2019 Acceptances

[snorkles]

Not sure if this is helpful to anyone, but UT sent me a waitlist email. 

[FiguresIII]

14 minutes ago, arbie said:

To Emory interviewees: had a phone interview with a professor I won’t get to meet due to our different traveling dates.

They asked me one question about my SoP, and then left the rest of the time for me to ask them questions. Honestly they were so nice and warm that I really enjoyed the whole thing and want to go to Emory even more than I already did. 

Hoping this is indicative of what the interview days will look like!

That's so nice, congrats! That's the vibe I got from Chicago too, although some have had a different experience it seems.

I'm questioning my interest in Duke now, but I'm sure that's just a way for me to justify feeling inadequate in the interview.

[sad_diamond]

4 hours ago, FiguresIII said:

I'm questioning my interest in Duke now, but I'm sure that's just a way for me to justify feeling inadequate in the interview.

@FiguresIII Was your Duke Lit interview kind of brutal? I thought mine was, at least compared to my Irvine interview. Like they asked good questions, but they were extremely...incisive. 

Edit: oops didn't see your earlier posts about your interview. I can commiserate. 

Edited January 30, 2019 by sad_diamond
missed earlier info

[Warelin]

5 hours ago, snorkles said:

Not sure if this is helpful to anyone, but UT sent me a waitlist email. 

Congrats!

 

5 hours ago, FiguresIII said:

I'm questioning my interest in Duke now, but I'm sure that's just a way for me to justify feeling inadequate in the interview.

Some universities want to see how well you react in stressful situations. Different universities will have different things they're interested in evaluating during interviews.

[Eucerin]

1 hour ago, sad_diamond said:

@FiguresIII Was your Duke Lit interview kind of brutal? I thought mine was, at least compared to my Irvine interview. Like they asked good questions, but they were extremely...incisive. 

Edit: oops didn't see your earlier posts about your interview. I can commiserate. 

it was really brutal for me too. They asked good questions, very professional, but extremely intense... and I think those questions should be asked AFTER my dissertation is written... I guess it's good to know that I am not alone ? I don't have my hope up for duke anymore though

Edited January 30, 2019 by Eucerin

[sad_diamond]

10 minutes ago, Eucerin said:

I don't have my hope up for duke anymore though

Don't lose hope! It seems like most of us had the same experience and as @Warelin said they probably just wanted to see how we respond to pressure, rather than expecting us to brilliantly answer every question. 

[Eucerin]

1 minute ago, sad_diamond said:

Don't lose hope! It seems like most of us had the same experience and as @Warelin said they probably just wanted to see how we respond to pressure, rather than expecting us to brilliantly answer every question. 

Aww thank you! I am just going to eat a good dinner and watch netflix .. and try to not think about this sighhh

but in other news, rhetoric at Berkeley just admitted me. I don't know about funding yet, but i guess i can reason to myself to not stress over duke too much. 

[Warelin]

 

7 minutes ago, sad_diamond said:

Don't lose hope! It seems like most of us had the same experience and as @Warelin said they probably just wanted to see how we respond to pressure, rather than expecting us to brilliantly answer every question. 

I'd like to add to this a bit more. If you had the perfect responses, you wouldn't need the degree because you'd be publishing in top-tier journals through your original contributions. I think the important question you need to ask yourself is whether you'd thrive somewhere where things may or may not be cut-throat or whether you need a more collaborative community. There is no right or wrong answer. Some people do really well and compete better and write better when the community actively supports them and they can push themselves to publish. Others need a more "competitive" community in order to feel motivated to do their work. We all respond to things differently. When you're making your choices, think carefully about the work environment, the location, funding (Do you want roommates? Can you afford rent without roommates?), the atmosphere, class sizes and so on. Think if that's a place that you'll be happy at because if you aren't, your work will suffer. Depression is a really real thing in Academia and the best way to combat it is by choosing a place which you feel would make you happiest. What that happy thing doesn't depend on rankings or professors, it depends on you. As such, only you can decide what things are needed to make you happy.

[j.alicea]

@sad_diamond and @Warelin That all seems right to me. Judging from their heavyweights in the Romance languages dept., and the professors I've known who come from Duke, it is an extremely rigorous and competitive environment (my professor, who is so sweet, has remarked on this, gleefully...) which can be a very positive experience, for some. Luckily, as competitive as that program is, you won't be competing for fellowships and funding (like at some UC's, including UCSC and UC Davis, from what I've been told). Of course, internal competition over funding can also be a benefit (imo): it pushes you to apply apply apply every quarter (since they all mostly operate on quarter system) for scholarships, grants, fellowships, TAships, and what have you. A recent grad from a UC has told me that it made it all the easier when they graduated and had to apply to dozens of jobs to get one offer (for a tenure track position!).

@pdh12 speaking of UC funding, have you heard back yet about travel funding for the UCSC visit? Or an official letter of acceptance? Are the UC's struggling with money again? Also, (I know this goes way back) but they were surprisingly kind and almost seemed more excited than I was... but I suspect that the early call and their excitement over your work and potential admission is just indicative of you receiving multiples years of funding (as opposed to just one, and then you're on your own - apply to all the TA positions in all the humanities departments, STAT).

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[sad_diamond]

@Warelin I'm out of reacts but I love this statement

@Eucerin OMG congratulations!! That's so awesome about Berkeley Rhetoric. You got into grad school! 

Edited January 30, 2019 by sad_diamond

[Warelin]

I think @j.alicea brings up a good point. Each program has different strengths and might stress different things differently. Some programs stress teaching; some stress publications.Some really stress how to compete for external funding. All of these skills will help you out differently on the job market. On the same note, it's hard to say how accurate TT placement is because not everyone is interested in a TT-job. Some people have already decided that they want to stay in the area and as such will not be entering the National Job Market. Instead, they're focusing on getting to know the community well to apply for Dean or other high-level Administration positions. Because this is likely to change with every cohort, placement rates become a whole lot murkier.

@sad_diamond: I was fortunate enough to receive several offers last cycle. I ended up turning a highly-coveted fellowship offer from the "best-ranking" college to accept an offer at a different college that better aligned with my interests. I have no regrets. I had long conversations via e-mail with all the colleges that accepted me before I reached my decisions. I learned many wonderful things about all of them but ended up going with what felt right to me and where I could envision myself for 5- 6 years.

[Eucerin]

@sad_diamond Thank you!!!  I really like the program and can't be more happy. But I am still kind of worry about the funding situation ?

Anyone know anything about Berkeley rhetoric funding?

[j.alicea]

@Eucerin I definitely could be wrong here, but you are "guaranteed" two to three years of non-resident tuition waiver and fellowship (not sure how much that is), and the third year, so long as you are in good standing, that is, as long as you complete your qualifying exams, they will grant you stipend ($18-$19k, I assume) for your quarters/semesters (not sure what system they go by), plus student fees (I assume, or I hope, this means resident tuition, since the UCs tend to use the language of "fees" as opposed to tuition waivers) for the next one to two years. From there, you should probably qualify for dissertation or teaching fellowships for your final years. You will probably have to apply for summer funding through research projects or summer TAships or RA position.

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[Warelin]

17 minutes ago, Eucerin said:

Anyone know anything about Berkeley rhetoric funding?

Someone on phdstipends has Berkeley Rhetoric funding to be listed at $18,000. No other details were provided though in terms of what fees you're responsible for or how much healthcare is.

[Eucerin]

@j.alicea thank you! I am out of reacts today haha but a personal thank you

@Warelin

I saw this "Stipends range from $18,500 to $30,000 per academic year for one to two years, in addition to departmental support years which can add at least two years of support in the form of fellowships and/or research or teaching assistantships." 

Um damn this is really low stipend, especially for the bay area. Up to 30k is LOW. (Other programs have offered me 5 - 6 years of 30k+ funding with 2-3 years of teaching release up front) Oh well, we shall see. All I can do is to wait for funding decision at this point i guess 

Berkeley please be nice

Edited January 30, 2019 by Eucerin

[j.alicea]

@Eucerin I know how you feel. Unfortunately, UCs are underfunded so you are going to have to do more independently to ensure that you can, well, survive in the most basic of senses. I recall Aristotle's politics, here: "The polis comes out of communities joining communities at first just to live, and then to live well" (this is not at all exact, just the jist). The more work you do, the closer you will get to "living well," but considering cost of living just keeps going up in most parts of that state, it will be an ongoing struggle. (But you've been struggling through this process, so you know you can keep on keeping-on!) Fortunately, most of the UC programs that I've looked at require a pro-seminar the first year, and provide lots of faculty support for the many applications you will inevitably be submitting while attending (once again, while stressful, this can be beneficial). Professors coming out of UCs have told me that you really have to fight once they send that funding information; even if you have no other offers (not the case for you), you need to try and negotiate, even if it's just for some money during the first few summers, or to ensure that they give you just one more year of guaranteed funding and stipend. Once I receive my funding package, I plan to meet with a few profs who have gone through this process for further advice, and I will make sure to pass this information on to you, if you would like.

Also, I found the general grad handbook for Berkeley: http://grad.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/graduate-student-handbook.pdf 

You should see if you can find one from previous years that is specifically for rhetoric.

 

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[Eucerin]

6 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

@Eucerin I know how you feel. Unfortunately, UCs are underfunded so you are going to have to do more independently to ensure that you can, well, survive in the most basic of senses. I recall Aristotle's politics, here: "The polis comes out of communities joining communities at first just to live, and then to live well" (this is not at all exact, just the jist). The more work you do, the closer you will get to "living well," but consider cost of living just keeps going up in most parts of that state, it will be an ongoing struggle. (But you've been struggling through this process, so you know you can keep on keeping-on!) Fortunately, most of the UC programs that I've looked at require a pro-seminar the first year, and provide lots of faculty support for the many applications you will inevitably be submitting while attending (once again, while stressful, this can be beneficial). Professors coming out of UCs have told me that you really have to fight once they send that funding information; even if you have no other offers (not the case for you), you need to try and negotiate, even if it's just for some money during the first few summers, or to ensure that they give you just one more year of guaranteed funding and stipend. Once I receive my funding package, I plan to meet with a few profs who have gone through this process for further advice, and I will make sure to pass this information on to you, if you would like.

Also, I found the general grad handbook for Berkeley: http://grad.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/graduate-student-handbook.pdf 

You should see if you can find one from previous years that is specifically for rhetoric.

 

Thank you! Your post is giving me so much emotions. I am going to wait and see my package, and see what I am working with ?

[j.alicea]

@Eucerin oh no! Don't take my post as negative! Berkeley is AMAZING! The struggle is totally worth! But yes, wait till you have all the information (until the 24th) and then decide what is best for you. If this is any consolation, a friend who attended UCSC (which has an even more dismal funding package) managed to get funding all the years she attended, and received more than the base stipend, and she doesn't know anyone (from UCSC, UCB, UCI, and UCD) who didn't manage to do the same!

Edited January 30, 2019 by j.alicea

[Eucerin]

27 minutes ago, j.alicea said:

@Eucerin oh no! Don't take my post as negative! Berkeley is AMAZING! The struggle is totally worth! But yes, wait till you have all the information (until the 24th) and then decide what is best for you. If this is any consolation, a friend who attended UCSC (which has an even more dismal funding package) managed to get funding all the years she attended, and received more than the base stipend, and she doesn't know anyone (from UCSC, UCB, UCI, and UCD) who didn't manage to do the same!

Thank you thank you. I am just a ball of anxiety with too much emotions in me. It's just the idea of the constant struggle for survival with regard to funding sounds both uplifting and depressing... I do love the Rhetoric program at Berkeley, and I really hope that it can at least give me enough funding to make it a viable option  

[FiguresIII]

Wow just got an invite to Duke's 2nd round! I was totally convinced I was out. Anyone else got news?

 

Not really enough funding for me to actually attend though, coming from Europe...

Edited January 30, 2019 by FiguresIII

[dreid]

Guys! Just randomly checked the portal for University of Texas (Austin) and it says I’ve been accepted! No email or anything though, fingers crossed it’s not an error....?

[dangermouse]

congrats @dreid !!

[Warelin]

3 minutes ago, dreid said:

Guys! Just randomly checked the portal for University of Texas (Austin) and it says I’ve been accepted! No email or anything though, fingers crossed it’s not an error....?

Congratulatons!

[dreid]

thanks so much @Warelin! and especially thank you @dangermouse - this is undoubtedly the result of your expert feedback on my SOP! ?

[havemybloodchild]

17 minutes ago, dreid said:

Guys! Just randomly checked the portal for University of Texas (Austin) and it says I’ve been accepted! No email or anything though, fingers crossed it’s not an error....?

That’s awesome, congrats!