karamazov

Resurrecting this thread for 2020 to see if anyone can offer some intel on State College and the surrounding area. I’m seriously considering an MA/PhD offer from the English program at Penn State, but one of my major concerns is finding housing that’s affordable on a stipend of about $22K over nine months (or about $25K over twelve months if I’m offered summer teaching). 
I’ll be moving with my partner and our large, dopey, lovable dog—so we’re hoping to rent a single-family home, townhouse, or duplex with some semblance of a yard. (We’ll also be a two-income household eventually, but are planning on my partner potentially being unemployed for the first few months if he can’t secure a job ahead of our move in August). It looks like we’ll be priced out of most of the rentals in State College, but Bellefonte seems promising. 
So, anyone have an experience living in Bellefonte and attending Penn State? I have a car, so I’m not worried about having to drive to campus...unless the parking situation is super terrible? Can anyone shed some light on that? (I did some research on PSU’s website but couldn’t determine if the school only issues as many parking permits as there are parking spaces, or if it will be a daily struggle to find a spot.) Also, what’s the public transportation like from Bellefonte to campus?
And are there any rental sites or companies I should know about (for good or bad)? I’ve mostly been using Craigslist and Trulia, which seem relatively representative of what available housing is out there, but would appreciate any other recommendations from those who are wiser than I.
(Oh, and the typical disclaimers about Penn State being rural AF need not apply to me: I grew up in a pretty rural part of eastern PA, so I’m familiar with the usual small-town pitfalls. I’m also butting up against 30, so I don’t mind a slower-paced lifestyle. That said, any additional insight on State College, Bellefonte, and/or Penn State itself is greatly appreciated!)

Committed just now to Cornell's Medieval Studies PhD program, good luck to everyone else!

FINALLY got an acceptance. Feels really good :) Thankfully, I was able to attend the visit day before all the cancellations.

I've had an overall disappointing round this year in terms of PhD programs, but I did find out today that I've been accepted to the MA/MSIS in English and Information Studies at UT-Austin! This is especially exciting because this means I'll be able to close the gap with my partner after being long distance for over a year. 

being married to a prince helped

not to be too cynical, but i think the real selfish fear to be had in how this will affect academia is in how it might affect the future of teaching as a profession
a lot of campuses have shut down and made all their classes into online classes already, and i'm guessing many more will follow amidst this hysteria. once schools realize they can effectively get away with running everything online (if things are able to run smoothly enough along), then there might be more of a push toward online education, meaning less jobs! less pay! and, reportedly, less knowledge-retention for students! obviously online education is a much more nuanced thing itself, and it can be really positive in enabling nontraditional students to access higher education - however, the move toward total online education would not be great for the plight of the adjunct (understatement of the year)
 
and as has already been said here and elsewhere, the immunocompromised are the most likely to be seriously affected by the coronavirus. what's special about this virus is in how it can be spread so quickly without carriers ever even exhibiting symptoms (for around 14 days of incubation!). with this being the case, along with the absolute inadequacy (and moral corruption) of both our healthcare system and our social safety net in the united states, the virus is much more likely to be spread and much more likely to affect these individuals. i don't foresee the actual virus lasting long past the traditional flu season and into the summertime, but what i think and hope will be more lasting is the outrage it inspires toward these systems. im already on my soapbox, so if you all are looking for a reason to get politically involved, this it it! there couldn't be a more timely reason to join the fight for universal healthcare in the united states!
 

Hi all! 
I’m late to the party as I’ve only just learned of this site in my frantic Googling trying to find out when I might receive decisions. (Checking my email every five minutes is getting old.) 
However, I’ll hop on the bandwagon and share the decisions from the schools I have heard back from! So far I’ve been accepted to University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Indiana University- Pennsylvania, and Ball State. Still waiting to hear back from Purdue and University of Arizona. 
 
Congrats and good luck, everyone! 

Accepted to Texas A&M's MA program in English and Toronto's MA program in Medieval Studies (rejected from their PhD program which I had initially applied to). Probably will be turning both of them down because of money constraints/an option I am really excited about but it was news that was nice to hear!

I’m......in at BU. What? What? I...HUH?

I'll definitely send you a DM after the visit to give you my impression of the area! 

After a ridiculously wonderful visit at Yale, I've decided not to visit Michigan and Cornell and have officially accepted Yale's offer. SUCH PEACE!

Same!!

After weeks of sitting on what I thought was an implied rejection from NYU, I've just learned that though I wasn't accepted to the PhD, I have been accepted to the MA. Definitely won't take it (it's only partially funded), but it reduces my number of outright rejections, so that's a comfort to my ego if nothing else.

I'd definitely suggest really scoping out the rental markets in the areas around all of the schools you're considering. Before applying I made my list of schools based in part on areas I liked and could imagine myself (and my partner) living in for 5-6 years, but I (stupidly) didn't crosscheck my assumptions about the cost of living in certain cities with actual rent prices. This mostly applies to Boston- I had visited before and really loved the area, and just, for some reason, assumed that since it wasn't NYC or DC, rent would be moderately reasonable. I ended up applying to four PhD programs in the area, and not until after I started getting acceptances did I really begin to understand just how much it would cost me to keep up the standard of living to which I'm accustomed. So, definitely be realistic with yourself about how much you (and, if you're planning to move with a partner, your partner) are comfortable spending on living expenses each month. I had more or less assumed I wouldn't really be getting into any PhD programs straight out of undergrad, so I guess all of the details just didn't seem real to me? Since I saw being accepted anywhere as such a long shot, I think I had a sort of "I doubt I'll get in but if I do I'll figure out the details later (as if getting in would even happen, lol)" attitude. So, I'd say that while yes, you need to be prepared for the worst, you also need to be prepared for the best. Oh, and another aspect of preparing for the best- if you're applying as a senior in undergrad, even if you doubt, like I did, that you'll come out of your first cycle with any acceptances, make sure you figure out beforehand how you'll handle missing class to visit programs. I had been so stressed about completing my applications and hearing back that I never really gave much thought to the logistics of campus visits while still a full-time undergraduate student. So I guess that while yes, there's always a very real possibility of not getting any acceptances, there's also a very real possibility of getting acceptances, so make sure you're ready for both outcomes and all that those outcomes entail. 
 

I did just read some amazing news that lightened my sour mood, though. Apparently the University of Houston is waiving tuition for undergrads who come from families who have AGI's under 65K. So many students who may have gone into debt, or just not gone at all, are going to be able to go to college! There are some happy tears mixed in with the sad. 

They should definitely write back to close the loop. The email might have gotten lost--perhaps a good idea to send a quick-follow up like "Dear so and so, I was hoping to confirm receipt of my earlier email to ensure that you're aware that I have made the difficult decision not to attend X." 

WashU for me this Fall!

No, because the universe is enjoying our torment too much.

Also in at UC Santa Barbara! And with that, my PhD app season is over. Phew. Now just waiting on the rest of my MFA decisions to trickle in ?

I'd definitely suggest really scoping out the rental markets in the areas around all of the schools you're considering. Before applying I made my list of schools based in part on areas I liked and could imagine myself (and my partner) living in for 5-6 years, but I (stupidly) didn't crosscheck my assumptions about the cost of living in certain cities with actual rent prices. This mostly applies to Boston- I had visited before and really loved the area, and just, for some reason, assumed that since it wasn't NYC or DC, rent would be moderately reasonable. I ended up applying to four PhD programs in the area, and not until after I started getting acceptances did I really begin to understand just how much it would cost me to keep up the standard of living to which I'm accustomed. So, definitely be realistic with yourself about how much you (and, if you're planning to move with a partner, your partner) are comfortable spending on living expenses each month. I had more or less assumed I wouldn't really be getting into any PhD programs straight out of undergrad, so I guess all of the details just didn't seem real to me? Since I saw being accepted anywhere as such a long shot, I think I had a sort of "I doubt I'll get in but if I do I'll figure out the details later (as if getting in would even happen, lol)" attitude. So, I'd say that while yes, you need to be prepared for the worst, you also need to be prepared for the best. Oh, and another aspect of preparing for the best- if you're applying as a senior in undergrad, even if you doubt, like I did, that you'll come out of your first cycle with any acceptances, make sure you figure out beforehand how you'll handle missing class to visit programs. I had been so stressed about completing my applications and hearing back that I never really gave much thought to the logistics of campus visits while still a full-time undergraduate student. So I guess that while yes, there's always a very real possibility of not getting any acceptances, there's also a very real possibility of getting acceptances, so make sure you're ready for both outcomes and all that those outcomes entail. 
 

Out at Harvard and Penn (totally expected)! But in at UC Santa Barbara! Which is wonderful (seriously, I love this program so much) and complicates my life substantially! The roller coaster continues! lol

Accepted to ASU's MA in English! 

In at Santa Barbara!

HELLO, FRIENDS! I just received word that I'm on the waitlist at UNC Chapel Hill!! I am so excited and so flattered that they are seriously considering me and I would absolutely die if I got in! The DGS sent a very kind letter and he sounded positive about the likelihood of admission! Still, I know I shouldn't get my hopes up too much, but I really am extremely pleased that it wasn't the rejection I expected. I had thought I'd have my decision made by the middle of March, but it looks like I'm going to be in this for the long haul! 
(Also, I sure wasn't expecting an email from the DGS at 10:59pm.)

FYI, I'm going to go ahead and email the Boston U DGS.