Teachers College - International Educational Development chances...

[prospectiveTC]

Hi everyone,

 

I am currently a senior at NYU majoring in Sociology and I am aspiring for the IED Masters program at Teachers College.

 

Here are my stats:

 

GPA: 3.55

GRE: Presumably Verbal:158s, Math:155s as I am taking it in exactly 7 days.

Letter of Recommendation: One letter from my non-profit org. manager, 2 from professors,

 

my Personal Statement is going to be based on my desire to make in impact in the field of International Education.

I can see myself running an NGO / non-profit organization years down the road.

I've had substantial internship experience here and there (but not as much as other applicants...!)

 

 

If I know that my GRE score will not be super-competitive...Do you think it will be better just not to send the scores?

 

I will also be applying to Penn GSE, and Stanford IEC.

 

Thanks for your help,

Prospective TC

 

 

[prospectiveTC]

Dear Mac2809,

 

So I just got back my GRE score:

 

Verbal: 161

Quant: 155

AW: Around 3.5-4 I assume 

 

Do you think its better to send these scores to TC and other graduate schools? Or should I just not send them all together (for schools that don't require GRE as in M.A. in TC)

Personally, I think its a score range that would NOT tip me over other applicants, but at the same time I don't think my application will be turned down because of the test score.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks

[w4nd3rlu5t]

I recently completed the IED MA at TC. I'm inclined to say that you should include the GRE scores.  Although not required, solid GRE scores might help with things like scholarships. (I don't know that. Just a thought.)

 

Out of curiosity, do you have any international experience? As I recall, there were only a few in the program who were accepted right out of undergrad. Most domestic students have substantial international experience-- Peace Corps, teaching, NGO work, etc. I don't think it's necessarily a problem if you don't, but may be something to keep in mind as you write the SOP.

[prospectiveTC]

Thank you for your comment.

Actually I ve beem involved with a nonprofit for the past two years (summer internships)and basing my SOP on the kinds of difficult questions related to development that I started asking myself based on my experience.

Im curious as to how your experience was at TC?

[w4nd3rlu5t]

Overall my experience was positive & I got the job I wanted right after graduating, so I can't complain. 

 

The TC program is pretty big, which is a both a strength and weakness in my opinion. The size means that there is a good variety of courses and a large alumni network, but it also means that there's a lot of competition for limited research opportunities and class sizes are on the large side. (I can't compare with other programs so it's hard to put these observations into perspective.)

 

Another positive is that the program is very flexible, so you can narrow in on your particular interests. I think this helped me land the job I wanted as it was a good match for the study plan I had put together. It's also very flexible in terms of duration-- if you want to bang it out in a year, you can do that, but most students seem to stretch it out a bit to take advantage of NYC, internships opportunities, etc.

 

At any rate, those are just a few of my thoughts. Good luck with the applications & enjoy!

[prospectiveTC]

Thanks again for your detailed reply.

This may be too much to ask but will you be willing to read over my SOP? I have been going to my schools writing center, but I think insights from a former IED student could really be helpful. If you could help me along, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot!

ProspectiveTC