stillalivetui Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I had a very pleasant and quick conclusion to the program search today. I've decided on University of Washington. Again, congrats to everyone who has made their decisions and the warmest, best wishes to anyone still waiting. I'll probably stick around here though, at least for a while, due to the good company. Congrats! You'll love the UW and Seattle.
theregalrenegade Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 It's like the bittersweet ending to a long novel - viggosloof off to Chapel Hill, lafayette to Princeton, and LeatherElbows to UW, and so many more I've missed. Congratulations to everyone who has accepted their place at these lucky universities. I know those of you who have made your decisions have other more pressing things to attend to now, but please stick around as long as you can (or at least until April 15) to offer your support and advice. Some of us still need a sympathetic ear! KingKazama5 and lafayette 2
vtstevie Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Anyone else have yet to hear things? I still have not heard officially from two schools, and the one school from which I have an unofficial acceptance has yet to send me any official material (e-mail OR paper).
vtstevie Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Although literally as I was typing that I received an email from Temple asking for a tuition security deposit to reserve my spot in classes next Fall, so I guess they really have accepted me, which is nice czesc and Wicked_Problem 2
theregalrenegade Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Although literally as I was typing that I received an email from Temple asking for a tuition security deposit to reserve my spot in classes next Fall, so I guess they really have accepted me, which is nice Very nice! Official congrats!!
czesc Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 How are everyone's campus visits going? It's been interesting to hear from professors what they thought of my application. One prof said they'd had a debate about me because I'd expressed so many different interests they weren't sure what to make of me. I had thought I'd expressed a fairly narrow set of subfields, but I didn't go so far as to articulate a detailed plan for my dissertation. I was cautioned not to by my MA profs, actually -- in order to demonstrate openness to new ideas. But in retrospect perhaps I swung too far in the other direction and just seemed scattered. Also it's a bit depressing to compare the resources of certain public v. private institutions. Wealthy, private universities have the resources to organize very slick, fancy visits. I won't base my decision on a dog-and-pony show, but I do wonder what other 'extras' those programs might have available for students. Very interesting to hear this -- I'm surprised anyone expressed negative thoughts about your application during a visit intended to woo you to a school. I would have actually liked to hear some myself -- I know there are all kinds of circumstantial reasons for rejections, but I'm sure my application must have played a role in decisions to some extent, particularly at places where I'm on waiting lists. My visit was very goal and future-oriented, save for discussion of some of my recommenders. Curious to know what some of the perks you experienced were! While I'm sure there's a correlation between overall university wealth and the perks offered during a visit, I wouldn't necessarily assume that a school that didn't roll these out doesn't have the money for activities more central to its research agenda (different schools have different budgetary priorities). BTW, my methodology involved expressing interest in one subfield (but also global/transnational connections to that subfield) and articulating a couple potential projects, but emphasizing that my mind was still very much open at the same time. This was the way I'd seen it done in an accepted student's Berkeley SOP (I guess that methodology doesn't work for everyone there!) and a couple profs told me it was a good idea. I wonder if I should have maybe substituted a couple discrete subfields for the transnational emphasis in my app for a wider range of acceptances. Oh, and I second the call for those of you who have decided on schools to stick around til April 15!
viggosloof28 Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I had a very pleasant and quick conclusion to the program search today. I've decided on University of Washington. Again, congrats to everyone who has made their decisions and the warmest, best wishes to anyone still waiting. I'll probably stick around here though, at least for a while, due to the good company. Congrats! I grew up in Seattle while my dad got his PhD from UW - you'll love it! It's like the bittersweet ending to a long novel - viggosloof off to Chapel Hill, lafayette to Princeton, and LeatherElbows to UW, and so many more I've missed. Congratulations to everyone who has accepted their place at these lucky universities. I know those of you who have made your decisions have other more pressing things to attend to now, but please stick around as long as you can (or at least until April 15) to offer your support and advice. Some of us still need a sympathetic ear! I've been a thesis hermit lately, but I'm still lurking! Hope we're celebrating your program decision soon! Best of luck at your remaining schools, regalrenegade!
lafayette Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Oh, and I second the call for those of you who have decided on schools to stick around til April 15!I'm here! Just a lot less. It's kind of ridiculous how my life stopped when I was basically losing my mind in February. Need to get back on track. But still rooting for everyone.
GuitarSlayer Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I'm literally incoherent. I can barely hold a conversation right now. I'm in a very happy state of shock over my email from Oxford. czesc, viggosloof28, schlesinger1 and 1 other 4
viggosloof28 Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I'm literally incoherent. I can barely hold a conversation right now. I'm in a very happy state of shock over my email from Oxford. Congratulations, GuitarSlayer! What a wonderful, but difficult choice you have ahead of you!
theregalrenegade Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 I'm literally incoherent. I can barely hold a conversation right now. I'm in a very happy state of shock over my email from Oxford. Oh my gosh! I would be incoherent, as well! Congratulations!! When did you hear? Morning?/Afternoon?
GuitarSlayer Posted March 15, 2013 Posted March 15, 2013 Got it at 5 am this morning -- been sick, so i woke up to it at around 11:30. They may do a second set of accepts if people reject the funding offer, which should come in 2 weeks. I have to watch and wait. The Oxford news is fantastic because it does restore a LOT of my self worth after the rejections. However, despite the wonderful name on my degree, Oxford doesn't have the person I want to work with and is about $50,000 more expensive over three years than York. I have a lot to think about, and I can't make a decision until I get the funding results. The top choice remains York until Oxford blows me away fundingwise.
Katzenmusik Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 (edited) Czesc: The prof's comments were expressed pleasantly, as in 'We thought you would be interesting, though we weren't quite sure exactly what you intended to do.' But I can imagine a similar debate happening at schools where I was rejected... I also mentioned a few possible projects in my SOP (having read that Berkeley essay!), but apparently that was not enough to make me seem normal. (I have a great number of strange and divergent interests but was trying to present myself as being somewhat focused. Lost cause!) Anyway, congrats to the new admits and deciders! I'm not as addicted to this place as I was last month either, but I still like checking in and seeing what's what with the Grad Cafe regulars. It's like we're digital war buddies. Edited March 16, 2013 by Katzenmusik
Katzenmusik Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 (edited) Although literally as I was typing that I received an email from Temple asking for a tuition security deposit to reserve my spot in classes next Fall, so I guess they really have accepted me, which is nice Congrats on the acceptance, but... is Temple making you pay tuition for a PhD? Edited March 16, 2013 by Katzenmusik
vtstevie Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 I don't think so - sending in a deposit is just a method of officially accepting an offer and ensuring I don't go back on it after the fact. I imagine I'll get the check back at some point after I enroll in classes (though perhaps someone else can shed some light on this process).
Andean Pat Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 I'm literally incoherent. I can barely hold a conversation right now. I'm in a very happy state of shock over my email from Oxford. Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andean Pat Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 Czesc: The prof's comments were expressed pleasantly, as in 'We thought you would be interesting, though we weren't quite sure exactly what you intended to do.' But I can imagine a similar debate happening at schools where I was rejected... I also mentioned a few possible projects in my SOP (having read that Berkeley essay!), but apparently that was not enough to make me seem normal. (I have a great number of strange and divergent interests but was trying to present myself as being somewhat focused. Lost cause!) Anyway, congrats to the new admits and deciders! I'm not as addicted to this place as I was last month either, but I still like checking in and seeing what's what with the Grad Cafe regulars. It's like we're digital war buddies. One of my schools told me that they had less history slots this year and chose people very very close to their fields of interest
stillalivetui Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 I don't think so - sending in a deposit is just a method of officially accepting an offer and ensuring I don't go back on it after the fact. I imagine I'll get the check back at some point after I enroll in classes (though perhaps someone else can shed some light on this process). That's strange they do that.
remenis Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 I don't think so - sending in a deposit is just a method of officially accepting an offer and ensuring I don't go back on it after the fact. I imagine I'll get the check back at some point after I enroll in classes (though perhaps someone else can shed some light on this process). That's strange they do that.I agree that it is strange - I've never heard anything like this before. Have you confirmed with the department that you will definitely recieve that money back?
vtstevie Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 It reads: "The required Tuition Deposit Fee of $200.00 will reserve your place in the incoming class. Please make the check or money order payable to Temple University. Your cancelled check will be your receipt."
vtstevie Posted March 16, 2013 Posted March 16, 2013 As far as whether that means I'll be paying tuition or not, I was told to expect funding info sometime in April, so I won't know for sure until then.
Katzenmusik Posted March 17, 2013 Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) Yeah, I never had to pay any deposit for my funded MA -- seems a bit unusual to ask for money if they are expecting to fund you. But I guess they're saying it's a possibility... Andean Pat: Yes, hearing their comments made me realize why I wasn't accepted to more programs. But oh well. I only needed one acceptance and am pleased to have three. Edited March 17, 2013 by Katzenmusik
Andean Pat Posted March 17, 2013 Posted March 17, 2013 Yes, one acceptance is just what you need. But I was glad to know I made it through the final round... especially to my top school
JosephineB Posted March 17, 2013 Posted March 17, 2013 As far as whether that means I'll be paying tuition or not, I was told to expect funding info sometime in April, so I won't know for sure until then. Obviously every school is different, but I had to pay a deposit for my fully funded MA. I got the money back during the first week of classes. This is a university-wide policy where I'm at.
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