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sdelehan

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  • Application Season
    2016 Fall
  • Program
    History PhD

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  1. Hi All, I am starting my PhD program this fall and I want to pay off my loans from my masters degree while I am still in school. I owe about $45,000 in total and between my savings, some support from family, and a fairly generous funding package I should be able to afford monthly payments. At the moment I am defaulted in to the standard 10-year repayment plan which comes out to about $500/month. My servicer told me that I would also be eligible for Income-Driven plans such as Pay As You Earn, and I am wondering if anyone could share their experience with plans like PAYE. The most important thing for me is to avoid keeping my loans in deferment while I am in school and having 5-6 years of interest turn an already not fun amount of debt into something really tough. Any one who could share their experiences with paying off debt while in school or with the different payment plans would be doing me a huge help. Thanks in advance!!
  2. Does anyone have any insight into how funding works at UC- Santa Barbra? I was super happy to get an acceptance there, but they told me that I am on the waitlist for funding and I'm not quite sure what to make of that. I tried to figure it out from their financial aid page, but those are not the most easily understood things in the world (to say the least). Do they usually give full funding packages to the people they admit or is it more case by case? I've been lucky to have a few other acceptances with full funding, and I am trying to figure out where I want to visit as I get ready to decide between places. I want to make sure that if I spend the $ to fly out to CA from the east coast that I wouldn't just end up learning that there would be no funding in my future. Thanks!
  3. I'm planning on it! Congrats to all the admits!!
  4. I am planning to apply for a PhD this upcoming cycle and want to research the political economy of US international development and aid policy. I want to examine the domestic political debates that shaped aid policy, as well as the way that development policy impacted the developing world. I've taken a rather odd route to grad studies in history and I am somewhat worried that it could be held against me. After finishing my undergrad in 2013, I applied to a range of schools for a history PhD and was rejected across the board, which was a discouraging experience to say the least. I worked for about a year and then looked to go back to school to get an MBA in order to move my career forward. I've always been more interested in history than business, and now as I enter my final year I want to return. I studied business and public policy in business school and I am currently working with the US Agency for International Development in Ethiopia, and it has been this experience that has motivated me to go back and study this topic from a historical perspective. I am wondering what people think about my chances for a PhD, and would be happy to hear any suggestions people have about how to improve my odds. A little more about me: Graduated from the University of Rochester with a 4.00 in History and 3.95 overall and top student in my department. I did an honors thesis that won highest honors, as well as another seminar paper that used archival sources. I also got the chance to take a graduate level course in historical methods as part of an undergraduate fellowship I received my senior year. I did a dual major in international relations and also produced an original research paper for that major that relied on more quantitative methods. As part of the IR degree I also did a summer in Paris and got up to a working proficiency in French. GRE- V: 167 Q: 159 W: 4.5 My MBA gave me the opportunity to work in Ethiopia over the summer with USAID, and to study development in Japan this fall. Both of these experiences should have relevance for my project. Where I am thinking of applying: Stanford UCLA UCSB Wisconsin UT Austin UNC Northwestern Norte Dame Vanderbilt Georgetown Maryland Iowa
  5. After an unsuccessful cycle a few years ago, I'm jumping back in this time around. In the time between cycles I worked for a year and I am wrapping up an MBA right now; and I will be applying to do economic history in the fall. I studied business and public policy in bschool and worked for the US Agency for International Development, so I am planning to research the links between US domestic policy and foreign policy. Aiming to apply at: UNC UCLA Georgetown Harvard Yale Rice UT Austin Northwestern Rutgers Princeton Stanford Cal Here's hoping that things go a little better this time around.
  6. Thank you very much. I have been working this week to nail down a better "target list" of schools, and I've been seeing some good potential "fit" with Stanford, Columbia, Chicago, Duke, UCLA, and Wisconsin. I'm looking to do research in the ways that international organizations and actions impact domestic groups differently; and If possible I would also like to extend that research to examine how domestic actors can influence their home country's foreign policy. My goal is definitely to teach and do research, though I realize the job market is tough and finding work in policy research would not be the end of the world for me. In your experience do these schools match up pretty well? Is there someplace I am overlooking? Thanks again!
  7. Hi All, I'm currently finishing up the first of two years of my MBA at the Simon Business School, University of Rochester concentrating in Business and Public Policy and International Management and I am strongly considering going on to get a PhD in political economy or political science instead of going the more traditional corporate route post-MBA. I'm going to be interning with USAID this summer in Ethiopia this summer doing development work and would be really eager to turn this experience into part of my research in a PhD program. I've been looking at a number of schools and have a list of the big ones below: Stanford Business School PhD in political economy (dream school) UCLA Anderson Berkeley Hass Business and Public Policy Michigan Ross Business and Public Policy Indiana Kelley Business and Public Policy A little bit of background on me: 2013 BA in International Relations and History from the University of Rochester. Research Honors with Highest Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, 3.95 overall GPA, Top graduating student in both Political Science department and History department. 2012 GRE scores: Verbal 166 (96%) Quant 159 (74%) Writing 4.5 (80%) I did an honors thesis in history as well as an invite-only upper level research thesis for political science as an undergrad 3.81 GPA in business school. The school is super-quantative focused and I've been doing a good deal of stats, programming, etc. Studied abroad in France as an undergrad and have 2 years of college-level French. I know my path to a PhD would be a little different and I'm worried that it could be held against me. I also know the GRE's are a little low and I'm probably going to take them again. Overall I would like to get a better sense of my chances and how to proceed with this application. Has any one out there had a similar background or known of someone who has? What can I do with a year available to me to make me more competitive? Thanks in advance!
  8. Hi All, I'm currently finishing up the first of two years of my MBA at the Simon Business School, University of Rochester concentrating in Business and Public Policy and International Management and I am strongly considering going on to get a PhD in political economy or political science instead of going the more traditional corporate route post-MBA. I'm going to be interning with USAID this summer in Ethiopia this summer doing development work and would be really eager to turn this experience into part of my research in a PhD program. I've been looking at a number of schools and have a list of the big ones below: Stanford Business School PhD in political economy (dream school) UCLA UCLA Anderson Business School USC Ohio State University of Washington Maryland Duke Cal A little bit of background on me: 2013 BA in International Relations and History from the University of Rochester. Research Honors with Highest Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, 3.95 overall GPA, Top graduating student in both Political Science department and History department. 2012 GRE scores: Verbal 166 (96%) Quant 159 (74%) Writing 4.5 (80%) I did an honors thesis in history as well as an invite-only upper level research thesis for political science as an undergrad 3.81 GPA in business school. The school is super-quantative focused and I've been doing a good deal of stats, programming, etc. Studied abroad in France as an undergrad and have 2 years of college-level French. I know my path to a PhD would be a little different and I'm worried that it could be held against me. I know the GRE's are a little low and I'm probably going to take them again. Overall I would like to get a better sense of my chances and how to proceed with this application. Has any one out there had a similar background or known of someone who has? What can I do with a year available to me to make me more competitive? Thanks in advance!
  9. I am on Northwestern's wait list for the doctoral program in history and I am wondering if anyone has an idea about how long it usually takes to hear one way or another. I talked to them about a week ago to let them know that I got into an MA program and they told me I was still under consideration. I'm just hoping they don't leave me hanging all the way until the deadlines are close and I have to make a rushed decision.
  10. Now that I have heard back from all of my schools I am wondering about the MAPSS program at Chicago. I applied for 8 History PhD programs, got rejected at 7, wait listed at Northwestern, but Chicago did accept me into the MAPSS. I have been reading up on the program and while it may have somewhat of a reputation as a cash cow for Chicago I still think it could be really good for me. I'm suspecting that the fact that I am a 22-year old recent grad with little in the way of "experience" may have played into the way my applications shook out and this program may be a good way to get a more solid footing for next time. I also think that the interdisciplinary nature of the program could be a help to me, as my research interests sort of skirt the line between history and political science or public policy work. I would just be very interested to hear about someone else's experience with the program and to know if they would recommend it. Thanks!
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