Tazo11

Hi All, I will starting my Ph.D. program in Rhetoric and Public Culture (School of Communication) at NU in the fall. Trying to start interacting with students who will also be entering in the fall. Cool thing is that I was born and raised in Chicago; however, I did my undergrad and masters outside of the Chicago-area. I will be living in Rogers Park ((3 blocks from the Howard Station--Purple/Red/Yellow lines). If you are starting at Northwestern, please partake in the forum here. By the way, is there a group on FB yet? Go Wildcats!!

Its official. I will be attending Northwestern in the fall. I am in the Rhetoric and Public Culture (School of Communication) program.

Accepted my offer to attend Northwestern University in the School of Communication. Will study in the Rhetoric and Public Culture program. Glad I will never have to apply to Ph.D. programs again in my life. This is such a brutal and draining process. Nonetheless, I wish all of you well in your future endeavors. I hope you all were accepted to the schools of your choice, and more importantly, that you will have options. Good luck!

Hi, I was in your boat several weeks ago. Northwestern University invited me to a similar weekend--I hadn't received and acceptance or rejection. They invited there top 8 students, those that essentially made the short list. They paid for everything, airline, taxi/shuttle, and hotel (Hilton). Nonetheless, it was a jammed pack three days. The first day we mostly met with faculty and committee members and on the second day we mingled with grad students and faculty. Our days were filled from like 8-5pm. Remember, none of us had been accepted yet; however, we were the top 8 candidates out of roughly 90 applicants. We later found out the visit was to get familiar with the program and also for them to gauge us off of paper while checking for fit. Ultimately, out of the 8 students that visited, they only accepted 5 students, myself and four other students. The only scary part about the visit was when we had our 20-minute faculty meetings. All this to say, when you visit, be on you p's and q's, as you haven't been officially accepted yet. This can be the final process before final decisions are made. Be yourself though but remember as you are checking them out they are also checking you out. If you go out to have drinks, drink light beverages, only to keep conversations going. Oh and know your stuff!! I can't stress that enough. Have a couple of key-terms that describe what your research interest are. This is extremely important. Also, have questions for them about the program (also, this will give you a little control of the interview/meeting). Lastly, be happy, being selected is a big deal!!! Good Luck!

I was accepted into the Rhetoric and Public Culture program at Northwestern!!! They made only 5 offers this year. So excited! Will most likely attend in the fall! Good luck everyone!

I will most likely be attending Northwestern in the Fall of 2013! I was accepted; however, I haven't made my final decision yet. I am from Chicago so I am excited about the prospects of living back in the area!

I am currently here at NU for the Rhetoric and Public Culture Program. There are 8 of us visiting. Just finished meeting with the graduate committee--we each had individual meetings with the faculty. I am told that we are the top 8 out of the 90 apps in the RPC program and those admitted will be pulled from the top 8 that are visiting now. We are hear until Sunday. Also, all of the other programs in the School of Communication are also here on the recruitment/interview weekend. This includes Performance Studies, Screen Cultures, and Communication Sciences, etc. My guess is that the students who are admitted will be chosen from those visiting. You are right: they have not sent out official rejections nor acceptances--at least not yet. Good luck all!

Hi, I am the WSU acceptance, I got the email a few days ago. I visited them two weeks ago--my interview must have went well. It was the only American Studies program I applied to. All of my other programs are in Communication. Good luck all!

Hi, As a Chicagoan and also someone who will possibly be attending Northwestern in the Fall, I can assure you that the commute to Evanston from northside neighborhoods in the city are not long. Believe it or not, outside of New York, Chicago has the best transportation system in the United States. Its system is second-to-none and is constantly going through renovations. Equally important to note is that there is a specific train that travels between Evanston and Downtown Chicago, the "Purple Line," yes, because NU's color's are purple. What is more, most graduate students at NU tend to reside in northside neighborhoods like Rogers Park, Andersonville, Ravenswood, Edgewater, and some even live in Lincoln Park. With the transportation system and more than enough time, one can commute with ease and safety. Additionally, I would conjecture that living in the city is much better than living in Evanston because of diversity of neighborhoods and the local communities that individuals create. Not too mention there is more to do in the "city" than there is in Evanston (a college town). Oh, what is cool about going to school in the city of Chicago is that you can get a U-Pass, which will allow you to ride all of the buses and trains for free during the quarter systems. I was born and raised in Chicago and am very familiar with almost every neighborhood and just the city in general. If you have any questions, please feel free to connect with me.

Hey Pericles II.ii. 48, I am the one who posted the UMass acceptance. Got an email from Dr. Carbaugh this morning informing me of the funding package being offered to me. 18k for four years. FYI (my count): Northwestern (Finalist, invited to an all-expense paid visit at end of the month) University of Washington (Accepted with full funding) University of Denver (Accepted with full funding) University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Accepted with full funding) Washington State Univ. (Unofficial acceptance) University of North Carolina-CH (Rejected) University of Penn (Rejected) Best of luck to you all!

Hey annaf117, I heard from Northwestern's RPC on Jan. 20th informing me that I'd been selected as 1 of the 8 students that made the admission shortlist. Dr. Jan Radway, Director of Rhetoric and Public Culture, has contacted all of the eight students to be invited to Northwestern University at the end of this month for an all-expense paid visit from Feb. 28 to March 3, 2013. In fact, she has been in more frequent contact with us as we approach the campus visit. This is not to say that they have extended all invitations because there is no way for me to know that. However, given our email exchanges, I believe they have decided on the top 8 (also, the amount of slots that have for admissions) out of the 90 applications they received. I hope this is helpful for you and good luck with the schools you are still waiting to hear from!

My Acceptance/Rejection count: 1. University of Denver (Accepted--competitive offer) 2. Northwestern University (Finalist--invited to all-expense paid campus visit at end of month) 3. University of Washington (Accepted--full funding + $1000 moving reimbursement) 4. University of North Carolina (Rejected) 5. University of Pennsylvania (Rejected) 6. Washington State University (Accepted) 7. University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Awaiting) I am very excited, the schools I got rejected from were not a top choice for me. Good luck all!

I applied to UPenn Annenberg as well. While I've heard great news from my top choices Denver and Northwestern, I am still anxious/nervous to hear back from UPenn. Hopefully we will hear something soon. Do they do interviews or do they just accept/reject without interviewing top candidates?

Noticed that folks applied to Northwestern? Which area? Rhetoric and Public Culture, Performance Studies, or Media and Technology Studies? I know that folks have already been invited for paid visit/interview weekend, myself included. Nonetheless, wishing you all the best!

I've been nominated for the University Presidential Fellowship at Washington State in the American Studies program, specifically for the Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies program. Additionally, received a call inviting me to visit Feb. 6-9th during which I will have dinner with the president of WSU. So, it seems like they are making decisions. This is the first school I've heard from out of the seven I've applied to. My top are University of Denver and Northwestern.

Hi Makedada, Just a line of caution, I have several friends who are either at NU or left that have informed me that the community isn't that friendly and the environment can become very "fake." Meaning, the people that you would consider your colleagues/friends/peers aren't really, they use you to get ahead. Of course, as graduate students, this type of environment isn't new. For example, places like NYU, Columbia, and other Ivies have had cases where graduate students hide things from their fellow colleagues to get ahead. Moreover, as with most programs, there is a lot of favoritism (by faculty members) in the African American Studies program at NU. Nonetheless, if there is someone there that you really want to work with and they you, and you have talked to the faculty member than I say go. Graduate school experiences vary from person-to-person; therefore, your experience there might be better than some of my friends of colleagues I've talked to at conferences. With all this being said, make the decision that is best for you--avoid basing decision solely off of others experiences. Indeed, consider their input, but remember, this is your graduate school experience. Also, what exactly are you studying? Advice I got from professors in several disciplines (including African American Studies): If you work focus on race, gender, sexuality, culture, identity, and so forth and so on, consider programs such as American Studies and/or Cultural Studies, or other interdisciplinary programs, because you will be able to do similar research while increasing your options and chances of getting funded. Best, hope this is useful!

Any word on UNC? I haven't received anything yet. I noticed on the results page some got "rejected" via email. Also, the "MyUNC" system isn't work so I can't check my status. Worrying a little bit.

Congrats!!! My mentor/advisor is a PhD of U of Denver. My closest friend is in the PhD program there. In addition, a close friend of mine Dr. Bernadette Calafell is the grad director there. Also, Dr. Richie Hao is a graduate of my current institution. I have a lot of connections there. Hmmm....why I didn't I apply there, now I'm wondering. Nevertheless, I heard Denver is amazing.

Sorry to hear that, I'm sure good news will come your way soon. I got rejected from Northwestern, I was sad at first, not too worried now.

I just checked mine too, got rejected! Maybe it wasn't the right fit for me, I thought it was. Anyway, 5 more to go. Getting worried. Best of luck!

I, too, got rejected from USC, I apologize to those who got the same news. 7 out 165 applicants is a very tough number--I was like jeesh! A lot of people got rejected and its unfortunate, I know, and I'm sure we were all very qualified applicants. I believe that despite the sadness and anger (and other emotions) that rejection cause, it helps build character (as future academicians, rejections are inevitable, its apart of the "life of the mind"). This is all to say, stay hopeful and remind yourself of why you truly want to be in academia, you still have a chance. As Tupac reminds us, "Ooh, child, things'll get better" Keep ya head up, everyone!

Thanks. That's what I was thinking, too. I should have asked if all of the admitted students were notified already. Well good luck, I really hope good news come out of this.

Update: I just contacted Northwestern spoke with Majorie, the graduate program assistant, she informed me that all decisions have been made. She said to check the "Applyyourself" portal and decisions should be there; however, after checking both the "Applyyourself" portal (no decision link) and the "Gradstatus" (the GATS, app tracking system) it still shows that a decision on my application hasn't been rendered. Have others checked their status at all? I called the department at 2:12pm (CST), its now 2:28pm.

Update: For those who are like me and are getting a little impatient, I called USC to find out when they will send out their decisions. I was reviewing the results, a second person posted that they have been accepted to the ASE program via phone. Strange but possible. Without mentioning my name, I asked the person who answered the phone when decisions (pro and con) will be sent out, he said, the decisions will be sent out by the end of this month via email. I hope this bring some comfort. Peace

True with the exception of abolitionista, she has already heard from NU. That's why I was asking that, but of course, you have a point. I am moved to believe that there is still hope looming.