edpsych2013

Agreed. I also wonder why some schools, like Madison and Michigan, are ranked so high on almost all of the specialty rankings but are relatively lower on the overall rankings.

So I applied to the Human Development and Education program at Berkeley, and spoke with the admissions office today. I was told that the office still hasn't received the majority of the applications from the review committee, and the coordinator wasn't able to give me an estimate as to when we might hear back beyond "the end of March." I'm thinking either 1. the admits have already gone out and the committee is still reviewing apps to determine a waitlist or 2. only the first wave on initial rejections have been made. Not sure which scenario is more likely. I just thought I'd pass this info along in case anyone is going as crazy waiting for Cal as I am (I have a great offer from Madison that I wish I could just accept already, but I'm holding out for Berkeley as it's a slightly better research fit). Good luck, all!

I did my MSW at UChicago, where i took classes with and got to know several MAPSS students. There's a ton of variance in how useful they perceive the program to be, and how happy they were overall with their decision. I think it depends largely on faculty you take classes with and work with, as some profs seem to be much more helpful with LORs and thesis mentoring than others. It has a reputation for being a huge cash cow for the U of C, and I know that there are consistently several students every year who still fail to get PhD offers. Personally, I would weigh very carefully the financial aid offer they gave you, how much debt you would need to incur, and how good you've been, generally speaking, building relationships with profs in the past. I need to also add that, from what I've heard, no one in the program reapplies during the first quarter-- they all wait until they've graduated. At this point, you'll already have a thesis in hand, and (hopefully) professors who know you pretty well and can vouch for you in LORs.

From what I understand, UT has an excellent reputation in Education. As you already mentioned, they are ranked above TC. TC is also notoriously stingy with funding, at both the master's and doctorate levels. My take on this is, unless you want to end up teaching secondary ed in NYC where the Columbia name and networking opportunities would undoubtedly help, a better-funded offer at UT is the way to go. When it comes time to apply to doctoral programs, I doubt schools will think any differently about a degree from UT versus a degree to TC. Good luck, and congrats on getting into two top schools!

Thanks! This is really helpful.

Congrats! If you don't mind, I'd be curious to hear what program you've heard back from. I applied to their Human Development and Education program (probably my top choice), and haven't heard anything yet. From looking at the results board, it's clear that historically the good news comes out in February and the bad news in March. Freaking out, I called the admissions office last Monday (the 25th) and was told that no decisions for HDE had been made, as far as the admissions coordinator knew. She told me that HD applicants would start hearing back anywhere from the week of March 4th through the end of the month. I tried calling a few times on Friday to see if she had any update, but couldn't get through. Also, for folks worrying about Michigan/Midwest weather, it's really not that bad. I've spent the last 4 years in the Midwest after growing up in the warm and sunny west coast; it was a shock at first (especially the first winter), but you get used to it faster than you might think. Ann Arbor especially is *beautiful* in the winter, particularly after a snowfall. Just make sure to bundle up and you should be fine