kaseyleigh

I agree that debt is the worst. I have about $20K or so from law school already (luckily none from undergrad), and now I will be taking on about $40K more for grad school (unless some magical fellowship comes my way). Remember that student loan debt is flexible, however, with repayment options- way more so than credit card debt, etc. I don't relish the idea of paying things off for 25 years, as may very well be the case, but the payment would not be huge each month that way. With student loan debt, also, you are investing in human capital, which makes it a much better investment than, again, credit cards and all the things you buy with those. It is still definitely a heavy burden, but I don't think you should let it stop you from doing something you really want to do that can set you up for a great job in the future! If you have a lot of debt, it just makes it all the more important to really network and set yourself up as best you can for graduation.

Congrats on being accepted to the dual programs! Your guess is as good as mine. I would think that it should be a leg up for a lot of positions and for a higher starting salary, though no starting salaries are going to be super high in IR, likely. I was lucky to not have to take on a ton of debt with my law degree, but I think it does give you a really valuable skill set that you can't get from other degrees.

I'll contribute, then, that both of my acceptances came with funding, but they were not a significant portion of tuition. One school gave $5K a semester, one gave 6 credits a year + a stipend. I didn't take the GRE though, since it was waived with my previous advanced degree, and I think that the GRE is a huge factor for funding, yes?

I just turned 27. I agree that it is different for each person's circumstances... I just graduated from law school in May, so I took a year off after undergrad and now after law school. It just took me a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I am so happy to have my law school experience, and I needed those years off to make sure I was making the right decision with each program, but I do wish I were coming into master's programs a bit earlier. I am going to be older doing entry level work than other people doing the same work (hopefully the law degree could help me move up a little faster?). It also impacts my school choice, since I cannot be a full-time, day student again, and can only go somewhere that offers night classes. It is great that everyone has ultimately (hopefully) found their way to the right path, though, and I firmly, firmly believe it is never too late to follow your passions. Those times in between have helped us find our way!

I've definitely been debating the two myself, so I was very interested to read this discussion. I received basically the same amount of funding from the two, so it comes down for me to location, reputation, job prospects, etc. The curriculum at Elliott seems a little more flexible also. I visited a class at American and really enjoyed myself- the professor, who is unfortunately retiring, was very nice and very knowledgable, as were the students. One student even took me around the school after and gave me so much great advice. I definitely did not get the impression that people at Elliott are super friendly or helpful, though we did have a tour guide of the campus who goes to Elliott and she was very friendly herself. I will likely be going to GW because I need to work full-time and the location cannot be beat, but I think American seems fantastic! They make it hard to turn it down and I think it would be a fine choice, especially if they gave you a lot of funding.

This was just a general fellowship! No word yet on the Wolcott. Seems like no one else has heard either? I thought mine was $5K per semester, until I saw your post, and now I'm questioning mine too. "In your first and second years, you will receive $ 5,000 to be applied toward tuition in Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016 and Spring 2017." I think that means $5K per semester? Is that what yours said too?

FYI, I just now received an email about a fellowship ($5K per semester).

Did anyone else apply for the Wolcott Fellowship/have people already heard back about that?

I got the same deadline. Anyone who has already heard back see anything different?

I got in as well! I also received an email saying to check the portal, and I also didn't have anything about funding. I'm happy to hear that no one else heard about funding as well. People who got a phone call, did y'all have anything about funding in your letter? I received my email at 8:55 am.

Someone got a call from Elliott too! Jealous that they already know!

Congrats to those of you accepted and I hope those who weren't get into other fantastic schools! I was accepted with funding as well: The SIS Dean's Assistantship Award carries with it $4,500 in stipend and 6 credits of tuition remission at the rate of $1,526 per credit. The stipend portion of the award requires a research assistantship with an SIS faculty member for up to 10 hours per week each semester. Your award has a total value of $13,656 for the academic year ($4,500+6 credits x $1,526 per credit) and a total maximum value of $27,312 over two consecutive academic years. The terms and amounts of the award are detailed in the forms below. Please note that you can opt to select only the tuition remission component of the award.

I haven't heard anything yet from American or Elliott!

Not recommended, but that's okay! I accepted a full time job for next year and was not going to accept anyway This makes it even easier. Best of luck to everyone!!

Hi all! I'm new to the forum, but I applied to a research Fulbright for Russia for next year. Does anyone else have to do a language interview if they are short listed/has anyone had to do one before? I am curious how intense the interviews are, especially if I applied for a CLEA particularly because I am not fluent or near fluency. Sending you all best wishes!

Hey guys, I posted on here a while ago, but for those of you who weren't around yet, I am planning to apply for Slavic Linguistics Ph.D. programs for fall 2014 (so I'll be sending in applications this next fall). I am really hoping to do an intensive Russian program this coming summer to up my Russian proficiency... I took two years of college Russian, did the Critical Language Scholarship in Russia which is supposed to be about a year of intensive Russian crammed into two months, but now I am in law school (so it's been about three years since I have formally studied Russian). I was in Russia this last summer but I wasn't doing a language program, so I only got a little bit of real life Russian practice every now and then. I applied for Middlebury for this summer and got in, but I did not get a full fellowship. I really can only do a program if I am fully funded, so I was wondering if anyone could tell me of other summer Russian programs that you know have full funding options I could apply for. I don't think my school (OU-Oklahoma) has FLAS funding. I've applied for the SWSEEL at Indiana-Bloomington and gotten in so I'm waiting on funding. Was also thinking of applying for Pitt, Arizona State, and Beloit. Any other options yall know about? They can be domestic or in Russia (or somewhere else, like Ukraine, etc.) Thanks so much!!

Good luck all! I did the CLS in Intermediate Russian in 2010 and it was a wonderful experience!!

Thanks for the hints ablukhov! I applied for SWSEEL today and I'm probably going to apply to Bryn Mawr also! Does anyone know anything about the summer intensive at the Monterey Institute of International Studies? I was going to apply but then after researching it didn't seem like they had full funding from the institute itself (it sounds like you have to find your own outside funding).

It is fascinating! I would be lying if I said I knew a ton about it at this point, but my area of interest is foreign language acquisition in adults. I am a law student right now, focused on international law, specifically Eastern Europe, so I love the idea of melding my loves of law, policy, and foreign languages in a career plan. I am certainly not fluent in Russian, but at an intermediate level, and hopefully participating in Middlebury this summer. I'm waiting to hear about fellowships. Also, I'm trying to learn German right now and studying in Switzerland next fall, so hopefully I can learn and practice while I'm there! What is your background and what are your academic interests, ablukhov (and everyone else)?

You can do the Boren in law school! I considered/still am considering it and met with an advisor (and I'm a current law student).

I was admitted for the Russian program this summer! I have to wait to hear about the Kathryn Davis Peace Fellowship though. That one is fully funded and I probably won't be attending if I don't get one. Congrats to the others that got in as well! I hear great things!

Hi all! I am thinking of applying to Slavic Linguistics PhD programs for fall 2014, meaning I'll be doing applications next fall. I am excited and just wanted to say hi to all my fellow Slavic language lovers! Ablukhov, it looks like I'm planning to apply to a lot of schools you're applying to, albeit in linguistics instead of literature, so I am curious to see where you end up!