Grizbert

Just to update, I emailed the GC a week ago and still haven't heard a peep by email, mail, phone, or UT Direct application status online. I am perplexed.

I pay $575 downtown for a small one bedroom, but I've lived here for 9 years with no rent increase. And the building is frmo the 50s with no dishwashers or washing machines. So, yeah... As someone who has lived here for 18 years, this thread seems pretty accurate to me: http://www.trulia.com/voices/Rental_Basics/Average_rent_for_a_bed_bath_in_Austin-499481

Note that the average rent in Austin is now $1,500/month. You can still find some deals < $1000/month with sleuthing, but it's difficult in Central Austin. If you can find an older complex or an owner-rented garage apartment, preferably by word of mouth, you can just about still live the "Austin lifestyle." But not for long. /longtimer whine

FWIW, I love California! Get ready for some extreme heat down here. And enjoy the breakfast tacos! So, so many breakfast tacos.

Welcome to Austin! It's still a great city, though the rapid population increase has meant many changes, and a lot of grumbling. If you're from California, never tell anyone.

How did you get the notice? Email directing you to the online admissions portal?

I have not heard a peep. Online status still says "in review." I am already on campus here completing my MSIS. Baffled that others have received admissions offers, rejections, and waitlist notices...

Boo hoo. :/

Yep. I am at this point, too. I really want to work as a tenure-track research archivist in a university hybrid library-archives-museum setting. Many of these positions have a dual appointment in an English department. A PhD isn't absolutely necessary otherwise, and I already have a subject MA, so I should be good. This was my last shot at trying for a PhD. Not to imply that I have applied before; I hadn't. But I had been thinking about it for 15 years. And more and more of these types of jobs want PhDs, plus I would genuinely enjoy continuing my research at a deeper level in an English department. I guess I'll have to stick to continuing ed in the form of MOOCs, staff course benefits, and Rare Book School. Not too shabby.

I haven't received an offer, a rejection, or a waitlist notice from UT! WTH.

As someone who has spent the past decade on the campus of an R1 as departmental staff, this rings 100% true. $0.02.

Hang in there! Fingers crossed.

I've been told repeatedly by faculty (back when I was a departmental admin for 6 years) that getting a PhD anytime before 40 is fine, and that academia is much less ageist than most fields. I know several people who got PhDs after 40. Some are TT, some are lecturers, some are adjuncts, some left the academy. My issue is more with an additional 4-5 years of lost wages at this time in life than my longevity as a scholar/worker. We'll all be working until we die, anyway.

I am perhaps less invested in the PhD route than some others here owning to my advanced age (35 ), but I am actually more excited for the admits than I am sad about my own implied rejection! Congrats, all!

I'm 35 and have an implied rejection.

Thanks, folks! I am kind of shocked since I already have two, directly related master's degrees, publications, conference presentations, a 790 old-form GRE verbal score and 6.0 writing, and one of my referees (who was previously instrumental in helping me land a prestigious internship elsewhere) is within the department. But I also hadn't really even made up my mind as to whether I wanted to do a PhD, hence applying to only one program that is convenient and appealing. If I don't get in, I can let this rest. I figured I should give it a shot, but I am also really cautious about the necessary lost income and the abysmal job humanities market... so there is a huge silver lining here for me, personally. Sorry to hear you are in the same boat! Solidarity and best wishes to all!

I've applied to a single PhD program in English. The online status update still says "under review." I have heard nothing from the program. Looking over these threads, it is apparent that some folks have received offers with funding, waitlisting, and outright rejections from this program within the past seven days, but I haven't heard a peep. Is anyone else in this boat?

I'm at UT now. Last year, they demanded a commitment before they announced funding (I think in early April - but I am not sure, because they didn't give me any!). I emailed the GC many times trying to find out when offers would be made, because my attendance was dependent on being funded (thanks to loans from previous undergrad and grad school). Luckily, I got a full-tuition + salary GRA position. Otherwise, I would've withdrawn my acceptance and kept my full-time job. Good luck!

What was graduate school like for you? This isn't really specific enough to answer! I already have a previous humanities MA from the UK, and going back in my 30s in the US has been a bit of a shock to the system. It's much more intense; typically American insofar as type A personalities are likely to thrive; the workload is unsustainable, to the point that, now halfway through my second semester, I'm seeing it as being as much about professional/academic hazing as about learning real skills; and there is TON of group work, which strikes me as a way to decrease faculty grading workloads while wasting a lot of student time on inefficient, busy-work, junior-high type of projects. Was it easy or hard? Did it consume your life? Both. The actual learning and assignments are not hard (or at least not to me, as an adult with 15+ years of work under my belt and a previous graduate degree). Even as a humanities person, the course content, though sometimes technical or computer-y, is not hard, per se. But the workload is ridiculous, so it has been a hard adjustment. Most of us are in class 9-12 hours per week, at an internship 20 hours per week, doing group projects for classes another 5+ hours per week, and thus studying all day both Saturday and Sunday just to keep our heads above water. It is definitely consuming my life. Having previously worked in admin in an academic department at the same university, I had romantic ideas about the cerebral, more leisurely grad school life, and those have been shattered. Also, I am lucky in that I have a paid internship that also pays my tuition and provides FREE health insurance (I really hit the jackpot), plus a partner with a full time job. And I am still barely making it through. The first semester, I had about three existential crises, during which I wanted to drop out. If not for the amazing internship I have (where I actually love doing the work, and have amazing colleagues and mentors), I might've quit. I haven't exercised since last August, before starting the program. My three personal blogs are on hiatus. I haven't had time to edit and tag my thousands of weekly Flickr photos. I rarely see my friends. I can't commit to many social events. I just had to cancel a much-needed camping trip this weekend to rewrite a paper that my professor didn't like (part of a group project - yay!). I don't get enough sleep. It's ridiculous. How close are/were you with your advisor? Did you get to choose your advisor? We were randomly assigned based on our stated interests at the outset of the program. They chose well for me; my advisor has a similar academic background, coming from a humanities subject into info sciences. I see her regularly for registration advising and also work on some other projects with her. Overall, I am pleased, but I do feel like the faculty generally do not have time to provide intensive mentoring to students. Also, our program has no prereqs, and most advisors just let us take whatever classes we want, which obviously has negatives and positives. Did your program require a thesis? If so, was it difficult to write? No, and my advisor gave me permission to skip the thesis, since I already have an MA that required one, and I felt I would be better served by using those 6 credit hours to take more courses and increase my skillset. Everyone I know in my program who is writing a thesis has had the usual thesis experience. Stressful, but doable. What were your classmates like? I like that they are from a broad variety of academic and geographic/cultural backgrounds. We also have a variety of ages, which brings a nice perspective. There is a large contingent of Chinese students, mostly studying human-computer interaction, usability, web design, etc. My curriculum has a LOT of group work. Did you have group work? Did your group members actually pull their weight? I fucking hate it, and I think it's stupid and devalues the degree. This semseter, I have four group projects, three of them in ONE class! It is totally unsustainable, especially when most students have internships, or even internships AND regular jobs. We have to meet on Saturday nights. And the projects we are working on are usually ill-defined busywork. I am not impressed. In one of my classes, we have a practicum, which I have mixed feelings about. It is unusually well defined (because the professor is one of the best, most organized, most in-touch-with-actual-practice in the school), and I appreciate the opportunity to meet working professionals, get a taste for the work, and get valuable real-world skills for my resume, BUT this assignment requires a commitment of at least 50 hours for the semester, beyond classroom time, as well as the preparation of a final presentation to the class. Of course, most of the sites are only open M-F, 8-5, when we are in class or at internships/jobs, and it is virtually impossible to schedule concurrrent working times with our project partners. This just goes back to my point about the workload being totaly unsustainable. Were there any differences between your undergrad experience and your grad school experience? Just that it's more intense, really. I like that it's so focused, and that there is a clear career path; but, coming from liberal arts, any career path at all is a godsend.

Still awaiting UT-Austin funding decisions.

I received notice of my need-based aid offer today from UT. I received a significant aid award comprised mainly of federal loans, plus $1500 in grants per semester, half from the State of Texas and half from UT. No word yet on iSchool scholarships or fellowships. The deadline to accept the offer is April 29, and it's making me nervous (I already have significant debt from undergrad and an MA in English, from the UK). Depending on what kind of total aid package I get, I may go full- or part-time, or even rescind my acceptance. I am not prepared to take on another significant hunk of debt for an MSIS degree. However, the total loan award would probably be sufficient for me to continue paying my existing loans while enrolled, as well allowing me to save some money. I need to talk to my partner and do some calculations. I still really hope I'm a full time student in the fall!

Yes, please PM me. I've lived in Austin since 1997.

I accepted UT today, as I already live in Austin and it was my top and only choice for Archives/Preservation. I'm now busily applying for late-deadline scholarships and internships. Congrats and solidarity to all, as appropriate!

The Graduate Coordinator at UT has just informed me that funding offers will go out in early April.

Just received email acceptance from Texas. No word on funding offer. Official letter to follow.