Film, Cinema, and Visual Studies –– 2013

[mynameistrinity]

Northwestern's rollin 'em out

[reds89]

NYU? Anyone? Anyone at all? 

 

[Swagato]

Wut Northwestern? I thought they were done months ago?

[letmein]

NYU? Anyone? Anyone at all? 

 

 

There were a whole slew of acceptances and rejections posted last month. On the results page, search "NYU media." 

 

Regarding Northwestern, to quote King Arthur, "Tis a silly place."

 

Also: to the ever-mysterious mynameistrinity, please provide some more details in your posts. We are always starving for information. 

[reds89]

There were a whole slew of acceptances and rejections posted last month. On the results page, search "NYU media." 

 

Regarding Northwestern, to quote King Arthur, "Tis a silly place."

 

Also: to the ever-mysterious mynameistrinity, please provide some more details in your posts. We are always starving for information. 

 

For the Media and Communications program. Not for Cinema Studies. 

 

[vitaebella]

I haven't heard jack from Northwestern yet, so they're not totally done.  I know they did their interviews forever ago, so when I do hear form them it obviously isn't going to be good news.  But they still haven't finished with notifications.

 

As for NYU, I haven't heard anything from them yet (about the Cinema Studies MA program) except a little while ago I got a generic e-mail about applications being under review, with this delightfully vague bit about when to expect decisions:

 

"We often get asked if there is a particular date by which we notify candidates of the results.  Because the process varies depending on the program we do not have a precise time period.  You should know, however, that all of our 15 graduate departments are in the process of finalizing their decisions and that you are being looked at very carefully."

 

 

NYU is giving me so much anxiety!  I want to know so I can make an official decision - ack!

Edited March 7, 2013 by glenna_rochelle

[Swagato]

letmein, I still maintain that Harvard is the most inscrutable department out of all in our field. Then again, UMich irked me last year when I discovered they want *two* writing samples.

 

NYU is rumored to be quite stingy with MA funding? I guess you'll find out at some point. 

[vitaebella]

Swagato, I'm sure they are, but I'm not going to accept an spot somewhere else until I know everything for sure.  There could be some freak miracle occurance in which NYU offers me a tuition waiver, and more than enough money to live on

 

I'd be kicking myself from here to kingdom come if that were the case and I had already accepted another offer and enrolled there.  So a firm decision can wait another 2-3 weeks just to make sure I make the best choice possible.

[Swagato]

Oh, of course. I didn't mean that you should make a decision prematurely. I'm holding off on any decisions as well, even though my choice is ostensibly a simple one, simply because I don't want to commit until I've visited, spoken with people, etc.

[vitaebella]

NYU has sent out their PhD notifications (at least according to several acceptances being reported on the results search page), but I'm quite sure the MA admission notifications haven't been sent yet and will likely be going out around the end of March.  That seems to be the trend from the previous years results search for MA notifications anyway.

[CommPhD20]

I'm a year away from this happening to me...feeling for you all!

[letmein]

Sure enough, my Northwestern rejection is finally viewable on the application site. Took them long enough. 

 

Not that it really matters at this point. I have enough acceptances to choose from already.

[Swagato]

Any idea how many they admitted? I saw that I'd been rejected from Iowa some days back. I suppose I had some curiosity about that since I'd been waitlisted last year. If anyone here was admitted, I'd love to talk to them.

[mynameistrinity]

sorry, letmein, et al, if i'm being unclear. my last post meant to indicate that northwestern has been notifying accepted students (i received a call last week). this follows what they'd told me and what i'd posted previously about finishing interviews the first week of march.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MediaAmbition]

Will most of you with these great options likely make choices closer to April 15? Congrats to all, again! 

Edited March 12, 2013 by MediaAmbition

[Swagato]

Putting it off until at least after my visit to New Haven at the end of March. I may give it a week into April to see if either of my two waitlists make any move, but I don't really see myself picking any of them. 

[letmein]

UCSB's recruitment weekend isn't until early April, so I'm not going to make a decision until at least then. I hope to be more strongly leaning toward one program or another before that time, however.

[MediaAmbition]

Have a great time on the visits, good luck deciding, and stay in touch!

[edenetapres]

Anyone still waiting to hear from Yale? If so, in conjunction with what dept.?

[Swagato]

I'm fairly sure everything for History of Art+Film has been sent out. I can't say as much for the other combinations, but based both on past years and the fact that it is now Spring Break at Yale, I *think* everything else has been settled as well. After Spring Break, there really are just three weeks until the April 15 deadline, so it seems unlikely that they'll be that late. 

[MediaAmbition]

For any of you silent lurkers out there --- like how I was last year and looking up admissions statistics -- and are beginning to pursue your PhD or MA plans in Film/Media Studies-- I found this after my submissions and would have found it very helpful beforehand. It is written by the great Jonathan Gray at Wisconsin and is the concluding post of a 3-part series about pursuing graduate school in our field.

 

http://www.extratextual.tv/2011/08/applying-to-grad-schools-in-media-studies-part-3-how-do-you-get-in/

 

Also, this UC Berkeley guide to Statement of Purpose writing:

https://career.berkeley.edu/grad/gradstatement.stm

[ylc]

I'm fairly sure everything for History of Art+Film has been sent out. I can't say as much for the other combinations, but based both on past years and the fact that it is now Spring Break at Yale, I *think* everything else has been settled as well. After Spring Break, there really are just three weeks until the April 15 deadline, so it seems unlikely that they'll be that late. 

 

Just found this lovely threads. Congrats on your acceptance to Yale, that was my dream!

I got rejected by most of the programs I applied, and there has been no move at all for U of Iowa (Film Studies) and USC (Critical Studies).

Under the "Admission Decision" on that isis webpage of u of iowa, it still shows as "in progress"... Is that where you found out your result?

And for USC, do they send out emails or postal letters? I'm becoming very worried and panic...

Since I really felt like I'll have to come back for the application again next year, are you familiar with any schools that has the emphasis on (East) Asian cinema and cultural studies?

I've tried USC, U of Chicago, Yale, Stony Brook U, NYU and some others that aren't really a good fit, but I'm afraid that I missed some...

And did you just ask for your advisor to help you with your sop in addition to the writing sample?

 

Thank you!!

[letmein]

Did you look into UC-Santa Barbara or UW-Madison? I think there are faculty at both who work on international (specifically Chinese or Japanese) media, but I might be wrong.

 

I think most if not all schools have notified their candidates by now. They would have to in order to lock in their acceptances before the April 15 deadline. If you haven't heard *anything* yet, you may be wait-listed. It's probably worth shooting an email to the program coordinator to find out.

[twincinema]

Hi all! Long time lurker, first time poster. First, congratulations to all of you on your many acceptances! From your posts I can tell they're well deserved.

 

I'm just finishing my BA in Cinema and English and have applied to several MA/PhD programs in Film Studies. So far I haven't had any luck with PhD programs. I'm still waiting on 3 programs, but I only care about one--Iowa. I'm really hoping it works out, but I also recognize how difficult it is to be accepted right out of undergrad. Is it worth contacting Iowa and asking where they are in the process/what my status is?

 

Also, if anyone would like to weigh in, I'm seriously debating whether I should attend a MA program first or do something else. There are many reasons to go, but funding is an issue. One program has reached out to me on several occasions, but funding is tight and I'm not sure if it would be worth it. I do have a job offer at a 2 year fellowship, so if I did that I could save up some money and have time to work on my application (though not much time). I'm still waiting on Fulbright, so hopefully that works out because I'd be in a much better place. Still broke though.

 

Any thoughts? Feel free to PM me if that's easier!

[MediaAmbition]

If Iowa has an administrative Graduate contact you can call, go for it! And even a lot of us who have an MA also have trouble with PhD admissions! If the fellowship is connected to the field or just something you are interested in, and is also a good means to save up money, go for it too. I think a lot of these guys received funding for their MA programs in the states (I was abroad), so they might have some insight on ones you could apply to for the next round.

 

Something I think I've learned this year is, if you get funded for a decent MA program and do really well there, it seems like a better shot than going to a prestigious for pay MA. 

 

And even if an MA is not always required for some PhD applications, they are certainly encouraged. I have heard of cases where some go from BA to PhD in FIlm Studies, but the competition for that appears even tighter than anything else. Good luck!