rising_star

hahaha, us geography peeps are mad cool, that's all. just kidding. i read all the forums (except the science-y ones) because I hate working on my senior thesis. horsefly, why do you think a LATAM MA is taking a big chance? And what's your focus within Lat Am? HistoryNerd, have you decided where you're going? And what's your focus?

Sorry to hear that yin.

sad1584, if it makes you feel better, my advisor hasn't responded to any email I've written since March 13. And the last time we met was on March 13th when he told me he'd send me some specific comments on my intro. I'm still waiting on those. Thankfully my sister is a good writer and she's helping me a lot with making arguments stronger. Also since she has no background in literature, she gives me a good idea of when I'm being too vague and stuff. Sonny, I haven't looked into Miami's program in months. Like not since I applied on Jan 1. They were the first school I ever contacted about geography and they did call today to tell me I'd gotten in. I'm just worried that the stipend won't cover COL because coral gables is more expensive than tallahassee/athens/columbus. I will look into the program some more on early next week. YAY FOR AAG! We can all meet each other!

Haven't made a decision yet. Just found out I got into the MA program at the University of Miami with an assistantship. Only thing is their dept is very unknown because the grad program is very recent. On the other hand, they have a lot of profs working on third world development in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America which is a huge plus in my book. I didn't need another monkey-wrench in my decision-making process. My thesis is due Monday at 3pm. I have to have it to the binder by 3am Monday... :shock:

Hey Sibilance, I checked with current OSU students and they say that $12K goes pretty far. Most said they take out $3-4K over the course of year in loans just so they can travel and stuff. Thank god for low COL in lots of places. Just to add to this, all of my schools are offering around $14K which covers the summer months too. And History_Nerd, two schools have offered me one year departmental scholarships that boost the money for first year then disappear. BTW, I had no idea funding for MAs was so rare when I applied to MA programs. Had no idea what kind of chance I was taking, just knew I couldn't even get into a PhD program at the lowest ranked school in the field.

Hey Diane, I think the schools will definitely understand about an MA. Have you considered just taking upper-level undergrad and graduate courses somewhere without being a full-time student? That way you could work to help offset some of the debt while still improving your credentials and then you could apply again. The problem with applying again in December is that all your transcript will list is the courses that you're currently enrolled in and the schools won't know how well you are doing in them. That's a risk. Plus, they might expect letters from graduate professors who you won't have much time to build a relationship with.

All debt is too much debt. But seriously, anything over $60K seems like too much to me.

This is going to sound mean (and I have a sister that went to Brown but I'll say it anyways) but the name "Brown" has much less notoriety than any of the other Ivy League schools, particularly outside of the East Coast. Depending on what your professional interests are, going to Brown may not give you any boost over going to Syracuse. I think having faculty whose work you find interesting and who want to work with you is the most important factor to consider. Guaranteed funding is also nice but consider that the Brown package is more mostly because it's more expensive to live there than to live in upstate NY. A "Social Science" PhD might open up more doors for you because it shows your ability to work in different areas of the social sciences. Then again, it might be looked down on or seen as an indicator that you lack academic focus. I'd talk to people within the field of your professional interest and see how they'd value each degree. I hope that helps!

I don't think it's lazy, L again. I'm curious about the exact same things because I'm very dependent on funding. I'm about as anti-debt as it gets so better funding packages would help. (AKA, if one school upped the ante, I'd just go there!)

smithigan, I thought about this. I think you should go to the grad school that is a "phenomenal choice". Debt is never worth it. Then again, I'm fiscally conservative and was unwilling to go into debt for undergrad...

If you go to the website Lauren posted, here's a list of places I would avoid. Greenbriar Apts (and anything with that management. I had friends live there for a year and they had MANY problems) Boardwalk at Appleyard, The Exchange, Frog Pond, Jacob's Landing, Osceola Village, Players Club, Tuscany Village, University Gardens - all are mostly undergrads and noisy on the weekends I don't know that much about the rest of the complexes, simply because new complexes open every year and since I'm not a student in Tally I don't keep up with it anymore. You can do an apartment search through Tallahassee.com and get some great results. I just did a sample one and got reminded of a few nice complexes. Arbor Station is nice though it's a bit far from campus but walking distance from the mall which means more bus lines though none goes directly to campus. The Paddock Club is also nice and Oak Ridge Apartments and Banyon Bay (that name might be wrong) are in that same area. Not that close to campus but could be more convenient for your wife since it's by tons of businesses. Hope that helps you some.

Someone posted this job announcement on applyingtograd and I thought I'd repost it here since it could help some of you struggling with finances or trying to figure out housing... Here is the job description: http://www.spelmancareers.net/spelman/j ... &Keywords= hope that helps someone!

I'm taking a class right now called "Islands in Literature" and it is definitely piqueing my interest in the role of place in literature. In fact, I may take some of the material from this class and turn it into something more profound once I get some geographic knowledge in me.

Holy cow, Shelly!!! That's amazing!! Congrats.

Be careful about offcampus apartments. A lot of them are dominated by college students, even ones that aren't right near campus. London Town and Meridian Place apartments are great, near lots of things, and away from college parties. Quick question: Why would you need a second car if you already have one in storage?

Alumni Village has definitely NOT been renovated in recent memory. At least 15 years, I'd say. I had some friends that got married and lived there but I think it's less than ideal. It does have the advantage of coming furnished with very basic items, which may be helpful if you're coming from abroad. If you check out the floor plans for 1 bedrooms, http://www.housing.fsu.edu/housing/grad/avfp.html you'll note that the bedrooms themselves are kinda small. I would consider this factor though: Apartments are not air-conditioned; however, a limited number of apartments have window air-conditioning units. Residents may purchase and install window air conditioning units in University designated and approved location inside the apartment. The University does not rent or sell window units. I'm not sure how long I'd live in Tallahassee without an air conditioner given that the unit is typically in use from late April to early October. There's also the transportation factor. Alumni Village is kinda isolated (even in terms of bus line) making grocery shopping a bit more difficult. For information on the bus line that goes to Alumni Village: http://www.talgov.com/starmetro/routes/rt20.cfm . I realize that probably means nothing to you. So, let me explain. You can ride the bus for free (by showing your FSUCard) and the #20 takes you right to campus in about 20 minutes according to the schedule. If you didn't have a car, you'd need to change buses at the Plaza to get to the grocery store, adding to the amount of time it takes to get groceries. Of course, bus transit in Tallahassee isn't great no matter where you live... Summary: If you've got the money, I'd try and live offcampus. Maybe someone else could weigh in but that's my opinion. And, if you buy an inexpensive used car, living offcampus is an even better option.

guesty, that's so awesome. i'd love to hear more about your research, if you're comfortable with sharing.

I am getting a Master's degree. I found geography through Google actually, then started looking into departments. I already knew that I wanted to go to grad school and also realized that literature wasn't my main interest anymore. Oh, and I liked that geography was interdisciplinary. Yes, those are the schools that have offered me admission and funding to start in fall '06. I'm excited but, as I already said, have no idea how to choose a department. I guess I'll look at your criteria and see if they can help me out. Part of the problem has been that everyone has been extraordinarily accessible and responsive to my emails, with several profs giving me their home phone numbers or offering to call me and answer any questions. I honestly don't consider their research projects a criteria because I want to do my own thing and be supported in that. The number of grad students is definitely something that I need to ask (though I know a couple of profs at Ohio State desperately want me to come and work with them which is exciting!). I'm surprised you didn't hear back from Dr. Pandit. She's been very responsive to my emails but, she just moved up to the Dean's Office the week before AAG. Then there was AAG and then the spring break at UGA so she's really just getting settled in. Faculty accessibility is definitely a key factor. My senior thesis advisor keeps going AWOL and it's driving me nuts.

Andrew, I haven't decided yet. I'm definitely open to advice. Sonny, so here's my background. My undergrad is a top school with a major in Comparative Literature and a minor in African Studies. GPA 3.4. Good GRE scores. But, no background in geography though I have taken several classes in anthropology. Currently trying to decide between University of Georgia, Florida State, and Ohio State. My interests are the city and how its portrayed in literature AND third world sustainable development (environmentally and culturally sustainable). As far as UGA, have you been in communication with Dr. Pandit? She just got promoted to a dean's position (associate or assistant, I can't remember). She's not teaching next academic year and wants to resume teaching in fall 07 but doesn't know if that will happen. She is willing to do independent study courses though... Herod is more economic geography but he's very friendly. If you have questions about the human geographers at UGA, you should ask. I met almost all of them at the beginning of last week...

Oh I totally agree about a personal statement overhaul. I would've thought more about my research interests and made sure I really conveyed those. (Though one school said they liked my statement because I was honest about who I was, my lack of background in the field, and why I couldn't get too specific about research interests. I'm sure these exact same qualities sunk me at another school.) I would've done a better search for departments. I didn't look into the majority of the schools, discounting them immediately based on the state they were in (I basically said nothing but the Southeast). As a consequence, I can't go to any of the best schools in the field because they're mostly in the Midwest. Definitely would've looked at all the options, I recently discovered that two schools I never considered would be great fits for me. *sigh* C'est la vie.

What's your focus?

Welcome Sonny! I know of a couple of people that have heard from Minnesota but they didn't apply through IIE-Fulbright. So I'm not sure if that helps you or not. Are you interested in working with Andy Herod at U of Georgia?

How diverse is the Athens area (in terms of the population)? I assume that as a grad student I won't encounter too many of the southern frat boys. So I'm just wondering what kind of people I would encounter?

carollei, the thing is that you really wouldn't be able to start PhD until fall 07 either way. In which case, what are you going to do in the year in between if you go to U of Chicago? If you're interested in being a professor, getting TA experience as a masters student will be very beneficial. Schools want people that can come in and lead a section of an intro course. UIC would also give you a deeper exposure to sociology. They are on semesters so you'd do 4 semesters vs. 3 quarters. You'd get sociology professors to guide your independent research project, which you could use as a writing sample for PhD. And you might even get the opportunity to publish. Just some things to think about. Here's a link to the thread I was talking about before: http://thegradcafe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=156

I'm not sure teaching curriculums are that rigid. Maybe you bring a cool perspective to UNC?