Communication/Media Studies Ph.D Fall 2015--Apps, Decisions, and Waiting...

[BrownFlower]

2/9/2015: Waitlisted by Cornell, email. 

Same...

[collage19]

Hey,

So has anyone heard anything from Wisc Madison media and culture, U Penn Annenberg or UCSB film and media.

There's a deafening silence...

[autumn]

Sorry for going off-topic here but some days, teaching lower division courses has me reconsidering this whole PhD plan. Am I alone? 

Edited February 9, 2015 by autumn

[jujubea]

Sorry for going off-topic here but some days, teaching lower division courses has me reconsidering this whole PhD program plan. Am I alone? 

 

...specifically, TA-ing for lower div courses.. It's one thing to actually be the instructor, quite another to only TA... This may end up swaying me towards the arms of UNM over Boulder (still no word on exact $ amount from UCSB).

[autumn]

I honestly liked TAing better but it was just a good group of students. This class... oi. I'm so close to telling them not to bother coming to class this week if they're just going to waste everyone's time (I won't but boy do I want to). 

 

No teaching with UNM? I thought you wanted the ability to teach. 

[jujubea]

UNM you get to be the primary instructor.

Boulder you TA a group of 30 out of 150 or so.

[autumn]

Ah. I see. There are definitely strengths to both. Are you making your decision primarily on finances or are you weighing everything?

[jujubea]

It's very possible SB will get ruled out on finances alone - big question mark waiting for that info.

 

Then between UNM and Boulder it's a consideration of EVERything. Kids' schools; money; partner's job prospects; how much I like the program; faculty; rank (although one is about 40 and the other is about 50, according to NRC, in Communication); etc, etc.

 

Why, you have some advice? I'd appreciate ANY!

[Roflbot3000]

Autumn, I completely hear you! Especially during the second semester slump, all of my students seem to be disengaged from the learning process. I'm trying to view it as a challenge (and recognize that they have a lot of their own stuff going on). But, it is difficult. I think, for me, I love teaching, but this process has definitely made me feel like an R1 might be a better fit for me in the long run. What are you thinking? Do you have any strategies for motivating second semester students? It is so difficult, too, when we have applications, thesis projects, etc., going on. 

[rycolos]

Autumn -- For sure. I'm in a year off but I taught 2 sections each semester of a basic Comm course and it was rough sometimes. Some students really wanted to be there and we all had a good (well...decent enough) time, and others I just could not engage. I put the blame on myself for the most part, but perhaps some there's just nothing you can do. It also felt weird to teach material that is so incredibly far from my own interests in Comm. 

[Shoelle]

Hey,

So has anyone heard anything from Wisc Madison media and culture, U Penn Annenberg or UCSB film and media.

There's a deafening silence...

 

Long time lurker here, finally caved and made an account.

 

Haven't heard a peep from Wis Mad media and culture or UCSB film and media. Same goes for all my programs save USC actually (which was an acceptance, thank god). 

 

The wait is killing me.

[Roflbot3000]

Long time lurker here, finally caved and made an account.

 

Haven't heard a peep from Wis Mad media and culture or UCSB film and media. Same goes for all my programs save USC actually (which was an acceptance, thank god). 

 

The wait is killing me.

 

Congrats on USC! That is wonderful!

[autumn]

Haven't heard a peep from Wis Mad media and culture or UCSB film and media. Same goes for all my programs save USC actually (which was an acceptance, thank god). 

 

The wait is killing me.

 

I've seen a couple people ask about UW Madison MCS today so I just wanted to address it. They did interviews early-mid January and had 12 finalists for 3-4 spots (projected). If you had an interview and have not yet heard, I wish you the best of luck!

 

If you have not had an interview, I think you can assume it's a no at this point. Sorry to be the bearer of potentially bad news but for any lurkers out there, that's the info I have. Good luck!

Edited February 10, 2015 by autumn

[autumn]

Autumn, I completely hear you! Especially during the second semester slump, all of my students seem to be disengaged from the learning process. I'm trying to view it as a challenge (and recognize that they have a lot of their own stuff going on). But, it is difficult. I think, for me, I love teaching, but this process has definitely made me feel like an R1 might be a better fit for me in the long run. What are you thinking? Do you have any strategies for motivating second semester students? It is so difficult, too, when we have applications, thesis projects, etc., going on. 

 

I have no tips. I have no game. I thought it was going well; we did a lot of activities in class to keep everyone motivated and engaged. They were mostly active in discussions and their assignments showed promise. Then 2/3rds of them did not submit their assignments this week. They were not confused; there were no technical problems. They just didn't feel like doing it. Which completely ruins my prep for this week. If someone else can give us some tips for motivating students, I'm sure we'd be grateful!

 

Autumn -- For sure. I'm in a year off but I taught 2 sections each semester of a basic Comm course and it was rough sometimes. Some students really wanted to be there and we all had a good (well...decent enough) time, and others I just could not engage. I put the blame on myself for the most part, but perhaps some there's just nothing you can do. It also felt weird to teach material that is so incredibly far from my own interests in Comm. 

 

I feel you. I'm teaching an entry level course that I could teach with my eyes closed but it's not content that interests me personally. It is hard not to blame yourself. I do and I try to be understanding (I am still learning, after all) but all the faculty I've consulted just shrug and say "you win some, you lose some, you aren't their mom." Frustrating.

[rycolos]

As for motivation: This is cliche and probably obvious, but I always tried to be relevant to their lives. Being young helped that for sure, but I always tried to bring the content home to them. Our textbook sucked because it didn't address social media at all. It talked about communication generally and talked about the various settings in which they could be better communicators, but it didn't address one of the most frequented sites of communication used by them. It was silly, so every chapter I tried to bring that in and they seemed to enjoy those discussions a lot. And I found being rather laid back was helpful too. Of course, that's a super tough line to straddle -- and based on convos with colleagues, often harder for young female instructors. I dressed like myself and acted like myself and didn't put on airs and based on student feedback, it worked well. But I also was tough when I needed to be. It worked for me.

 

But I'm still terrified to start teaching again. So it goes.

[Shoelle]

I've seen a couple people ask about UW Madison MCS today so I just wanted to address it. They did interviews early-mid January and had 12 finalists for 3-4 spots (projected). If you had an interview and have not yet heard, I wish you the best of luck!

 

If you have not had an interview, I think you can assume it's a no at this point. Sorry to be the bearer of potentially bad news but for any lurkers out there, that's the info I have. Good luck!

 

I've been worried about that, but I think those were for people who already have PhDs....am I wrong? I'd be going for an MA from them first, then onto a PhD through the same program (they don't typically offer terminal MAs after all).

 

The only reason I still have hope is because I was given heavy hints from my POI when I submitted my app early. He went out of his way to email me about an error so that I could correct it before his colleagues saw, we started talking a bit and I don't feel he would have said such positive things about my chances if he wasn't pretty serious about me. It would be kind of awful to give someone false hope like that.

 

Then again, there's a whole committee to contend with, and he's just one person. An important person, but only one nonetheless.

 

I'm nervous. I really, really want Wisconsin.

 

Ugh.

[Roflbot3000]

I've been worried about that, but I think those were for people who already have PhDs....am I wrong? I'd be going for an MA from them first, then onto a PhD through the same program (they don't typically offer terminal MAs after all).

 

The only reason I still have hope is because I was given heavy hints from my POI when I submitted my app early. He went out of his way to email me about an error so that I could correct it before his colleagues saw, we started talking a bit and I don't feel he would have said such positive things about my chances if he wasn't pretty serious about me. It would be kind of awful to give someone false hope like that.

 

Then again, there's a whole committee to contend with, and he's just one person. An important person, but only one nonetheless.

 

I'm nervous. I really, really want Wisconsin.

 

Ugh.

 

Could you email him a "letter of continued interest." When I applied to law schools, they encouraged applicants to follow up on their dream schools. Anyone else have thoughts?

[autumn]

As for motivation: This is cliche and probably obvious, but I always tried to be relevant to their lives. Being young helped that for sure, but I always tried to bring the content home to them. Our textbook sucked because it didn't address social media at all. It talked about communication generally and talked about the various settings in which they could be better communicators, but it didn't address one of the most frequented sites of communication used by them. It was silly, so every chapter I tried to bring that in and they seemed to enjoy those discussions a lot. And I found being rather laid back was helpful too. Of course, that's a super tough line to straddle -- and based on convos with colleagues, often harder for young female instructors. I dressed like myself and acted like myself and didn't put on airs and based on student feedback, it worked well. But I also was tough when I needed to be. It worked for me.

 

But I'm still terrified to start teaching again. So it goes.

 

Good advice. Only bad part is that I already do all of that lol at least as well as I can, still learning. It's tech comm so it's practical anyway and all the projects are based on things they are doing in their work environment. They choose their own topics so they're relevant to them, especially since they're learning forms. I am very laid back, more than I like to be honest. I guess all I can say is that tomorrow is going to be a little rough for them.

 

I completely understand that not everyone is an A student. I know that this topic does not interest everyone and some are just checking off a requirement. But they choose to come to college. They pay for these classes. They show up to all the classes. Why on earth do they skip the homework? It is not anywhere near a difficult workload. I just... UGH. lol 

[autumn]

Could you email him a "letter of continued interest." When I applied to law schools, they encouraged applicants to follow up on their dream schools. Anyone else have thoughts?

 

I can see the wisdom to that but I honestly think that, at this point in the application cycle, they know who we are. These schools get so many super qualified, super interested applicants that I think it might just be needling when they've likely finalized decisions by now. That being said, I'd love to hear other opinions. 

[The Pedanticist]

Same goes for all my programs save USC actually (which was an acceptance, thank god). 

 

Congrats!  

[Ghostkitten]

I've been worried about that, but I think those were for people who already have PhDs....am I wrong? I'd be going for an MA from them first, then onto a PhD through the same program (they don't typically offer terminal MAs after all).

 

The only reason I still have hope is because I was given heavy hints from my POI when I submitted my app early. He went out of his way to email me about an error so that I could correct it before his colleagues saw, we started talking a bit and I don't feel he would have said such positive things about my chances if he wasn't pretty serious about me. It would be kind of awful to give someone false hope like that.

 

Then again, there's a whole committee to contend with, and he's just one person. An important person, but only one nonetheless.

 

I'm nervous. I really, really want Wisconsin.

 

Ugh.

 

I know for sure that WM CommArts is sending letters this week. I think that if you had already been in contact with a professor, that sort of counts as an interview, so you shouldn't discard the possibility of you being accepted! In any case, the deafening silence will be broken any of these days, so just a little bit more or patience. I had an interview by a PoI, I believe I was one of the last ones, and he told me that this is the week. 

And what Autumn mentioned about 4-5 for 12 applicants... do we know if that's counting all tracks together? because there are 4 tracks in the communication department, if they only take 4 PhD students that means that there's only one per track :S. And that sounds like very, very few for such a big school!

[Shoelle]

Could you email him a "letter of continued interest." When I applied to law schools, they encouraged applicants to follow up on their dream schools. Anyone else have thoughts?

 

 

I can see the wisdom to that but I honestly think that, at this point in the application cycle, they know who we are. These schools get so many super qualified, super interested applicants that I think it might just be needling when they've likely finalized decisions by now. That being said, I'd love to hear other opinions. 

 

I would LOVE to send an inquiry, but I'm too worried it's a social faux-paus. I agree with autumn, they surely haven't forgotten anyone. If I were on the committee, I could understand getting annoyed by applicants who are only sending email for "hey remember me!?" purposes. One more email shouldn't make a difference at this point.

 

Of course, I still want to send one anyway, but I'm resisting.

 

Congrats!  

 

Thank you!!

 

I know for sure that WM CommArts is sending letters this week. I think that if you had already been in contact with a professor, that sort of counts as an interview, so you shouldn't discard the possibility of you being accepted! In any case, the deafening silence will be broken any of these days, so just a little bit more or patience. I had an interview by a PoI, I believe I was one of the last ones, and he told me that this is the week. 

And what Autumn mentioned about 4-5 for 12 applicants... do we know if that's counting all tracks together? because there are 4 tracks in the communication department, if they only take 4 PhD students that means that there's only one per track :S. And that sounds like very, very few for such a big school!

 

I'm trying to be patient and not get my hopes up. Thank you for the information, now I think I can just try to breathe without doing anything rash. Best of luck to you, too!

 

I believe autumn was referring to the media and cultural studies track specifically, which was the one that had been previously mentioned. One student per track does sound like far too few.

[autumn]

I believe autumn was referring to the media and cultural studies track specifically, which was the one that had been previously mentioned. One student per track does sound like far too few.

 

Correct. That was 3-4 for the MCS track, not sure about the other 3. 

["Panda"monium]

Silence from Ohio State has ended. Received my acceptance this morning via email. Stoked, but it makes my own decision making process much more difficult.

[grad_wannabe]

Silence from Ohio State has ended. Received my acceptance this morning via email. Stoked, but it makes my own decision making process much more difficult.

 

Congrats!!! A good problem to have.