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


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Sigh. Arizona grad director said I'm one of their top applicants, but they've had MASSIVE budget slashing due to the state government attempting to pull huge amounts of funding from public higher education, including 100% from 2 year colleges.

 

So they've only sent out offers to 2 people and they may not send out anymore unless the funding picture changes. So great, I'm at the top of your list but you can't even afford to accept me -_-

Wow, thats aweful. I have a friend there at their Sociology/Linguistics program and his twitter has been nothing but rants over the budgets cuts (most directed at the president)

 

so you're next on the list? you didn't receive an offer?

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Sigh. Arizona grad director said I'm one of their top applicants, but they've had MASSIVE budget slashing due to the state government attempting to pull huge amounts of funding from public higher education, including 100% from 2 year colleges.

 

So they've only sent out offers to 2 people and they may not send out anymore unless the funding picture changes. So great, I'm at the top of your list but you can't even afford to accept me -_-

 

And this is after deep cuts just a few years ago too, Arizona (the state) is gutting its higher education funding. It's scary. 

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He just said I was "high on their list" so who knows. With the grim picture he was painting, it sounds like they will be having a cohort of 2 (if both accept) this year in their department.

 

It may be a blessing in disguise though. At first glance you'd think they'll have a rather large cohort next year but if these budget cuts are really this dramatic, it sounds like I'd be fighting for funding every year. That could make for a long 4-5 years.

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What are you going into?

Interpersonal Communication - i do queer and feminist communication (at least i do now!)

 

Rankings vary from year to year based upon a variety of factors including the # of publications a faculty has in a given year, the number of publications graduates have, etc. This is why they tend to be so different.

I can only speak for myself, but when I chose which school to attend I cared about how open the faculty was to mentoring students and class availability. Knowing what I do now, and I was incredibly lucky because it wasn't a consideration when I applied, I would also care about how well the other students interact with each other as well as how well the faculty gets along.

You can get answers to interpersonal questions by asking current students. Chances are there is someone here who will know. 

You can get answers to class availability for asking for a schedule of predicted classes. Organized departments can tell you.

Good luck.

 

 

Thanks for the advice! 

 

For everyone talking about it- thanks for the advice. I am looking into all the factors. Funding, people, other grad students, the city (i have kids), research opportunities, and so on. I wouldn't base my choice on ranking, i just want to have everything on the table while making this seemingly impossible decision!!! Haha

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Decided to accept the offer from Penn.

It's finally all over... But we're only getting started!

Yay! Congratulations!

It's like we're all graduating!... From the "Applications" section of GC :) ...

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Interpersonal Communication - i do queer and feminist communication (at least i do now!)

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice! 

 

For everyone talking about it- thanks for the advice. I am looking into all the factors. Funding, people, other grad students, the city (i have kids), research opportunities, and so on. I wouldn't base my choice on ranking, i just want to have everything on the table while making this seemingly impossible decision!!! Haha

 

Try to find out the academic employment rate of the programs of interest. That is, what percentage of recent graduates get hired for teaching/research positions in your field? More importantly, find out what percentage get tenure-track positions. There are all kinds of nice things to look for in a program, but it's wasted if they can't get you a job at the end. That doesn't mean you should - for example - take an unfunded offer because of a single metric, but that is one of the best indicators of how "good" the program is. Likewise, you'll want to ensure that the faculty at the program are making a scholarly impact, etc. You want your recommendations to carry some weight when you hit the job market, not to mention be able to jump onto interesting research projects that get your own name out there while you are still studying.

In the end, we all have our own individual probabilities and priorities. For instance, if my spouse made a bunch of money, I would probably have looked at the process differently. If I had kids, likewise. There are lots of examples..

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All three visits done. STILL don't know where I'm going. UGH.

 

Heh... the one place I haven't done an official visit to, is the one I already accepted... 

Official visit later this week - SO excited.

 

Granted, I did do a visit there on my own about a year and a half ago. 

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Hi!

Anyone waitlisted in NYU MCC PhD? 

Have you heard any news? 

I'm waiting for their news so I can make my final decision. Do you think is too optimistic considering them as an option at this point?

I'm so anxious I can't even sleep well :(

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Hi!

Anyone waitlisted in NYU MCC PhD? 

Have you heard any news? 

I'm waiting for their news so I can make my final decision. Do you think is too optimistic considering them as an option at this point?

I'm so anxious I can't even sleep well :(

 

Hey, I'm also waitlisted at NYU, and nope, no news at all. I think people do get in off the list. Do you have offers from elsewhere?

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