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2021 Application Thread for Communications Program


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Psyched to see everyone so interactive on this thread. We've got a good crew :)

I need advice. I got all of my apps in on time and had great conversations with my recommenders, but one of my recommenders has dropped off the face of the earth. Hasn't answered any of my emails since end of November, and hasn't turned in any of my letters of rec. For context, he is a prof I had in grad school and I had a zoom meeting with him before where I asked if he would be willing to write me a strong letter of rec, which he happily agreed to. Haven't heard from him since.

I've followed up about 6/7 times, and am getting a bit anxious about it. Any advice for how to reach out and get an answer? At this point, I think I'm a bit screwed because I can't get another person to do my letter of rec, and this probably looks pretty bad to schools.

If I'm rejected, I would love to get rejected because schools don't want me, not because my application was never technically complete.

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New here... I've applied to several programs including Communications, Political Science, and Sociology. My interests are interdisciplinary in nature and lie at the intersection of democracy, media, politics, and culture. I am especially interested in the use of media to undermine democracy and democratic norms in the US. 

Below are comms programs that I've applied too. I received my first acceptance today from UConn, which was really nice. 

1. UConn (Accepted)

2. UMass Amherst 

3. UPenn Annenberg


Best of luck to you all! 

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9 hours ago, jujubean said:

Psyched to see everyone so interactive on this thread. We've got a good crew :)

I need advice. I got all of my apps in on time and had great conversations with my recommenders, but one of my recommenders has dropped off the face of the earth. Hasn't answered any of my emails since end of November, and hasn't turned in any of my letters of rec. For context, he is a prof I had in grad school and I had a zoom meeting with him before where I asked if he would be willing to write me a strong letter of rec, which he happily agreed to. Haven't heard from him since.

I've followed up about 6/7 times, and am getting a bit anxious about it. Any advice for how to reach out and get an answer? At this point, I think I'm a bit screwed because I can't get another person to do my letter of rec, and this probably looks pretty bad to schools.

If I'm rejected, I would love to get rejected because schools don't want me, not because my application was never technically complete.

I would recommend that you reach out to your former graduate program and let them know what's going on and ask if he is available or if they have a way to reach him. Most programs are happy to help if you're an alumni. 

 

Good luck with that!!

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18 hours ago, Dartmouthbrian said:

I would recommend that you reach out to your former graduate program and let them know what's going on and ask if he is available or if they have a way to reach him. Most programs are happy to help if you're an alumni. 

 

Good luck with that!!

Agree! 

Also you could reach out to the grad coordinators of the program and explain your situation. 

They may understand that due to Covid19 that LOR is out of your control and give you more time to submit a new LOR?

Good Luck! 

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I only applied to the Ph.D. program at Rutgers. I found out that schools weren't requiring the GRE in December so I missed all of the other deadlines. (The GRE is a significant deterrent for me. I'm not interested in taking that exam and don't believe it's the best method to determine graduate school success.)

I'm from NJ and love Rutgers. I wish there were more stats about their admissions to this program. I want to understand my chances of getting accepted and acquiring funding. 

I'm nervous because this is probably the last time the GRE won't be required for a Ph.D. program. Aka, it's my only chance.

My application details: 

  • Master's in communication/4.0 GPA
  • Presented paper at a conf., soon to be published (not a high ranking paper) 
  • Focused research topic
  • 10 years of work experience
  • Bachelor's degree from a university that is ranked #18 by U.S. News 
  • Have spoken to 7 of the professors 
  • Also, I LOVE my personal statement. I can't even tell you how many hours I worked on it. 

Please please please send good vibes. I'm praying that an acceptance to Rutgers is in my future. 

Edited by NJGrad2025
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On 1/5/2021 at 1:46 AM, Dartmouthbrian said:

New here... I've applied to several programs including Communications, Political Science, and Sociology. My interests are interdisciplinary in nature and lie at the intersection of democracy, media, politics, and culture. I am especially interested in the use of media to undermine democracy and democratic norms in the US. 

Below are comms programs that I've applied too. I received my first acceptance today from UConn, which was really nice. 

1. UConn (Accepted)

2. UMass Amherst 

3. UPenn Annenberg


Best of luck to you all! 

 

Congrats on your acceptance to UConn!!

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On 12/9/2020 at 11:12 AM, chidi321 said:

Hi! Super nervous about the application season this year, I'm casting a wide net in hopes of getting into a program.

Applying to: 

  • Northwestern 
  • Umass Amherst
  • Rutgers 
  • Temple 
  • AU 
  • George Mason
  • CU- Boulder 
  • USC 

 

I'm nervous too! Do you think there are more people applying this year or less? 

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On 1/4/2021 at 10:46 PM, Dartmouthbrian said:

New here... I've applied to several programs including Communications, Political Science, and Sociology. My interests are interdisciplinary in nature and lie at the intersection of democracy, media, politics, and culture. I am especially interested in the use of media to undermine democracy and democratic norms in the US. 

Below are comms programs that I've applied too. I received my first acceptance today from UConn, which was really nice. 

1. UConn (Accepted)

2. UMass Amherst 

3. UPenn Annenberg


Best of luck to you all! 

Congrats on your acceptance!!! So exciting to hear already!!

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19 hours ago, Kim2016 said:

Agree! 

Also you could reach out to the grad coordinators of the program and explain your situation. 

They may understand that due to Covid19 that LOR is out of your control and give you more time to submit a new LOR?

Good Luck! 

Just sent out emails to the grad coordinators and also to another potential recommender. Cross your fingers for me!

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On 11/20/2020 at 5:13 PM, MomoTodoroki said:

Also a newbie here. I’ve been on Reddit but it seems to be primarily hard sciences and masters programs over there.

Looking to research ethics in artificial intelligence & digital media and its impact on marginalized communities.

I have had a difficult time finding schools that meet my criteria of substantive focus areas, PIs, cities I’d enjoy living in AND fully funded. As such, my list has been narrowed down to the following:

•UPenn

•Penn State

•UNC 

 

ETA: Communication & Visual Rhetoric (BA); Education, Secondary (MSEd). 5 years of professional work experience post undergrad. 

I ended up applying to NC State instead of Penn State based on my interactions with faculty. 
 

Is UNC the only program on my list that conducts interviews? I haven’t seen anything about UPenn doing so.
 

NC State’s CRDM program has an informational zoom session next week that I got the email for today. The application deadline is next Friday, the 15. It seems odd to do a session like this so late. I wonder if they had fewer applications. Up until recently, the program website required the GRE then suddenly, it was updated saying it wasn’t required this cycle (some pages still aren’t updated to reflect the shift). I wonder if that deterred people from applying.

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On 12/3/2020 at 1:39 AM, Kim2016 said:

Glad to see this thread open for Fall 2021!

I have a similar research interest as Momo - implications of growing influence of AI and IT giants in entertainment and media and impact of Asian American diaspora.

I applied to the following programs :

  • UPenn ASC
  • Northwestern Screen Cultures
  • UT Austin RTF
  • UC Berkeley Film and Media 
  • UIUC ICR 
  • NYU Tisch Cinema Studies 

I have a BA in Communication Arts - Radio, TV & FIlm, MFA in Documentaries and 10 years of professional work experience post undergrad. 

 

 

Ah, we do have similar interests! Which POI at UPenn did you look into if you don’t mind my asking?

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On 1/6/2021 at 7:12 PM, chidi321 said:

Sadly yes, I am sure all programs are seeing a spike in applications. 

Sending you best wishes!

I saw that you applied in the 2020 via another thread. Did you also apply to Rutgers then? Which track are you most interested in this year? 

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On 1/4/2021 at 4:36 PM, jujubean said:

Psyched to see everyone so interactive on this thread. We've got a good crew :)

I need advice. I got all of my apps in on time and had great conversations with my recommenders, but one of my recommenders has dropped off the face of the earth. Hasn't answered any of my emails since end of November, and hasn't turned in any of my letters of rec. For context, he is a prof I had in grad school and I had a zoom meeting with him before where I asked if he would be willing to write me a strong letter of rec, which he happily agreed to. Haven't heard from him since.

I've followed up about 6/7 times, and am getting a bit anxious about it. Any advice for how to reach out and get an answer? At this point, I think I'm a bit screwed because I can't get another person to do my letter of rec, and this probably looks pretty bad to schools.

If I'm rejected, I would love to get rejected because schools don't want me, not because my application was never technically complete.

I read an anonymous interview with a Ph.D. admissions committee member and a similar situation was discussed. From what I read, some schools understand that not everyone will follow through and consider the application with only two LoRs. Hopefully the schools you applied to understand that it is out of your control. 

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On 12/9/2020 at 12:17 PM, kineto said:

Hey folks! I'm interested in digital infrastructures, social movements, and transnational flows of technology. Would love to connect with anyone with similar interests so feel free to DM me. I also cast a wide net and applied to a couple information studies programs in addition to comms/media studies.

  • American
  • Cornell (Information Science)
  • Michigan (Comm & Media)
  • Michigan (Information)
  • NYU (MCC)
  • Penn Annenberg
  • Rutgers
  • Stanford
  • UNC Hussman
  • USC Annenberg

Good luck to everybody!!

Hi! Did you apply to the Library & Information Science program at Rutgers? I applied to Communication and Media Science. Which is your top choice? 

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15 hours ago, NJGrad2025 said:

I saw that you applied in the 2020 via another thread. Did you also apply to Rutgers then? Which track are you most interested in this year? 

No I only applied to UPenn last cycle. 

Im only interested in the media studies track-  what track are you interested in joining?

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5 hours ago, chidi321 said:

No I only applied to UPenn last cycle. 

Im only interested in the media studies track-  what track are you interested in joining?

Awesome! I applied for the communication and media studies track. What do you think you want to research? 

Edited by NJGrad2025
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On 1/8/2021 at 9:33 AM, MomoTodoroki said:

Ah, we do have similar interests! Which POI at UPenn did you look into if you don’t mind my asking?

Hi MoMoTodoroki,

I've spoken to Jospeh Turow and Jessa Lingel. 

How about you? 

 

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41 minutes ago, Kim2016 said:

Hi MoMoTodoroki,

I've spoken to Jospeh Turow and Jessa Lingel. 

How about you? 

 

Same for Jessa Lingel! Out of the PIs I spoke to across multiple programs, she was definitely top three for me. UPenn isn’t my number one choice though. 

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6 minutes ago, MomoTodoroki said:

Same for Jessa Lingel! Out of the PIs I spoke to across multiple programs, she was definitely top three for me. UPenn isn’t my number one choice though. 

Yes she was very helpful! Curious where your #1 choice is? 

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4 minutes ago, Kim2016 said:

Yes she was very helpful! Curious where your #1 choice is? 

UNC Hussman. I spoke to a variety of people from departmental faculty to current students to alum to other various faculty in the centers & such and it simply felt like home. Everyone was so nice & incredibly transparent. 
 

ETA: one of their substantive focal areas of study is in law/policy which intersects with my research interests.

Edited by MomoTodoroki
Additional context added.
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On 1/5/2021 at 3:46 PM, Dartmouthbrian said:

New here... I've applied to several programs including Communications, Political Science, and Sociology. My interests are interdisciplinary in nature and lie at the intersection of democracy, media, politics, and culture. I am especially interested in the use of media to undermine democracy and democratic norms in the US. 

Below are comms programs that I've applied too. I received my first acceptance today from UConn, which was really nice. 

1. UConn (Accepted)

2. UMass Amherst 

3. UPenn Annenberg


Best of luck to you all! 

Congrats!!!! Wow UConn made their decisions so early!! (or do they normally announce it around this time?) 

I wonder if we will hear back from some other schools starting later this month..? 

 

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