you'll_never_get_to_heaven

...and just accepted into CSU L.A., which is/was in a three-way tie for M.A. programs for me! No information about funding, etc., just a brief but pleasant email from the director of graduate admissions. I've been cutting everyone a break this admissions cycle, so I've only expected brief emails from anyone and I've been delighted to get anything else. Everything from simply processing documents to evaluating funding and hiring freezes has become so much more difficult Yeah, the faculty at UNM are really up to some interesting work that is very hard to confine to any bubble, and all of them have been really pleasant.

Lots of spots around Rogers St. north of 4th are up for rent right now. Not sure on pricing, but at least some houses in the area are affordable (my share of rent is $400 a month) and it's within walking distance of downtown and campus. Very close to a co-op grocery store and walking distance from a Kroger. Not many if any undergrad students, although it does get kinda weird.

Accepted University of New Mexico's M.A. offer. Virtually sitting in on Dr. Paul Livingston's Sense and Possibility class. Honestly, pretty stoked to see a course that discusses Deleuze and Frege. A lot of the conty-analytic divide is a bunch of nerdy infighting and pearl-clutching. If I get better offers from CSU Long Beach or CSU L.A., it's going to be a really tough decision because I really like the faculty at UNM, the interests of the department align well with my own, and the students seem to be of a higher caliber than other programs I was accepted into.

I'm also curious about the M.A. deadlines. According to the email from one, admissions decisions are made roughly 4-6 weeks after the grad school itself clears the prospective student and the dept has received all app materials. So, before the deadline. I wish I'd known that, because I would've submitted my application earlier and noted that 4-6 week timeline to my letter writers. I'd rather not commit to a school at the regular deadline, and then take it back because of a better offer from another school, but it looks like that might be what I do.

Wrong forum. We aren't social and we don't work.

Anyone know of other good M.A. programs with later application deadlines? Thanks in advance!

Man, I'd be really pissed if this happened, but deferring admission until the second quarter or second semester wouldn't be an awful idea. I'm sure as hell not doing a grad program over Zoom. That's ludicrous.

I dunno, I think it's really a minor problem that isn't unusual, people have been griping about it for years, and I'm sure admissions committees have plenty of complaints about applications that will also never be resolved. Students wait til the last minute to decide, etc. Hell, I wish I could make a decision before April 15th, but I doubt I'll be able to! On top of that, M.A.s I applied to don't even have deadlines until the Summer - so if I got a good offer from one of those programs, I very well might reneg on an offer I accepted previously. Shitty? Yes. Understandable? Yes.

I'd think so. It's also been difficult to talk to students/faculty at current programs, since all are really busy right now. Some places have extended spring breaks, etc. I'd imagine it's a very shitty time.

CSULA does have a good placement record, although UNM's is pretty strong into programs I'm most interested in and I believe would be good into other programs I'd be considering (Northwestern, etc.). As far as faculty goes, UNM is very, very strong in most of my areas of interest. It's also a pretty small and new program (they've graduate roughly two M.A. students a year since 2005). CSULA hasn't updated placement in a while, apparently because the whole website is being redone at the moment (I emailed and asked). CSU LA's placement is a bit more diverse, which is nice. I'll definitely apply to CSU LA, as it makes pretty good sense to do so. Other schools that already had deadlines but are still accepting applicants... ehhhhh, maybe not. I've got enough options on my plate right now! I've talked to students at both, and all were highly enthused about their respective programs. I might PM you later!

I'd agree, but it should be noted that some programs offer funding packages that are almost completely negligible when you look at living expenses, etc. You end up paying more (and experiencing more financial distress in general) than you would if you attended programs that, for example, offer in-state tuition rates soon or immediately upon arrival or have a robust student worker system and good labor conditions. Those are factors I didn't initially look into. It's very clear to me now that labor conditions at a university are really, really important to know about before you commit. Many of my friends from my undergrad who are already in (or recently completed) graduate programs did not consider those factors and have emphasized those to me. That funding doesn't look as attractive when you're living in a hovel with a ~30 minute commute to school in a city where food and gas are much more expensive than elsewhere in the country - oh, and then your funding runs out because it's going to take you longer to complete the degree for whatever unforeseen reason, but the state you're in doesn't consider you a resident and you're stuck paying full tuition.

Anyone know a whole lot about CSU LA and/or CSU Long Beach? The only concern I have about UNM at this point is that it is not in a location with a cluster of universities, although since it is an M.A. that is less of a concern. Still, it's obvious that there's a larger scholarly community in any coastal city. The Stony Brook program looks actually pretty good and the students I've emailed are very enthused about the program (and it really is unique), but UNM has reliable placement data and seems to be overall a safer bet. It's also a growing department with younger faculty, so I'd imagine the faculty have more of an actual reason to invest in current students than at more esteemed universities with several professors in their 70s and 80s.

I'm debating whether to apply to more or not, because honestly only a fully-funded offer at any of them would make sense. In terms of faculty strengths, the only terminal M.A. that was the best fit for me was Georgia State. New Mexico looks to be my best bet by far, and it's the only M.A. program (to my knowledge) that covers my principle areas of interest. If I really want to do a PhD, I want to have a much more thorough background in German Idealism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, etc. first.

Since I was born in Indianapolis and already knew a lot of people in Bloomington, I never had much of a roommate problem. I would suggest craiglist, or contacting current students in the department you're attending. I would suggest looking at the southside and westside if you want to avoid undergrads (Rogers St. area has many reasonable spots). I'm not a student, but I live "downtown" and very close to campus and there are very few if any undergrads near me.

I suppose I got "shut out", but it doesn't bother me like it does some. My only regret is that I didn't apply to more terminal M.A. programs, because I felt that was a better fit for me anyway. I was told I really should apply to some PhD programs. I'm not dismayed at attending an M.A. I like the program I'm planning to attend, I'll learn an incredible amount, and I'll refine/develop important research, public speaking, time management, and pedagogical skills. Even if I don't go on to pursue a PhD, I'm certain it'll be worthwhile and I have a whole list of organizations I plan to email about internship/employment opportunities and how my research plays into that. Worst case scenario, I'm pretty certain I could get a position teaching at the high school I attended with an M.A. (my sister currently works there, etc.) and I think a graduate program will serve as an excellent springboard into other life plans I am considering. In order to figure out some things personally and intellectually, I really need to pursue in depth study. Furthermore, I have a good friend from college who is in a PhD program I applied to this season, and she's expressed that she may have been better off in an M.A. program. Finally, I'd rather realize that a philosophy PhD is not for me during the first or second year of an M.A. program than come to the same realization in a PhD program in a very expensive city hundreds or thousands of miles away from my home-state without a car or a back up plan.

I can confirm Stony Brook has cancelled visits.

honestly, I get along just fine with many people who are very much not the sort of persons who would ever entertain graduate school, and many who didn't attend four-year college. I'm enthused about grad school, but I'm not pretending for a second that I won't find at least some of the other people to be obnoxious precisely because they are "smart" people. Kinda makes me nervous about starting graduate school - I don't wanna be stuck with only academic nerds.

I was thinking more along the lines of other issues brought up by some, and dismissed by others. I'm fairly certain everyone is aware that even with full tuition remission, it's a reach.

Just a bump because I know I and a few others were admitted to NSSR this season, and perhaps there's more to say about it.

Really gotta say, UNM's M.A. program looks more attractive by the day.

giving this a mild bump since this looks like my best option.

Can anyone tell me about the M.A. programs at Texas Tech and CSU Long Beach? I'm planning on submitting apps to CSU LA and Wisconsin-Milwaukee this upcoming weekend after I inform my recommenders of my plan. I am planning on accepting New Mexico's admissions offer, but it couldn't hurt to have a few more options to worth with.

I have a good friend who attended that program. He liked it - great courses and faculty - but he admitted having attended it with some embarrassment. I asked my adviser about some unfunded MA offers I had received, and he said he didn't know about the ones I had been accepted to (possibly worth accepting, possibly not). He said some are "notorious money making schemes" and used the Chicago program as his example. So, I would give it a solid "no", unless you have some sort of very large fund to draw upon.

I actually initially planned only on applying to MAs, as one of my advisers suggested. He teaches at his/my alma mater, and said that entering into a PhD program out of a small liberal arts college is difficult, because students from the Ivies, etc. have a more well-rounded background than you and so on. But the chair of my undergraduate dept and a friend who graduated a year after me said that I should definitely apply to PhD programs and that I had a very good chance of getting into my top choice programs. My good friend is currently in her first year in an excellent PhD program and has said she thinks a terminal MA might've been a better decision for her in retrospect. So, I'm not dismayed at the prospect of attending an MA, but I do require better funding than I have been offered as of now. I'm trying to think of ways to negotiate better offers, hopefully I'll get some emails/letters out this weekend. All of the MA offers I've gotten are programs that would be great for me, it's all a matter of money now.

Rejected from all PhDs, offered two M.A. positions but without funding or insufficient funding opportunities I need to figure out, admitted into one M.A. I applied to but with insufficient funding, and waiting on Georgia State's decision. Really, really hope I get into GSU. The decision should be coming soon.