I had never heard of these before, but was struck by the differences between the FSP rankings and Newsweek or USNews and World Report!

http://www.academicanalytics.com/TheFSPIndex/Methodology.aspx

For example, (completely tooting my own horn or wallowing in self-pity, you choose...) my alma mater Carnegie Mellon is ranked about 40 in USNews rankings for History, and in FSP has a number 4 slot for history and 14 for Humanities and Arts. Was also ranked 4 overall for Large Research Universities in US.

Some claim FSP rankings are better because they grade schools on the following criteria:

1. Faculty in a given department program
2. Publications of said faculty
3. Nobel Laureates/Honoraria/recognition in academic community of said faculty
4. University resources (Grant Data, Awards, Publications)

(sarcasm, somewhat) Now, I don't know if my surprise/elation/preoccupation or despair of another ranking system is because I want to accept these rankings as "better" because they make my school(s) look good or because I'm a bleating moron.

Seriously though, has anyone heard of this ranking system before? Know of any faculty who endorse it?

I have substantial debt from my undergrad degree. I foolishly assumed it would all be deferred when I started grad school like it was during college. This is not the case for a very large private loan I have.

Is it possible to consolidate all of my loans with one lender who will permit me to defer them? If not, can I "sell" the loan in question to another lender will defer them? And if the answer to either of those is yes, can anyone recommend a lender?

I have no way to simply continue making payments because my graduate program won't allow me to work during my degree, which I think is pretty f-ing ridiculous. They conveniently did not mention this during any interviews or recruitment events, and I was naive enough not to ask. So heads up to all of you '09 applicants: don't be a sucker like I was!

Have any of you who are just getting their master's received a GA? I'm just curious to see if it does happen or not.
How are most of the master's students paying for school?

1. Did anyone have to deal with outright hostility from their parents at their decision to attend grad school? My mother is barely speaking to me because I'm applying at the moment. She didn't want me to go to college let alone grad school and... it's hard. Tips?

2. What did you find the most surprising aspect about applying in general or what do you wish you knew before you applied?

As an undergrad finishing up my BA in English (with a minor in Film Studies) in December, I've begun thinking about Grad programs I'd like to attend.  Since they're all English, all of them require a writing sample.  I'm wondering if anyone would happen to know -- do they expect a completely unique (as in "created specifically for their application") sample, or would it be all right to use something from one of my classes?  It's the only paper I've actually presented at a conference, and it's right on par with my graduate aspirations (paper on Faulkner -- I want to study Southern Lit).

Thanks everyone for any input; I'm just a little stressed about things prematurely, I think.  *sigh*

Just got my Literature in English GRE scores back, and I scored a 580. Sixty-third percentile. Yuck. I mean, it's above average, but not by a whole lot.

So what does this mean for me, exactly? I figure I've got three options:
-Apply to Comparative Lit and interdisciplinary programs (Stanford's Modern Thought and Literature dept, Rhetoric at Berkeley, etc), which was my original plan anyway before I got talked into planning on English.
-Apply to English PhD programs at schools that don't require the subject GRE (Columbia and UChicago, for example) and middle-of-the-road programs at state institutions whose average subject GREs are on the lower end of the spectrum (e.g., UMass-Amherst).
-Apply to do a terminal master's in English or CompLit, probably pay through the nose for it and go into even more debt, and work on a PhD afterward.

So far the GRE score is the only blemish on an otherwise pretty damn good undergraduate record...has anyone else here been in a similar situation? Any advice?

I've looked at other entries and other communities/sites but I haven't gotten a clear answer so I'm hoping to get one here.

I'm taking out loans for my MA program; I was already aware of this happening so I'd planned for it. The loans will cover all the tuition and college expenses.

Due to personal/life reasons I'm not sure I'll be able to work for at least the first semester of grad school, or at least not work full time. Do students take out loans just to live? (eg: pay the rent, food on the table, pay other bills?). If so, does anyone have any suggestions? I emailed my school's financial aid office and they pointed me towards their page where all the info is, but I confess to being very confused with the whole PLUS loans, other loans, etc. I'm not looking for a loan to pay my school but a personal one.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have amazing credit and have payed my undergrad loans faithfully since graduating so I know I'm a good candidate for loans, I just don't know where to start.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone in this community attended BU for their MSW and/or MPH, and if you did, if you could give me any input on the program and the school itself.

Thank you!

x-posted in socialwork and swk_students

I'd like to get this out to my recommenders tomorrow if at all possible! A 200 word limit is super hard to express yourself in so I've omitted a lot from my 'longer' SOP. Any help and advice would be much appreciated. It's at 215 words which I'm hoping would be okay but any word/sentence trimming would be much appreciated! I'm not sure if under 200 words if applicable would be okay too!

Many thanks!

( SOP )

One more question is it acceptable to write for example The University of California at Irvine as 'UC Irvine' in an SOP? Write out in full the first time and abbreviate thereafter?

So, I have a question. Basically, I want to get an MFA so I can teach college film classes. And I want to make social issue documentary. Those are my goals.

My advisor at the school I'm at for undergrad said he could devise an MFA program for me that would incorporate production classes and social issue classes. I love this school and I love being close to my family and I love this city.

Other option: apply to American University which offers an MFA in documentary filmmaking, TA-ships, everything good. I've heard only amazing things about this program. Just, it's far away in a town I'm not familiar with (I mean... I've heard of our nation's capital, but...). I do have a friend who lives there, but I started out at a college far away from home and ended up coming back. I'm nervous to move that far away, knowing I'm committing 3 years to it..

Typing this out, I can see what choice seems obvious. I guess I just want to hear what you guys think..


ETA: Thanks for the California suggestions - those programs do look good!

But: I live in Chicago, which does actually have a pretty thriving documentary scene (as far as doc "scene" goes..). I thought about it, and it's pretty awesome that the department's is able and willing to work with me, so I'm really thinking this might be the right path. (change of heart from last night, when I was like oh man what am I even doing with my life)

I have been thinking about this question, which actually did help me when I went into undergrad, or rather--would have helped me MORE if I had followed the advice given by everyone who had answered it. eg...How many times was I told NOT to skip my classes???? (Luckily it didn't bite me in the butt too hard!)

For those of you in graduate/PhD programs...

Looking back--what advice would you have given yourself before you started your first year?

Spanking pichu demands that you answer!!

Edited---for repetition

How did you know you wanted to go to grad school?

Greetings,

I wanted to thank everyone for chiming in the several times I posted questions here (plus that one rant once I started getting accepted!)during my grad application process.

I ended up accepting West Virginia University's wonderful offer to join their MFA program this fall, and am curious if anyone else (Poets, specifically) out there is heading there as well? It would be cool to hear from you, if so.

Good luck to all of you out there, and those who will be doing what I'm doing this fall: uprooting to a new state, community and school, teaching and joining the program of their dreams! Whew. Life is never dull!

hi, everyone. this is my first time posting. i'll probably be posting here a lot more in the future and around december and january as those deadlines creep up. anywhos, i guess i just need some other students to give me their idea of where i stand.

first, i plan on applying to some industrial/organizational psychology phd programs this winter for fall 2009 admissions. i'm also debating between those i/o programs and the social psychology programs in the u.c. system (santa barbara, santa cruz, davis, and i'll even throw berkeley and ucla in for the heck of it).

-----------------

stats:

i don't go to a prestigious school. it is one of the campuses within the california state system.

first two years of college: gpa was abysmal; it was around a 2.00 (complete slacker and missed more classes than attended them).

last two years: after this summer, i'll have 63 units completed (90% upper division psych, sociology, and statistic classes with a gpa around 3.98 within those units--there's an A- somewhere there.)

i've been a research assistant since jan/feb 2008, so i will have almost a year of research experience with one professor by the time i apply (he/she is in the i/o field with some publications). i will be getting a really good letter from this person . i also plan on working with another professor over the summer.

recently, i presented at a small student research conference . it had students from a few close schools, but it was mostly students from my own school.

i've secured two really good letters (one from the professor i am the research assistant for, and the other is from a sociology professor). i don't think i'll have any problems getting a good 3rd letter.

i'll be taking the GRE in oct/nov 2008. i those this score is important in gauging my chances. i'm hoping it's 1200+ (really 1350+), but you never know.

i may take a graduate level statistics course next semester just because it'll look good and because i like stats.

----------------

i know my chances also really depend on whether the school looks at my overall or ONLY my junior/senior gpa. even for schools that look at the overall gpa, i hope that by seeing the drastic difference, then they will know that my poor performance early in college is not representative of the student i am today.

i think the i/o programs are much harder to get into, and there's less of them. i know i'll need a good sop explaining my gpa, in addition to the more important "why i want to go to gradschool" spiel. i'm also considering some masters programs. not to sound overly confident, but i think it'll be much easier getting into those programs.

i've talked to my professors and i have some clue of where i stand. i guess i just need to hear it from some of my "peers". thanks for reading and even more thanks if you reply.

I recently got an invitation to join the business honor society Beta Gamma Sigma. Does anyone know if it is worth the $80 enrollment fee? I am suspicious of a lot of these 'honor' societies, but had the feeling that this might be legitimate and wanted other opinions. Thanks!

I need some advice in picking schools. I applied to many different programs, but only got into a few. One, a PhD in Computer Science at my alma mater, where I also got a Master's. The other for an MA in Mathematics at another school. I think I've lost a fair bit of passion for CS through jobs and some other issues, but it's still an interest. Here's my dilemma:

Going back to my alma mater, I would need to get a professor quickly to start research, and there has been or will be a turnover of professors pretty quickly, and it will be troublesome to find a professor. I also don't have funding here, and would have to pay my own way for the first year until picked up by a professor. Lastly, if going here, all my degrees would be from the same institution, which I've heard is not warranted for academia, correct?

The Math program at the other school has offered to pay all tuition and give me a stipend (maybe enough to live on) for my studies there. They are a tiny department, though, and not ranked at all. phds.com had the school's effectiveness 1.6/5 (but based on 1995 data). They only graduate a very few Math degrees every year, but there is probably a good amount of research I could (try) to do there. This program would also give an opportunity to see another field, tutor in Math, and hopefully get some good 1-1 research time with professors. The thing is, I'm not sure how effective this program would be upon completion in getting into grad school again (for cs or math PhD). I also have an interest in the area, and can do well in it I think, but am not sure how passionate about it I am.

Neither of the schools are ranked by US News in their areas, which also makes me nervous. Would it be better to go to the alma mater, the math program and continue to search for a complete passion, or to turn down both and hope that something comes up?

My *BIG* question is that I have other options that could come through this summer for the fall, and I want at least a back-up. If I accept a school's offer of admission and funding, is it kosher to turn them down later in the summer (but before starting in the fall)? And would there be repercussions of turning funding down?

I've exhausted my professorial options for LORs. I still need one more, and I'm trying to decide between my former employer and my former coworker. I would think that my former employer would be better qualified to write the letter, but he wrote me a letter for a different program, and it was pretty bad. He didn't say bad things about me, but clearly didn't listen to me when I told him what it was about, because he phrased the whole thing like I was applying for a job. ("I highly recommend you choose NB for your open position.") I very clearly explained to him what it was I was applying for, and even sent him the program's website, so I don't know that I could do anything differently to get him to write a more appropriate letter. My other choice is my former coworker. She knows me well and wrote me a lovely letter for that other program. However, the program I'm applying to now says no friends or family, and I don't know if she counts as a friend? So which is the better choice? A well qualified person who I don't trust to write a good letter, or a less qualified person who I know will write a good letter? ack.

ETA: Since it's probably relevant, I've been done with school for 2 years. I'm applying for Fall 08 admissions because the M.Ed deadline at UMass was extended to June 1. It's not a highly competitive program (naturally, or the deadline wouldn't have been extended so ridiculously late), but I do still want to submit the best application possible.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does one go about asking a professor if they can be their RA while you are an undergrad? Do you just email them? Is that annoying? Can I ask a professor after I finish their class? I don't want to be paid...I just want experience. I'm not even that concerned with what it is I'm helping with, as long as it is in my field. Help me please. :(

So my boyfriend's afraid of posting on communities like this... He's getting a BS in Pure Mathematics next May and would like to continue proving stuff, I suppose. I'm not entirely sure what his research interests are (it seems like that doesn't particularly have to solidify yet--if it helps he's also very into computers and programming, so maybe Discrete Math and Algebra). The problem for him is, well, his GPA is pretty mediocre. He has a 3.3 overall and a 3.4 in his major. Mind you, his major is really rigorous, but I'm not sure how much leeway is allowed in his field. I know that in humanities such a GPA would be enough to get him into okay MA programs, but are top-30 or so PhD programs a little more lenient? Should he apply to tons of MS programs, too?

As everyone winds down Fall 2008 cycle, I have a question for 2009 Cycle. When did you contact professors asking if they are taking students for your cycle, if you contacted them in the first place? I have my list of professors to e-mail (PhD. Math, if it matters), and was wondering if this summer would be too early. I've been looking at recent papers for about 5 of these people (I'm applying to 11ish schools).

For those of us waiting to start grad programs in the fall, what are you doing for a job this summer? Or if you're fortunate enough to not work, how will you spend the next 3-4 months?

I didn't work this semester, and now that I'm looking for a job I'm finding it to be a real challenge. Most of the jobs I've looked into don't want to hire a temporary employee (and I'm not talking salary-paid jobs, even P/T receptionist positions), so I almost feel like I have to lie in order to get a job to pay my stupid bills...and lying isn't something that I'm comfortable with. Anyone else experiencing this?

At this point I'm hoping to get a P/T tutoring position at one or two places and try to intern/volunteer in my field once/twice a week. And then in my spare time I plan to continue an independent research/writing project and read as many titles as I can that have been suggested to me by a student in the program I'm going into.

Oh, and does anyone have experience with temp agencies? I'm wondering if I should look into that.

What is the proper etiquette when the graduate director of the program you've applied to emails you to say that you have been recommended for admission? Are you expected to reply at all? This is my first and only acceptance and so I've never had to write such a message before...I have no idea if I'm just supposed to be like, "Dear Professor X, Thank you for informing me! I'm very excited about your program and will await further notification" or...is there more? Any tips from those more experienced in these matters would be appreciated. :)

I seem to remember sometime this past winter, one of us here at applyingtograd mentioned getting onto Jeopardy. I just watched the most recent College Championship episode where the contestant from Minnesota mentioned beginning her PhD in the fall, and I wondered - same person?

Was that you, lj-er? If so - damn good job!

here's a question from someone who didn't realize this comm existed until about 3 seconds ago - my admission letters came pretty late (I'm sure I was a lot of someone's second choice, but better late than never, right?), and now I'm stuck making a slapdash decision between some admittedly pretty great schools. Assuming that money isn't an issue (i have great funding offers from both) what factors, besides academics/professors/etc, did you consider when choosing a school?

FWIW, I'm going for my MA in masscomm/media studies, and my specific dilemma is that they're both fantastic programs, but one is in a very metropolitan area, the other, very rural. there are pros and cons to each, but I think that honestly, it boils down to the fact that while I feel like School B might be a better fit for me, academically, I'm afraid that another 2 years in rural hell (I did my undergrad in a similar location) would leave me completely unhinged.

Alternatively, are there any masscomm/media studies students in here that can tell me a little bit about what they like/dislike in their programs?

Has anybody attended NYU's MPA program for Health Policy/Management? I got in, but am a little worried because I have heard a few negative things. I also got in to a smaller school, that would provide a little more of a personalized education. So I am really confused as of where to go. Any input would be great.

Andrea

NYU has given me around 56k for my first year!!! I also just got a letter of acceptance from Fordham U!!

so yay!

i'm going to go spazz now and do happy dance!!!

ETA- because I just realized how silly it is to write "which is very exciting" when it is obviously exciting...I dunno I'm going to go stuff myself with pasta now...

Hi everyone,

I'm a regular lurker here (I think I may have posted a few times).

I'll be starting an MA in Poli Sci/International Relations in the fall with the goal of applying to PhD programs for fall 2010 entry. I will be planning my coursework around this goal, but I'm wondering what else I can do to increase my chances at a top poli sci PhD program other than excellent grades and recs. So far I have three milestones I hope to achieve: (1) Conference presentation - at least 1, hopefully 2 or more - and I will attend as many conferences as is financially feasible, (2) Publish at least 1 article (again, hopefully 2), if only in a graduate student journal , (3) formulate and get funding for a summer research project (which will ideally lead to my second conference presentation and a publication).

I will also be a TA for at least 2 semesters before I apply, but I'm not sure if that really matters.

I was hoping you could let me know if you think all this is feasible (it seems to me, yes) and whether there is anything else I can do to bolster my application. I know an RA position would be a plus, but I think those are limited to PhD students in the program.

Thanks!

Rory

I'm sure most of you know my situation from my constant whining, but here it is again!

I have a bit of a strange dilemna.

( Read more... )

I guess what I'm looking for is a bit of perspective...I feel like I have made up my mind already, but I am still waffling between declining and reapplying or going for it now.

X-posted at Gradcafe