U. Oregon

[AutzenDuck]

Today the first results were posted on thegradcafe.com for the University of Oregon--two people were accepted (no rejections reported). Congrats!

I did my undergrad at University of Oregon and have applied to the Ph.D. program. I hope they get back to the rest of us soon.

If you've applied or if you've been accepted, I'd be interested to know which professors you want to work with and on what subjects.

[Kamisha]

Someone has already posted a bit about this on the 2014 Applicants thread, so you might be able to get a bit of info there

[AutzenDuck]

Elizabeth Bohls was my POI there, and she was apparently interested in my application. My focus is eighteenth-century British with attention to textual antecedents; I'm interested in the effects of epistemological shifts from the middle ages through the Enlightenment on metaphors and representations of origin and [re]production. My writing sample was on Shakespeare, so definitely out of my primary area, but it did engage with gender studies and somewhat with representations of maternity, which connect to my overall research interests.

My mentor from my undergrad program completed her PhD at Oregon in 2007. I'm looking forward to talking to her a bit more about the department and her experiences.

I had Elizabeth Bohls for an English novel class. It was my first year as an English major, so she taught me quite a bit. She is certainly dedicated to her work, and she was a little tough on me, which really helped me learn.

[mmorrison]

I had Elizabeth Bohls for an English novel class. It was my first year as an English major, so she taught me quite a bit. She is certainly dedicated to her work, and she was a little tough on me, which really helped me learn.

What was your sense of the department? How were the relationships/politics/attitudes?

[AutzenDuck]

I had good relationships with all of my profs. They were approachable in office hours and after class. Some took an interest in me and got to know me, helped me out more than what you'd reasonably expect. I didn't have a course with any of my profs more than once, so I didn't especially get to know any of them until my last quarter when I realized I really should make an effort (and I wanted to). Oregon (the school and the state) is laid back, not snooty or overly focused on individual status/success. I don't know what common issues are in university departments, but it seemed like the profs respected each other and had great working relationships with grad students. All of my profs were focused and driven, didn't waste time and were always completely prepared.

Honestly I don't know if any profs there are overly friendly, the type to invite you over for dinner. It's kind of a big program and they are a little formal. I don't know if many profs are like that in big schools though, or even small schools. They do care about their students though.

I had one prof who didn't seem to like me, but it wasn't a big deal. I think he just didn't like my perspective, my personality, or my religious beliefs. He mostly teaches rhetoric.

[ar88]

I've got an acceptance from the Comp Lit department, and was just wondering if you could tell me a bit about the university in general, and also about Eugene? 

[cfox8806]

To those who've been accepted so far, congratulations!! Would anyone mind telling me if your status on the website has changed now that you've been notified? My status still says "pending," and I'm worried Oregon's going to keep me hanging for ages.

[Kamisha]

To those who've been accepted so far, congratulations!! Would anyone mind telling me if your status on the website has changed now that you've been notified? My status still says "pending," and I'm worried Oregon's going to keep me hanging for ages.

 

Ditto. 

[AutzenDuck]

I just read my letter from UO—I was rejected. Congrats to those who made it; I wish you all the best. My status online still says "pending," so I guess checking it a few times a day for the last week was a waste of time. I do appreciate that I found out by a letter rather than checking online though.

I'm not exactly sure of what to say about the school in general. It's a football school and a state party school. It seems like administration is more focused on sports success and appearance than academics, but of course the students themselves work hard and are driven. There's a lot of events on campus and the rec center is nice. There's a decent music scene. I guess it's hard to say much without knowing what college experiences and cities you're comparing U of O to.
 

Weed is common. Local Oregonians (like myself) can spot out-of-staters when they have umbrellas. We just wear rain coats; it doesn't really storm or "pour" here much although it does rain (lightly) often and basically everyday is overcast (summer is gorgeous and warm). Because of that, you’d have to bring your umbrella with you everywhere, every day pretty much. It could drizzle a bit anytime, so it’s easier just to put your hood on. Enough about that…


I like Eugene. It doesn't have as much to offer as Portland, but it's an artistic community despite the sports fans (I'm in both camps). There are several good restaurants considering the size of the city. There are a lot of homeless people and drug problems. Everyone has their bike/bike parts stolen at least once while they live there.

Directly west and directly south of campus and near Autzen Stadium is where most of the undergrads live. The rental houses in these areas are trashy, poorly maintained, and the parties are... parties. The apartments by Autzen are bad too (although the websites make them look nice) and are not all that safe. I lived near Valley River Center by Delta Ponds City Park (beautiful park, especially if you have a dog). It’s a great place to live, but it doesn’t have a unique feel. You could be living anywhere, kinda sub-urby other than the nature park.

 

The Whitaker neighborhood is “trendy” in the Oregon sense i.e. “hipster” if you must. That’s probably where I would live if I got in. There’s breweries and different cool things. You can look it up.

 

If you want something more residential, parts of West Eugene (not the industrial area) or Springfield are a little homier.

I personally like the atmosphere of Eugene. It feels a little bit like a small town with some of the advantages of a larger city.

 

I think best parts of the state of Oregon are its nature (mountains, forests, rivers, ocean, waterfalls, nice hiking parks everywhere) and its somewhat unique culture.

 

I guess I gave a lot of downsides, but that’s advice of what to avoid. There’s a lot of great things about Eugene.

[Kamisha]

I just read my letter from UO—I was rejected. Congrats to those who made it; I wish you all the best. My status online still says "pending," so I guess checking it a few times a day for the last week was a waste of time. I do appreciate that I found out by a letter rather than checking online though.

I'm not exactly sure of what to say about the school in general. It's a football school and a state party school. It seems like administration is more focused on sports success and appearance than academics, but of course the students themselves work hard and are driven. There's a lot of events on campus and the rec center is nice. There's a decent music scene. I guess it's hard to say much without knowing what college experiences and cities you're comparing U of O to.

 

Weed is common. Local Oregonians (like myself) can spot out-of-staters when they have umbrellas. We just wear rain coats; it doesn't really storm or "pour" here much although it does rain (lightly) often and basically everyday is overcast (summer is gorgeous and warm). Because of that, you’d have to bring your umbrella with you everywhere, every day pretty much. It could drizzle a bit anytime, so it’s easier just to put your hood on. Enough about that…

I like Eugene. It doesn't have as much to offer as Portland, but it's an artistic community despite the sports fans (I'm in both camps). There are several good restaurants considering the size of the city. There are a lot of homeless people and drug problems. Everyone has their bike/bike parts stolen at least once while they live there.

Directly west and directly south of campus and near Autzen Stadium is where most of the undergrads live. The rental houses in these areas are trashy, poorly maintained, and the parties are... parties. The apartments by Autzen are bad too (although the websites make them look nice) and are not all that safe. I lived near Valley River Center by Delta Ponds City Park (beautiful park, especially if you have a dog). It’s a great place to live, but it doesn’t have a unique feel. You could be living anywhere, kinda sub-urby other than the nature park.

 

The Whitaker neighborhood is “trendy” in the Oregon sense i.e. “hipster” if you must. That’s probably where I would live if I got in. There’s breweries and different cool things. You can look it up.

 

If you want something more residential, parts of West Eugene (not the industrial area) or Springfield are a little homier.

I personally like the atmosphere of Eugene. It feels a little bit like a small town with some of the advantages of a larger city.

 

I think best parts of the state of Oregon are its nature (mountains, forests, rivers, ocean, waterfalls, nice hiking parks everywhere) and its somewhat unique culture.

 

I guess I gave a lot of downsides, but that’s advice of what to avoid. There’s a lot of great things about Eugene.

 

Are you currently in Oregon? I’m trying to calculate when my rejection letter will arrive. Haha. 

[Postmoddities]

I live in Seattle so mine will probably arrive any day now. Good gaawwd.

[purpleperson]

I can't remember -- does Oregon have a waitlist?

 

I know they've already notified acceptances.  My status online says "pending" still.  But I haven't gotten a rejection letter by mail like most other people (and i keep checking).  I know it could still be en route to me, mind you.  But I'm wondering (in a state of desperation) if not getting a letter but still being listed as pending could mean I'm in limbo?  If they have a waitlist that's already been contacted, then I know that's not the case...

[Kamisha]

I can't remember -- does Oregon have a waitlist?

 

I know they've already notified acceptances.  My status online says "pending" still.  But I haven't gotten a rejection letter by mail like most other people (and i keep checking).  I know it could still be en route to me, mind you.  But I'm wondering (in a state of desperation) if not getting a letter but still being listed as pending could mean I'm in limbo?  If they have a waitlist that's already been contacted, then I know that's not the case...

 

There’s a Waitlist on the Results page right now.

[purpleperson]

There’s a Waitlist on the Results page right now.

 

Okay, thanks. I guess I could have looked, but there's only so much I want to be straining my eyes through all of that.  Anyway, I probably should have figured as much.

[Kamisha]

Okay, thanks. I guess I could have looked, but there's only so much I want to be straining my eyes through all of that.  Anyway, I probably should have figured as much.

 

It looks like that wait list notification just popped up today. They may have only just started notifying wait lists Don’t give up! 

[purpleperson]

Just got my rejection letter from Oregon via postal mail.  I'd been waiting for it for days, almost a week now.  It's funny how one masochistically becomes eager to read even rejection letters. 

 

Anyway, it was a very gracious rejection.  Kudos to them for that.  They make clear that there were many great applications and that they would love to work with many of the students who they don't accept, but that they just have limited numbers they can let in.

 

The letter also states explicitly that they had 188 applications this year (and they let in 10%, so...around 18 people).  I was surprised by this number of applications.  I imagined Oregon getting around 300 applications, because I'd read somewhere on these forums that Oregon, even though it's a 52 rank, gets an "unexpectedly high number" due to people having a thing for Eugene.  But 188 seems pretty reasonable.  

 

Makes me feel a little better about my remaining two schools, which are of similar rank.  Maybe they, too, don't get 300 to 400 applications!

Edited February 27, 2014 by purpleperson