JBums1028

Yeah I'm trying to... and I know I'm probably going to sound like a terrible person for saying this, but they were initially a back up plan for me. It kind of stings not even getting an offer from your safety. It's like, "what did I do wrong?!?!?" I guess I'll just have to check back next week and see if I'm interested in any of the remaining/new positions. As much as I'm reaching the point of desperation for a GA, I feel like accepting a position that isn't remotely related to my professional goals wouldn't be wise.

Another UPDATE: Got a call from GV today, they already filled the three positions I applied for. So much for that... They did say that they would update the website with the positions still available. So maybe it's still in the cards for me? I'm not sure. Thanks everyone for your help, though!

I was just talking about this earlier today with one of my friends! One of the schools I applied to said that they were going to begin sending out grad assistant acceptances this week. I got two emails this week from the program. None of those emails were acceptances. Why the hell would they do that to their applicants??

Lol! I also plan on working in Higher Ed (on the Student Affairs side of things though). My sister was talking to one of her friends about my plans for grad school and she responded with "She needs a Master's for that? I thought those jobs were like retail..." I still do not fully understand what her friend meant by that comment.

Yes! I feel you on this one. So I technically haven't been rejected yet. I've been accepted three places and am a candidate for admission at another. I've interviewed for GA positions with three of the schools, and I haven't heard back yet. But I feel you on the "pay for a plane ticket out here... look at how wonderful our program is... now we might not let you come here. Sorry!"

Some of my favorites so far have been: Mom: (2 weeks after schools finally released their applications) "Have you finished all your applications yet?" Mom: (about a month after asking the above question) "Where have you gotten accepted?" Also some gems from my Dad are that my undergraduate institution has to accept me as a grad student because they offered me an undergraduate scholarship (it was through a different department) and because I went there for undergrad. And probably my most relatable one that I'm sure everyone else has heard as well: "You need a Master's degree to do that?"

UPDATE: So I haven't heard anything yet from anywhere... maybe this won't be a problem for me after all? For those who have been through this process, about how long did it take you to hear back about a GA post-interview weekend? I know it's only been two days, but I'm starting to worry...

Definitely run a budget. Start by dividing up your stipend into how much you will make per month. Then subtract out your necessary monthly expenses (rent, utilities, cable, internet, any other bills you are responsible for, transportation, food, etc). If you have money left over after doing this, congrats! You can probably get by on just your stipend. If not, I would look for ways to save money in some of those areas first before taking out loans (can you get another roommate? Can you get by with just internet instead of cable? Is there public transportation available so you can save money on gas?). If you still don't have enough to cover basic living expenses, then I would look into taking out just enough loan money to cover what is left over. The only situation I don't recommend taking out loans for is if you're looking to have extra disposable income. The interest rates on federal loans are way too high for that. I'm sure that's pretty obvious and straightforward, but still important to note. Definitely file FAFSA. Most states recommend filing about this time of year for maximum consideration. You don't have to take anything out if you file. But that way it's available to you if you need it. Hope this helped!

Whoever was the first person to say that they just want to know where they'll be in 6 months- I feel you! So my venting story for the day: I'm a candidate for admission at my top choice program right now. Had my interviews last week, so I'm anxiously awaiting to hear back (they said they would start extending offers sometime this week, and yes I'm well aware it's only Monday). Got an email from the program today... got all anxious before I opened it... it was just to thank me for submitting my GA preferences. I just want to know where I stand right now!! Is that too much to ask for? The anxiety is definitely getting to me. I'm sending a virtual hug to everyone who is in a very similar situation right now. I know how you feel.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll keep you posted with an update about what's going on. Right now I'm just trying to not stress about it.

1) I think it would be smart to run the GVSU vs. MSU numbers, assuming you get the GA you want at GVSU but have to go hourly at MSU. How big a $ difference are we talking to complete the programs, soup-to-nuts? I will definitely take the time to do this. I won't get into specifics regarding my finances on here though. 2) Is there any way of determining the prospects for finding a GA at MSU post-matriculation? (Said another way: is it even possible to "find one eventually" after you've already begun the program?) From those that I've talked to, it sounds like a lot of departments there are simply not prepared to hire a GA in early February. So things do open up over the summer. They've even had one open up that their interviewing for in March (I plan to apply since it's related to academic affairs). My undergraduate adviser (he was a state grad) said that most everyone in his cohort had found something by second semester. The latest I've heard is someone not finding one until the second year. It sounds like the people who direct the program do actively try to help you find something. 3) How sure are you about academic advising? I considered both school counseling and social work prior to student affairs. I know that I at least want a position where I can work one on one with students and work with them long term. Academic Advising seems like the best fit for this. However, I don't yet have true academic advising experience so that could change things. I have considered other areas as well. Also for the record, it's not impossible to gain advising experience at MSU. They do offer advising practicum experiences. 4) As I recall you know Michigan pretty well. As between living in East Lansing and living in Grand Rapids, do you have a strong preference? Well I did my undergrad at MSU so I'm cool with East Lansing. One plus to MSU is that there are so many places to live within walking distance. GV isn't actually in Grand Rapids. It's 20 minutes outside of GR. Plus it's in a weird area where there isn't anything within walking distance of the campus. So I'd have to drive. They do have a bus, but it sounds like a lot of the more affordable complexes aren't on the bus line. I'd choose to live in GR mostly because there's more to do in that area. In short, I'm okay with both. You're right, it's muddy. There are pros to each and there are cons to each. However, there is something about the fact that they don't follow the guidelines that isn't really sitting right with me. I need to work on taking your first set of advice which is to (try to) stop worrying...

To answer the first question, if I were in the perfect situation where I had a GA offer that I liked from all three, they would be my last choice. I'm just being honest here. The other two in the mix are UConn and MSU. If I get an offer from UConn, I will go there. But I'm still waiting on the offer. They also begin extending offers next week, but depending on where I am on a departments list I might not hear back for a few weeks. MSU operates differently, so I'm admitted without a GA position. Right now my prospects for a GA there are slim though (I interviewed for two. One decided not to hire a GA at all, the other position was NOT a good fit and I'm not expecting to hear back. They did just open a new position that I plan to apply for, but they won't be evaluating applicants for it until March 10th). To throw in the plot twist, MSU does not offer academic advising GA positions (my ideal career choice) but the other two do. So I guess my predicament is, would I prefer going to this school with a GA position or going to MSU without one and hoping I find one eventually? I do have the option there to accept an hourly position in Student Athlete Support Services. So that would be good advising/mentoring experience, but it won't come with tuition assistance. Of course if UConn admits me, this all becomes a non-issue. I feel good about my chances, but it's a highly competitive program still. So you never know. Did any of this make sense? It felt very stream of conciousness typing it out. I guess prior to all of this I thought I'd be able to take my time and make rational, well thought out decisions. I wasn't expecting to potentially be put in a tight spot with an offer.

Thanks, unfortunately this particular school I'm referring to isn't listed as participating in the resolution. So I guess I'm still at square one as to what I should do.

Hello! This is going to be geared more towards my student affairs people because it involves GA offers. So I applied to a smaller school in Michigan that apparently doesn't abide by the ACPA guidelines for GA offers. They are strongly encouraging their candidates to accept a GA offer within 24 hours (I chose to say "strongly encourage" because "require" is potentially too strong of a word. They did say there is potential to extend more time if the department is willing to wait for a candidate). However, the other schools I'm applying to may not make an offer until later this month (and for one of them I won't even interview until the 21st). I really want to be able to make an informed decision, but this particular school might pressure me to make a decision before I'm prepared to. Has anyone been in this situation before? What do you advise that I do? I really and truly liked all three of the schools that I interviewed at for different reasons. There was a GA position at this particular school that aligned perfectly with my professional goals. Like I said, they might allow me more time. But I'm still at a loss for what to do. This school will start making offers next week.

I was there for the MA in Student Affairs. Now I'm biased because it's my alma mater, but it's a great program! Everyone was super welcoming, the faculty was great, great sense of community, and the research was very interesting. I definitely got a good feeling overall. Of course, final decisions will depend on many factors. But it's definitely a contender!

I've definitely heard of Drexel, and I live in Michigan. A friend of mine applied there for Marriage and Family Therapy. I don't know much about their education programs, but I would say if you're going to get reduced tuition there it should at least be on your list of schools to consider.

My #1 priority is assistantships. If a school doesn't offer me an assistantship, there's a good chance that will be a deal breaker for me. Everything else I'm taking into consideration, but to a much lower priority. So if I get two really good assistantship offers, then I'll start to look at faculty, curriculum, cohort size, etc. to narrow my choices.

Those were two of the three I was interested in! I was looking at Engineering, Career Services, and SASS. I think SASS was looking for 10 people though, so that might have been why I thought there were so many. But you're right, I just double checked and that was technically the only hourly one. The Engineering one was technically listed as an assistantship, but with no tuition waiver. Just a stipend. I might opt to do the informational interview that they mentioned you could do. That way, if more departments decide later on that they'd like a GA I can interview for those positions.

I don't think there's a big difference in how prospective employers will view it. I've always assumed that any type of internship, assistantship, practicum, hourly position, etc will all kind of be viewed similarly. The big difference is the benefits attached to each. Hourly positions won't provide tuition assistance, meaning you might still have to take out student loans to pay the tuition and fees. I'm mostly just expressing my personal disappointment that two of the three positions I'm interested in based on my professional goals don't offer tuition assistance. So I still have to figure out how to pay for school if I get one of those placements.

I haven't looked at the form in detail yet, just what was posted online. I'm just a little disappointed because I was under the impression that there would be more offerings based on what they advertised in prospective student information. Maybe some of the offices lost funding? Also kind of disappointed that some of the offerings are just hourly paid positions and not actual assistantships. Oh well! I still plan on interviewing...

I'm actually not interested in ResLife at all really. I'm more interested in admissions, advising, career services, service-learning, etc. There were maybe 2 or 3 that stood out to me as being somewhat related to those categories. I guess I was expecting more of a variety than just ResLife.

Congrats! Luckily I live close enough to commute. Have you gone to look at the list of assistantship placements yet? I was kind of surprised that there aren't that many positions available.

Did anyone else get accepted to the Student Affairs MA today?

I'm glad to have found this because I wasn't sure if there was "such thing" as a first generation graduate student... 1) I will be the first in my nuclear family to attend graduate school. There is debate about whether others in my extended family earned a graduate level degree. However, one of my parents earned a Bachelor's degree and my sister did as well. So I'm not a first gen in the "traditional" sense. 2) Some struggles I've faced with applying to grad programs are probably similar to what traditional first gen students face in general. I felt confused about the whole process. My family was well meaning and supportive but haven't given the best advice. They just assumed that the applications were going to be the same as my undergraduate applications. They didn't really get that I'm evaluated on more than just my GPA. Also, my mom asked me if I was done with all my applications about two weeks after they were first released. I probably just finished applying places around New Years. Don't get me wrong I love my parents and I appreciate their attempts to help. Overall, this process for me has felt more chaotic and disorganized than it did when I was applying to undergrad, mostly because I've had less help and less practical, useful advice then I did coming out of High School. Also finances are a much bigger concern this time around because my parents (they helped me pay for undergrad) did not anticipate that I would attend graduate school. So I'm on my own in that department. 3) Well I've gotten accepted somewhere. That's an accomplishment! 4) I had several mentors through undergrad who have helped prep me for what the grad school application process would be like. I'm extremely appreciative of these people because without them I probably would have given up on all my applications. My family has also been supportive in other ways. They believed I was capable of getting accepted and for that I'm grateful!

Got my email yesterday as well! I'll be there.