Film Studies 2016 Acceptance thread

[Guest Grad19204]

Never know where these belong. Let's get this started. I've already heard back from most of the schools I applied to. Waiting on Brown and NYU. I think NYU has already sent out interview requests, but Brown has been unusually quiet. Can anyone confirm if the Modern Culture and Media PhD program has sent out decisions?

For reference:
Chicago - Admitted
Pittsburgh - Admitted
Michigan - Admitted
Northwestern - Interview
Texas-Austin - Interview
Wisconsin - Rejected

[DaniB23]

I, too, haven't heard a single thing from Brown.  @cikkatikkaskwarr, for Pittsburgh did you apply through the English department?  Brown and Pitt are the only film programs I've applied to- the rest of my apps are in English departments.

[Falcore]

I applied to a bunch of those but haven't heard anything. It's kind of got me on edge

[DaniB23]

4 minutes ago, Falcore said:

I applied to a bunch of those but haven't heard anything. It's kind of got me on edge

I'm pretty much in the same boat with all of my apps.  Hang in there!  The long wait will end eventually

[Falcore]

Well, nvm, I just got rejected from U of Chic. 

Edited February 11, 2016 by Falcore

[libvan]

I also haven't heard anything from Brown. It seems that Stanford sent out Modern Lit and Thought decisions today, though.

@DaniB23 have you heard anything from Pittsburgh? I applied to the Film Studies program through the English department too and haven't heard anything...

[DaniB23]

1 hour ago, libvan said:

I also haven't heard anything from Brown. It seems that Stanford sent out Modern Lit and Thought decisions today, though.

@DaniB23 have you heard anything from Pittsburgh? I applied to the Film Studies program through the English department too and haven't heard anything...

Nope- radio silence. I'm going crazy waiting.

[libvan]

54 minutes ago, DaniB23 said:

Nope- radio silence. I'm going crazy waiting.

Ditto!

[Falcore]

I also applied to Pitt through Eng. and haven't heard anything. 

[libvan]

I guess all we needed to do was talk about it! Got the decision email from Pitt this morning. I didn't get in, but I hope the rest of you get better news!

And now, to just keep waiting for Brown ...

[DaniB23]

1 hour ago, libvan said:

I guess all we needed to do was talk about it! Got the decision email from Pitt this morning. I didn't get in, but I hope the rest of you get better news!

And now, to just keep waiting for Brown ...

I still haven't heard anything from Pitt :-/

[Guest Grad19204]

Brown figures to take their sweet time with decisions. I'm probably accepting the UChicago offer, but I'm visiting all of these schools this semester. Only Brown could seriously complicate matters at this point.

For all of you waiting to hear back from Pitt--you might just have been waitlisted and haven't been notified. UT has narrowed its list down to 12, but funding is tighter than ever so they might only admit 5 students this year. Michigan is holding its visit weekend next week, so if you've been waitlisted, some spots may open up soon.

Hang in there!

[Guest Grad19204]

20 hours ago, DaniB23 said:

I, too, haven't heard a single thing from Brown.  @cikkatikkaskwarr, for Pittsburgh did you apply through the English department?  Brown and Pitt are the only film programs I've applied to- the rest of my apps are in English departments.

And yes, DaniB23. I applied to through English and received a message from Nancy Glazener.

[ajayghale]

On 2/12/2016 at 0:43 PM, cikkatikkaskwarr said:

Brown figures to take their sweet time with decisions. I'm probably accepting the UChicago offer, but I'm visiting all of these schools this semester. Only Brown could seriously complicate matters at this point.

For all of you waiting to hear back from Pitt--you might just have been waitlisted and haven't been notified. UT has narrowed its list down to 12, but funding is tighter than ever so they might only admit 5 students this year. Michigan is holding its visit weekend next week, so if you've been waitlisted, some spots may open up soon.

Hang in there!

Is that the UT Austin Media Studies PhD? I didn't think they had interviews, but it's possible I'm both wrong and have been all but rejected. 

[Guest Grad19204]

4 hours ago, ajayghale said:

Is that the UT Austin Media Studies PhD? I didn't think they had interviews, but it's possible I'm both wrong and have been all but rejected. 

Yep. They've already sent out offers. I was waitlisted after my interview, but I'm currently writing an e-mail to withdraw from consideration. I hope this helps someone.

[Guest Grad19204]

It's National Rejection Day at Brown today...

[Falcore]

On 2/12/2016 at 11:37 PM, libvan said:

On 2/12/2016 at 10:42 AM, libvan said:

I guess all we needed to do was talk about it! Got the decision email from Pitt this morning. I didn't get in, but I hope the rest of you get better news!

And now, to just keep waiting for Brown ...

 

On 2/12/2016 at 0:28 PM, DaniB23 said:

I still haven't heard anything from Pitt :-/

I haven't heard anything either. Did anyone apply to UC Berkely? anyone heard from them?

In addition to them I'm still waiting on:

UCLA

Yale

Northwestern

NYU

[Guest Grad19204]

Northwestern is holding its recruitment weekend on Feb. 25-28.

[Falcore]

On 2/15/2016 at 6:19 PM, cikkatikkaskwarr said:

Northwestern is holding its recruitment weekend on Feb. 25-28.

Does that mean it's unlikely for anyone not invited to hear something positive?

[Guest Grad19204]

6 hours ago, Falcore said:

Does that mean it's unlikely for anyone not invited to hear something positive?

Well, it's not encouraging. At least that has been the case at other schools for me during this cycle. If you haven't been contacted yet, you're almost definitely not getting an offer of admission and it's not probable you're being waitlisted either. This is true of the top programs, in my limited experience.

But I suspect there will be some late acceptances from the top schools. I know Chicago and Pittsburgh are holding their visit weekends fairly late, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some spots open up near the deadline. Northwestern's program has been bleeding academics lately and really isn't the best fit for me anymore. The reason I applied was because they sent me the same terse rejection letter three times (twice by e-mail and once by snail mail) two years ago before I entered an MA program, so I made it my mission to get in this time around. I will most likely be withdrawing from consideration in a few weeks, unless what I've read about their stipend is true, in which case I'll have to weigh that against other offers. 

Hang tight.

[Falcore]

Just out of curiosity,  what kind of accolades are you applying with? You seem to be doing REALLY well, and I'm not sure what my weaknesses are. I don't have an MA, which might be the biggest issue. But do you have published work or something? 

[jrockford27]

20 minutes ago, Falcore said:

Just out of curiosity,  what kind of accolades are you applying with? You seem to be doing REALLY well, and I'm not sure what my weaknesses are. I don't have an MA, which might be the biggest issue. But do you have published work or something? 

Don't get too nervous about a lack of accolades/publications/etc.  I'm currently at one of the programs he was admitted to and my only "accolade" as such was a B.A. with a 4.0 GPA.  No publications, no masters, no awards, more or less typical GRE scores.  Beyond having the requisite "numbers", what really matters is whether your SoP and writing sample click with the folks who happen to be on the adcomm that year (we wont call it luck, but there's certainly a degree of that involved).  And this is how it should be, "fit" is definitely what's most important -- the difficulty is that you need to "fit" with the specific people on the adcomm, or count on the people on the adcomm to know you'll fit with that PoI you want to work with.

I was completely shut out my first time through.  It didn't mean I sucked, but I definitely retooled my app.  It built character and forced some serious self-reflection.

Edited February 19, 2016 by jrockford27

[Guest Grad19204]

So yeah, luck. And clearly defined research interests with some teaching experience. But a lot of luck. You don't know who's in the admissions committee any given year and it only takes one of them to fall in love with your application. It is a crap shoot, for better or worse.

My best advice would be for you to get that MA, if you can. That really did it for me.

[Falcore]

3 hours ago, cikkatikkaskwarr said:

My best advice would be for you to get that MA, if you can. That really did it for me.

Well, if nothing comes of this cycle, that might be my next step. 

[Falcore]

On 2/19/2016 at 4:04 PM, jrockford27 said:

I definitely retooled my app.  It built character and forced some serious self-reflection.

Well, perhaps that's all that's left to do.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Falcore