GreenEyedTrombonist

Congrats everyone who got into Irvine! If it wasn't a rejection for me before I'm sure it is now, haha. At this point I'm happy for everyone getting in, but also just waiting for all my rejections so I can get over it and work on improving my app for next year.

Some people were notified of their acceptances today to a program I applied to so I'm assuming that's a bust for me. Someone also put an acceptance in the results system yesterday for another school I applied to I'm assuming that's a bust too. That brings me down to a really difficult MS to get into and a PhD with an advisor that I would love, but that doesn't provide funding (still haven't heard from either of these schools, but neither has anyone else).

I'm already pretty sure I won't be getting in this year. I just want all the rejections in so I can have a weekend to mope and pull myself together instead of dragging it out.

@ishouldbeworking looks like the first NYU acceptance came in today. Whoever it was didn't report their GRE scores or GPA though. x]

A low GPA isn't the make it or break it aspect of the application. It sounds like you have a good reason for the low GPA and you should be able to explain that in the application. I'd say just make sure you have a great SoP, good grades or an upward trend to your grades your next couple of years, and good GRE scores will be able to round out your app to make that GPA not as important. Do note that some schools have a minimum GPA requirement so keep that upward trend going and check for that before applying.

Congrats @ejpril88! That sounds like an awesome conversation. Overall, Davis's area of California isn't that expensive. More than many places in the US, but not bad for California. My sis and her husband actually live 20 minutes from Davis and have managed, as 2 young professionals under 30, to purchase a home in the area (brother-in-law is now 30, but they bought their home way before his birthday). I actually expect I'll be visiting the area quite often since my sis just announced her pregnancy.

That's awesome @ishouldbeworking and definitely not creepy. I put my research interests on my profile to connect with others.

I haven't seen or heard anything from NYU either @ishouldbeworking :/

@farflung Yeah, I was going to point out the strangeness of Stanford. They, and I think a handful of other schools, have a history of disagreements so severe it split the department at one time or another. In departments with this kind of history you might see acceptances go out at different times. Also, the above is one of the multitude of reasons that helped me decide not to apply to Stanford.

I order almost all of my books on Amazon which gives me a record to look back to when it's time for taxes. I know that this year my books and supplies will be higher because I needed to get many more supplies than in previous years. If you're using turbotax or something similar, it should tell you your audit risk after filling it out.

Yep, some professors are less formal while others still prefer the title distinction so you basically just need to wait for them to invite you to call them by their first name.

Why is it a headache? Have you visited the school before? I think it would still be good to do something to give you a better feel for the social culture of the program. If you can't work out a visit, can you ask to talk to grad students currently in the program? It won't be as good as visiting in person, but it might help you figure out some of what to expect on that end.

Yep, I would just make it clear to the people in charge of the research that you're interested in creating an article or conference paper based on the work. As long as they have IRB approval for the research (class research doesn't need IRB approval unless there is intent to publish/present on it in a public setting) this shouldn't be a problem.

@sammyo Would you consider a M.A. or M.S. program? They often have later deadlines than PhD programs.

donuts are disgusting coffee is gross fps games just make me sick

I agree @DBear it is still early. However, if I want to apply for an M.A. in Comm at my current school, the due date is March 1st. I'll probably discuss it with my advisor and see what she thinks. If I am rejected from everywhere I'll definitely be asking for some help on here next time around.

Thanks @DBear! I do wonder if maybe I should apply to some Comm M.A.s so I can build my comm theory background before trying again. Of course, I do still need to hear from 4 schools, but it's not looking good for at least one of those and I haven't heard a word from another 2 of them. :/

Woke up to a rejection this morning. 1 down, 4 to go...

Those are and thanks. One of the things I haven't liked on the results page is not knowing some stats, so I'm going to put them even when rejected. At least I didn't wait for the email. I just happened to check the portal this morning. If I'd gotten the email first, it would have been a bigger disappointment (anxiety would have been higher). Sucks though, because I think USC was actually my best fit. :/

Whelp, won't be going to USC.

Do you have research under your belt and something that you can write about for it? I'm working on several articles right now, 2-3 of which are related to a research project I worked on my first year (co-written articles with other members of the team and possibly one with the project lead). Our professor/project lead discussed the potential of publication at the beginning of the project and we made sure to follow-up when it was completed, including a discussion of which journals would make the most sense for submission. Another article I want to write came from team research on another project, but with less involvement of the project lead. I've spoken with the project lead about what journals would make sense for submission, but we haven't spoken regarding exactly what the theme of the article would be. The project lead is also my advisor so I may follow-up with her about this (and get some of the team together for help writing) when I discuss my planned articles regarding my graduate research. I also may be published in a conference proceedings from a conference I presented at last year (I'll know more about that in April). Basically, attend conferences, do research, speak with your project leads/professors about your interest in publishing, and then write. If you're more independent, start noticing which journals your reference list is mostly coming from. These journals are more likely to accept your articles since the topics align. Look up the journals and their submission and formatting policies, as well as any due dates that you might need to know.

From a social science perspective, I'd go with USC's funding. The possibility of censorship on research is just too much in my opinion. I also enjoy TA/RA jobs so that's not really a negative from my point of view, haha. I'd just be very gracious in how I refuse the government grant and you don't necessarily even need to bring up the censorship issue. USC is offering you more with more options to increase your funding and, when living in LA, that makes a huge difference.

So I think there is some information missing here. You have the info that UW would have you working as an RA your first year with the possibility of RA/TA for subsequent years, but what type of funding is at UM? Is it mainly an RA or TA position, or a funding package that doesn't require working for the university? How long does that guaranteed funding last and does the type of funding change (i.e. guaranteed fellowship your first year and placement as an RA or TA for subsequent years)? How long do students usually take to get their degree at each university? Does funding cover one year with options later or is their a funding for 5 year deal without mention of what happens if it takes longer? And, perhaps most importantly, will the funding you receive cover your expenses at each university? Have you factored in the cost of living in each university town when calculating how much coverage you'll need?

I agree that you should find the answers to @rising_star's questions. I also would like to know why you don't want the RA.