Ciboney

First result: rejected at Emory U for Interdisciplinary Hispanic Studies PhD. A bit surprised, given my credentials, but relieved because I did not want to live in Atlanta and I was not entirely convinced the program was a good fit for me compared to others. Actually, it was in the bottom of my list after I applied to all the programs. Rejected by email on January 18.

It is the same as the summer. The only trouble --and that was major!-- was during the historic winter with absurd accumulation of snow. The metro and the system in general is most probably the best in the US, but perhaps a bit poorer that most western European areas. People use the bike a lot here too, even in the winter.

I was just checking that. The website for Emory's off-campus lists very expensive housing for a grad student. Emory lacks graduate housing. The area seems to be quite expensive, upper middle-class. And if a person wants to live alone ... The distance between offerings (available) and the campus was not good and it seems to call for a car for groceries and some basic shopping. ?‍♂️ Northwestern's Weinberg College is now offering 32,000 graduate stipend to admitted students. ?

Nah... not yet. In most cases there will be no decision communicated until February. From what I know, there is a slight chance of positive decisions the very last days of January. That is for Spanish or Hispanic Studies. So, until then, I do not pay much attention to electronic mail. By the 28th of this month, I will start checking email several times per day. Until then try to think of other things. We still have a few weeks before news arrive. Try the local pub; that helps sometimes. ☺️

? Let them know that I opened a forum for Spanish/Hispanic Studies as well. ?

We have in common Emory, Maryland, Northwestern, and Wisconsin. They have interviews in literature in English?! It is not standard for literature in Spanish programs, but I have found that some might do it, like Maryland-College Park.

The insanely absurd housing/living costs for graduate students at UC-Berkeley was the reason why I did not apply to their program in my field. I just posted recently a comment about some universities' lack of on-campus housing for their graduate students. For some of us, that is a major element of the equation to apply and/or to accept an offer of admission. Apparently this does not cross the minds of decision-makers involved in graduate students' recruitment or of faculty and administrators dwelling on the prestige of their program or their graduate schools. They lose excellent applicants as a result of this. Instead of sending the application, I went to a pub and drank the money for the application fee. ?

All of the programs that I applied to are considered to be excellent (except one, that is new) and I chose them in part because they did not require GRE. One, Michigan, especifically states that "We have not found it helpful in our admissions decisions and no longer use it."

Stressed out, but way better than about a week ago. Now I am checking "logistics" in all the institutions that I applied to, like housing for graduate students and living expenses in the different places. There is a significant difference among programs! One should not be worrying about how to pay basic bills in the middle of demanding graduate programs; it will affect the quality of one's work and one's health as well. Two of the places I applied to, and probably at the top of my list academically, have decent housing options. They have just gained extra points in the game. Why is it that some universities do not have graduate housing on campus or nearby, yet they state that they are proud of the quality of their programs and their commitment to graduate stuides? They have off-campus "services" instead. And the rents in some places are as bad as Boston's or San Francisco! oh, but yeah... I am less stressed out now... ?

Information for applicants: beware of funding packages for graduate students in many programs. I just found out that "full tuition" as part of the "full funding" (normally with health insurance) does NOT include "university feees" or "students' fees". The "fully funded" students are responsible for those. Student fees can amount to US$2,000-3,000 PER SEMESTER in some institutions that I have applied to. Take THAT into consideration. Thank God --so to speak-- that one program was very clear about that important issue in their information in the Internet!

You are surrounded by a lot of people with serious problems of communication. Students should explain in private their inability to meet deadlines. Those professors are disorganized and unprofessional as well. Be patient since there is little you can do under those circumstances. I would advise those students to be more responsible and, for the future, I would include in the syllabus the consequences for not handing work as scheduled in the course syllabus or that they MUST talk to you in private about any problems they might have surrounding the work they have to do.

Zsayre... Are you in linguistics or literature? That is important too. Sometimes a program admits in one of the two areas more than in the other, from what I have seen since I started researching this. I am in literature; that is why I am not particularly hopeful regarding a couple of places. ALSO: So that you can apply to others (but you better hurry!) Check for fee waivers in SOME graduate schools like this one: " To qualify for this waiver, we expect you to fit the U.S Department of Education definition of “low income." Click here to view federal levels. International applicants are eligible for this fee waive". This one is from Emory University, although their deadline for Hispanic Studies is past due. But others might have that for international students too. Usually non-US citizens are not eligible.

I will let you know when I hear from them since I intend to keep the "conversation" open until April or so. It can go either way. Don't get disappointed if you do not make it to Michigan! The candidates are very competitive and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in general is among the top 15 in the world according to those ridiculous 6 or 7 rankings that are around. And decisions are quite subjective and based on many factors, not just grades or writing samples, etc.

It means that, since that program is currently not accredited, the program is either new or not a good program or both. Unless you know for sure that the graduates have found employment in the field, regardless, you should apply to other programs with more secure placement prospects. That is how I see it, based on a relatively long life in academic circles.

First, I would write something on why I am interested in both areas of study, personally; that is why I spent the next few years of my life studying that. I would then mention my job prospects, what I want to do with it, ideally, and where (geographic area and/or organizations, corporations, agencies). Then I would continue with another part detailing (apparently, some members of committees cannot read records well or put one and one together from a transcript with course names and you have to repeat in essays what they already saw in the record) what things have made you an excellent candidate for the program (like a particular focus the program has, eg. international issues to tackle in environmental issues, specific faculty with sound research on the areas or professional experience in the areas, ), including courses you have taken at the undergrad level or professors who inspired you to continue on that path. Good luck! That is all I can say.

I would keep this information private. Logically, there is no need for any committee to know to what institutions a candidate is applying to. Their sole purpose should be to determine the applicant's abilities to function in their program. Also, does a committee share with you the names of the other candidates that are also applying to their program?!

hi Zsayre. I applied to Michigan as well. I found out that, sometimes, Michigan's Department of Romance Languages has contacted applicants in late January! I also applied to Illinois-Urbana, Madison-Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Emory. Still working on three others that depend on "cash flow" for the fees. Michigan is very tough, but a strong program. I originally wanted to start with an MA program, but they only accept PhD students; the MA is granted incidentally, en route. I do not have much hope for this one, to be honest, but gave it a try. Only about a week and a half left for the other ones I am applying to: Colorado-Boulder, Maryland-College Park, and Pittsburgh. Did you know that, according to Rackham Grad School statistics, Romance Languages accept about 10 students out of a pool of about 50?

My advice is for you to inform the department (its "graduate coordinator")to which you are applying about the matter and ask them or the graduate division of the university. I am naively assuming that if TOEL "releases" the scores on January, it should only take minutes for the institution to receive those scores. That is, if the "release" is done electronically, via the Internet.

Since December-January are the deadline months to apply to most graduate programs for the Fall Semester, I decided to start this topic. I am applying to several programs and want to see if those in the same boat can share news or advice about the process. Including news about their experiences.