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TaewooBurns

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Everything posted by TaewooBurns

  1. My LOR writer sent me the letter they wrote after they mailed it in. I noticed they referred to the university by the wrong name! For example, if I applied for Texas Tech, but they said, "TaewooBurns will be a great addition to the PhD program at University of Texas." I'm hoping the school will be ok with it. The content of the letter is really good, and I have no complaints on that end. Anyone ever have this happen?
  2. Thanks a lot! My number one school is MSU, I've also checked into the rest you've mentioned. Minnesota looks like a good match for me as well. Bic Ngo's research is a close match to mine. Thanks a lot for mentioning Lehigh. I didn't have them on my radar at all, but they have a really nice program. I'm interested in a PhD because I've been teaching at a uni in Korea for a while and I want to get a better foundation for my methodology. I'd like to be able to teach in the US at some point, and with a PhD I'll have a better shot at teaching back home. The PhD would also make me a lot more marketable worldwide, which is cool. As it stands now, I could try to come home and teach in an ESL program somewhere for $10/hr. I'd rather spend 5 to 7 years teaching at a university as a grad student, and improve myself as a researcher. I've been doing that. Looking at weather, cost of living, and grad programs.
  3. Hey folks, I'm struggling finding appropriate programs to apply to for 2015. Stats GRE: Verbal 75th-ish, Math 50th-ish, Writing 50th-ish. (note: I did study for this and I'm not sure how much I could improve with a re-take) Undergrad: 2.69 GPA Public Relations Grad: 3.91 GPA MATESOL Experience: Six years teaching EFL at the university level in Seoul. Two years teaching kids before that. Research: Eight presentations, two small grants, and an as of yet unpublished solo research project related to migration and education (North Korean defectors). Letters: I have two from grad school professors, and one from an undergrad professor. Research interest: I'm interested in international education policy and "culture." Specifically, I'm interested in the cultural problems migrant university students face. I know that my undergrad GPA will keep me out of some schools. Illinois flat out told me there was no way I could get it because the grad school (university wide) requires an undergrad 3.0, and OSU said without a POI having my back it would be very difficult to get in. I had thought my grad GPA would help make up for my undergrad, but I guess not. I expect my undergrad letter writer will speak well of me, and point to how I've grown from when I was an undergrad. According to magoosh's blog my GRE's place me outside of the top 10, which is ok with me. The thing I'm not sure about is if my grad GPA, experience, and research experience will make be competitive to good programs outside of the top 10. Where would I rate? Aim for 11-25? Be happy with top 100? I've seen most of the programs that have specializations in policy and/or culture, but if someone could reaffirm the programs I've seen that'd be great.
  4. Thanks a lot. It's nice to hear from someone I don't personally know on Tech. I do have a friend who is just starting the master's there. They said official funding isn't great, but they tend to have a bunch of classes available for grad students and said classes can add up to decent money.
  5. Anyone have any experience with Michigan Tech's Rhetoric and Technical Communication PhD program? According to their website they have nearly a 100% placement rating, yet I can find very little information about them on the internet. Can anyone here tell me about Michigan Tech?
  6. I too am applying for fall '15. Anyone that could help me find programs that specialize in migration would be kindly appreciated.
  7. Are people really expecting to get jobs in top 20 programs? I have no want for that, at all. Give me a small liberal arts college, or a directional state school and I'll be happy.
  8. I mean people who are US citizens. In particular things like getting transcrpts sent and letters in order.
  9. I'm just wondering if any other people from the states applied while living abroad. If so, do you have any advice? I'm looking at 2015, so I need to apply next year. I just want to make sure I'm on top of everything. Thanks.
  10. Notre Dame has what you are looking for, or comes close. http://kroc.nd.edu/phd
  11. I currently live in South Korea and I want to go back home for grad school. Home is Michigan. I haven't looked much outside of the midwest at all. Sure some schools have to be considered because of quality but I don't want to move back home and not be "back home."
  12. I am struggling with the same thing. WMU has two people who seem to be a good fit for my research interests (sociology). They say fit is the most important part to consider, but their prestige is so low I worry about my employment chances.
  13. Jacib, thanks a lot for that advice! I had never really considered political sociology. What I have been doing is trying to find a methodological match. When I snoop around websites I'm looking for research interests like immigration, Asia, intersectionality, citizenship, identity and/or social stratification (in that order). I would say I've found less than 5 people who have an research interest in Korea and a total of 3 who have done anything with defectors. As I look in the future I'll take a closer look at the political side of sociology.
  14. Hi there all. I am currently doing independent research studying North Korean defectors in Seoul for my writing sample. Does anyone know of any programs that have people studying North Korean defectors? I know Choo at Toronto, but are there others? I am specifically interested in North American universities only.
  15. Thanks for the advice, that is nearly exactly what I'm doing. I'm located in Seoul now, but I do work at a university and have access to most journals. What I've been doing is going through the reading lists at different schools for comprehensive exams, and reading them. I've boned up on a lot of what is going on. I'm also doing some independent research with North Korean defectors which will end up being my writing sample. While I've been here I've been able to meet with some other people with similar research interests so that's been great. I plan to finish the research by mid-October, then try to finish the writing before the end of the year. Then for the first 6 months of next year I'll study the GRE and Korean.
  16. It wasn't a purely professional program, but it leaned that way. I know the subject matter is different, that is why I am now collecting data for my writing sample. My current research has a strong sociology bend. I think I have all of that under control, I'm aiming at a 2015 entry so I have time to get my writing done with a high level of quality. I was mostly wondering to what degree my MA covers up my BA.
  17. Hey there I wondered if I could get some feedback from y'all. I had a very bad GPA from a "MAC" school (2.7ish). However, I went to grad school in a different field (MATESOL) and I had a 3.9 from there. My question is- will my undergrad GPA hold me back or do you think schools will also consider my improved GPA at grad school?
  18. Thanks a lot for sharing this. I added it to my RSS feed. It is nice to get a view of what being a PhD. student is like. So much focus is on the application process or the job situation after finishing school. For prospective students like me, your blog is really helpful. A lot of the blogs I read are from established people in the field. This is nice and all, but it isn't representative of what I'll be doing in a year or two. Anyways, thanks.
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