XOwlfan

Good grief! With any luck, we'll hear back in April. Yikes. Why are they torturing us?!

I agree with all the previous posts here. Do you have a relationship with any other faculty members? Someone you can go to? I suffered for three semesters under a very difficult (unreasonable) adviser and kept everything to myself as I sought to manage things. Finally, in December, a professor I worked for as a TA contacted me to see how I was doing in my advising relationship, at which point I broke down and spoke openly about it. Apparently, my adviser has a reputation for this behavior in our department (has had this reputation for decades). I ended up being taken in by the head of graduate studies (who made it clear that I was not the first student to have experienced this). I say this because it may be that the other faculty members may not discount you just because this one senior faculty member does. It's hard to know what is going on behind the scenes.

How did the visit go? Was it more like an interview? Or more like a recruitment weekend?

No publications, but I do have two in preparation. I am completing my thesis this semester. I'm fortunate that there are very few people interested in my area of interest (compared to others) and production experience is valued.

Thanks, gooner! It was definitely a relief! I hope the Journalism programs comes through for you with good news and lots of generosity

Congrats, CDRR!!!! @Strangefox, I received my official letter from Madison--you had asked about funding info earlier. The letter stated $14K, plus tuition, plus health insurance. I love seeing the updates thread moving so much! Cheers to more good news from everyone.

Congrats, CDRR!!!! Perhaps we'll cross paths at NU in February!

Ugh--so sorry Some grad program will be really lucky to have you though--I hope you get some positive news soon.

sputnik, still keeping my fingers crossed for you!!!! It's not over yet!

Such good advice from everyone here--and so great that you are looking elsewhere. I was in a similar situation as an MA student (although, nobody warned me in advance)--and I can't stress enough how difficult it is to be working for someone like that. It's made me very paranoid as I consider doctoral programs.

Hi! I was accepted to the Communication Science program. Good luck!!

also--thank you, everyone! I'm so looking forward to hearing good news from all of you too!

Hi, strangefox--I actually applied for Fall 2011--not sure why I put Spring other than sleep-deprivation-induced-error. =) I received an email from my POI, and she said the official letter is going out in the mail this week--no mention in the email regarding funding. When I spoke with her earlier in the application process, she mentioned that students were funded but did not provide an amount. If I hear anything, I'll let you know! Cheers to good news for you too!

Received an email tonight from my POI at Wisconsin that I've been accepted into the doctoral program in communication arts. They are still making admissions decisions (no finalized list as of yet)--you all will be hearing back soon! Good luck!!!! Stats: two masters' degrees (4.0 GPA), 650(v), 780(Q), 5.5(A), no papers but a fair amount of work in tv production and evaluation

In an effort to avoid "fishing," contacting the same student a few different times will show that you are genuinely curious and interested. It would also allow you to establish at least some sort of relationship. A good way to approach the topic might be: "If you could do the same thing over again, would you?" or "What would you do differently now that you are at this point in your degree." I found that framing the question this way afforded more honest answers than I expected (and I ended up not applying to three programs that were on my initial list). It may also be helpful to look for alumni who published with your potential adviser or at least researched with them during their degree...having been out of the program for a bit and involved in the "real world" again, they would have a unique perspective on a program.

I would ask to be connected with current advisees of the faculty member that is assigned to you as an adviser at each program. Advisees have the best information about the person they work with/for. Furthermore, you can be in an incredible program and your experience can be entirely altered by a negative relationship with an adviser. I contacted advisees in my current program, and nobody mentioned anything unfavorable at the time. It wasn't until the second year in my program that people openly spoke to me about their experiences. By that point, it was too late. People are definitely cautious about saying anything negative about the program they are in.

I've only applied to four programs. I've been invited to a weekend campus visit at Northwestern, and last Fall I interviewed with my POI at Wisconsin. But no news from USC Annenberg or Johns Hopkins (Health, Behavior, and Society). A friend of mine at Annenberg said that there is usually no contact before you receive an acceptance/rejection (and that they tend to make their decisions later than most schools). This whole process sure does feel like it takes FOREVER. Good luck, everyone!!

I know it's crazy, but I commute from 80 miles away for my current graduate program. I definitely don't recommend it, but it's "doable" as a temporary situation if you end up needing to wait for your stipend to kick in before you move. My program has a two-week to three-week gap before any funds are available (student loans, scholarships, work-study, and so on). Although, like you mentioned, given the housing situation in Boston, you need to snatch something good when you see it. Perhaps you could commute in the opposite direction to work for a month until classes start?

Congrats, you two! That's wonderful news!!!!

I'm in a master's program presently and have worked alongside doctoral students and MA/Phd students as a TA and as an RA. The MA/PhD students hit the ground running--as they receive a stipend in our department and are required to give 20 hours a week to either teaching or research. Whether they have to do MORE than that (and whether they get time off over breaks) is determined by the person they work for. As a TA, I was fortunate to work for a professor who was extremely sensitive to our time requirement--however, I worked with someone who served as a TA for the same course under a different professor and she had an entirely different experience (working many more hours than her commitment required). Similarly, one professor in our department demanded that her RAs work full time for an entire month when classes were not in session (I'm not sure if they received extra pay for this or not...I hope so, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was not the case). Research projects are like prized babies to professors--in my experience, it's not uncommon to get called at all hours of the night to adjust/fix something, to be expected to drop everything and rush to your adviser's side, etc. You'd swear life was hanging in the balance by the way some of them respond when it comes to their work. That being said, it's very important to make sure you find a mentor in the program who is sensitive to your growth and development. You will sacrifice a lot, and you want a mentor who appreciates the sacrifices you make.

Thank you, strangefox! I never noticed that function before!

Oops--sorry for all the typos in the previous post!!!!

What are your reasons for not wanting to go to this particular school? Just curious because having such an encouraging mentor is so important (I would rank the importance of one's relationship with a mentor above the prestige of a school in most cases--this perspective coming from my own experience of having an abusive mentor at a prestigious school...) Presenting can only help--even if you decide not to attend this program, you can add the presentation to your CV. It would also be a good experience in terms of having a rehearsal run at presenting among people who already know and support you--it would be even more scary to present before a room full of people you don't know. Also, it doesn't hurt to nurture these relationships and connections--you never know what kinds of doors will open as more people get to know you and your work. Congrats on such a wonderful opportunity!

Thank you so much, sputnik!! I'm giddy and completely nervous with anticipation. I've definitely heard of applicants not getting accepted despite the campus visit invite--and I've heard of other students getting in without it. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!!!!

Via email last week, I've been invited to attend an all-expense-paid "campus visit" February 17-20 for the Media, Society, and Technology program. The deadline for applicants to accept the offer to attend is January 19th--perhaps another round of invites will go out then? Good luck, everyone!