Gamb1t

Just stopping by to say congrats to all who've received/accepted offers this season. It's interesting reviewing these threads and seeing the acceptance/rejection patterns. Som eof the trends aren't surprising (Brown), but some of the others are pretty surprising (The person that wasn't offered by Ohio State but was offered by UMD and others). I'd also like to offer a word of support for those who did not receive the news they'd hoped for. My top choice last season was Tufts, by FAR. The admission deadline was January 15th, and I received my rejection letter on January 17th. The next two decisions I received were rejection letters from my #2, #3, and #4 schools. It made for an incredibly depressing Spring semester and sent my thesis writing into a dark place. Ultimately, after the rest of my 15+ (yeah... I know...) decisions came through, along with funding offers and such, I was able to narrow my options down to three schools that were never truly considered for my Top 10. It was roughly a year ago that I accepted the offer here at Illinois (over offers from Ohio State and Emerson), and I could not be happier with how it worked out. I absolutely love the faculty, campus, town, and my colleagues. The people here have helped shape my research in a way I never would have considered without their input and guidance. It has evolved from something I was treating as a means to an end into something about which I am extremely passionate. I had struggled with finding a way to make my project more contemporary and timely (aka trendy/attractive) for conferences, journals, and PhD admissions. I feel like that has been achieved tenfold. Though I still intend to apply to other universities to continue my work towards a PhD, I would never be disappointed to stay here at UIUC for it. So basically, keep an open mind about whatever your situation ends up becoming. I know my situation isn't entirely unique, and I hope many of you find the experience to turn out as wonderfully as I feel it has for me.

Well, I have some experience with this program (not as a student but as a collaborator). I attended a different Arkansas university, and I applied to many playwriting MFAs before ultimately deciding to accept an MA/PhD offer instead. That being said, they have a history of making strange acceptance choices. For example, if you are from Arkansas I wouldn't hold your breath. They typically do not accept in-state applicants for any of the MFA programs in creative writing. There have been exceptions, but those exceptions in recent years have usually had some pretty obvious motivations behind them in the form of publicity, money, or simply notoriety. There has also been some strangeness with their acceptance rotation (the number of people they accept each cycle and the frequency of those cycles). This has led to some issues fulfilling the promise of providing opportunity for fully-produced work like is supposed to happen. A colleague who recently finished the program there ended up being disappointed and feeling misled when comparing the amount of produced work which he was granted an opportunity compared to how it was sold to him when choosing a program. All that being said, the program has turned out some great work in recent years, so I am sure it is--like most grad programs--a "your mileage may vary" sort of environment. Either way, good luck with it all.

The important thing to consider when it comes to that is how much the visit itself will cost. When I was deciding on schools for last application season (I actually ended up going with a standalone MA program rather than a joint MA/PhD program), it wasn't economical for me to visit most of the schools that were high on my list (I live near Little Rock, AR). For me, a $50-$150 application fee was cheaper than travel and accommodations. Because I was also applying to some Playwright MFA programs, I ended up just applying to far more than most people I know. However, that ended up being a blessing in disguise. I was not accepted to a few of the schools I would have visited otherwise. I had already been in touch with some faculty and students throughout the application process, but once I began getting my acceptance letters, I reached out to more current students in those programs (via FB or department-listed email addresses). Ultimately, I planned a road trip of sorts during Spring Break to visit my Top 4 schools and made a second trip to visit the 5th on the list. I think that process worked well for me, and I expect to do something similar when I begin applying for PhD admission next year. I was able to eliminate several schools just from the conversations with students and faculty in the wake of admission (whether it be due to artistic, financial, faculty, or academic reasons). I'm extremely glad I didn't make visits prior to applications. However, the one caveat I might provide is that I already had established communication channels with most of these schools. If I were just a name they were seeing for the first time on an application, that may have been a different story.

I'd be very cautious when paying attention to the published acceptance rates for any program, even the self-reported ones like Cornell. The number of applicants varies so drastically from year to year, as does funding. That being said, Stanford is the only Cali school I am considering for PhD programs. The only reason is because I am not at all a fan of hot weather; however, I would endure it for Stanford. I was accepted to a couple of PhD programs for next year, as well as several MA programs. After visiting each of them to get a feel for the campus, town, and program, I ultimately decided to go with the MA program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It's only an MA program, but I think it is a great fit for my interests, and I believe it will give me a better shot at my top-choice programs when applying for PhD admission after the competition of their MA.

Also, shoutout to UNLV for still having no updates on their decision process for the MA program. It's been stuck at "Under Departmental Review" since February. Just something to keep in mind for any future applicants to that program that might be curious about a timeline.

I will be joining the UIUC community for the Fall semester, as well. I am taking a trip to the area at the end of the month in order to look at neighborhoods and get a better grasp of what the area feels like. I've seen so many conflicting recommendations of which areas to avoid when it comes to both towns. The only consensus seems to be the obvious one: it's louder close to campus. That will be the case at any major university, though. I don't know the roads or city geographic markers, so it's tough for me to distinguish some of the recommended areas without zooming incredibly far on my map searches. I'm hoping my visit will help clear that up. Then again, I'm not looking at apartments. I am moving with my fiance, and we will be looking exclusively at houses and townhomes (depending on how close to an apartment it is). I know this is going to cost a bit more, but that's just how it goes. Access to bus transportation is not as important to us as the general quietness of the neighborhood, either. I'm finding it strange how most of the rental listings for the area are posted with immediate availability. I suppose there is no incentive to look for tenants early when you don't have to, but it's remarkably inconvenient for people coming from out-of-state.

I have officially accepted the offer to join the program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I feel great about the final decision, as difficult as it was. I hope everyone else finds a peaceful end in their selection process. @popbowiereed, how did it turn out for you?

Illinois decision/offer came in today. I thought the decision couldn't be more difficult. Now I know I was wrong.

Getting closer. I've had an increased rate of email/phone correspondence with two schools for the past week. Illinois' late decisions/offers are throwing a wrench in things, though.

@popbowiereed I also really liked my visit to OSU. Both of the classes I observed were right in line with the expectations I have for graduate studies. However, there was a research concern there, as well. The faculty member who most closely aligned with my interests actually retired in December. I had no idea. However, the dropoff to the second-choice wasn't too significant and also opened up doors to other interests. My biggest concern with them is that it isn't a true joint MA/PhD program, so while the MA students are instructed alongside the PhD students, there appears to be some (albeit understandable) priority given to the PhD students. Also, my funding situation there is not as favorable as your seems to be. While I would love to attend, I have concerns about going into debt when I have fully-funded+ offers from other institutions. I am still waiting to hear from Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If I were to not factor in them or UNLV, I think my decision is actually down to OSU and UMKC (A place I really enjoyed with excellent opportunity for professional dramaturgy experience and 4 semesters of teaching assistantship). I have a borderline absurd offer from SUNY-Binghamton, but I have a lot of concerns in the wake of my campus visit. Either way, 4/15 is not too far away. As for WashU, it is a great place. I almost applied, but I have spent too much time in the StL area over the years. I enjoyed it. I did have a friend who got her BA in Linguistics from WashU and loved it. I visited her a few times, and that campus does look incredible.

@popbowiereed How'd the other visits go? Did they clear anything up for you?

@popbowiereed I think I was basically shadowing your visit schedule, geographically, at least. I started off Monday in NY visiting a couple of places, then made my way down to OSU for a visit yesterday. I actually ended my trip today in Kansas City visiting UM-KC. All of the visits were informative and certainly gave me a lot to think about. It was interesting visiting several campuses that were all quite different in both their size, location, and culture. I certainly have my preferences among them, but since funding and financial aid info hasn't been finalized from everyone yet, I can't really weight it all properly as of yet. Since Illinois Urbana-Champaign had such a late deadline (3/15), I am still waiting on any correspondence from them at all. That could throw a wrench into everything, depending on how that turns out. I am still incredibly jealous of your Maryland trip, though. Hopefully your WashU visit went well, too. Have safe travels.

@KTF87 Congrats! Personally, I don't know if I could turn down an offer from Northwestern. Unless, of course, there were crazy funding/situational circumstances elsewhere. Also, I wanted to say that Dr. Gharavi from Arizona State also reached out to me via email today. Their deadline wasn't until 3/1, but it looks like their MA decisions are coming out rather quickly. No word on funding options, and the website status hasn't updated yet. We are scheduling a phone discussion, and he indicated that the web statuses should be updated soon to reflect admission decisions. Again, I don't recall that any of you were awaiting decisions from there, but it's another one for the lurkers and the search history.

@popbowiereed I am spending the entire day at the OSU campus next Wednesday. They have put together quite an itinerary for my visit. I will be glad to let you know how that goes when I get back home. I'll be visiting them, Brooklyn, Binghamton, and UMKC. Also, congrats on Maryland. I was very disappointed to receive their rejection. Their rejection is actually the only reason I'll be visiting OSU.

My Ohio State decision came out today via email. I don't recall any of you all waiting on that one, but I wanted to add it to the string.