Doctoral Programs

[skiergirl24]

I finish my MA at Miami University (Ohio) this spring. I am applying to the following schools for my PhD in Mass Comm:

UMass

Georgia

UConn

Rutgers

Univ of Miami (florida)

Penn State

Uni of Pittsburgh

Syracuse

Colorado (boulder)

Arizona

Univ. of Florida

Florida State

Alabama

My credentials: Currently I have a 3.83 GPA. Highest GRE was 1180 (I suck at math)! I expect my GPA to be a 3.875 by the time I graduate. I currently teach (not TA but actually teach by myself as an instructor) 2 classes of Public Speaking per semester and have very good student reviews. I have presented at NCA and ECA and am working on publishing a paper with a former professor. I interned in the press office for a Congressman ont he hill this summer where I worked with the press secretary to write press releases, news stories, media briefs etc. I have great reccomendations and good contacts but I am nervous about the application process. The economy is SO BAD...I will be SO MUCH relieved to find out I am in somewhere!!!

What do you think my chances are? I know there is no CORRECT answer, but would like to get your insight. A lot of the others in my program have lower GREs and GPAs than me...and have less conference papers etc. They are also all applying to PhD programs. None of them seem to be worried....

[commcycle]

Your general experience (teaching experience, a few conference papers) is in-line with what doctoral programs are looking for. GPA is fine - GPA doesn't matter too much for MAs because there's so much grade inflation around.

But 1180 is below average (strong programs are admitting around 1350-1375 average), so I would be suspicious of people in your program who aren't worried about having lower scores. Not that it can't happen, but lower definitely raises eyebrows.

Provide a clear message, particularly in your SOP. It sounds like you have experience in speech, politics, and mass comm. How do all these pieces fit together? Just as a general comment, mass topics, per se, are not the hottest right now in doctoral programs. Talk about the evolution of the mass audience, or spin your experience to fit a particular program or professor.

Are you getting the strongest references you can? Have you thought about re-taking the GRE?

[PRguy101]

Commcyle, I am curious, how did you manage your application process the second time around? what did you do differently? I believe outside of a few people out there, this process is VERY unpredictable. I know people who have gotten into top schools with 5 conferences and some with 0. People with 1400 GRE and some with 930 all full funding at "top" schools. People with 10 years of relevant work experience, and people who went straight through...

[commcycle]

PRGuy - you nailed it - the admissions process is very unpredictable. Truth of the matter is, once you get to a certain level, how good you are doesn't matter. You do everything you can do to strengthen your application. But it may not matter if you have a 1300 GRE with 2 conference papers or 1450 GRE with none. So say you have 300 applications for, say, 15 spots. Many get tossed immediately - anybody can apply to a Ph.D program, but many don't even seem aware what it is all about. Some departments cull based on low GREs or GPA.

So say you're left with 60 decent apps for the 15 spots. Fit to the professors and department matters in the final admit decision. Especially in communications.

Also, there are what basically amount to quotas. If a program has, say, 15 spots per year, they're not going to let in, say, 7 mass comm people. They need to get 50% humanistic vs. social science, give health comm three (because they're getting funding), get Dr. BigProf RAs for her online games project... I'm making these up, but these are the kinds of balancing acts the committee has to make. And if you've geared your application to work with Dr. NewHotGuy and someone else whose app is stronger does as well, you may be screwed that year. Some professors are known to be GRE kings/queens, others are more interested in work experience. These scenarios are back room, discussed in committee and never get talked about. I'm still not sure who was even on the admissions committee.

So to answer your question in a very roundabout fashion. I strengthened my app by re-taking the GRE, doing research over several years and getting good recommendations. But in the end, I wasn't sure exactly what made the difference. Although secondhand feedback was that recommendations from people the committee members knew helped (hardly a secret).

[StudyMom]

I'm in my second year PhD in Mass Com. It was bad then and I know it is even worse for those of you in the cycle now. I know the key to getting in was fit with a specific professor, the fact that few are interested in my area of study (nonprofits) and I have a lot of professional experience. However, I had no conference papers and my GRE was 1280. It's pragmatic to apply to a lot of schools but you should really think about what the focus is at each school. Some have health com profs, some have pr profs, etc. etc. If you are interested in health com and there is just one prof at a particular school, it may not be the best fit for you, but you need to figure that out. It does not hurt to call and speak to a professor you are interested in working with and introduce yourself, stroke their ego (lightly!), and say how much you would like to attend their program. Keep it short and to the point. Send them a thank you email afterwards. So, those are my two bits. Good luck.