gr1277

Has anyone worked for Converse International School of Languages? I'm just wondering what people think about the organization. Any experiences to share?

The review/publication process will take long enough that it won't matter if you submit it now or in a few months. If it is accepted, it will be published when you are an MA student. Also, you are going to be very busy once the school year begins in the fall. I think you should follow the recommendation of your "seasoned" professor and submit to the journal he recommended. The quality of the journal is not your concern right now. The professor understands your paper's topic and its fit in the journal. A peer-reviewed publication would be awesome for your CV. However, you could also consider submitting the paper to the journal for the organization that gave you the award for your paper.

When I applied for my MA, I was accepted off the wait list after the April 15th deadline. I had already accepted an offer from another school by that time though. I recommend making contact with the program before April 15th to show your interest (if you are actually interested in that program over any other offers you have).

For cheap hotels, I've been using Priceline for the last four years and I've paid between $36/night (Minneapolis) to $78/night (in cities like Chicago and New York). In the US, I haven't paid more than $78/night for a hotel and I've booked hotels in ~20 different states. Usually, I go for the Express deals, but I've booked through Name Your Own Price many times. I never stay at a hotel with less than 3* and it's always a great deal. I've also used the Name Your Own Price option on flights and it's worked out (enough though the layovers are crappy). Everyone in my cohort is amazed by the fact that I've traveled during my MA. It's a priority to me though. I live in a cheap/crappy apartment and I spend my money on traveling. I find the best deals and I'm not picky about where I go. Sometimes, when I feel like traveling, I just pick the cheapest possible destination that I haven't visited yet. At the beginning of January, that meant visiting NYC when it was -20 with wind chill. However, I booked a hotel (three blocks from Times Square) and a flight for cheap because people don't want to travel then. Also, I LOVE conferences. Yes, they are great for networking and adding another line to your CV. They are also opportunities for free travel. My department offers $1000/year in funding, the college offers $100, and the grad school offers $100. Additionally, I've received $400-$500 in travel grants/awards from different conference organizations. During my second year, I presented at a conference in Flagstaff, AZ and New Orleans, LA, and I actually received excess (I made money by presenting at the conferences). While working on my MA (making ~$14,000 as a TA), I was able to go on a 2-month 10,000 mile road trip across the Western half of the US and Canada during the summer after my first year and a 1-month backpacking adventure around Ireland/Northern Ireland during the summer after my second year. Also, I went to Mexico City, Washington DC, Nashville, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and more. Plus, next week, I'm going to Panama City, Panama for spring break. Anyway, I just want to stress that it's possible if you make it a priority.

I'm talking about US schools. We already know that the one fellowship offer does not include a tuition waiver, because he asked the department. I think they should call it a scholarship, personally. The acceptance letter was confusing and it took two responses from the school to blatantly tell him that he has to pay tuition/fees with it (plus extra). It was all rather misleading. I'm just really surprised about it. Like I said before, I've always seen fellowships awarded to allow a student to focus on classes or disquisition writing. At my university, PhD students typically apply for fellowships after their comps because they want to focus on their research/writing without having to worry about the responsibilities of a TA/RA.

Unless you are a resident of the state (or there is a special reciprocity program with your state), you wouldn't be eligible for in-state tuition. I've worked in student services jobs at my university and this isn't negotiable. You may be able to gain residency after a year though. As for funding in public policy, I can't speak to that.

I agree with userforth for the most part. It's important to grow as a scholar and avoid "inbreeding" too much. I think this is more important on the PhD level though.

When I applied to MA programs, I was accepted to 3/5 and ending up accepting the offer from my undergraduate university. They made me a more competitive offer ($2,000 more for the same teaching responsibilities). I somewhat regret my decision because I don't think I've been challenged enough. I think that I would have been pushed more at another university. However, I was given research/academic support by a lot of the professors (partly because I had established relationships with many of them already). Because of this, I was able to get a book review and a conference proceedings article published. Also, I've presented at 5 conferences that were completely funded by my department/university and/or the grad funding from the conferences. The answer: it depends.

I've been thinking about this too. How genuine do you think professors/grad students are with potential students? When my department has informational days, we have to stay positive. That's not to say that I wouldn't tell a prospective student the truth if I was blatantly asked a question in private. However, can one actually get a feel for the department by one short visit?

When considering location, it's not just about the climate. I've lived in a state with terrible winters that last half the year sometimes and that definitely impacts my overall happiness level. However, the community and access to things like art/music/etc. balances out the bad weather (to some extent). Don't cross it off the list without considering the possible positive aspects of the location too. That said, after living in North Dakota for 26 years, I'm moving to California after I finish my MA in May.

Do fellowships typically include tuition waivers? I was under the impression that a fellowship is money given to a student as a stipend that also waives tuition/fees so the student can concentrate on classes or writing one's thesis/dissertation. Recently, my SO was awarded a $25,000 fellowship from a university. However, when he asked about tuition and fees, he was told that he would have to pay for tuition and fees with the fellowship money. He's an out-of-state student and tuition and fees at this school are ~$31,000 (in state is ~$15,000). A second school has nominated him for an $18,000 fellowship with a tuition/fee waiver. This funding hasn't been secured yet, but the funding from the first school is an official offer. I'm just wondering if it is common practice to call something a fellowship when it seems more like a scholarship (because it has to be used to pay tuition/fees)?

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll try to apply for teaching positions at community colleges. When I was looking up schools, I was overlooking community colleges before. We only have a few community colleges in my current state, so I didn't think about how many there would be in other states/cities.

At this point, it seems like UCSD is the most likely option. So, we'll probably end up in San Diego. Thanks for the tips about New Orleans. It's all up in the air right now. I think I'm actually more obsessed about hearing back from schools than he is! I'm excited that I will finally be finishing my MA. However, I didn't realize that I will be losing so much. Graduating means that I don't have a teaching job anymore or a close relationship within a department. I spend time in my office at the English department and I have access to supportive faculty/colleagues now, but that's all ending soon. I guess I didn't think about it before now. I'm just looking for some perspective from people who have been here before. The main issue is that I'm taking a break between my MA and PhD. Also, I have to consider the possibility of getting a non-teaching job. I have a BS in Business Management and English and an MA in English, so I could probably try to get a job outside of academia. I'm torn. I love teaching, but the job prospects for an applicant with an MA don't look good.

I am currently an English (composition) MA student in my last semester. I will finish my thesis in May. Then, I will be moving to another state with my partner as he pursues his MA. I have been teaching two sections of college composition (each semester) to freshman students for the last six semesters. To be clear, I am the instructor of record. I handle all of the class planning/assignment creation/grading/etc. Except for the textbook and the focus on writing genres, I have freedom to teach the class like I want. Now, as I'm preparing to graduate, I am sad that I won't be teaching anymore. My partner has already been accepted to University of California-San Diego, and he is still waiting to hear back from UCLA and Tulane University (in New Orleans). I've been looking into job prospects, but it seems like any university teaching job (even adjuncts/lecturers) require a PhD. I did find a listing for writing instructors at SDSU that only listed an MA as the minimum requirement, but no one has responded to my inquiry emails. So, my main concern is that I don't want to stop teaching. I enjoy it. Any advise? Is it difficult to get university teaching jobs with an MA? Note: I plan to pursue a PhD eventually. When my SO finishes his MA, we'll apply together.