rdsull89

The big thing about LAX is (beyond the actual airport) traffic around it is pretty horrid at most times. If you want to save some money, I think the 1-day car rental is a good idea--we do have grad students who can probably give rides from/to the airport or to campus etc. so you don't absolutely need a car the whole time, if you want to save expenses that way. And yeah, the cost of living can seem a bit high--you may also want to look at Moreno Valley. It's pretty much part of Riverside, and the section North of the 60 freeway and east of the 215 is fairly nice/good for families. It tends to be a bit cheaper and it's still only a few miles from campus. I don't know personally, but I have heard some not so great things about the family housing options through UCR (mostly regarding the area).

In regards to travel, DEFINITELY come to Ontario, not LAX. LAX is a nightmare, and Ontario is only about 15 minutes away. If you don't want a rental car, typically a grad student pick up is always an option. I'm sure Prof. Brayman Hackel will work that out soon. If you do need to get here early and need any advice about places to go, or want any company, feel free to e-mail. Yes--things are a little hectic right now. Our open house has always been almost a month later, so there's some transitioning; also, open house has typically been 1 day, but now they are making tons of changes and turning it into a 2 day event. But, it should be really useful (and hopefully fun!). As far as notifications, I'm sure they will be on that as soon as possible. We did just have a job search (last week was the last visit) so that has taken up a lot of time, and I'm sure they will get too it as soon as possible.

I also wanted to add, here, based on your posts in the other Riverside thread, the teaching load is always 1 class per quarter.

Hello and congrats to both of you! Good questions--so, regarding apartments and places to live with families: generally, I'd say the "Canyon Crest" area is your best bet (around Canyon Crest and Central there are a lot of apartment complexes--a lot of grad students live there, but not many undergrads). It's not too expensive, it's definitely walking/biking distance from campus (there's also a bus), and there are a lot of grad students that live there. It's generally pretty safe, and one of the nicer parts of Riverside (it's fairly big and spread out, so it is very different in many different areas). I wish I could say more about schools, but I can't think of any students who have school-age children who live in Riverside...I would say there are probably better options closer to campus than further away though. As far as hearing back--if you haven't heard from Tina or HBH recently, maybe just send a nice reminder e-mail. Or, alternately, you could call Tina--she's there Tues-Friday and would be happy to answer questions, I'm sure. But if there's anything else I can answer or address, please feel free to ask away or PM me! Excited to see you both at open house!

PM me?

Ryan

Hi all, I just wanted to make a thread for UCR admits to say hello and ask questions. I'm a current grad student and would be happy to answer any questions you may have (and, feel free to PM me if you'd prefer). Look forward to talking to/ meeting you all!

We have a Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies designated emphasis at UC Riverside--it's a huge thing here, and Sherryl Vint is pretty big in the field.

Hi all, UC Riverside is really competitive, and increasing its profile constantly. We just hired Fred Moten and David Lloyd, we hired Sherryl Vint and Robb Hernandez the previous year, and we're hiring another professor this year in Pre-1900 American lit. . Erica Edwards just won an MLA book award, and a number of our faculty hold huge grants at the moment. If you're interested in critical theory and gender studies--Jennifer Doyle is an amazing person to consider. That said, Riverside isn't the nicest place to live. It's a decent town, but it has its faults, but everywhere does. It certainly shouldn't be cause to rule out a school. If anyone has any questions regarding the program at UCR please feel free to respond or PM me!

Anyone else coming to open house who hasn't posted yet? We're very excited to meet everyone!

We've got quite a bit of literature and medicine studies going on at UC Riverside right now, particularly in the area of addiction studies.

Great to hear! I'll mention that to HBH because we're always nervous about being a bit overzealous. We're very excited to meet all of the new admits too.

Java-- Don't worry too much about GREs. You may want to retake them, however, because a lot of other schools won't even consider you at some levels. Our department cares much less about those than other aspects of the app. You should contact a professor you're looking to work with, rather than DGS (Tobias)--so maybe Heidi Brayman Hackel, if you're into Renaissance. The biggest thing is to focus on your writing sample. And in the end, it seems it really comes down to finding people who are innovative, resourceful and can benefit from the faculty. There are people with very high GREs that get rejected, and many with lower GREs that are not, but I think our program is not the norm. Feel free to private message me if you have any questions or need any help. Welcome Smy917, and good luck!

Yay! Let me know if I can help in any way. Yes, HBH is incredibly nice and amazing.

In regards to traffic, it depends when and where you're going. Anything around LA will be gridlock from 4-7, but in Riverside, it's really not bad. I commute, and I can leave at peak traffic time and it's really no heavier (I live in the opposite direction of LA). If you're going the direction of LA it will be worse, but not too horrible. Many students and teachers commute from LA or San Diego and have no problem. Basically, you won't have trouble in the area, and if you're going to LA or San Diego, you just avoid rush hour. I've been taking a class at UCI and I get out at 5pm so I have to go through traffic and the commute goes from about 1 hr 15m to 1 hr 45-2hr. As far as cost of living, Riverside is lower than many places, and neighboring cities have even lower costs. You can expect to pay between 800-1200 for a 2 bedroom apartment, so most grad students have a roommate or two. But, on the TAship salary, it's totally doable--the salaries are pretty similar at all UCs (if not the same) but we definitely have a lower cost of living. And, it's pretty easy to get a readership for some extra money. But really, cost of living in relation to the funding is not bad at all.

Well we are definitely looking forward to meeting you at open house. I will just say this in general. I wasn't sold on UCR. it wasn't my first choice, but now I absolutely love it. I could not imagine a better fitting program. It's a very supportive, collaborative environment. Everybody gets along and respects/is genuinely interested in each other's work. There's also a great sense of cultural awareness in the department. I've had the opportunity of taking a class at the school that was my first choice, and it only solidified my choice even more.

Hi all, Just wanted to make a thread so those of you accepted to UCR could get to know each other and ask questions. I'm a current grad student, and there are a couple of us that have been on here, so we'd be happy to answer any questions.

Like Timshel, I'm in my first quarter at UCR too, so I'd be happy to answer questions as well. I will say, so far I'm incredibly impressed by the amount of care and effort they put into professionalization, and the program seems to be very "user friendly."

Just bumping this thread. I'm officially going, so are Timshel and I the only ones on here or are there others out there?

Sorry Timshel, it seems it was a bust. He used mostly film and other visual theory, but wasn't very specific. No word yet, but I did visit and the chances seem fairly good.

A friend of mine is doing an honors thesis on autobiographical graphic novels, and we're presenting on Wednesday, so I'll let you know if anything useful comes up!

Looks like they probably mailed decisions today...Like somebody posted on the results page, website now says: "You will receive notification of your admission decision soon via postal mail. Please note that the Office of Admissions provides final decision notifications by letter only. We do not disclose admission decisions via e-mail, telephone, or any other means."

I'm school stalking too right now, trying to just stay positive though. Good luck all!

Still waiting too. It seems like the acceptances could have been the big award winners. It's odd that they haven't reported, since they're one of the few schools that gives a time frame and late February has passed.

Coincidental timing. I just contacted the DGS at UCR yesterday about visiting and meeting with some people. Very nice and helpful. Have you decided on where you're going rubyrunner?