UT-Austin

[Sursie]

quick note: if you don't have the funds to pay the tuition bill upfront, you can take out a short-term loan from UT for the full amount and then pay it back near the end of the semester after you've gotten paid. I think you end up paying like ~$20 in interest. I've done it both semesters and have had no issues. So don't let that be the reason you turn down UT : )   more here: http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/sar/il.html'>http://www.utexas.edu/business/accounting/sar/il.html

Thanks, Ophelia. That's really good info for us incoming and prospectives to know.

[featherrocketship]

I just got an email from Prof. Lesser informing me he has "been authorized to offer [me] admission to the doctoral program"!! Apparently the official email from the English department will be coming tomorrow. I am definitely planning to accept, and so stoked to meet you all for real in the Fall!!!

 

I'm floating.

[dazedandbemused]

I just got an email from Prof. Lesser informing me he has "been authorized to offer [me] admission to the doctoral program"!! Apparently the official email from the English department will be coming tomorrow. I am definitely planning to accept, and so stoked to meet you all for real in the Fall!!!

 

I'm floating.

 

Congrats!

[Globalist]

Hi all, I too will be attending UT in the Fall! Very excited and eager to meet you all!

[Sursie]

Congrats, y'all!

[Globalist]

Hello all - anyone who is current student or someone who has visited/lived in Austin:  I've pored through the forums and everyone seems to suggest living relatively close to the university.  My general rule is to try to live near where I'll want to go out and to travel to work.  I also know Austin is a bit more spread out than other cities?  Or at least that's my understanding.  SO - my question is - where do people go out?  Where are the great coffee shops/restaurants/bars, etc?  Are they centrally located or are there several locations?  Where do the grad students tend to hang?  I think if I had a better sense of this I'd have a good idea of where I'd want to live . . . any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[WendyMoira]

I just want to say that I love being in grad school at UT. I am currently sitting in a house in Antigua, Guatemala, with my airfare, lodging, and transportation paid for by the university for a week. I saw a historic genocide trial, foresnic evidence that made me cry, and documents that few, if any people have seen. Where else could you make something like this happen in less than a month? I am not one to gush about much, but I don't believe that I could be happier doing anything else right now.

I am going to second Gautefeminist (who, by the way, really is not the kind of person to gush, I say with affection . I have not gone to guatemala, but UT is letting me do some pretty unconventional coursework, funding my presentation at a major conference in the summer, and working my summer funding around my spinal surgery schedule. If you're not up for grad school, that's one thing, but I have a hard time imagining anyone who knows what they're getting into and really wants to come here would be unhappy. Our department is almost universally sunny. Of course, now that you've all made your decisions, this information is irrelevant. But I had to say it!

 

Oh also, on placement rates. Another way to look at the job situation is to look at what our own hiring event looked like. I went to all but one of the job talks we hosted this year while our EP was looking for a new tenure-track Americanist and a post-doc, and they were really educational. If anyone wants more specific and gossip-like details, PM me. 

 

Hello all - anyone who is current student or someone who has visited/lived in Austin:  I've pored through the forums and everyone seems to suggest living relatively close to the university.  My general rule is to try to live near where I'll want to go out and to travel to work.  I also know Austin is a bit more spread out than other cities?  Or at least that's my understanding.  SO - my question is - where do people go out?  Where are the great coffee shops/restaurants/bars, etc?  Are they centrally located or are there several locations?  Where do the grad students tend to hang?  I think if I had a better sense of this I'd have a good idea of where I'd want to live . . . any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 Globalist--it's quite possible to live a little further out; I know a lot of people that do. That said, I live about 1.2 miles north of campus and love it. I've never lived close before, so I'm just enamored with being able to me on campus so quickly. I know some people that want to live further away for the space/distance, and just as many who are now moving closer to be nearer school. I will say almost all of us tend to congregate pretty close to campus. This is Austin, and Austin is awesome, so there are cool coffee shops and bars everywhere, but I don't really know anyone who drives seven miles up to go to one of the fancy yuppy-ish bars. The few-mile radius around campus is pretty popular (away from undergrad haunts, too). I moved from Orlando, which is sprawling, so Austin doesn't seem spread out to me at all, but then it's nothing like New York or anything.

 

Anyway, I could probably provide more specific details should you want them. You can PM me, too, if you'd like.

 

On another note, one of my roommates is moving out. I believe Amy sent out our ad, but if you're interested in a room in Hyde Park with two 23/f who like to cook and keep things tidy, let me know.

[marlowe]

On another note, one of my roommates is moving out. I believe Amy sent out our ad, but if you're interested in a room in Hyde Park with two 23/f who like to cook and keep things tidy, let me know.

 

I'm IN.  Rambo can live with me.

[Globalist]

Hello everyone,

thank you so much for all your advice, it's been helping a lot.  I'm now looking at specific apartment complexes and found one that's reasonably priced on 45th street (Tanglewood North).  My only fear is that it's too close to campus and may be overrun with undergrads?  Anyone have a sense of the area better than me?  Would I be better off going further North?

Thanks again.  Definitely getting excited about Austin!

[grumpyface]

Hello everyone,

thank you so much for all your advice, it's been helping a lot.  I'm now looking at specific apartment complexes and found one that's reasonably priced on 45th street (Tanglewood North).  My only fear is that it's too close to campus and may be overrun with undergrads?  Anyone have a sense of the area better than me?  Would I be better off going further North?

Thanks again.  Definitely getting excited about Austin!

 

Hi Globalist!

 

I'm a new to the English grad department too--looking forward to meeting you! I was in Austin a few weeks ago checking out apartments and rented a 2 bedroom for me and my roommate (also in the program) at Tanglewood North. I liked the complex a lot! It's clean, the rooms are sunny, it's quiet, and I was told it's rented mostly by engineering grads. It has a UT shuttle stop across the street and the management pays for air conditioning. All in all, I thought it was a lovely place--definitely worth checking out. Good luck in your search. Hope I was able to help!

[WendyMoira]

I'm IN.  Rambo can live with me.

You're not looking to move, are you? Also, Rambo went back to Michigan for a few weeks, and I'm devastated. The Dogz is too.

 

Hello everyone,

thank you so much for all your advice, it's been helping a lot.  I'm now looking at specific apartment complexes and found one that's reasonably priced on 45th street (Tanglewood North).  My only fear is that it's too close to campus and may be overrun with undergrads?  Anyone have a sense of the area better than me?  Would I be better off going further North?

Thanks again.  Definitely getting excited about Austin!

Hi Globalist-- just to let you know, I live almost on 45th, and there are very few undergrads in sight. I don't know what major street that complex is at, but I would assume anything that far north is relatively UG-free. In my area at least, it's mostly grad students and young professionals. Hope this helps!

[Sursie]

I haven't nailed down housing yet. Anyone else still looking for roomies or lease-taker-overers?

[Globalist]

Hi everyone,

 

I just got an email from UT about health insurance and they mentioned that dental and vision is not included, but that you could purchase it at your own cost.  Does anyone know any more about this?  I'm probably going to need both and am concerned about how much this will cost buying independently.  Current students?  Any info?

 

Thanks so much, hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

 

 

[Tweedledumb]

Bumping this topic to ask--is it odd that UT Austin has notified some of their Master's applicants but not their PhDs? I thought programs usually did PhDs first and then decided on MAs...

 

Not that this really matters, I'm just playing the "What if" game like everyone else around here. 

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

Bumping this topic to ask--is it odd that UT Austin has notified some of their Master's applicants but not their PhDs? I thought programs usually did PhDs first and then decided on MAs...

 

Not that this really matters, I'm just playing the "What if" game like everyone else around here. 

I dunno about those two rhet notifications ( 1 rejected 1 admitted) - they just come off as weird.

Of course I'm playing the "why haven't I been notified yet?" game.  

Just sit tight... I'm sure it won't be much longer. I got an email last week from them looking for more info on me (I screwed something up I guess).

Lets hope we hear good news by the end of the week!

[Tweedledumb]

Lets hope we hear good news by the end of the week!

 

Cheers to that!

[mikers86]

Good news, bad news, semi-good news (read - waitlisted). I just want *some* news this week from Texas to avoid getting 12 potentially awful rejections over the course of a week or two.

 

But really, I hope we hear good news!!

[Katia_chan]

They've notified MA's?  How did I miss that... when?

 

Also I don't think it's too weird--maybe they just have a high volume to deal with.  In theory, if last year's schedule is anything to go by, we should maybe be hearing something from them within the next day or two.  Or at least I hope so...I had a running start with hearing from two schools right away, then complete silence from *all* of my others.  I wanna know, one way or the other... even with an acceptance, I still feel like I'm in limbo.  Saying that makes me feel like a tool, but it's true.

[Tweedledumb]

They've notified MA's?  How did I miss that... when?

 

Also I don't think it's too weird--maybe they just have a high volume to deal with.  In theory, if last year's schedule is anything to go by, we should maybe be hearing something from them within the next day or two.  Or at least I hope so...I had a running start with hearing from two schools right away, then complete silence from *all* of my others.  I wanna know, one way or the other... even with an acceptance, I still feel like I'm in limbo.  Saying that makes me feel like a tool, but it's true.

 

The MAs were for the Rhet/Comp program so you might have overlooked them if you weren't searching for Austin specifically. I usually keep 'English' in my search bar on the results board but I switch it up with 'Rhetoric' occasionally 

[dazedandbemused]

Technically, any MA notifications are for the PhD program, because we don't have a separate terminal MA. Other than expected length of time in the program, they don't really differentiate between us MA peeps and the PhD stage people right out of the gate. Also, I wouldn't freak out too hard if you don't hear today, because results trickled out veeeeery gradually last year. People started hearing back on a Thursday, and I didn't hear anything until the next Monday, right as I was on the edge of nervous collapse.

[despejado]

Technically, any MA notifications are for the PhD program, because we don't have a separate terminal MA. Other than expected length of time in the program, they don't really differentiate between us MA peeps and the PhD stage people right out of the gate. Also, I wouldn't freak out too hard if you don't hear today, because results trickled out veeeeery gradually last year. People started hearing back on a Thursday, and I didn't hear anything until the next Monday, right as I was on the edge of nervous collapse.

 

Thanks for this. I've been in Texas my whole life. Currently a TAMU student (we can be friends, promise), but I love Austin. I can't imagine many places I would rather live, so I'm glad to hear that they spread out admissions and I don't have to freak out over the first thing that comes up on the boards. Also, Texas does waitlisting, don't they?

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

See!

No worries. Not yet anyways.

[dazedandbemused]

Thanks for this. I've been in Texas my whole life. Currently a TAMU student (we can be friends, promise), but I love Austin. I can't imagine many places I would rather live, so I'm glad to hear that they spread out admissions and I don't have to freak out over the first thing that comes up on the boards. Also, Texas does waitlisting, don't they?

They do! And since they don't accept more people than they intend to matriculate, it's super common to get in off the wait list. I think about a third of my cohort, and half of the year before, was wait listed.

[despejado]

They do! And since they don't accept more people than they intend to matriculate, it's super common to get in off the wait list. I think about a third of my cohort, and half of the year before, was wait listed.

 

Well I like that quite a lot. Awesome.

[ComeBackZinc]

Bear in mind that sometimes individual faculty go off script and notify someone before most acceptances come out. So one or two early-seeming notifications might not be bogus.

Edited February 11, 2014 by ComeBackZinc