Geography Application/Acceptance 2013

[jmu]

Sorry I didn't see this thread earlier, but I was the one who posted about Syracuse. I received an email from the DGS on 2/24 notifying me of my acceptance and funding. I then received the official letter from them two days ago- letter was dated 2/27. Hopefully you guys hear soon!

 

Thanks for the update and congrats!

[gphd]

Hi, I'm looking for some opinion on the Geography program at UCSB. How do you rank their program, especially in RS and GIS fields, alongside with other programs? Opinions on their reputation in both academia and industry are welcome. Thanks.

 

Althought it is not my subfield, and according to what I reviewed at due time, UCSB seems to be a very appropiate place to specialize in GIS and RS, as I think they would be Illinois Urbana-Champaign or U. of Boston, among others.

Edited March 7, 2013 by gphd

[gphd]

Accepted at Syracuse (PhD). E-mail form the DGS. No funding.

Edited March 7, 2013 by gphd

[jmu]

Waitlisted at Syracuse (MA). Sounded like all MA offers were funded.

[Mcj7]

Congrats people! 

[gphd]

Hi all,

Have you had any news from UCLA?

[Darth_Nadir]

Hi all,

Have you had any news from UCLA?

 

Last I heard was mid-March.

[jmu]

UGA has made it's "first round of TA offers." If you haven't heard from them yet you might be on a waitlist or, like me, in a sort of limbo state.

[mybattleship]

I think UGA made their first round of TA offers in mid-February. I'm in a very similar limbo position with them, although I'm feeling confident I'll eventually be offered a place. I was told that none of the university wide awards for highly qualified applicants have been divied out, and that if any of the geography applicants were accepted for those, then some TA money would be freed up for second round offers.

[jmu]

I think UGA made their first round of TA offers in mid-February. I'm in a very similar limbo position with them, although I'm feeling confident I'll eventually be offered a place. I was told that none of the university wide awards for highly qualified applicants have been divied out, and that if any of the geography applicants were accepted for those, then some TA money would be freed up for second round offers.

 

MA offers came out later than PhD, from my understanding. My issue is that they like my application too much to reject me, but I'm not a perfect fit for anyone taking on more students.

 

 

About to decline Rutgers offer. After calculating, even taking the full Stafford loan I wouldn't be able to cover my tuition and fees for the first year.

[Stratix]

Anybody heard from Colorado-Boulder or Indiana-Bloomington? Yesterday I heard from Penn State, and although they claimed I had a strong application, was denied. : /

[Grace187]

Thanks for sharing the funding issues with UGA. I'm in a similar boat--accepted for PhD, but waitlisted for funding. Hope it comes through.  

[Darth_Nadir]

Anybody heard from Colorado-Boulder or Indiana-Bloomington? Yesterday I heard from Penn State, and although they claimed I had a strong application, was denied. : /

 

No news from CU-Boulder.

[frasier]

Anyone waiting for/heard news from CUNY?

 

I'm not hopeful but a resolution is always nice.

[gphd]

Rejected at UCLA (yesterday by e-mail). Anyway, it was expectable, since I couldn´t prepare my statement as I would like to do.

[gphd]

Does anyone have had news from U. of North Carolina?

I hadn´t. I saw various responses in the survey so I suposee I wasn´t accepted there.

[jmu]

I think we're at a point that, for any pre-Feb 1 applications it is safe to send an email to DGS or grad secretary asking about status. I've done it with two schools and have received really great responses in both cases.

[gphd]

I think we're at a point that, for any pre-Feb 1 applications it is safe to send an email to DGS or grad secretary asking about status. I've done it with two schools and have received really great responses in both cases.

 

Thanks jmu. I will consider do that.

[darkhorse]

You guys that didn't get funding should consider your options.  Its not a good idea to proceed without funding.  I was informed when I began this process that if you didn't get funding than it means you were rejected.  But to avoid killing all hope, many people are evaluating their options and some will get admitted to several schools.  As those people notify the schools they will not attend, the funding trickles down the list.  So if you don't get in initially, it may be the case that you will get an offer a bit later.  You should also pay attention to how many years of funding are offered.  It is a very good idea to have a masters degree in the current funding environment so that you can hit the ground running on external funding in the first year.  Four years of funding is not enough.

[whatshername]

You guys that didn't get funding should consider your options.  Its not a good idea to proceed without funding.  I was informed when I began this process that if you didn't get funding than it means you were rejected.  But to avoid killing all hope, many people are evaluating their options and some will get admitted to several schools.  As those people notify the schools they will not attend, the funding trickles down the list.  So if you don't get in initially, it may be the case that you will get an offer a bit later.  You should also pay attention to how many years of funding are offered.  It is a very good idea to have a masters degree in the current funding environment so that you can hit the ground running on external funding in the first year.  Four years of funding is not enough.

I'm getting a 4-year funding package. Do you mean that this funding is not enough? I think that they may have funding opportunities availabe in the future that may cover my expenses in the 5th year. Is it the case?

[darkhorse]

I'm getting a 4-year funding package. Do you mean that this funding is not enough? I think that they may have funding opportunities availabe in the future that may cover my expenses in the 5th year. Is it the case?

 

Its not enough funding to complete the PhD, if you don't get a university fellowship or external funding you will need to borrow money to finish the program.  Its almost unheard of for PhDs in the US to be completed in under 5 years.  Four years of funding is decent, but you need to strategize to maximize your chances of getting funding afterwards or you will be adjuncting for a couple of years trying to find time to work on your dissertation.

[jmu]

You guys that didn't get funding should consider your options.  Its not a good idea to proceed without funding.  I was informed when I began this process that if you didn't get funding than it means you were rejected.  But to avoid killing all hope, many people are evaluating their options and some will get admitted to several schools.  As those people notify the schools they will not attend, the funding trickles down the list.  So if you don't get in initially, it may be the case that you will get an offer a bit later.  You should also pay attention to how many years of funding are offered.  It is a very good idea to have a masters degree in the current funding environment so that you can hit the ground running on external funding in the first year.  Four years of funding is not enough.

 

This is only partially true. With the current economic climate funding is being cut back dramatically and different schools are handling it different ways. Some are accepting the same number of students but funding less, some are accepting less students and funding the same percentage, etc. Rutgers Geography, for example, only offered funding to people admitted to the PhD program if they already held a master's degree (this is, at least, what I have been told by multiple people at Rutgers.) Anyone else who was admitted was not offered funding but instead told they would be eligible for competitive funding after their first year (completing 12 credits in the Fall, you can apply for competitive funding in the Spring for the following Fall semester.) The situation varies and even if you aren't offered a TA-ship, fellowship, or comprehensive funding package it is worthwhile to contact people in the department and see if they are taking any RAs that may not have been mentioned.

 

 

Its not enough funding to complete the PhD, if you don't get a university fellowship or external funding you will need to borrow money to finish the program.  Its almost unheard of for PhDs in the US to be completed in under 5 years.  Four years of funding is decent, but you need to strategize to maximize your chances of getting funding afterwards or you will be adjuncting for a couple of years trying to find time to work on your dissertation.

 

Getting enough funding to complete the PhD is rare. You are expected to be writing and applying for external grants and fellowships usually by your 3rd or 4th year. In addition, most schools have special fellowships and grants specifically for students that are, or are close to being, ABD. These are not included in any funding packages I've seen or heard about but are applied for later either by the student or via department nomination.

[mybattleship]

Has anyone heard any news from UGA?

[jmu]

Has anyone heard any news from UGA?

 

UGA decisions have been made. If you haven't heard either way I would email either Steve Holloway or the graduate secretary about your application. They have a sort of unofficial waitlist going but individual prospects for getting off of it depend on your POI being available and willing to take you on.

[Grace187]

Getting enough funding to complete the PhD is rare. You are expected to be writing and applying for external grants and fellowships usually by your 3rd or 4th year. In addition, most schools have special fellowships and grants specifically for students that are, or are close to being, ABD. These are not included in any funding packages I've seen or heard about but are applied for later either by the student or via department nomination.

I agree that it's not a good idea to pursue a PhD without funding, but I absolutely agree with the statements above. This must vary greatly by program and by school, but my personal experience with friends in current PhD programs is that two year funding (through assistantships, PI grants) while completing coursework is pretty standard. After that, my sense is that many people are written into existing grants or co-write them with their advisors. Securing your own funding through your own grant, I believe (again, limited experience, and I could be way off here), is on the rarer side. The benefit is this is that it allows you to pursue exactly the type of research project you'd like to do.

Don't lose hope on UGA--they're still considering awards and waiting on responses. I heard (unofficially) from them last week.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Grace187