make coming out of school with a PhD (e.g. it will likely take a very long time to pay back the amount of debt you will have). If I had to choose between going into a PhD program unfunded or just getting a job and putting my PhD dreams on hold, I would probably pick the getting a job part. If I had to pick between 2 funded schools and 1 unfunded, I would definitely go with one of the funded ones. This is just my opinion, so please don't take it as gospel. But I do want to preface it to say that it has been heavily influenced by advice I have received from my major professors over the years. All of this advice has pretty much been consistent with what the previous poster said. From what I remember, the reasoning for it has been due to a combination of the reasoning I have typed out here, along with this reasoning: that if a school really really wants you, they will find a way to fund you. You want the school you go to to look at you as an investment, be invested in your future, and treat you as a priority. Of the few students I know who went to programs unfunded, the main complaint has been that they have other peers who were funded at their programs and that it can feel like the funded students are given priority. But if everyone in the USF program is unfunded, that probably won't be the case - so take that with a grain of salt.
Good luck making your decision! I hope this helps! Again, this is just my opinion, so don't take it as gospel! ;-)

Now that I've received my revised funding offer from UCI, I'm ready to submit my SIR. It's a relief to finally be done with this part of the process. 
Best of luck to all those still waiting and in the decision process. 

Thank you :)) 

Congrats !! And yes I didn't apply but I heard Maryland is one of those schools that does more than one round of acceptances 

I got into Maryland on Friday- but that doesn't necessarily mean anything! I heard back from Cincinnati a few weeks after others on here got in and I'd been convinced that I was waitlisted when I first saw those posts!

Anyone like the idea of making a new thread for decisions? I know there's lot over in the general decisions forum, but it might be helpful to make a thread within the C&CJ forum to discuss stuff like factors being taken into consideration w/ choosing, post-acceptance communication w/ faculty/DGS/etc., & other miscellaneous stuff related to the post-waiting stage? 
I just feel like with this being centered a lot around waiting for decisions it might be shitty/annoying to have this thread used for those types of discussions simultaneously. 
Just a thought! What do you guys think?

Ahhh Ok - well I will be there Thursday-Saturday. So if you are going to be there any of those days just let me know!

Great Q! I'm wondering the same. My priorities at the moment:
1)Fit with # POIs and their current work
2)Ability to publish with faculty
3)Existing research-practitioner partnerships with opportunities for student work
4)POI mentorship style/availability (how busy are they - will they have time to meet? Does their apparent mentorship style mesh with mine?)
5)Program Quality/Job placement after PhD
6)Attrition Rate for program
7)Comp Style/Pass Rate
8)Expectations for assistantship and type of work (GA/TA/RA, etc)
9)Funding
10)Quality of life/program style (What's the program like? Cutthroat? Supportive? Competitive?)
11)Location

Great Q! I'm wondering the same. My priorities at the moment:
1)Fit with # POIs and their current work
2)Ability to publish with faculty
3)Existing research-practitioner partnerships with opportunities for student work
4)POI mentorship style/availability (how busy are they - will they have time to meet? Does their apparent mentorship style mesh with mine?)
5)Program Quality/Job placement after PhD
6)Attrition Rate for program
7)Comp Style/Pass Rate
8)Expectations for assistantship and type of work (GA/TA/RA, etc)
9)Funding
10)Quality of life/program style (What's the program like? Cutthroat? Supportive? Competitive?)
11)Location

Great Q! I'm wondering the same. My priorities at the moment:
1)Fit with # POIs and their current work
2)Ability to publish with faculty
3)Existing research-practitioner partnerships with opportunities for student work
4)POI mentorship style/availability (how busy are they - will they have time to meet? Does their apparent mentorship style mesh with mine?)
5)Program Quality/Job placement after PhD
6)Attrition Rate for program
7)Comp Style/Pass Rate
8)Expectations for assistantship and type of work (GA/TA/RA, etc)
9)Funding
10)Quality of life/program style (What's the program like? Cutthroat? Supportive? Competitive?)
11)Location

I think definitely the fit in terms of the faculty and the program in general. Look at where you want to be in a couple years and which program can get you there!

I think I've been considering three main factors
1) Fit
2) Program quality
3) Quality of life

Hi! I think it is a really good idea to look into this stuff before you decide to go the PhD route. If you are interested in higher education, from what I have heard the job market in CJ is actually really strong at the moment. However, who knows will it will be in 5 years. Here is a website to help you:
http://www.adpccj.com/surveys.html --> Reports from the ADPCCJ (association of doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice) which include job placement info as well as other relevant stats about grad school from the last 10 years
http://www.adpccj.com/documents/2016survey.pdf --> Direct link to the 2016 report.
From the 2016 report: 
"Figure 7 shows that not only is the employment rate among recent graduates [from the doctoral programs included] very high – 94 percent are known to be employed in a tenure-track academic position, a local, state, or federal research agency, or a private research firm – but also that academic positions are by far the most prevalent mode of employment for almost 60 percent of graduates."
I was in your shoes 2 years ago, albeit without my MS yet. If you have any questions, send a PM!

Hi! I think it is a really good idea to look into this stuff before you decide to go the PhD route. If you are interested in higher education, from what I have heard the job market in CJ is actually really strong at the moment. However, who knows will it will be in 5 years. Here is a website to help you:
http://www.adpccj.com/surveys.html --> Reports from the ADPCCJ (association of doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice) which include job placement info as well as other relevant stats about grad school from the last 10 years
http://www.adpccj.com/documents/2016survey.pdf --> Direct link to the 2016 report.
From the 2016 report: 
"Figure 7 shows that not only is the employment rate among recent graduates [from the doctoral programs included] very high – 94 percent are known to be employed in a tenure-track academic position, a local, state, or federal research agency, or a private research firm – but also that academic positions are by far the most prevalent mode of employment for almost 60 percent of graduates."
I was in your shoes 2 years ago, albeit without my MS yet. If you have any questions, send a PM!

Hi! I think it is a really good idea to look into this stuff before you decide to go the PhD route. If you are interested in higher education, from what I have heard the job market in CJ is actually really strong at the moment. However, who knows will it will be in 5 years. Here is a website to help you:
http://www.adpccj.com/surveys.html --> Reports from the ADPCCJ (association of doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice) which include job placement info as well as other relevant stats about grad school from the last 10 years
http://www.adpccj.com/documents/2016survey.pdf --> Direct link to the 2016 report.
From the 2016 report: 
"Figure 7 shows that not only is the employment rate among recent graduates [from the doctoral programs included] very high – 94 percent are known to be employed in a tenure-track academic position, a local, state, or federal research agency, or a private research firm – but also that academic positions are by far the most prevalent mode of employment for almost 60 percent of graduates."
I was in your shoes 2 years ago, albeit without my MS yet. If you have any questions, send a PM!

Congratulations on your acceptance to UCI, @a little-stitious 

Congrats @wknd_worrier!!! 
 
I cannot wait to be under anesthesia...a good several hours that I will not be able to worry.

I heard back from Cincinnati this wknd— accepted w/ funding :)) 

Got a call from UMSL. Accepted:)