Communication/Media Studies Ph.D Fall 2014--Apps, Decisions, and Waiting...

[trizzleYO]

This is the longest winter break in the history of winter breaks.  That is all.  Just kidding, hopefully everyone had / is having a fantastic break / holiday .

[KentuckyCurls]

Ha! Agreed! I know I shouldn't wish my life away, but... Longest. Break. Ever.

I've been juggling a full course load, full-time job, and PhD application stuff with no real vacation since *January*. You'd think I'd be loving the downtime this month, but it's kind of torturous. 

Hope everyone's had a wonderful holiday and that 2014 starts off with some great news for us.

[apiphobic]

So yesterday I got an email about doing a skype interview for UW-Madison! I'm super excited but also terrified. I'm anticipating a total black out. Any tips or ideas of what they'll be asking?

 

I hope this is an indication for how my application came across at the other programs.

[paperdreams]

Hi all! I'm not super well acquainted with gradcafe, as is probably evident by the fact that this is my first post, but I have a question: I was accepted to a Comm. Studies PhD program on December 13, with funding etc. Because I'm applying to these programs straight from undergrad and this is my first time around, I don't really know what's normal so I was, of course, ecstatic but also not completely shocked. After creepin' around on these boards for a few days, I'm realizing that it's really uncommon to hear back so soon and I'm wondering what the significance of it is ... I looked at the results board for last year and it seems like all the decisions from this particular school were made at the normal time. 

 

By no means am I trying to be obnoxious. I completely recognize that this is unusual and the wait to hear back is stressful, which I don't want to exacerbate. I'm just curious if any of you (who all seem surprisingly lovely and supportive for an online forum...though I guess I wouldn't expect trolls to be particularly interested in this, but who knows) have knowledge to share on this particular question!  

[KentuckyCurls]

Hi all! I'm not super well acquainted with gradcafe, as is probably evident by the fact that this is my first post, but I have a question: I was accepted to a Comm. Studies PhD program on December 13, with funding etc. Because I'm applying to these programs straight from undergrad and this is my first time around, I don't really know what's normal so I was, of course, ecstatic but also not completely shocked. After creepin' around on these boards for a few days, I'm realizing that it's really uncommon to hear back so soon and I'm wondering what the significance of it is ... I looked at the results board for last year and it seems like all the decisions from this particular school were made at the normal time. 

 

By no means am I trying to be obnoxious. I completely recognize that this is unusual and the wait to hear back is stressful, which I don't want to exacerbate. I'm just curious if any of you (who all seem surprisingly lovely and supportive for an online forum...though I guess I wouldn't expect trolls to be particularly interested in this, but who knows) have knowledge to share on this particular question!  

Your situation is certainly uncommon. While this is my first round of PhD applications, I will say that what I've gathered from stalking these boards when applying for master's programs and in the last few months-- this is not something that happens regularly. Speaking in broad terms, it seems that people generally begin hearing back from programs with decisions toward the end of January. In fact, many do not receive interview requests until after New Year's.

That being said, congratulations! That is pretty awesome news with which to start the year! At the very least, as you wait to hear back from other programs, you have peace of mind knowing that you've already gained acceptance in one program. Kudos to you!

[VioletAyame]

So yesterday I got an email about doing a skype interview for UW-Madison! I'm super excited but also terrified. I'm anticipating a total black out. Any tips or ideas of what they'll be asking?

 

I hope this is an indication for how my application came across at the other programs.

 

Congratulations! UW-Madison sounds fantastic. You should check out the Interview/Visit section under the Applying sub-forum. There are tons of threads there about what to expect, what to ask, what to wear, etc. If you don't mind me asking, will this be an interview with your POI or with members of the admission committee or both? I think the questions they'll ask will change depending on who will be interviewing you.

 

Hi all! I'm not super well acquainted with gradcafe, as is probably evident by the fact that this is my first post, but I have a question: I was accepted to a Comm. Studies PhD program on December 13, with funding etc. Because I'm applying to these programs straight from undergrad and this is my first time around, I don't really know what's normal so I was, of course, ecstatic but also not completely shocked. After creepin' around on these boards for a few days, I'm realizing that it's really uncommon to hear back so soon and I'm wondering what the significance of it is ... I looked at the results board for last year and it seems like all the decisions from this particular school were made at the normal time. 

 

By no means am I trying to be obnoxious. I completely recognize that this is unusual and the wait to hear back is stressful, which I don't want to exacerbate. I'm just curious if any of you (who all seem surprisingly lovely and supportive for an online forum...though I guess I wouldn't expect trolls to be particularly interested in this, but who knows) have knowledge to share on this particular question!  

 

I'm applying for the first time too, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice. I'm gonna venture and guess that it's good news, meaning you might be one of the applicants who stand out to them right away. Did they give you a deadline to decide? Either way, congratulations!

 

Yes we're quite a lovely bunch here. I was very glad to have a lot of people to freak out with - over the last few weeks I think a combination of having nothing to do after the application, the winter blues, holiday craziness and homesickness almost drove me out of my mind! I come here to find my sanity in other people's panicking.

 

Happy new year everyone! May the new year bring good news to all of us!

[apiphobic]

Hi all! I'm not super well acquainted with gradcafe, as is probably evident by the fact that this is my first post, but I have a question: I was accepted to a Comm. Studies PhD program on December 13, with funding etc. Because I'm applying to these programs straight from undergrad and this is my first time around, I don't really know what's normal so I was, of course, ecstatic but also not completely shocked. After creepin' around on these boards for a few days, I'm realizing that it's really uncommon to hear back so soon and I'm wondering what the significance of it is ... I looked at the results board for last year and it seems like all the decisions from this particular school were made at the normal time. 

 

By no means am I trying to be obnoxious. I completely recognize that this is unusual and the wait to hear back is stressful, which I don't want to exacerbate. I'm just curious if any of you (who all seem surprisingly lovely and supportive for an online forum...though I guess I wouldn't expect trolls to be particularly interested in this, but who knows) have knowledge to share on this particular question!  

 

I've never heard of anyone getting accepted so quickly, but it's certainly good news! I guess you just really impressed them. It'll help soothe the pain of the wait, that's for sure. If you don't mind me asking, which program is it?

 

 

Congratulations! UW-Madison sounds fantastic. You should check out the Interview/Visit section under the Applying sub-forum. There are tons of threads there about what to expect, what to ask, what to wear, etc. If you don't mind me asking, will this be an interview with your POI or with members of the admission committee or both? I think the questions they'll ask will change depending on who will be interviewing you.

 

The interview is just with my POI, as far as I know. It might be that he does all the interviews for the Media and Cultural studies side of the program though, and that he just happens to be my POI. The interview is tomorrow so I'll let you all know how it went and if I have any specifics that might help anyone else out should they need it.

[natebassett]

The interview is just with my POI, as far as I know. It might be that he does all the interviews for the Media and Cultural studies side of the program though, and that he just happens to be my POI. The interview is tomorrow so I'll let you all know how it went and if I have any specifics that might help anyone else out should they need it.

 

Congrats! Hope it goes well, definitely jealous. 

[paperdreams]

Your situation is certainly uncommon. While this is my first round of PhD applications, I will say that what I've gathered from stalking these boards when applying for master's programs and in the last few months-- this is not something that happens regularly. Speaking in broad terms, it seems that people generally begin hearing back from programs with decisions toward the end of January. In fact, many do not receive interview requests until after New Year's.

That being said, congratulations! That is pretty awesome news with which to start the year! At the very least, as you wait to hear back from other programs, you have peace of mind knowing that you've already gained acceptance in one program. Kudos to you!

 

 

I'm applying for the first time too, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice. I'm gonna venture and guess that it's good news, meaning you might be one of the applicants who stand out to them right away. Did they give you a deadline to decide? Either way, congratulations!

 

Yes we're quite a lovely bunch here. I was very glad to have a lot of people to freak out with - over the last few weeks I think a combination of having nothing to do after the application, the winter blues, holiday craziness and homesickness almost drove me out of my mind! I come here to find my sanity in other people's panicking.

 

Happy new year everyone! May the new year bring good news to all of us!

 

I've never heard of anyone getting accepted so quickly, but it's certainly good news! I guess you just really impressed them. It'll help soothe the pain of the wait, that's for sure. If you don't mind me asking, which program is it?

 

 

 

Thanks all! Completely agree with VioletAyame that it's nice to have a community to share with during this process. And yes, it is definitely a huge relief/antidote to the pain of waiting for decisions to already have one acceptance. I don't mind sharing which program (though for some reason it feels oddly taboo, maybe because should anyone from the program read this they'll likely know who I am) -- it's UNC Chapel Hill and the deadline they gave me to decide is in mid-April, which I'm assuming is the norm. Anyway, thanks again for the supportive messages, I'm of course very excited! 

[VioletAyame]

The interview is just with my POI, as far as I know. It might be that he does all the interviews for the Media and Cultural studies side of the program though, and that he just happens to be my POI. The interview is tomorrow so I'll let you all know how it went and if I have any specifics that might help anyone else out should they need it.

 

apiphobic, how did it go? Please update us (with advice with possible ) when you have the time!

[apiphobic]

I think it went ok? You can never be sure, of course, but I don't think it went too badly. It was just with my POI, who was very nice and engaging. It was supposed to last about 30 minutes, but ended up being almost a full hour. He asked me questions first, about why I wanted to go to this particular program and my research (what, why, how), pretty much what I was expecting. I fumbled over a question about methods, because I'm always more of a "what" than a "how" person, so I'm still kicking myself over that. And he asked about my grades, which I had been dreading, because they are good but could certainly have been better. I didn't ask how many people were interviewed, but he did say it was only a handful. 

 

It was a very illuminating interview for me though, and it certainly put Madison higher on my list of programs I want to attend. It seems like a really stimulating department with a great work environment. I'm not supposed to hear back until early february, however. I can't say if I managed to completely convince him of how awesome and special I am, but I think I'll be on the wait list at least. (whoo?)

 

The one question that had been on my mind the most was "why me?", because grades/GRE wise I know there are better/smarter people (there always are) and we all want to know what we did right/wrong. I wasn't sure if it was ok to ask, but I did anyway. According to my POI it really was about fit, because my interests overlap with a lot of the faculty. So I guess working on my SOP for four months really paid off! 

 

If there are any questions about the interview or maybe the program itself (he certainly told me things that weren't on the website), let me know!

[autumn]

I'm new here too and I won't be applying until the next cycle, but I will be applying to a number of the same programs and I just wanted to say congratulations to everyone who has heard back and best of luck to everyone who is still waiting. I'm equally nervous and excited about being in your positions next year!

[KentuckyCurls]

I was emailed by a professor at Temple University this evening to set up an interview to discuss my interests and any questions I may have regarding their program. Prior to Christmas, someone within the department sent out an email stating that no progress would be made on reviewing applications until class resumed on January 6th. Imagine my shock to be contacted on the 7th.

It's exciting to be contacted so soon-- especially when you fear that your application may be in a recycling bin somewhere...

[hellofandom]

I was emailed by a professor at Temple University this evening to set up an interview to discuss my interests and any questions I may have regarding their program. Prior to Christmas, someone within the department sent out an email stating that no progress would be made on reviewing applications until class resumed on January 6th. Imagine my shock to be contacted on the 7th.

It's exciting to be contacted so soon-- especially when you fear that your application may be in a recycling bin somewhere...

 

That's so awesome!  Congrats! Are you applying to the doctoral program in MM&C?  (I'm in the MA program there now, but not applying there for my PhD.)  If you don't mind me asking, who are you interviewing with? 

[KentuckyCurls]

That's so awesome!  Congrats! Are you applying to the doctoral program in MM&C?  (I'm in the MA program there now, but not applying there for my PhD.)  If you don't mind me asking, who are you interviewing with? 

hellofandom, I spoke with Dr. Campbell this afternoon regarding the doctoral program in MM&C. We got so carried away talking about research interests, funding, and such that it was an hour and a half long call; needless to say, he was pretty engaging and helpful. I walked away with a list of four or five titles that I have not read that I will certainly be tackling over the coming months. All in all, even if I am not accepted to that program, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to someone with similar interests and get some advice regarding the process.

[VioletAyame]

I think it went ok? You can never be sure, of course, but I don't think it went too badly. It was just with my POI, who was very nice and engaging. It was supposed to last about 30 minutes, but ended up being almost a full hour. He asked me questions first, about why I wanted to go to this particular program and my research (what, why, how), pretty much what I was expecting. I fumbled over a question about methods, because I'm always more of a "what" than a "how" person, so I'm still kicking myself over that. And he asked about my grades, which I had been dreading, because they are good but could certainly have been better. I didn't ask how many people were interviewed, but he did say it was only a handful. 

 

It was a very illuminating interview for me though, and it certainly put Madison higher on my list of programs I want to attend. It seems like a really stimulating department with a great work environment. I'm not supposed to hear back until early february, however. I can't say if I managed to completely convince him of how awesome and special I am, but I think I'll be on the wait list at least. (whoo?)

 

The one question that had been on my mind the most was "why me?", because grades/GRE wise I know there are better/smarter people (there always are) and we all want to know what we did right/wrong. I wasn't sure if it was ok to ask, but I did anyway. According to my POI it really was about fit, because my interests overlap with a lot of the faculty. So I guess working on my SOP for four months really paid off! 

 

If there are any questions about the interview or maybe the program itself (he certainly told me things that weren't on the website), let me know!

 

It does sound like it went great! UW Madison is a great school and you certainly have grounds for hope (I almost said "don't worry, I'm sure it'll turn out fine," but I know how much we all dislike hearing that). Please keep us up to date when you hear back from them!

 

I was emailed by a professor at Temple University this evening to set up an interview to discuss my interests and any questions I may have regarding their program. Prior to Christmas, someone within the department sent out an email stating that no progress would be made on reviewing applications until class resumed on January 6th. Imagine my shock to be contacted on the 7th.

It's exciting to be contacted so soon-- especially when you fear that your application may be in a recycling bin somewhere...

 

Congratulations! That's so exciting! Hearing your interviews went well certainly calm me down a little bit. I'm having an interview weekend next week, and even though it would be less stressful to do it via Skype, I'm grateful to have a chance to visit the campus and talk to everyone face-to-face. Two of my POIs will not be able to attend, so they're giving me a chance to meet with different faculties instead, and we're be meeting in groups instead of one-on-one. I don't know why but this little fumble on their part makes me feel easier about the whole process instead of expecting everything to be perfect.

[milara]

I made contact awhile back with someone at UIC who is great and someone at Northwestern who was totally unhelpful, as well as one or two others, but sort of lost track after I got bogged down in thesis work. However since I have some good experience and a decent CV, I'm not too worried about making a good impression or finding a good fit.

 

Hi Nate! I'm a doctoral student in one of the three comm programs at Northwestern -- specifically, Technology and Social Behavior. I was an active user of grad cafe when I was applying. When I decided to peek in here and see if any of our applicants were posting on here, I saw your post. I'm sorry to hear that the person you spoke with was unhelpful! It's a little late at this point, but if you have any questions about MTS or TSB, I can probably help. I don't know anything about the RPS program, though.

 

Anyway, good luck to all with your apps. The pain will be over soon.

 

p.s. Nate, I like your non-academic interests.

[hellofandom]

hellofandom, I spoke with Dr. Campbell this afternoon regarding the doctoral program in MM&C. We got so carried away talking about research interests, funding, and such that it was an hour and a half long call; needless to say, he was pretty engaging and helpful. I walked away with a list of four or five titles that I have not read that I will certainly be tackling over the coming months. All in all, even if I am not accepted to that program, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to someone with similar interests and get some advice regarding the process.

 

Awesome, KentuckyCurls!  He's on my thesis committee.  Really cool dude.  I'm sure it's a great sign you were able to talk to him for such a long time! I know MM&C is a pretty small program, but there's the benefit of it being really interdisciplinary, and everybody I've met in it has been super friendly and really into research.  (I'd apply there myself if I hadn't already done my undergrad & MA at Temple!).  Best of luck, and if you'd need any more info about the school/area in general, I'd be happy to fill you in on the neighborhood.  

[commcomm]

Just dropping in to wish you all 2014 applicants good luck and calm(ish) nerves during the next few weeks as you hear back from programs. I remember sitting on my couch and twiddling my thumbs until about mid-February - couldn't seem to do much of anything besides wonder where I'd be come August. 

 

:-)

[CommPhD20]

Bleck. 

 

I thought the worst part would be filling out applications! Now it's just...waiting. I guess it isn't worse than the stress of putting things together, rallying recommenders, etc., but it's very strange to know exactly what I want to be doing just months from now, but having no idea what I will be doing. I do have one informal de facto offer of admission, which is great, but now that is causing me to play all kinds of mind games with myself - "Maybe they'll take it back? Is it a fluke? Maybe everyone will let me in? No no, I stink! That's not possible." and so on and so forth.

[CommPhD20]

I submitted my last application today after a fair dose of procrastination. 

 

As soon as I finished with it, I grabbed my phone which I had silenced so as not to distract me into further procrastination. What do I see on there? An email notifying me of induction to my second major department's honor society. Would have looked nice and schnazzy on my CV. Oh well.

[natebassett]

Hi Nate! I'm a doctoral student in one of the three comm programs at Northwestern -- specifically, Technology and Social Behavior. I was an active user of grad cafe when I was applying. When I decided to peek in here and see if any of our applicants were posting on here, I saw your post. I'm sorry to hear that the person you spoke with was unhelpful! It's a little late at this point, but if you have any questions about MTS or TSB, I can probably help. I don't know anything about the RPS program, though.

 

Anyway, good luck to all with your apps. The pain will be over soon.

 

p.s. Nate, I like your non-academic interests.

 

Hey nullsymbol, thanks! I actually got an email from the head of RPS yesterday, who had been talking to the head of MTS, and they wanted to make sure I didn't intended to apply to MTS. All the faculty I was interested in working with were actually MTS people and I think it was a mistake on my part - luckily enough they transferred the application.

 

TSB looks very cool and very much related to my interests... but also seems closer to CS and maybe more technical? is that true? Also, are you involved with any of the cluster groups? I got really excited when I learned about the critical theory cluster there, would be awesome to work with. 

 

 

Bleck. 

 

I thought the worst part would be filling out applications! Now it's just...waiting. I guess it isn't worse than the stress of putting things together, rallying recommenders, etc., but it's very strange to know exactly what I want to be doing just months from now, but having no idea what I will be doing. I do have one informal de facto offer of admission, which is great, but now that is causing me to play all kinds of mind games with myself - "Maybe they'll take it back? Is it a fluke? Maybe everyone will let me in? No no, I stink! That's not possible." and so on and so forth.

 

Feeling the exact same thing more or less - hearing about others getting interviews is a bit hard, when I'm thinking "if I was going to get an interview, I should have heard about it." then my reasoning goes, "if the interviews are just about fit, then I've had those conversations already with people I'd like to work with and there may be no need for them if they feel I'm already qualified." It's just a waiting game. 

[milara]

Hey nullsymbol, thanks! I actually got an email from the head of RPS yesterday, who had been talking to the head of MTS, and they wanted to make sure I didn't intended to apply to MTS. All the faculty I was interested in working with were actually MTS people and I think it was a mistake on my part - luckily enough they transferred the application.

 

TSB looks very cool and very much related to my interests... but also seems closer to CS and maybe more technical? is that true? Also, are you involved with any of the cluster groups? I got really excited when I learned about the critical theory cluster there, would be awesome to work with.

Hi again, Nate! I'm glad that they were able to transfer your application. You're right about TSB. It's half CS and half MTS. You could say that RPC overlaps with MTS, MTS overlaps with TSB, and TSB overlaps with CS. I also suspect that MTS is better-funded than RPC.

 

I have no involvement with any of the clusters, unfortunately, and I don't know anything about them.

 

As for hearing from people, last year visit weekend for MTS and TSB was Feb. 14-16. I don't know if they're on the same schedule as last year or not, but if they are I'd guess you'd hear from them in the next 1-2 weeks.

[wb.o]

hi there-

 

anyone hear from unc comm studies?

 

it seems historically (or at least from the results page) they've sent acceptances and rejections this past week (1/14-17). of course, i'm confident that means rejection for me, but it's difficult to completely give up hope when it still seems a bit early.

[KentuckyCurls]

Just did a round of checking my applications to see if there's been any movement-- and my status changed on my Temple application to "University Acceptance." Even though I still have seven more to hear back from before I make The Big Decision and no word on funding yet, this is a pretty awesome feeling.