Tanatsu

I've been admitted to three great programs that have invited me to visit their campus, fully covering airfare and lodging. I am currently working in a company and my department has several big projects going on until the end of March, and it seems impossible to take vacation days in March. The three programs have different pros and cons. While I have one program that I am slightly leaning towards, the two other programs are also excellent and have their strengths. So I feel that it is very important that I actually visit and talk to professors and students. I would like to ask those who went to recruitment weekends as well as those who didn't make it. For those who went: What did you earn from visiting the weekends? Did your decision change after visiting schools? For those who didn't go: Do you regret about it? If you didn't visit schools in person, how did you come to a decision eventually?

I was recently accepted to my top choice program in humanities, and if I choose to go to this program, then I will be able to work with a professor who is well-established in their field. But I have one concern. They have about 7 doctoral students already: two 1st-years, two 2nd-years, and one 3rd-year, one 6th-year, one 7th-year. My concern is not just about the fact that they currently have 7 students, but more about the fact that he has about 5 less-advanced(not sure if this is correct wording) students. So by the time I am in my 3rd year preparing for the qualifying exam, then there will be 5 students ahead of me and may be even more new students. When I asked current students about the prof, the students seemed they're really enjoying working with the prof but also commented that the prof is quite busy. I wonder if working with a prof with many advisees would mean getting less attention and having to work hard just to get attention... Any comments would be very much appreciated!!

@asdf1123 Thanks for the info!! And I didn't notice that there was an acceptance already. I didn't apply to Chicago EALC or Columbia EALAC, but I think you should still wait and see! I think it depends a lot on poi whether they interview prospective students or not before admitting them, so I think it's possible that you might get in without interviews. I wish the admissions process was more open and straightforward, but all we can do is just wait and see... But still, congrats on getting admitted to the Penn State program! At least you have been accepted to a great program!! (I have none yet) Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Hello! Another EALC applicant here. My field is Japanese literature and film. I noticed two entries on the result page, for the ALC program at UCLA. Does anyone here want to claim that? I applied to the Japanese literature and film track and wonder if either of those two people also applied to the same track. Nervously waiting for results and refreshing my mailbox everyday...