Kathiza

Please people, be nice to each other!

I do reveal quite a bit about me and I'm sure if adcoms go to the board, they could identify me in an instant (if I applied to their school). But I handle this just like I handle everything I put on the internet: I don't say anything I don't want to be public and related to my person. So if adcoms identify me and read my postings, they won't find anything they could hold against me. I don't say anything bad about anyone (oh well, I once accused one user of messing with the board, which he was not, then I apologized), I don't rank schools, I don't name favourites (I don't have one, to be honest...), I don't post anything I wouldn't want an adcom to know. And that's probably how you should do it too.

I just had an interview with the UMiami SOC. It was very nice, I could ask all my questions and had a really nice chat. They also told me that it won't take much longer, since they started making decisions yesterday and are now calling some applicants to get to know them better.

Congrats to all the admits and I'll keep my fingers crossed for all of you who've been waitlisted. I'm still waiting. I'm surprisingly calm now. I hope it all turns out well for all of us.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH panic! (I'm not allowed to post what's just happened... I will when all is over...)

I'm sorry to be posting the same thing over and over again, but: Still nothing. But I've heard that one of my schools wants to contact me about an interview or something. I'll have to read all the interview-postings out there. I have no idea what to expect (except for the obvious "why should we choose you?", "why would you fit in?" research interests etc.)

I didn't have to lie at my interview (I was recently hired), but the person who had the job before me had a SO far away and quit because of this. And my CV and background are VERY similar to my predecessor's. So they asked me "You don't have a SO far away, do you?" I said no. It wasn't a lie. But I had five applications on their way. But what should I've done? I can't tell them in advance that there is a chance (!!! - it's not even sure yet) that I might have to leave. I would have never gotten the job. I didn't lie. But I still feel bad, since we are already planning summer and autumn and I'll have to fill in for colleagues who are out of the country etc. I still have heard nothing from any of my schools. So if I don't get accepted at all, I'll stay of course. But once I get admitted (hopefully, knock on wood), should I act like nothing has changed and make plans for autumn to replace colleagues who are away for a couple of weeks? I'd feel terrible doing this and then quitting in summer....

Wow, that's a very wise thing to say. I should keep that in mind. Thank you!

I'm in the same situation. I can't tell people at work and my parents say I should not tell them too early, but only one month before I leave (which is the minimum time for quitting a job in my country). I hope I don't get my first notification (doesn't matter if it's a rejection or an acceptance, I will be weird and unable to concentrate after any) while I'm at work. But I keep checking my mail at work and I even checked grad café every once in a while. I hope nobody at work is watching my internet activity and finds out this way

For Communications, I had a look at the average test scores for successful applicants at my schools. It was mostly around 650. For AWA, most schools want at least 4.5 or 5 in Communications. TOEFL: This varies a lot. Some schools want 100 on the ibT, some want 110, Columbia wants 115, Stanford 116 etc. My verbal score is far from 700. I hope I have a chance despite this. For us international students, it's REALLY hard to get a high score. I prepared for the GRE for almost a year (only for the verbal part) and my score was still not really good :-(

Haha, I marked all options for "living situation" because I really don't know and I could be happy/unhappy with any of these choices. I don't think I'll have children yet. But ever knows what's going to happen...

@arkel: I'd say go with your gut! If you go with what rankings say, you might be burnt out by the time you are trying to apply for jobs. When I chose my field of study (communications), people were telling me I'd never ever get a job, I'd never have any perspective in my life. This field has a pretty bad reputation in my country and people were telling me things like I should skip studying and go into unemployment right away etc. But you know what? I went with my guts. I was so interested in what I was doing, I put a lot of energy and effort in it and I have to say I was really good. I never had problems finding a job or an internship even with big national newspapers (I was specializing in journalism). I think what I'm trying to say: Go with your guts, because you will be happier and more productive, you will have a great advisor who will for sure do his best to help you with your career. And if you're passionate about something, you won't have any problems finding a job. That's what I believe in. Something totally different I have to ask: When you all talk about rankings, do you mean university rankings or department rankings? Because I feel like my universities are not all top-ranked, but my departments are mostly in the top 6 for my field or so (for one school I don't know the rank). So when applying for jobs in my field, wouldn't department-rankings make more sense?

I found this series on our server, so I'll watch it when I have time. Thanks for explaining!

Ah okay, I knew that you could change the return date for a fee. But I thought "open return" really means open return (as in: I let them know four weeks in advance or something like that). Thanks!

What does this mean? I googled it and found something about Nazis and hope that's NOT what you were talking about

I was told these "open return" tickets are only available in the US. At least in my country (Austria) there seems to be no such thing.

Hahaha, love this

I have no idea about networking or if there are any rules. This is just how I try to get in contact with strangers at professional events: I am choosing my place to sit wisely. If there's a group of people already engaged in a conversation, it may not be easy to join them and be included. I am looking for people who are alone or in pairs and who also look kind of lost. If you ask if the seat next to them is taken, this can already be a great conversation starter. And if not, I'm just honest and say that I don't know anybody here and ask if (s)he does know many people etc. A great GREAT way to get in contact with people at events is dinner/coffee breaks. There you can even get in touch with groups easily. Just look at the tables (I don't know how common this is in the US, but where I come from it's mostly tables without chairs where you have to stand. You just ask if you can join their table for dinner/coffee break (even if there are still empty tables, generally nobody will mind) and try to join the conversation. Just ask some questions or how they liked a certain aspect/presentation/whatever of the conference etc. Or talk about the food. If you like it (be not too negative, though) or ask what the other person is having and if (s)he can recommend it etc. Also being an international student can be an advantage. I have found that people generally are very interested in where I come from. So when they hear your accent, they might ask you some questions which are a perfect conversation starter. In general, asking questions is always a good idea. People like to help others, it makes them feel good. Hope this helped.

I'd have to cross the Atlantic to visit, so this won't be possible unfortunately :-( But thanks for the advice!

Oh my gooood... I don't even have a word for how beautiful that is. Great picture, stansfield! I'm also hoping on UI Bloomington... (but well, to be honest, I'm hoping on all my other schools to; and in the end I'll be hoping anyone will want me) and I've already been told that their campus is goregous. Also UNC-CH is supposed to be extremely beautiful (off-topic, I know...)

I'd like to live very close to campus, since I don't plan on buying a car. But since I don't have any expectations concerning my future room/apartment (I've been living in a rat hole for almost seven years now *g*), I hope it won't be too difficult. And I'll start looking as soon as I know something from my schools. But still, I heard it can be quite difficult to find appartments for international students. (no credit history, no possibility to visit the appartment before renting etc.)

And if I get a credit history in the meanwhile, can I ask to have the deposit back?

In my home country I was B. It was so incredibly great and I'd love to teach my own class when I'll continue studying in the US. Unfortunately I was told that most TAships in my field fall under the A-category, which is not nearly as fun, inspiring, enriching, whatever

I saw this thread under "Sociology" and I thought it would be nice for us prospectife Comm majors as well: Which books do you recommend for incoming grad students in the fields of Communications/Journalism/MassComm/... ? They don't have to be directly relevant to this field of study, but can also be general suggestions for grad students (although we do have a thread about this in the "Lobby" I think). For me, since I'm an international student, this is very interesting. I'm not that familiar with the standard literature in the US. So I'm looking forward to lots of great suggestions :-)

Wow, lots of IU Bloomington-applicants. Let's hope we'll hear from them soon.