av2010
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Posts posted by av2010
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I'm glad to hear others are sharing similar experiences. I feel as though the anxiety of having my life hanging in the balance is taking over. I keep telling myself that I won't obsess over it, and all the usual mantras of: whatever happens, happens; it's out of your control; if it's meant to be, it'll be; and so on and so forth. However, none of this helping. I do have days where I feel confident, and others where I'm positive that I will be accepted by no one. I think only those that have been in this situation before can understand.
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1 minute ago, DBear said:
I did the same... Scoured this forum and the results database and updated my excel spreadsheet with expected notification dates hahaha.... This process really has a way of bringing out the OCD in everyone!
I wasn't able to find anything on Wisconsin-Milwaukee..but Uconn I found someone was accepted as early as January 29th..West Virginia I was able to find February 13th.
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2 minutes ago, DBear said:
Not one word.... Only 3 out of 7 schools I applied to had Dec deadlines and one of those explicitly said no interviews. From what I can tell, seems like several of the schools I applied to sometimes conduct interviews. I hate this not knowing! I did see 1 post about someone getting an interview request for Wisconsin-Madison Comm Arts (which I also applied to) but one of my LORs was super late and only one person posted this so still hoping no news is good news
Yeah, I think it definitely is still really early. Some of my other schools said they would be having their first meeting mid-January so it's possible that it hasn't even started yet. I've been taking it to an obsession and actually went through the archives on this site and tried to find dates of when people received acceptance or rejection from each program in previous years!!
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2 minutes ago, DBear said:
@av2010 Exactly!!!! I'm sure it's just a formality! And also looks like a good sign they gave you such advance warning
Have you received anything from any of yours yet?
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2 minutes ago, DBear said:
@av2010 I'm nervous on your behalf
gah!!
But I suppose it's a good sign, they wouldn't interview someone who is an auto rejection!
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1 minute ago, DBear said:
@av2010 if that's not the person you've been in touch with in the past, then another rendition of your research interests and why, of all programs, you really want to go to that one would probably be the first questions. They just might want to actually hear you state what you already have coherently and succinctly. I've heard some programs have interviews with their final batch of applicants as more of a formality
I'm not sure that I'll have a choice. I've spoken with him both in person at a conference and on the phone during the application process. He just said he will be reaching out after their Jan 15th deadline for an interview. I'll know more details when he does I suppose about who it will be with. He wasn't my POIs that I listed in the personal statements so it might be with one of them, I'm not sure. I really wasn't prepared for interviews.
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30 minutes ago, DBear said:
Oh dear!!!! Perhaps you're the first one here to be interviewed, good luck! Do you know who you'll be interviewed by?
It hasn't been scheduled yet, but the graduate director is Alan Goodboy.
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@GreenEyedTrombonist I hear you! I don't know how to turn off the anxiety of waiting. Everyone keep saying saying "just don't think about it"....thanks for all the SUPER helpful advice. I wish we were all given a definitive decision date so it wasn't the anxiety of also not knowing how long the wait will be.
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@DBear since I posted my reply to this thread I did receive an email from West Virginia about a phone interview to be set up after their deadline has passed (Jan 15th). I was so thorough in my SOP and in conversation with him about my background, research interests, faculty I'm interested in working with, etc. that I can't imagine what they would ask that I should prepare for!
If anyone in COMM has had an interview, HELP!!!!
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I am an applicant for PhD Communication programs, and interviews aren't all that common. I had specifically asked some of my colleagues who have PhDs and they said that I probably shouldn't expect interviews. However, one school has emailed to schedule a phone interview, and I have no idea what kinds of questions they are going to ask and that I should prepare for. My statement of purpose was very detailed in the research I want to work on, faculty whom I'd like to work with and why, my background, reasons for pursuing, etc. I was very thorough in covering all the bases in my SOP. I also had thorough conversations with graduate directors and faculty members at each school I applied.
Just wondering, what kinds of questions will be asked so that I can mentally prepare?!
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@2017Hopeful I'm not expecting any decisions to be made AT LEAST till the end of February, probably later. I had concern about one of my letters not getting in one time and I was told by several schools that they won't even be having their first meeting to discuss until at least mid-January. I wish it would be sooner, I'm hopeful that it will be, though not expecting it.
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37 minutes ago, DBear said:
@av2010 I double majored in Lit and Poli Sci in undergrad and got my MA in Environmental policy and worked for a while in the field and returned to grad school to get my MA in English Literature thinking that's what I wanted to do. I realized then that I was more interested in context rather than the text itself. Compared to my peers, I also found I was more of a social science person than a lit critic. After a lot of soul searching and research, I found that the type of research and analysis I was interested in was coming out of Communication. At first, I thought I'd do what you did and split my applications between English and Communication, but the more I looked into the different programs, I found that Comm was a better fit. So while I'm happy I found programs and faculty that I'm excited about, this whole happenstance type process I've gone through has left me a bit unsure about what ad comms will think of me and my random looking background.....
I think as long as you clearly explained your journey and how you got there in your SOP you are probably okay!
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@DBear what made you decide to switch from English to Comm?
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I thought it would be helpful to have in one place the dates people received decisions from which programs just for comm.
So, if you've been lucky enough to receive a decision let us know the school and date!
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@DBear I've never heard of a phone interview for comm, I had also asked a professor who recently finished her phd and she said she had never heard of one either. So, hopefully not. I had phone Or in person conversations with the graduate directors at each school when I was picking programs to apply so hoping that was sufficient!
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I'm focusing on interpersonal communication, mostly in the integrations of technology and romantic relationships. I look at how couples use technology to communicate about sex and to better their sexual relationship, as well as question the resiliency of traditional communication theories in initial interactions of flirting, given changes in technology and a more openly sexual culture.
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On 12/4/2016 at 7:23 PM, kinseyd said:
So, I'm sure a large portion of everyone here is experiencing this horrible anxiety regarding their applications. I've never had problems like this with other applications (for REUs, undergrad, etc) before but honestly every day is torture. I was initially confident about my application as I really did everything that I could during undergrad to prepare for a doctoral program (I graduate w/ a degree in Biology with Honors in June 2017), but upon looking at the selectivity of the schools I applied to and just spending an undue amount of time on this sight, I can't help but deeply worry that I won't get accepted anywhere. My only option really, if I don't get in, is to apply for some type of NIH PREP program to give another year of research experience to get ready for another application cycle. I would actually apply to more schools before the Dec 15th common deadline of a lot of programs, but my 2 of my most important LOR writers are very hard to get in contact with (we are on trimesters and currently on vacation from Thanksgiving to New Years) so that option is kind of moot at this point.
Anyway, my real question is what are your strategies for chilling out more during this application process and not succumbing to an insurmountable amount of dread/worry?
HA! If anyone has some good strategies that would be delightful to hear. I teach a full course load during the semesters so that will distract me slightly. But right now since I'm off for another month, it is agony. Here is what I do normally just to relieve some anxiety:
-Read or do puzzles. I feel like an old lady sitting doing my puzzles, but it is so relaxing to just turn your mind off and focus on them for awhile.
-Take a weekly bath with epsom salts, candles, the whole nine.
-5 to 10 minutes of deep breathing meditation
-Exercise, my gym membership saves me a lot and consumes my time
-Find some good shows to watch on Netflix. I recommend choosing shows that have all seasons and episodes and are longer shows. If you pick ones like Lost, Dexter, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Criminal Minds...a lot of seasons equals a lot of episodes. That can take up a great deal of time and focus your attention elsewhere. It certainly is not a productive way to spend your time, but curling up in a blanket with a good show for the day can be just enough of a break from the freak out.
I've still got a long way to go, as most of my programs indicated anywhere from late February to mid-April. I love having my 6 week winter vacation, but it will also be nice to have some distraction when I start teaching again.
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4 minutes ago, ejpril88 said:
av2010 wow, lucky you! You must be American, right? I am from Serbia and I didn't have any help from my professors (not to mention one of them hardly knew how to send the LOR). Also, in my country students do their own research only on doctoral level, not before that. So BA and MA were just repeating what someone else wrote (sometimes even centuries ago). Now I'm even more scared I won't get admitted anywhere
Yes, I am American so I'm fortunate. Honestly, who knows-certainly none of us know what they are really going to be looking for until we get our acceptances or rejections. I've also been told by my professors that it sometimes isn't just about your qualifications, but they decide how many within in each research area they are going to take. For example, if they already have a great deal of interpersonal students in their current cohorts they may not take any, or only one interpersonal applicant. So, it sometimes is that you may be qualified and would have normally been admitted, but it just doesn't fit with their current needs. There are so many elements and layers that it is seemingly impossible to know until they have made their decisions. This just makes the anxiety and frustration even greater for us!
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4 hours ago, DBear said:
@av2010 Oh wow, I wish I had those resources! That being said, I do feel like ignorance is bliss, having finished this process in a vacuum made it easier for me in some sense because I had less factors to consider. Hopefully my hopes of getting accepted won't be completely off base.
@Nika Teneo I'll see if I can find the professors - the schools I saw these people at ended up on my "no" list
Yes, none of us know what is going to happen. We have entered the freak out/waiting/obsessing phase!
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3 hours ago, gradswag said:
I was going to mention that you should apply to UConn, you would be a perfect research fit for Amanda Denes. I am glad to see you already are applying there! Good luck!
Yes, I think she would be a really good match for me, I really liked her when I met her as well.
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On 12/26/2016 at 7:47 AM, phdthoughts said:
Good luck! You're in good company with the others on this thread- waiting to get through the next few months. I'm curious what everyone's concentrations are here since comm is such a broad field. I was initially interested in Davis, but they seem so narrowly focused on technology.
I'm focusing on interpersonal communication, mostly in the integrations of technology and romantic relationships. I look at how couples use technology to communicate about sex and to better their sexual relationship, as well as question the resiliency of social penetration theory and expectancy violations theory in initial interactions of flirting, given changes in technology and a more openly sexual culture.
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On 12/28/2016 at 6:51 AM, DBear said:
It's great that your professors worked with you on the list - I'm coming from an MA in English Lit so none of my professors really knew anything about Comm programs. I ended up starting from a list of nearly 100 schools and narrowing it down from there. I ended up with 7 based on what I could gather about the faculty. I didn't really worry about whether I had a shot or not because there seems to be way too many factors that impact this. So as long as there were at least 2 professors I really wanted to work with, I applied. How did you assess whether you "have a shot"? I'm actually really curious about this as a new comer. Is it based on GPA/ GRE? your subject matter? Gah.. I feel like a fish out of water..
Truthfully, it was my professors who determined this for me. Because communication is such a small discipline they know several people and are familiar with the strength and direction of programs. They compiled a list for me of schools that were probably attainable, and then those that were a stretch, but could potentially be. I had more interests in some other schools but they provided me with their honest opinion on the quality of the program at this point in time based upon who was there, who would be leaving soon, etc. I was sort of just shooting in the dark being on my own doing the search, so I can see how not coming from a comm background would be difficult. It was best to listen to their recommendations, and adapt accordingly.
In terms of knowing where I had a shot, I think there was clear choices that were completely out of reach for me. As with any discipline there are top programs (your Michigan State's, Wisconsin-Madison, USC), and then some programs that are still good, but not completely out of reach to the slightly above average applicant. My research background isn't as strong as I would like because my Master's institution was not a heavy research school, so that put a lot of the schools who want a great deal of research output out of reach. I based a lot of it on fit. I of course wanted to make sure there were people I would want to work with there, but I also didn't apply to schools where I know my area of interest didn't fit in well with their focus. For example, I study interpersonal comm, but I work primarily in romantic relationships. Therefore, I didn't focus on schools whose interpersonal programs were very health comm driven. It came from just really narrowing down not only what I wanted, but what I didn't want as well.
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On 11/10/2016 at 8:41 AM, DBear said:
So, it's already November and I'm thinking everyone's list of schools is close to done and the application process is underway..
I was wondering how many programs people are applying to.... My list has shrunk to 8 and I don't know if I'm taking too big a risk with too few schools.
I've been of the opinion that applying to fewer programs will allow me to put more work into my preparation, but then everyone around me applying for grad school (all in English, though) is applying to at least a dozen schools.
I've got U Penn, Temple, U Illinois Urbana Champaign, U Wisconsin Madison, U Iowa, Ohio U, U Mass Amherst and Bowling Green on my list, and Bowling Green is hanging on by a thread... Apart from Urbana Champaign, I'll be applying for the phd program. Urbana Champaign won't let me apply for the phd program because my MA is in English..
This thread seems a bit quiet but I'll put this out there anyway...
I'm only applying to 3..I have been worried about not applying to more (only PhDs though). I had a longer list, but I'm only applying to places that I know I have a shot getting into and would actually go to based upon faculty research, etc. That just happened to be 3 places. My advisor and master's professors worked together to come up with a list of about 6 schools they thought would be a good fit, and then I narrowed down from there.
How long can you wait to decide
in Decisions, Decisions
Posted
I received an early offer admission to a school on January 16th. I have a visit scheduled out to the school for February 6th. This is super early for my discipline and I'm not sure when I will hear from other schools. The acceptance letter did not specify a date to notify by, I'm just wondering how long is too long to wait?