6fifths

Well, Decision Day (for the first round at least) is approaching, and I accepted the offer from LSU. The virtual visit wasn't ideal, but my gut still says it's the best choice I had available (and frankly, the thought of taking this year off, and waiting to see what happens with the programs that did not accept applications this year sounded miserable) so I pulled the trigger. Now for the "how do I afford to live and not starve in Baton Rouge on my assistantship" song and dance.

I've been asking a LOT of questions trying to determine which is the best fit culturally, academically, and financially. I was a little lucky in that I haven't gotten a rejection yet and every program I applied to offered funding, so I kinda got to skip Step One of "cut any place where I would starve." But then I compared funding packages in comparison to cost of living, and ended up cutting New Mexico from my list off the bat. Then I started asking about cultural fit in the department/college. I asked Maine and LSU how they each manage to minimize burnout in the program/how students manage their responsibilities. Both had good answers (v basic "we try to be collaborative, not competitive!" stuff), so I asked for current students' contact info to sniff around what they think. Again, both solid answers. I talked to Dr. Herakova at Maine about some of the interactions I had with some alums, and that helped clear some stuff up, too. I also asked about what it was like to live in Orono or Baton Rogue, and both programs had folks who leveled with me because they pretty easily sniffed out what I was really asking. I appreciated that, tbh. But a lot of questions were about work load, the closeness of cohorts, travel groups for conferences, etc. Then a lot of it came down to asking a LOT of questions about how my work/interests fit in with the rest of the department. I am into disability studies, but I don't wanna get shoehorned into health comm as a bad replacement. Like, I've done REUs and worked with data sets where I wasn't thrilled about the work, but I definitely can't do that long-term. I'd burn out instantly. So I asked about coursework, and how I would be able to apply my interests. Eventually, I sat down with my advisor over Zoom with all the emails pulled up and we figured out which program seemed like the best fit possible as a combination of funding, research fit, and cultural fit. It took like 30 minutes of chatting but we figured it out.

Just about. I've started looking for apartments, and emailed folks in the department telling them I am close to 100% to enroll, but I am waiting to formally accept until I can get ahold of my dad over Zoom and tell him the news.

It was really neat! I think Maine was my second choice, and the funding was pretty solid! I think what kept me from accepting their offer was the fact that the disability studies part of the program was VERY focused on accessibility tech and health comm research. Both are EXCELLENT, but not my thing as much. (Very small part of my decision: having spent the first 18 years of my life in Chicago, the next 4 in Western Illinois/Eastern Iowa, and the last 3 years in Minnesota...I am very very done with Midwest winters and I never want to see snow again.) Oooooh, let me know if you end up getting in! It'd be nice to already know someone in Baton Rouge when our programs start!

lmao, I was SO confused by that tbh. I got my acceptance on the 28th, and when someone said apps closed on the 25th, I was like "No way I panicked on New Year's Eve WAYYYYY too hard for the 25th to be the deadline." Do you know if you're gonna go to LSU?

Oooooh, this is EXCELLENT advice! The questions you ask are likely to also be used to determine how well you fit. I know with Maine, I asked how the program manages burnout among the students, and if there were any common strategies/hobbies/etc that students in Orono turn to so they don't lose it. The question was received VERY well, and I got a p honest answer. But if your gut says that an answer wasn't super honest, you should probably email after and ask if you can talk to some current students.

Oh, did you apply to the Media & Public Affairs program? I have heard SUCH good things about it!

So far I've heard from LSU's Comm PhD, Maine's PhD (concentrating in Disability Studies), and New Mexico's PhD programs, all acceptances with funding. Currently waiting on South Florida, but with acceptances starting to roll in 2 weeks ago, I'm fairly certain I am either rejected or waitlisted. From what I know, New Mexico's funding is VERY limited, too. I think they said they're only taking 5 funded spots. I think I'm gonna accept LSU's offer, though. My thesis is already autoethnographic, and I absolutely love performance studies. (I'd just have to get creative to shoehorn disability studies into basically anything I do, lol.) I'm honestly SUPER excited. My MA GPA was only about a 3.5, but it looks like I am getting carried a bit by my GRE scores and my CV. I wasn't really expecting to get into LSU at all, but I'm not gonna whine about it.

I'm fairly certain they mean by April 15th, being the hard deadline. But generally speaking, if you make your decision before then, you should probably let them know ASAP so they can contact other folks they might want and ship the funding they have earmarked for you to someone else!

Oh, nice! Congratulations! I just got word that I got into Maine with funding. I'm trying to figure out where each program I got into stacks against the others, but having options is definitely the good kind of stress.