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Bkid-Sapps

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About Bkid-Sapps

  • Birthday 12/05/1984

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    Renegade_Gast

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Japan
  • Interests
    Traveling, studying, fly-fishing, snowboarding
  • Program
    International Relations

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  1. So I've been plugging away on my application materials. I've connected with a few contacts in Germany as potential leads for affiliations but haven't really found exactly what I'm looking for. I've identified a few other faculty members who I think could be the kind of connections I want. I'm just a bit nervous about reaching out to them given that they might be on the admissions board for the schools (I'm hoping to complete a Masters while over there) and I want to make sure my first impression is a good one. Can anyone provide some insight as to how they've connected with affiliation contacts? Any examples of what you said in your first email to them would be very helpful. Thanks!
  2. Hi bjs... I would suggest that you work to develop both your SoP and your affiliation concurrently. That's the approach I'm taking right now. I've been sending out emails of inquiry to various contacts and bouncing around some ideas. The responses I've been receiving from these possible affiliations have helped me to better define my interest areas. At the same time, I've been writing and rewriting various components of my SoP. This process has also led me to revise my plans and/or hone in on a more specific area of interest. Since we're getting such an early start on things, I don't see why you can't develop both aspects (SoP and affiliation) at the same time. Though I would caution, don't contact possible affiliations if you haven't really developed any sort of game-plan for your research. That would be a bit off-putting I imagine from their perspective. Also, I've been in contact with past professors who will probably serve as my letter-of-reference writers. So far they've been my best sounding board for ideas. It helps to have their input and it demostrates to them that your serious about this work and have already put a lot of thought into it, items that can enhance the reference letters they will eventually write for you.
  3. Hi crimsonengineer. Thanks for jumping on board with this thread, I hope you'll be able to provide us new applicants with plenty of info seeing as you were successful in getting a grant. I know I definitely found the conversations in the previous Fulbright thread very helpful. So I'm most likely applying for a grant to Germany. There are a few other options I'm entertaining in Europe but what I've been able to track down in Germany most aligns with my interests. I'm looking at programs in international relations and sustainable development. I'd like to continue on with the kind of work I did for my senior project in undergrad. It was a collaborative capstone in rural Nicaragua working with various sustainable technologies (PV, micro-hydro, bio-gas) to improve access to drinking water, provide electricity, and cut down on the use of the surrounding vegetation for cooking fuel. I figure with Germany's recent push toward renewable energy technologies that it would be a great place to study and research. Here's a question for you if you don't mind, what did you end up doing for your affiliation? How were you able to track down relevant contacts? Any tips on reaching out to them while also being mindful of their busy schedules? And pertaining to Germany specifically, are you going to matriculate into a full 2-year program? Thanks for the help.
  4. I've been stalking the pages of the 2011-2012 Fulbright thread for weeks and figured now was as good a time as any to start a new thread for next years applicants. I would love to get a dialogue going with those working on their applications. Bounce around ideas and provide some encouragement when necessary. And for anyone with past experience applying for Fulbright and/or alums... please, please, please contribute your thoughts and advice! I'm sure I speak for many when I say, we could use the help. Anyway, I've begun the exhaustive process of rough-draft after rough-draft for my research proposal. I've also started shooting off emails to professors and other contacts fishing for advice and possible affiliation. Good times! I know everyone in the other Fulbright thread is stressing out and anxious to hear their results.... all I can say is, "Good luck, and I can't wait to be in your shoes a year from now!"
  5. Thanks for the comments bhikhaari. I have a few more thoughts/questions. I looked at emails from a handful of my past profs. and only a few of them had their details at the bottom of the email. And the details they include are "PhD" or "J.D.", the department of which they're affiliated, and then the university where they teach but that's as far as it goes. So my thought process is that as I'm thinking of potential faculty to turn to for LoRs, I might lean more toward profs. with degrees from more recognized schools. As best I can tell I have probably half-a-dozen faculty who could all write solid letters for me so I'm down to these kind of factors to weed out who I want to turn to. But if their degree granting institution won't even be seen by adcoms then it doesn't make much difference. So I'm curious if anyone out there in the land of TheGradCafe has actually seen their LoRs and can comment on what kind of info profs. include. Also (bhikhaari and anyone else who cares to weigh in) do you think adcoms would go so far as to take the time to look up details on LoR-writers? I know this may seem like I'm dwelling on minutiae but in my (admittedly semi-paranoid) mind these factors seem like they should matter. Thanks for the help!
  6. First question - Does anyone know if faculty include their credentials when they write a letter? At the very least I would assume they include "Dr." or "PhD" if they're Ph.D but does anyone know if they typically include something like where they may have recieved that PhD? I might be reading too much into this but it seems like adcoms would be interested in knowing a bit more about who exactly is writing a letter for me. In my mind there is a significant difference between having an adjunct prof. with a MA write a letter vs. a tenured faculty member with a PhD from a well-known school. Do adcoms pay that much attention to these kind of details? Second question - I'm curious what people think of having a prof. write a letter who you've never actually taken a class from? I have two profs. I can turn to for solid recommendations except for the fact that I've never had classes with them. I know them on a personal level, have visited them during office hours, had coffee with them to pick their brains about academics, and they've seen me give presentations on field-related topics. I'm just assuming but I think the bulk of their letters would focus on what they know about me as an individual, my level of motivation, and maybe something about the presentations they've seen from me but I doubt there would be much emphasis on my academic capability. I have profs. I can turn to for letters who can actually comment on my work but I'm not really too close with them and therefore feel like their letters would come across as typical and rather bland. Which option would you run with?
  7. I'd be happy to take a look and offer some thoughts.
  8. I have been mulling over the same questions as I work on my own SoP(s). Just my opinion but I would say don't go into too much detail about your future career plans. I think it's well understood by university staff that studying for a MA/MSc has the potentional to open up many possibilities for life after studies and/or provide many opportunities to expand one's professional network. I think it best to provide a brief example of where you could potentially see yourself following your studies. Pick one of the organizations you would be interested in working with and speak briefly about a potential program you can see yourself getting involved with. When you have limited word-count space in a SoP to get your point across, why waste your breath dropping names? They already know the key players in the field, what they aren't experts in is you. Devote more attention to shedding light on who you are as a person, professional, and student. And as far as revealing how "rigourous" you were in defining where you wanted to study for your MSc, I would suggest you figure out how to do this subtly and creatively. Again, just my opinion, but just coming out and saying how exhaustive you've been in your research of schools sounds a bit desperate. Perhaps incorporate specific information about the programs you are applying to, drop the name of a professor or two and relevant research they've conducted, and tie this in with your personal narrative. Maybe speak about specific skills or knowledge you hope to gain from a prof. and how this will contribute to your career ambitions. Show them (rather than tell them) how relentless you've been in the research you've undertaken.
  9. Hi Klara, I would be happy to review your SOPs. Although I'm not a grad student (nor have I started applying for programs yet) I do have some experiences that may align with your field of study. I was an International Studies major for my undergrad with a regional focus on Africa. I spent one year studying at the Univ. of Ghana and have travelled around the continent on numerous occasions.
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