ProudCatMom

Yesss! I already signed a lease for a place in The View apartments over on Toftrees. I'll have to get used to having roommates but it's really nice. The bus stops right out front the main 'club house'. You get a free bus pass, there's a gym, free coffee house, study lounge with free printing, and lots of other ammenities. You get your own room and bathroom which is cool. I put on my roommate matching sheet that I would prefer to live with other grad students (who don't mind cats, of course, because I'll be bringing my babies). The rent includes all utilities including wifi and there's a washer and dryer in unit. Pretty good set up in my opinion.

The professor I spent a year TAing for nominated me for the university wide outstanding TA award--which I won! I do plan on inviting her to the award ceremony, but I was wondering if I should extend an invitation to my academic advisor as well? Thanks!

Hi all, I've searched through other threads on GradCafe about this and I can't really find what I'm looking for. I've already been accepted to a few programs and I know that one, in particular, I will most likely not be attending. This has got me thinking: what's a nice way to format a 'turning down the offer' email while showing I was grateful to be considered for admission? Thank you!!

When I visited Indiana last semester I spoke to a PhD student there with a similar experience. She had a conditional offer of being expedited into the PhD program if she entered the MA program instead and performed satisfactorily. She said she felt like it was pretty beneficial for her to have done that and helped her really find her focus prior to entering the PhD side of things. In my own experience, my undergrad was more professional/applied in media production so I felt my masters (which is super theoretical/research based) has helped me tremendously in feeling more confident that I can really hit the ground running in my PhD program and successfully tackle coursework already having an idea of things. I hope that helps!

Yeah, I definitely got that feel. As someone more quantitatively focused mentors seemed kind of few and far between, and even slimmer based on research interests. I still applied though primarily for the sake of the research lab and Bloomington itself.

Is MSU for the Communication PhD program or the Media & Information PhD? I applied for the Communication track and have heard nothing from them (even after an email).

I went to a university wide recruitment event last semester and their research labs are AMAZING!

At Cleveland State University I took courses with and have the "master" in Persuasion (Richard Perloff) on my thesis committee. He has done a lot of work on religious extremist organizations/cults in his textbook (and I'm assuming in other work too). His BA was in philosophy, and then his MA & PhD were in mass communication. He was a post-doc at Ohio State working for Social Psych, Journalism, and Communication and now is a professor with appointments in Communication, Political Science, and Psych. Unfortunately CSU does not have a PhD program but he may be worth reaching out to and getting his perspective. Here is his bio: http://facultyprofile.csuohio.edu/csufacultyprofile/detail.cfm?FacultyID=R_PERLOFF

Yaaas! So happy for you!!

Yay! That's awesome. There's a professor at Cleveland State that I had a really awesome relationship with (I TA'd for her 2 semesters) who got her MA/PhD in BG's program and taught there for quite a while. Assuming everyone else in that department is as wonderful as she is, I'm sure your friend will have a wonderful experience there.

Media effects, with an emphasis on understanding the role of emotion in the selection of/processing of/persuasive outcomes and other effects of media. Oliver, Myrick, and Shen (in that order, lol). Hoping I don't fan girl too much in the presence of Dr. Oliver. I love her work and her approach to studying media effects.

I feel like any campus visit/interview/etc automatically gets me super interested and excited with a particular program. I have to talk myself down a little bit and not get too starry eyed anytime a prospective program sends something promising my way. It's bad enough even my partner has pointed it out LOL Anyone else suffer from this?

Yes, I will be there! What's your area of interest/POIs? I did, I'm tired of looking at the 'pending' in the application portal.

I received an acceptance from SUNY Buffalo as well! Fingers crossed more good things are coming our way!

I felt relatively positive about my applications when I submitted them. Not in a way that was better than anyone, but rather I had something to offer the programs I applied to and that I felt proud of what I was able to accomplish and experience in my master's program. Now I just feel like an imposter and that they'll see right through me. Even beyond that I'm questioning my average AF GRE scores and unergraduate GPA and am now having a lot of anxiety over it.

Fellow vegan here! I also gained weight in grad school...I think due to a mix of not being mindful of processed/unhealthy carby foods, suddenly becoming very sedentary due to finally having a non-retail job, and not working out. Not that much, about 5-8 pounds but as someone who is 5' 1" that can have a bigger effect than it sounds. Now that I'm done with my third semester in my MA (arguably the most stressful semester in my masters program), I've really concentrated on getting my health back in focus. A couple of things I've been doing that have been helping tremendously: No more than 1-2 servings of processed carbs per week (ie: pasta, bread, anything starchy that comes in a box or bag). Focus on lots of veggies, plant based proteins like tofu, tempeh, beans, etc & whole starches like potatoes/rice Incorporating 1-2 servings of healthy fats every day--nut butters and avocado are my go to lately! Intermittent fasting has made the biggest difference. I have an 8 hour window (11-7) where I eat. It helps with digestion, bloating, and it has definitely helped with appetite control. Gym 2-4x a week.

I've noticed in a couple of the programs I have applied to that it is stated PhD funding is reserved for "exceptionally well qualified candidates" with high GPAs. But for those who have both a Bacherlor's and a Master's, which GPA do they put more emphasis on in determining this? For instance, my undergrad GPA was just ~okay~ (3.3/4.0) for a variety of reasons. However, I really flourished in my master's program and focused on dedicating myself to my courses and opportunities and will be graduating with a 4.0/4.0. Will a 'meh' undergrad GPA take away from a strong performance in my master's program in terms of funding opportunities?

A lovely person in another thread is putting their nervous energy to good use: https://imgur.com/a/IRf4t They went through and did a statistical analysis of COM program acceptances and applicant profiles to compile these charts. While it isn't 100% perfect and I don't see all the major programs on there, it's still a good general base line.

I second the communication chart, pretty plz.

Oh my...I don't think my anxious heart could handle that tbh. The possibility of waiting until March for a couple of programs is enough to get me stressing.

I am currently going back and forth between grad cafe, grad admissions reddit, application portals, program websites, and emails. I feel like I would rather start getting some rejections than stay in this state of limbo