CAPoliSciPhD Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 I'm sorry convex. I know it sucks - but don't give up hope yet. Illinios is just one school. (I'm trying not to, also)
Wesson Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Those of you who got in, what are your fields? What do you know about the place and what do you want to know?
flyingwalrus Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 No reason to give up yet. It's still very early; UIUC might not have notified everyone yet. In addition, there's always the possibility of being waitlisted.
convex Posted January 30, 2009 Author Posted January 30, 2009 The letter said they only had room for 10 students this year. Does anyone know how that compares to last year?
polisciphd Posted February 2, 2009 Posted February 2, 2009 Have any of the admits set their visit dates yet?
Torvald Coolguy Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 15 of us in the 2008 cohort Keep in mind, those are the ones that accepted. They probably admitted more than that and some people declined. Anyways, I'm also a grad student in the department (just found this forum) and will be happy to convince any of you that UIUC is or isn't the right place for you.
polisci09 Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I was accepted to UIUC last Thursday, and since then three professors have emailed me to congratulate me on my acceptance and talk about their interests, the department, etc. Illinois was already high on my list, but the personal attention is moving it up even higher (clearly I am more vain than I thought). I wonder if this is characteristic of other departments?
flyingwalrus Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I was accepted to UIUC last Thursday, and since then three professors have emailed me to congratulate me on my acceptance and talk about their interests, the department, etc. Illinois was already high on my list, but the personal attention is moving it up even higher (clearly I am more vain than I thought). I wonder if this is characteristic of other departments? It's a characteristic of good departments.
Torvald Coolguy Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I was accepted to UIUC last Thursday, and since then three professors have emailed me to congratulate me on my acceptance and talk about their interests, the department, etc. Illinois was already high on my list, but the personal attention is moving it up even higher (clearly I am more vain than I thought). I wonder if this is characteristic of other departments? That seems about standard for Illinois. My experience from recruitment found the professors incredibly affable, and in general, I felt that for the most part they were friendly even afterwards. One nice thing about our department is the professors all treat the grad students with respect, even the grad students from different fields. For instance, one time when I was at the department copier, a senior member of our American faculty came by and wanted to copy something. There was only one working copier at the time, but instead of asking me to get off, he asked me how long it would take, and then asked me to fetch him when I was through. I volunteered to let him go ahead of me (especially because my copies were time consuming) but he replied by saying he was in no rush and just to fetch him when I was done. Keep in mind, he wasn't my advisor, or even a professor in my subfield (he probably doesn't know my name). From some stories I have heard from other departments, I know something like this is a rarity.
Hannah9 Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I, too, am a Ph.D. student at UIUC. This place will be great for most people looking at R1, top25 schools. However, this place will be a nightmare for others. If you have questions, let me know. I'll be happy to elaborate.
convex Posted February 4, 2009 Author Posted February 4, 2009 What do you mean by the above statement? Thanks.
jackassjim Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Wow, I don't know what kind of stories you're hearing, but your anecdote really only sounds like how a normal human being would act in a modern civilized society. Nothing to write home about...
polisci09 Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 From reading the posts from last year's cycle, it sounds like Illinois' professors communicate with prospective students more frequently. This may not be the case, but it is what I gleaned from this forum, especially from tidefan's posts last year. Illinois has also been contacting me more than other schools that have accepted me, but this is obviously a small sample to make a generalization about all departments. I only meant that I appreciate the way Illinois professors are being especially outgoing towards accepted students and it is giving me warm-fuzzy feelings about the department, justified or not.
plisar Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 The above depends on field...at least from what I can tell.
Wesson Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 In which subfields are/are not the faculty contacting people?
polisci09 Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 My field is American politics and 4 faculty members have contacted me.
emilienne Posted February 19, 2009 Posted February 19, 2009 Hey - just found this forum. I'm a member of the 08 cohort. UIUC Poli is definitely a chill place. In the words of J Vasquez at orientation last year, the faculty is "disgustingly nice", and they are.
polisciphd Posted February 25, 2009 Posted February 25, 2009 Has anyone set the dates for their visit to UIUC yet?
g_mac15 Posted February 25, 2009 Posted February 25, 2009 Has anyone set the dates for their visit to UIUC yet? I'm visiting next week, March 5 - March 8. Very excited but nervous too.
mangopenguin Posted March 4, 2009 Posted March 4, 2009 I just found this forum. I am also visiting March 5-8! I hope I get to meet some other prospective students. I am in the American field. Any current students in that program? Any particular, interesting details?
polisci09 Posted March 10, 2009 Posted March 10, 2009 Could anyone who's made a visit talk a little about their experiences? I would like to take a trip to the department but am not sure I will be able to.
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