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I (painfully) declined my offer to UCR today. I hope this helps someone on the waitlist! They were so incredibly kind and helpful throughout this whole process. I was also offered the Eugene Cota Robles award, so hopefully that will be given to someone else now.

USC’s visit is officially canceled. I really don’t know how I’ll make a decision now :(

Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense. I’m not sure what the benefit of waiting would be. I hope you hear from them soon!

Thank you! I’m so excited! I’ve been a big fan of their department for a while now. They seem to treat students really well, and I love that they did away with the GRE last year. I’m looking forward to visiting.

Yeah, I wish they would announce the waitlist and send out rejections because it doesn’t look like they’ve done either. But, the person who was appointed as Director of Grad Admissions left unexpectedly so someone else had to take over, and I believe it’s her first time. So, that may be part of the reason. what are your research interests?

Who did you email? The only person I’ve had correspondence with is Susan Zieger, who came on last minute to serve as Director or Grad Admissions when Robb Hernandez left.

I have 6 friends who have either completed their PhDs from UCR or are currently in the program. All 6 have said nothing but great things about the program. The three that I know who have graduated have all landed tenure track positions. One just got hired at university of Hawaii and another is at USC. They seem to do well with placing people, but they aren’t good at updating their placement lists. All three of the people I personally know who have graduated and gotten TT positions in the last couple years are not on their current list. So, hopefully that brings you some comfort. If you have the opportunity to do a PhD at UCR straight out of your BA, I would strongly consider taking it. It is a good program and well-funded. The grad student environment is also great. are you going to the open house next week?

UCR’s campus visit is next Wednesday, March 4th. I heard from another poster that they were trying to keep the incoming cohort to 4 students this year. But, another poster seemed to be unsure of whether they would accept the offer, and I’m currently leaning towards declining my offer. However, I’ll need to attend my campus visits before I make a decision one way or another. But, it’s looking like I’ll be declining. So, hopefully that gives you some hope.

In at USC! I was offered an amazing 5 year funding package that includes a 3 year fellowship. Now it’s decision time.

Update: I got in! I was shocked to find an acceptance email today. Apparently they called and left me a voicemail over the weekend, but I never got a voicemail or had a missed call. The email was so kind and included all of the committee comments about my application. This ends my cycle. 2 acceptances and 1 rejection. USC offered me an amazing funding package. I had my heart set on UCR, but now I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Good luck to everyone who’s still waiting for news! I really wasn’t expecting to get in. You really never know when good news will pop up!

You’ll love it! Irvine is a really nice area to live in. I’d rather live there than LA.

Yeah, USC was willing to overlook my missing letter. Luckily, my letter writer eventually submitted one. But, I’ve heard many departments don’t fault the applicant for a missing letter.

UCI has a beautiful campus. I presented at their queer theory conference, and they were incredibly welcoming. Did you do your undergrad in CA?

Same! I’m anxious to get the final rejection/acceptance. I’ll likely end up choosing UCR anyways, but it would be nice to have options.

Has anyone else heard from USC? I saw one acceptance on the board