DBear

@heyDW I can only imagine! Argh - my empathy gene is very strong so I'm feeling anxious now too, why won't they hurry up and update your partner's status?? And why in the world was the system updated at those hours?? Did you both apply to all the same schools? Maybe I should take a sleeping pill, too (haven't had any side effects yet) my brain won't shut off!

I was just going through my mailbox and found a reply from UC San Diego regarding SOP length limits. It had been weeks since I had decided to not apply to the program when I got this letter so I sort of forgot about it and am posting it here even though the deadline has passed just in case someone looks up UCSD SOP: "The personal statement has no specific requirements, but I recommend 3 parts: 1) Personal background (how did you get to where you are now) 2) Why are you interested in Communication 3) Why are you interested in COMM at UCSD? (with which faculty are you interested in working)"

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that even God enjoyed it. Afterwards, God congratulated the penguins and applauded them. "You did it!" Suddenly, the grizzly beast started dancing vigorously. There was an acromantula nearby. It challenged the preconception that magical mushrooms were magical. Sparkling, the

I remember seeing in different posts that schools sometimes send out notifications at really random times (like the middle of the night) so after seeing that, even weekends didn't feel completely relaxed! If I remember correctly, you only had a couple more programs you were waiting on, right? May I ask which ones? I had 2 days in a row that stuff happened - email asking for interview, the interview actually taking place and an admissions email all happened back to back. Now I feel more impatient after all that "action," I feel like SOMETHING should be happening right now! Ugh UGH!

water fountain

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that even God enjoyed it. Afterwards, God congratulated the penguins and applauded them. "You did it!" Suddenly, the grizzly beast started dancing vigorously. There was an acromantula nearby. It challenged the preconception that magical mushrooms were magical.

What a dramatic turn of events! That probably made it all the more exciting!

I was about to ask if it's okay to name names if you're asked if you've applied to other programs and then saw @TakeruK's response above and glad to know it's okay. I was asked if I'd applied to other programs and where and basically I told the professor how many programs I'd applied to and my top choices were them and another school - I could see the cogs turning and TakeruK's response seems to explain why and that part of my interview basically went exactly as TakeruK's post. The professor told me the other program's strengths (lots of money) and their own strengths (you get lots of care and attention!) as well.

fountain pen

One year a long time ago, there were penguins who didn't wear hats when swimming. This made their mothers livid. "Unacceptable!" Frightened, they screamed, "Bears!" Nobody seemed convinced so instead of going swimming they tried juggling. Their mothers tried everything they thought would teach her a skill. However, she couldn't even make oatmeal without disastrous results. So, the penguins gathered money (obviously) trying to purchase a bear. Towering over them, a grizzly beast danced, devouring all bears with such ferocity that even God enjoyed it. Afterwards, God congratulated the penguins and applauded them. "You did it!" Suddenly, the grizzly beast started dancing vigorously. There was an acromantula nearby. It challenged the preconception that magical mushrooms

Congratulations! I got an email titled "DECISION" (for some reason, this school likes to use caps in their email headers..) and just thought immediately that it'd be a rejection. Had to read it twice before I realized what the email meant. It came only 10 days after their deadline so I thought it was a mistake, but happy to know it's not! After months of self-doubt and anxiety, I think it's natural to be surprised by the positive outcome. I mean, we all hope for it, but that's different from expecting it!

@av2010 Thank you so much! I will definitely take a look at these! WOOT!

If I were you, I would do something that can be wrapped up in one page - as the typical policy memo is 1 or 2 pages. I'd choose a topic that is simple enough that you can explain in a page but something that YOU noticed in real life - like the essay prompt says. You need to be able to demonstrate that even if you're in a mundane, everyday situation, you notice things. So for example, let's say a ban on plastic bags. 1) problem: I noticed there are a whole load of plastic bags that are just floating around on the street etc.... this is a problem because they're ugly and studies show that they have XYZ environmental impact (this is where you'd use evidence) 2) recently, a law has been passed to limit the sale of plastic bags. This is great because XYZ, but has limits because ABC. 3) I think 1,2,3 should be done to address the limitations in 2) and fundamentally address 1). >> make sure to address law, economy, local communities in developing a solution and use evidence (statistics, government studies) etc. I wouldn't get too creative - I'd keep it simple. It can actually be as larger issue like poverty or security issues because policymakers need to know how to condense complicated issues into a short format without leaving out too much. My professors used to call it the written version of the 'elevator pitch.' I personally think it'd be easier to a more micro level issue, but something sophisticated enough. If you have a particular policy area you would like to pursue (health policy, enviro policy etc) it might be strategically beneficial for the issue to be on that area.

Chocolate temptation

@GreenEyedTrombonist - Hush is one of my favorites, after years of watching it, Buffy stopped being scary but that episode freaked me out.. lol @av2010 I also used a clip of Hush in the presentation I did for my grad seminar. I showed a bit of that and a bit of "Once More with Feeling" as contrast. I'd love to be in your class! And those are exactly the kinds of books I'm looking for! I was reading the introduction to a book that a few of my POIs put edited and published last year and realized there were a bunch of names of scholars from the field that I didn't recognize - so freaked out just a little bit.

The way the question is stated is very standard policy analysis - not really "theory" question, but more necessary to see if you can identify a policy issue, assess it, and make policy recommendations. So you need to choose an issue - a real life issue that you've thought about before. You need to identify a particular problem and explain why this is an issue. Then the info about what has been done - this would be a fact based analysis (laws that have been passed etc) then your assessment - that is the key. The recommendation should take into account the facts that you discussed in the previous section and fill in any "gaps" If you turn the question into a list of bullets and just address issues in that order, you should be fine. In my experience in Policy grad school and as a practitioner, it's always been more an issue of one's ability to assess, analyze, and address policy issues. So relevant cases and comparison (for example, what did country X do about the same problem you're trying to solve in country Y) are more useful than plain theory. So you need to show that you can think about policy things the way a policy person would and it should be well-written. Writing is the central form of communication for policy so being able to write policy papers that are concise and have a clear logic while putting forth your analysis is necessary. Good luck!

That sounds like the information that was provided in the canned email they send out when your application is complete. Hopefully we'll know way before mid Feb, but judging from last year's results, we might have to wait a whole month. Hopefully you'll get better news from the remaining 3 Comm programs. I know that there are other people here that have also applied to other departments as well and was wondering, if you get into your top pick for Communication and your top pick for.. I think it was American Studies (sorry if I'm wrong), which do you think you'd go to if all the conditions were pretty much the same (funding etc)?

For the programs I applied to, once all my applications were in, the websites ceased to serve anything function. They're all showing some variation of "under review" for nearly 2 months now. Even the schools I've interviewed with AND the school I got accepted to still show "in progress". So probably not worth checking, but I still check once or twice a day (which is a lot less than before, I think I'm wearing myself out)

Is that the episode where the creepy dudes in suits steal everyone's voices? We should start a Buffy thread! I'm not sure which book you're referring to, @GreenEyedTrombonist so most likely the answer is no I'll need to change that. I was so surprised at how many scholarly papers from diverse fields have been written about Buffy. I even came across one that discussed the fan+scholar combination. @av2010 any basic texts you use in that class that I may read for fun? BA and MA not in Communication makes me nervous that I have a huge gaping whole in my basic knowledge

That sounds like my problem professor, though mine was a dude. I randomly dropped by his office twice, both times just a quick hello and reminder. Since you're working, would it be feasible to try and drop by on your lunch break or on your way home? If worse comes to worse, I'd say get your back up professor ready... I understand she's the best option (mine was for me, too) but a letter from an English Prof is better than no letter. I'm applying to Communication programs and had three LORs from English professors. As long as they know you and your aptitude to study and they're not some random lecturer you took some elective with, I don't think that'll be a big deal. I think it's time for a swap.... So sorry you're going through this, that one last LOR was easily the most stressful part of this entire process

Ooh - did I miss this mass email?? Sad!!! I actually enjoyed looking at the same page over and over again and was wondering why I couldn't get in, glad to know I wasn't the only one! I noticed that @d.grace and @ejpril88 both have Purdue acceptances!

Thank you! She was nice and friendly but basically asked me one question (the tell me a bit more about your research interests/ why do you want to go here question) then it was on to "do you have any questions for me?" So it was really short so didn't really know what to make of that. I'm a bit more nervous because I've also interviewed people (in a corporate setting though) and there are times I decide to play "good cop" and just smiley warmly at everyone even when I have no intention of passing them. A bit paranoid, but I'm not sure what to make of her friendly demeanor in light of the brevity of the chat. I'm being paranoid mostly

@av2010 I'd love to give you feedback - such a pertinent and interesting topic - but I have NO love life lol As for me, I'm not really working on anything scholarly at the moment, though I would like to polish up a portion of my MA thesis and a term paper I wrote last semester in the next couple of months. My MA thesis was on a play called "Twilight: Los Angeles 1992" which is a documentary-drama on the L.A. riots in 1992. l look at the playwright's attempt to write an alternative narrative to mainstream media portrayals of race relations in LA. I used a part of this as my writing sample and just re-read it and found a handful of typos ARGH The paper I really want to work on is the term paper which is on performing girlhood in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was a huge fan of the show way back when and there are so many different ways to analyze the series and its fandom (which @GreenEyedTrombonist may know about as well). I need a bit more research on the feminist critique end of it. For my phd, I'd like to look at how people use online platforms to create their own identities and communities when existing classifications of who people are can't really explain who you are. Mostly interested in diaspora/ race/ citizenship

@Marshall It would be absolutely WRONG of them to take your money again after they screwed up! I really hope they were apologetic. Hopefully, this will be the only negative thing that pops up in your application process and everything else will be smooth sailing!

@Marshall l...ette..rs ... TOO?!?! I just puked a little in my mouth. I had such a hard time with one of my letter writers (he was 2 weeks late for my top 2 schools) if I had to do that again, I'd have a nervous breakdown. I hope it will go smoothly for you. I mean the application itself isn't that big a deal and I thought it was only the delay that may be caused in getting an answer. But LORs..... So so so sorry! Hopefully they'll start reviewing as soon as an application is uploaded and not wait to start evaluations all at once. One of the schools I applied to had a Jan 15 deadline but I finished my application Dec 5ish. They sent me an admission offer on Jan 25 - so I figure they started reviewing materials even before the deadline. Good luck!