Gene Parmesan

Not yet. I was told very generally there would be a meeting with some faculty I want to work with, tour of the city/univ, meeting with grad students, etc. But no formal schedule yet

Interesting question that I've thought about as well. Personally I've had mixed results since my schools accepted me. After my first acceptance as early as Dec 28 has still yet to make contact with me regarding whats going on. On the other hand, another school has done a good job of wooing, but only from the grad advisor, not specific POIs. Another school's grad advisor reached out first, followed by 2 POIs who have been in contact encouraging me to visit and putting me in contact with students. Maybe schools work differently with this. I also suspect a lot of the wooing from these profs will happen during the visits maybe? Again, I suspect it varies from school to school (for example, with acceptances, some call, some email, some send snail mail, etc.) I've also had a few profs seem to "assume" I'll end up there, but maybe thats the wooing part?

So, anyone else heading to West Lafayette to visit Purdue's American Studies program next week?

Let's pretend I never said anything about Arsenal today, ok?

I think I'm outnumbered on this board with my support for Arsenal!

What?! That's crazy, you've only heard back from 2.5 schools (Probably yale?). For your sanity, you should proudly hold out for their decisions!

On top of an Arsenal win over AC Milan, I'm hoping today brings good news to all of us!

I'm intrigued by these discussions of Novick and Bloc, and a little bit embarrassed to admit I haven't read them yet. I found Michael Denning's article/overview on marxist cultural studies a great read.

They probably mean some online university kind of thing, is my guess.

I'm hoping, among other things, to get a head start on some more readings in my field. Also, I hope to work on my language(s) a bit. I'll be finishing my MA in late May, so I think a little break is well-deserved :0

Alright, so I sent a few emails, and did some more snooping around the Ford website. I found the answer to our question buried in the FAQ sections, which I probably should have looked at first. Sorry! Anyways, here's what it said: Enter your first choice of Ph.D. institution in your fellowship application. The review panelists do often factor in their application review the suitability of choice of the proposed Ph.D. institution for the proposed area of study. If you are notified that you have been chosen as a fellowship awardee and will not be attending the proposed fellowship institution indicated in your fellowship application, it should not be a problem as long as you have been accepted in a similar program at another fully-accredited Ph.D. degree granting institution in the U.S. Those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.

This is a great and informative thread! Can anyone speak to graduate housing at the university? Does that go fast as well?? Is it the best bet for a first year grad student?

I'd say at the very least it gives them a sense that it'll be a competitive process to get you. It might help for funding, for example, knowing they'd have to offer you a competitive package and give you first class treatment. Don't necessarily think it will hurt you, but that's my sense. Maybe email them in a day thanking the person you interview with for the interview and suggesting that you're happy you are being considered at school ranked high among your list (if they are). Congrats!!

Ok, University of Washington! Come out with your decisions already! "C'MON!"

I have gained 5 lbs. from eating ice cream.

I've always considered buster's desire for juice similar to our desire for funding... C'mon!

I'll be there

Grad Cafe meet ups at local pubs wherever AHA is!

Yes, it'd be nice to know when to hear from U-Washington!

It seems like responses for certain schools have come a bit early this year, but the majority still have not reported. I was told that the decisions start really coming in after presidents day. You'll get that acceptance, no curses!

So that is a good thing! It sounds like she's pulling for you and that you are on her/their radar in some positive way!

I agree with you. Very acceptable, indeed. Making it clear is important. But I feel like thats the kind of thing you relay to the grad director/advisor. Not necessarily to the person you want to work with, in my opinion. Most profs know you can't go somewhere without funding or have other offers. I guess I just saw it as leaving a good/lasting impression on your POI whether or not you've contacted them before. Either way, it doesn't hurt to contact your POI after the acceptance.

My master's program (which I'm convinced utterly prepared me for phd apps) has a number of ways to gather teaching experience. While we don't get tuition waivers, we get academic credits for TAing. So, they treat the TA as a class, where you learn strategies from the professor, constantly reflect and write about it, lecture, and receive a grade. this is somewhat betterthan being handed a stack of papers to grade (which I see other depts do). Once you've completed the TA class, there is the possibility of funds to TA. Either way, if you've TAed or plan to, its great to list as teaching experience as long as you emphasize its efficiency in preparing you for college level teaching.!

This is all brilliant advice. Especially because people in similar sub-fields apply to similar schools, so when one person has respectfully declined, units shift, and spots open more efficiently for other applicants. Also, the more respectful and professional one is about declining an offer in advance, the more you'll be respected by said academics later in your career if you happen to come across them in some context. I'm personally doing my best to sort through my top three schools (between those I've received offers from and those I'm still waiting from) in order to be fair to other applicants. In this case, I would say something like: "While I have been notified that funding is still being sorted with the department, I look forward to hear news regarding financial aid, as well as learning more about the department and its students." That way you emphasize that you're not just waiting for an offer before you take them seriosuly..that you're thinking ahead of funding and considering a multitude of options/trajectories. A respectful and thoughtful response to your POI might provoke them to say "WHY HASN'T THIS STUDENT RECEIVED FUNDING YET?!" Thus leading to a multi year funding package resulting in your receiving the bancroft prize and a tenured post at Harvard and yada yada yada..

Yes, and maybe even a "visit" thread in which applicants can speak to their past and current experiences of visiting schools they have interviews for, admitted, etc (what they can ask to students, faculty, etc)...especially how to politely ask about the specifics of funding etc. BUT, maybe that can go into "decisions, decisions."