communications13

If your profile is private maybe they are trying to vet your page, see what kind of person you are in real life and not on an application form. Or maybe I'm just parinoid And if you get accepted to they ask you to be in a relationship?

Until recently degree equalled job prospects.

I know, I keep trying to use food as a distraction! So unproductive!

Did any of these commitee members see Bambi as a kid? "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Words to live by, Thumper.

I sent cookies to my recomenders and a thank you note. I'd say that most recomendeers would most like a thank you note that tells them what your final decision was and that thier recommendation helped get you to this next exciting step/how they positively influenced you. My two cents on cost of gift if that is the route you decide to go (although it's not nessesary!) is try not to go over 10$. When you think of something, reverse the situation, if you wrote several recs for someone, what would you feel comfortable recieving?

For the past two months I'd developed a montra: just wait till February, then it will be "any day now". This morning, I woke, rolled out of bed, opened my computer and email and noticed the date. No, no e-mails from departments but, it is February! AHHH! Any day now? I need a new montra! Also, where the heck did January go? I think I blinked and missed it.

Most schools include a campus gym membership in tuition and fees and they often have great classes as well as your general gym equip. Most cities also have recreational leauges (I did Kickball, it was a blast) that are a GREAT way to meet people outside of the school and they usually are not a big time commitment. A lot of campus' also have clubs beyond intramural, I've known people involved with clubs about everything from rockclimbing to cycling to ultimate frisbee. At most major universities there is no shortage of things to get involved in, particularly sports wise. There are a couple of places you can look for info on these things when it gets closer to fall: facebook, you can find a group for anything, campus rec should be able to point you in the right direction, student affairs, your resident advisor will have tons of info, student gov. might have info too.

I lose papers too easily, so I try to be fully computerized. I use a little passport drive so I can carry it anywhere and easily share info with others. I tend to organize in folders: by project; division of the product; then file name by date and a keyword if needed. If for some reason it can't go on the computer, it goes in a hanging file, organized by: hanging file of one color for each project with regular folders of the same color for each division of the project; followed by post-it tabs of the same color with date/source keyword info.

"Thankyou; we will express the sincerity of our gratitude with an automated message”

I received an email from UCF with an application for a TAship...the e-mail was sure to assert this was "not an indication of acceptance".

Funding can be hard to come by. Of course we'd all love to get assistantships in our departments, but that isn't always how it works for us lowly master's students. I've applied in Residence Life and Student Affairs so far. Any other suggestions of where to look?

I know the waiting is brutal, but I'd say continue to wait it out. If you have questions about when decisions will be made etc and just cannot stand the wait contact the secretary/program coordinator, it is his/her job to anwser questions so the professors can continue to work with students and do research. Don't contact every professor with questions and information. If there was one or two particular professors you wanted to work with, I don't see a problem contacting them, but it sounds like you did just that. All schools are right in the thick of making decisions as well as just now getting into the swing of a new semester with thier current students and are busy! Trust in the application system that you are being reviewed.

I'd imagine that the graduate admissions office at each school will have some guidence on what the residency requirements are and can give you the name of someone to contact with more info for your particular school. Also, I'd imagine it all changes if you're married/have kids as you'd have to be registered where you all live/are enrolled in school. When in doubt, I'd say register to vote in the state that you file your taxes.

I live in Florida and it would be very difficult in Fl, Alabama, Georgia, Missississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, without a car. I also lived in Los Angeles for a while and it would be incredibly difficult to live there without a car. I did my undergrad in Chicago w/o a car and LOVED it. UChicago and UIC both have train stops close to campus. NYC obviously has great transportation but cost of living probably cancels out that advantage. Portland Oregon has good public transit that goes straight to most of thier universities. I've also heard very good things about Boston, Washington DC, Philidelphia, and St. Louis. As for the south, Charlotte NC and maybe Atlanta, GA are the only places I can think of that has reliable public transit but it is limited. To respond for other places in the mid west....it depends on what you are looking for. There is something called mega bus where you can get from city to city cheaply. Say you went to UIllinois in Champange/Urbana which has transit on campus but not as much around town, you would be able to visit Chicago for cheap, so if you're able to live close to campus in Madison, or Milwalkee or Indianapolis etc, there are ways to get to more excitement easily. The economy has also caused massive cuts across the country in transit. Buses and trains are more expensive, more crowded with less service. As a Grad student, not having a car is probably going to limit you to schools that are in larger cities, however, most major universities in 'college towns' do have solid transportation on and immediately around campus, the problem really arises when you need to get away from campus, particularly away from the undergrad crowd.

I applied to Telcom for UF, they emailed me several weeks ago that my app was complete and they'd let me know in several weeks, but nothing beyond that yet.

Wish I could help anwser this question, but none of the one's I applied to do. (FSU, UF, UCF)

I applied for Mass Communications, MA. The dept doesn't have a PhD program, so I don't anticipate it being terribly grad dense, but obviously there are grad students on campus and you get out what you put in.

Go to school X and meet Prof Y. While keeping what your Undergrad prof has said in mind, make your own impression on Prof Y and the school. I've had several professors that other people thought were "crazy" that, although they were kind of crazy, had a lot to offer and were some I learned the most from. Certainly listen and consider what your Undergrad Prof said, but it isn't an absolute.

I would call the secretary of both programs and see if there is an alternative weekend or what the next step would be if you are unable to attend interview weekend. Based on that information you can make scheduling decisions.

I was considering the same thing as I am basically in your same situation. I decided to wait until after April 15th, when all decisions are made and making sure I'm back before August for any last minute information or adjustments. This also will help me know how much money I need to travel to schools for interviews and other misc. expences and budget future travel better. My other fear with going in Feb/March was that my mind will be on acceptance letters and assistantships instead of enjoying my time traveling.

I'm not in MSW but mass comm, but I relate you your questions. I applied to the programs I wanted to go to last year and then tallied up the costs. Whew. It was overwhelming. So I took a year off to establish residency first. This obviously isn't a reasonable choice for everyone but fit into my circumstances. Assuming I get accepted to one of the programs in Florida it will save me from feeling consumed by debt. I truly believe that you get out of an education what you but into it and that the education you will get at a state school you are paying a fraction for will serve you fine if you make it serve you.

I hope your professor's comment to have some fun isn't making you feel down on yourself. I'm sure he or she has seen many students get burned out quickly and sees you as one he or she does not want to lose. That said, when I was working ridiculous hours at my previous jobs I made it a point to do one thing a week just for me to have fun: I am consider myself an expert on this topic.Go to the movies by yourself: It's dark, quiet, entertaining and a group activity even if you dont know they other 100 people in the theater. Go to a popular hiking destination or park, one where there are a lot of people around (and go in the daytime, it's dangerous to go by yourself at dusk if you get hurt). Take a packed lunch and a bestseller book. I bet there are other people alone there to talk to also. Invite people over for board games. Go to a dog park, people are always willing to let people spend some time with thier loving pups there. Old school arcades can be fun too and museums often have free days. I don't know if your into anything artsy, but invest in a good camera and go on long walks taking photos or some canvas and paints, or take a community music class. If you want to meet people and make some more friends, just because you're a grad student, don't over look the events your college puts on. They're free, often full of people and usually have food. Yes, most students will be undergrads, but thats okay. Your school probably has a gym with classes or a pool, probably the best way to meet people and burn some stress. Also, everytime I move to a new city I find a meetup group (meetup.com). It's not a dating site or anything, but a way to find large groups and go on large group outings of people with similar interests. I've found hiking groups, board game groups, gone to comedy clubs, coffee houses, kareoke with random people I don't know! It's so much fun. Oh yes, and bowling leauges. I love bowling. I'm so sorry that was so long, but maybe it got your brain thinking of something appeals to you.

I'd suggst don't pay a deposit or accept any offers until you're ready to. When a school sends you an acceptance letter, it is not as if you must imediately anwser; depts expect you to wait on other offers and would rather you are sure in your decision than back out I think it is pretty universally accepted that you have until April 15th to make a decision (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and if you are unsure ask the school when they need an anwser by. So visit schools, talk to professors, see how much finaid you have and don't make the commitment until it is one you can stick to. Remember that the academic world is small and if you back out of your commitment, word will get around to other schools.

Do they have a masters program, and would you be willing to take the extra time to get your masters first? If so, you can ask that they consider your application for the masters program instead.

As far as commuting goes, I'm pretty sure I want to live close to campus, within five or so miles. I want to be able to feel connected to the University and make friends. Although, as a Florida born and bred girl, I know how sprawling Orlando (and all of Florida) is.