University of Florida (Gainesville)

[artist_lily]

Hi all,

I recently heard that I had been admitted to the University of Florida's MA program in English with full funding and the possibility to continue on for the Ph.D. upon satisfactory completion of the MA. As I weigh my options, I am excited to find out more about the program and the graduate opportunities available at Florida.

Since I realize others admitted to Florida are likely in a similarly undecided state, I was hoping we could start a thread related to Florida and its English department, while incorporating various other things of interest to the potential grad student -- housing, cost of living, stipends, et cetera -- that will help us all to make the best decisions for our personal circumstances.

So, if there's anyone else out there sitting on a Florida acceptance or waitlist who wants to come forward and chat. I would love to hear from you. What kind of impression do you have of the department? (I won't have the opportunity to visit, so this is very hard for me to judge; accordingly, I would be thrilled to hear others' impressions.) Did you receive a fellowship or T.A. ship? And what do you think of moving to Gainesville? I've heard it's very humid, but the cost of living is said to be relatively low.

All the best!

artist_lily

[jr268010]

Hi, I got accepted to the M.A. program too w/ full funding and a TAship. Same information verbatim regarding the possibility to continue on for the PhD.

I've also researched housing and apartments, etc. in the area and the rent is really reasonable.

I think the program sounds fantastic---I especially like the "tracks" to focus yr. interests. I have some good offers from other schools, but I'm almost positive I'm going to take it.

Yes, I've heard its pretty humid down there---I'm from the northeast so it'll be a big climate change. haha

Hope this helps and thanks for the post =)

[Swagato]

Sorry to interrupt -- do either of you know if Florida is done making their admits/waitlist announcements? I haven't heard anything at all (I'm an applicant to the PhD program in English, Film track). I emailed Wegner a week ago or so, but haven't heard anything yet. Thanks!

[artist_lily]

Hi, I got accepted to the M.A. program too w/ full funding and a TAship. Same information verbatim regarding the possibility to continue on for the PhD.

I've also researched housing and apartments, etc. in the area and the rent is really reasonable.

I think the program sounds fantastic---I especially like the "tracks" to focus yr. interests. I have some good offers from other schools, but I'm almost positive I'm going to take it.

Yes, I've heard its pretty humid down there---I'm from the northeast so it'll be a big climate change. haha

Hope this helps and thanks for the post =)

Great to hear from another Florida admit; thanks for posting! I'm excited about the tracks, too -- I think the program has a great structure, and I've also heard that the graduate English "community," so to speak, is wonderful. What track are you thinking of completing? Right now, I'm torn between the Feminisms track and focusing on a specific time period (I typically study Victorianism and Modernism).

Was wondering if you might also share what kind of housing you've found; so far, I've found the Web site of one real estate company that seems to offer many, many student apartments, ranging from $650 upwards (I think rental office was called Primark). Have you found anything cheaper? I'm a bit confused about the grad student housing available through the university; I didn't that that the Res Life Web site was super clear, but as I only glanced at it for a few minutes, I might be missing something obvious.

All the best!

artist_lily

[artist_lily]

Sorry to interrupt -- do either of you know if Florida is done making their admits/waitlist announcements? I haven't heard anything at all (I'm an applicant to the PhD program in English, Film track). I emailed Wegner a week ago or so, but haven't heard anything yet. Thanks!

Hi Swagato -- no apologies needed; you're always welcome to interrupt! I'm not sure how the admits/waitlists are working this year at Florida, but Dr. Wegner did say in his e-mail to me that he typically calls or e-mails all "top" admitted students, and as I just received the e-mail this past Thursday, I would anticipate that means there are more to come (perhaps those right below the "top," though I can't imagine how I would be anywhere near it). FWIW, he also said in his e-mail that he's headed to Ireland today for spring break, so I'd imagine he'll be pretty unreachable for the next week or so. So don't give up hope if you don't hear back from him soon... I think there's more to come! Best of luck to you... maybe we'll find ourselves there together next year!

[Swagato]

Hi Swagato -- no apologies needed; you're always welcome to interrupt! I'm not sure how the admits/waitlists are working this year at Florida, but Dr. Wegner did say in his e-mail to me that he typically calls or e-mails all "top" admitted students, and as I just received the e-mail this past Thursday, I would anticipate that means there are more to come (perhaps those right below the "top," though I can't imagine how I would be anywhere near it). FWIW, he also said in his e-mail that he's headed to Ireland today for spring break, so I'd imagine he'll be pretty unreachable for the next week or so. So don't give up hope if you don't hear back from him soon... I think there's more to come! Best of luck to you... maybe we'll find ourselves there together next year!

Thanks so much! I am waitlisted at my top choice and have an admit to UChicago's MAPH, but that is unfunded. I've heard from everywhere else but Florida. I know a couple people posted Florida English/Film admits weeks ago, but I've really had no information on the progress. I noticed most of the admits said they got a phone call -- my phone is currently inactive, hope that won't bugger me. :\

Interesting wording there with the "top" thing. Here's crossing fingers. Congrats on your admit BTW.

[MinniePup]

Hi,

Thanks very much for starting this thread! I've been accepted to U Florida's English PhD program for the Victorian Studies track. I haven't decided on a school yet, but I'm strongly considering accepting U Florida's offer.

I really wanted to visit, but because the plane fare was so expensive I decided to save the money for my years of voluntary poverty. I'm very interested to hear others' impressions of Gainesville, the UF campus, and the English department.

More specifically, can anyone recommend (or caution against) specific apartment buildings/complexes? I've seen many very reasonable rents, (some are even below $500 per month) but I'm curious about a) the safety of the location b )the types of people the buildings attract and c) the experience of past renters. I'm also trying to decide whether I should live alone or get a roommate--anyone else debating the same? Also, do you think a car is necessary? For anyone else with questions regarding public transit, I've read elsewhere that the bus system in Gainesville is pretty good and that UF students ride for free. Apparently, the transportation linking Gainesville to the surrounding areas is more limited.

Anyway, it's very nice to speak with other prospective students! Perhaps we shall meet in person in the future.

Edited March 14, 2010 by MinniePup

[artist_lily]

Thanks so much! I am waitlisted at my top choice and have an admit to UChicago's MAPH, but that is unfunded. I've heard from everywhere else but Florida. I know a couple people posted Florida English/Film admits weeks ago, but I've really had no information on the progress. I noticed most of the admits said they got a phone call -- my phone is currently inactive, hope that won't bugger me. :\

Interesting wording there with the "top" thing. Here's crossing fingers. Congrats on your admit BTW.

Waitlisted at your top choice? Congratulations!! I would have killed to get my application even READ at my top choice (I'm sure it was tossed in the reject pile as soon as they saw it!). Best of luck to you as you await the Florida decision... and be sure to keep us posted here in the FL community -- it would be great to have another around!! Keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

[artist_lily]

Hi,

Thanks very much for starting this thread! I've been accepted to U Florida's English PhD program for the Victorian Studies track. I haven't decided on a school yet, but I'm strongly considering accepting U Florida's offer.

I really wanted to visit, but because the plane fare was so expensive I decided to save the money for my years of voluntary poverty. I'm very interested to hear others' impressions of Gainesville, the UF campus, and the English department.

More specifically, can anyone recommend (or caution against) specific apartment buildings/complexes? I've seen many very reasonable rents, (some are even below $500 per month) but I'm curious about a) the safety of the location b )the types of people the buildings attract and c) the experience of past renters. I'm also trying to decide whether I should live alone or get a roommate--anyone else debating the same? Also, do you think a car is necessary? For anyone else with questions regarding public transit, I've read elsewhere that the bus system in Gainesville is pretty good and that UF students ride for free. Apparently, the transportation linking Gainesville to the surrounding areas is more limited.

Anyway, it's very nice to speak with other prospective students! Perhaps we shall meet in person in the future.

Hi Minniepup,

Thanks for posting, and congrats on your admit to the doctoral program at UF! I wish I had answers to your questions, but as a recent admit to the UF program myself, I'm pretty much in the same boat -- still exploring housing options, public transport around the campus, et cetera. As you said, however, the rental rates around UF seem to be pretty reasonable, though I'm not sure what is considered typical for grad student housing there. Hopefully we'll be able to garner some of this info through current grad students themselves, as I've just received the mass mailing from the EGO at UF and have a feeling that they'd be willing to help us out in this regard.

As for me, if I move to Florida, I would think about doing a shared apartment, though I'd love for it to be with another grad student (and even better, an English grad student!). Perhaps we can get a forum going for finding English department roommates! That being said, from what I can find, it looks like you can get a studio apartment for roughly the same as what it would cost to live with a roommate in a regular apartment, and so I could easily see myself going either way.

Anyway, if you come up with any good housing information, please do share here! I'll be on the lookout, too, and be sure to post anything I find out here for the benefit of the community.

Again, many congratulations on your admit -- should we both accept the offer, I have a feeling we'll be seeing lots of each other (I do Victorian lit as well)!

[artist_lily]

Quick question: Anyone know anything about fellowships (or additional top-ups) at UF? I applied for the Kirkland fellowship but don't think I got it, as nothing about it was mentioned in my admissions e-mail. Or perhaps they haven't made decisions yet? One can always hope, right? If anyone has any ideas or info about such additional funds at UF, I would love it if you wouldn't mind sharing! Thanks so much!

[jr268010]

Great to hear from another Florida admit; thanks for posting! I'm excited about the tracks, too -- I think the program has a great structure, and I've also heard that the graduate English "community," so to speak, is wonderful. What track are you thinking of completing? Right now, I'm torn between the Feminisms track and focusing on a specific time period (I typically study Victorianism and Modernism).

Was wondering if you might also share what kind of housing you've found; so far, I've found the Web site of one real estate company that seems to offer many, many student apartments, ranging from $650 upwards (I think rental office was called Primark). Have you found anything cheaper? I'm a bit confused about the grad student housing available through the university; I didn't that that the Res Life Web site was super clear, but as I only glanced at it for a few minutes, I might be missing something obvious.

All the best!

artist_lily

Hi, you should definitely check out this website: http://www.gainesville-rent.com/Search.asp

I found apartments from $320 a month and up---really reasonable.

I'm almost certain i want to go into the feminisms, genders, and sexualities track. I really like that you can take courses in Women's studies as electives.

hope this helps =)

[woolfie]

Hey guys, I'm currently making a list for next year and University of Florida is in my maybe column right now. Could you guys tell me some good (or bad) things about the program? The one red flag for me is that funding seems competitive and I'm wondering, since the website isn't very descriptive, how much of a chance for funding there is. Also, if people who recieved funding wouldn't mind sharing their stats, it'd help to see what the situation is like. Also, do they have a terminal MA? Is it funded? I think that that's what the website is saying, but it's worded in a confusing way.

[artist_lily]

Hi, you should definitely check out this website: http://www.gainesvil....com/Search.asp

I found apartments from $320 a month and up---really reasonable.

I'm almost certain i want to go into the feminisms, genders, and sexualities track. I really like that you can take courses in Women's studies as electives.

hope this helps =)

Thanks so much for the heads up re: the apartment search Web site, jr268010! I'll definitely take a look; I'm excited to find out what options there are available for housing in Gainesville, and this sounds like a great place to start. Thanks again for sharing it!

[artist_lily]

Hey guys, I'm currently making a list for next year and University of Florida is in my maybe column right now. Could you guys tell me some good (or bad) things about the program? The one red flag for me is that funding seems competitive and I'm wondering, since the website isn't very descriptive, how much of a chance for funding there is. Also, if people who recieved funding wouldn't mind sharing their stats, it'd help to see what the situation is like. Also, do they have a terminal MA? Is it funded? I think that that's what the website is saying, but it's worded in a confusing way.

As far as I know, all terminal MA admits are fully funded; the English DGS, Dr. Wegner, explicitly wrote in his e-mail to me that all incoming MA students receive a tuition waiver, full health insurance, and a stipend tied to part-time teaching or research. In that regard, then (and for many other reasons!) I would definitely recommend the program. Best of luck!

[MinniePup]

To woolfie:

As artist_lily said, I believe the MAs and the PhDs are all fullyfunded. Their philosophy seems to be togive everyone a decent amount of funding rather than a few people a lot offunding, because they want to avoid the competitive environment that kind of hierarchalfunding structure creates. On top of thebase funding, they do offer some fellowships.

I spoke with Dr. Wegner about this year’s cohort, and, basedon that conversation, I gather that 1) they do have terminal MAs and 2) UF alsogives their MAs the opportunity to continue on to the PhD. Moreover, there are a lot of studentscontinuing on this year, so I’m guessing they don’t put a strict limit on thenumber of students they accept from the MA into the PhD.

To artist_lily:

Regarding your funding question: I also applied for the Kirkland fellowship. When I was accepted in mid-Februarythey still hadn’t decided who the recipient would be and they told me I wasbeing considered, but I am starting to think I am out of the running at thispoint because I haven’t heard anything further. Sorry I can’t offer any more information on that one.

Regarding potential roommates: I could also see myself going either way onthis, because, as you said, the cost of a studio and the cost of sharing anapartment seems pretty similar. At leastwe have options, right? J I’d like to live with another English gradstudent too and I love your idea of starting a forum for finding Englishdepartment roommates. Perhaps as April15^th approaches and everyone decides which school they will beattending we should start one.

To everyone in the thread (and to those who are justbrowsing J):

Skimming through other boards on this website, I saw people cautionagainst the following Gainesville apartments (due to high undergrad populations—theyare not necessarily bad for other reasons): Lexington Crossing, Gainesville Place, CabanaBeach, Oxford Manner, The Polos, Campus Lodge, The District on 62^nd,Tivoli, & University Club.

I should stress that I haven’t visited Gainesville, let alone these apartmentbuildings. This is just information Ifound on here that I thought might be helpful to others who haven’t visitedyet. Best of luck to all!

[artist_lily]

To woolfie:

As artist_lily said, I believe the MAs and the PhDs are all fullyfunded. Their philosophy seems to be togive everyone a decent amount of funding rather than a few people a lot offunding, because they want to avoid the competitive environment that kind of hierarchalfunding structure creates. On top of thebase funding, they do offer some fellowships.

I spoke with Dr. Wegner about this year’s cohort, and, basedon that conversation, I gather that 1) they do have terminal MAs and 2) UF alsogives their MAs the opportunity to continue on to the PhD. Moreover, there are a lot of studentscontinuing on this year, so I’m guessing they don’t put a strict limit on thenumber of students they accept from the MA into the PhD.

To artist_lily:

Regarding your funding question: I also applied for the Kirkland fellowship. When I was accepted in mid-Februarythey still hadn’t decided who the recipient would be and they told me I wasbeing considered, but I am starting to think I am out of the running at thispoint because I haven’t heard anything further. Sorry I can’t offer any more information on that one.

Regarding potential roommates: I could also see myself going either way onthis, because, as you said, the cost of a studio and the cost of sharing anapartment seems pretty similar. At leastwe have options, right? J I’d like to live with another English gradstudent too and I love your idea of starting a forum for finding Englishdepartment roommates. Perhaps as April15^th approaches and everyone decides which school they will beattending we should start one.

To everyone in the thread (and to those who are justbrowsing J):

Skimming through other boards on this website, I saw people cautionagainst the following Gainesville apartments (due to high undergrad populations—theyare not necessarily bad for other reasons): Lexington Crossing, Gainesville Place, CabanaBeach, Oxford Manner, The Polos, Campus Lodge, The District on 62^nd,Tivoli, & University Club.

I should stress that I haven’t visited Gainesville, let alone these apartmentbuildings. This is just information Ifound on here that I thought might be helpful to others who haven’t visitedyet. Best of luck to all!

Thanks so much for sharing what you've heard about the fellowship selection process, Minniepup. I would imagine I'm out of the running, too, but I suppose it can't hurt to keep up a bit of hope. That being said, even without any additional fellowship money, I feel that Florida's funding is pretty generous (I don't know what the Ph.D. funding looks like, obviously, but the MA funding is more than competitive with similar programs I applied to) and believe it would be possible to live satisfactorily (if not entirely comfortably) on the stipend the department provides. Let's keep our fingers crossed together for additional top-ups anyway, though!

Regarding the living situation, I am definitely in favour of starting such a strand to find potential roommates among the incoming cohort of graduate English students. Have you had any more luck looking for apartments? I suppose my search is a bit on hold for now, as I'm still waiting to hear on funding decisions from a couple more schools where I've been accepted, as well as to hear back period (something! anything!) from another couple of schools. Still, I will definitely keep in mind your caution against certain apartment complexes as being rife with undergrads (not a living situation I would want!) if I decide on Florida, something that is looking more and more likely -- and something I'm very excited about. Thanks so much for sharing this information regarding the complexes!

PS -- If you wouldn't mind sharing info regarding the Ph.D. program funding, I would love to hear from you! One major incentive for me in choosing Florida for the MA program is the opportunity to easily continue on to the Ph.D.; accordingly, I am very interested in hearing how the funding situation looks like for Ph.D. students. Please let me know if you'd be comfortable sharing, whether via this forum or private message; if not, I understand that, too, and thank you anyway for considering it!

[Swagato]

I found out that I'm on the waitlist for Florida. Can anyone who knows, share with me details regarding this year's waitlist size, entering class size, and the waitlist -> admit rate for Florida? Thanks so much!

[MinniePup]

Thanks so much for sharing what you've heard about the fellowship selection process, Minniepup. I would imagine I'm out of the running, too, but I suppose it can't hurt to keep up a bit of hope. That being said, even without any additional fellowship money, I feel that Florida's funding is pretty generous (I don't know what the Ph.D. funding looks like, obviously, but the MA funding is more than competitive with similar programs I applied to) and believe it would be possible to live satisfactorily (if not entirely comfortably) on the stipend the department provides. Let's keep our fingers crossed together for additional top-ups anyway, though!

Regarding the living situation, I am definitely in favour of starting such a strand to find potential roommates among the incoming cohort of graduate English students. Have you had any more luck looking for apartments? I suppose my search is a bit on hold for now, as I'm still waiting to hear on funding decisions from a couple more schools where I've been accepted, as well as to hear back period (something! anything!) from another couple of schools. Still, I will definitely keep in mind your caution against certain apartment complexes as being rife with undergrads (not a living situation I would want!) if I decide on Florida, something that is looking more and more likely -- and something I'm very excited about. Thanks so much for sharing this information regarding the complexes!

PS -- If you wouldn't mind sharing info regarding the Ph.D. program funding, I would love to hear from you! One major incentive for me in choosing Florida for the MA program is the opportunity to easily continue on to the Ph.D.; accordingly, I am very interested in hearing how the funding situation looks like for Ph.D. students. Please let me know if you'd be comfortable sharing, whether via this forum or private message; if not, I understand that, too, and thank you anyway for considering it!

Hello again, artist_lily,

My apartment search is also on hold right now as I wait to hear back results from a few of my wait list schools (as well as the stragglers who haven't notified me at all). I will let you know when I find out more information on Gainesville housing though. I am also very excited about the University of Florida, and it's the school I'm leaning towards right now.

As I said in my previous post, U Florida seems to be one of the schools in which MA students can easily continue on to the PhD, so that's good news. And yes, we can private message each other regarding funding--is there a way to do that on here or shall we exchange email addresses? I didn't discover the forum section of the grad cafe until a few weeks ago, so I'm still a novice.

[gareth23l]

Hi all,

It seems that I´m coming to this website a bit late—as another student heading to UF with the identical package as some of you have described above, I was hoping to find out more about the program, area, etc. I live in Spain, which has restricted most of my research to webpages and email correspondences, and I was wondering how some of you reacted to visiting the department and Gainesville (if you had the chance). I´ve tried to bring myself up to speed regarding housing/apartments by reading other entries, but am still ignorant in general. Any direction or reaction you all could provide would be a huge help.

Cheers.