JBums1028

From what I've been taught recently is that in general, both the objective section and the skills sections on a resume or CV are considered outdated. Or they're a sign that the applicant is trying to fill space on a resume. However, I can see how in some fields (especially STEM) highlighting certain specific skills would be helpful. I would say that you should include a skills section only if it's relevant to the circumstances you are crafting a CV for and you haven't already mentioned those abilities in a cover letter or in the description for a particular position you held.

Just an FYI to mrsmithut, I think we're supposed to hear back about interviews this upcoming week! I'm excited but also very nervous. Best of luck to you!

From what I've been told, an objective on a resume is generally outdated to use whether it's for graduate school or for a job. If you think about it, your objective can resonably be assumed based on your actions of submitting a resume for a particular position or program. A personal statement should cover all the specific reasons for applying anyway, so my recommendation is that she save space on her resume and not include an objective statement. That's at least my personal opinion on the subject...

Sounds like a solid list! Best of luck to you!

Full disclosure, not planning to do a PhD. Happened to lurk on this thread today (slow day at work), but I felt it necessary to second this advice. I went to a large university where getting to know your professors was difficult. Since you still have time I'd highly recommend beginning to network with them now. The big mistake I made was not having a good relationship with the majority of my professors, which really limited the number of recommenders I had, which limits the number of schools I could reasonably apply to. So definitely begin building those relationships now because it makes things much easier in the future, regardless of what type of graduate program you're applying too!

Congrats! A former program adviser of mine is currently in their program. He speaks very highly of the experience so far!

This is what I got: " Greetings from the Student Affairs Administration Master’s Program at Michigan State University Thank you for submitting your application! The SAA MA Admissions committee will begin reviewing additional applications immediately after the January 5th deadline. In the meantime, if you are interested in an assistantship within Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS), please adhere to the application process on their site and the January 10th submission deadline. For all other assistantships, admitted students will have a coordinated process via email or online that will lead up to interviews during Spartan Preview Days on February 13-15, 2014 on MSU’s campus." I was under the impression that nothing was going to be reviewed until after January 5th... I think this is just a formal confirmation email from the program.

Oh yay! I knew there had to be at least one other person! So it looks like we both did MSU and UConn, where else did you apply?

Best of luck to everyone as well! Well considering they go from 300+ applicants to about 16 admits (this year it will be closer to 18 I think, they just added two new assistantships), I'm well aware ! They have a GA position specifically for academic advising though, one of the only more competitive schools that I've seen that offers one. That's what I want to do, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity even though it's competitive. I made a separate thread for people interested in/have applied to UConn, so this conversation should probably move over there in the future...

Just another who's applying here thread... I'm including both their higher education programs just because I'm always curious about other people's interests. I went there for undergrad and had the opportunity to work with a lot of graduates of the SAA program. I'd love the opportunity to go back but again, it's competitive. Looking forward to hearing back!

Who else applied to UConn? I'm starting to get anxious about hearing back. I always knew it was a competitive program, but I think it's just now hitting me how competitive it actually is. They did just add two assistantships though, so I guess that's two more people who will get admitted this year. I at least hope I make it to the interview round.

I would agree with most of what you have to say, however I wouldn't rank those categories as strictly. I was under the impression that most schools look for a well rounded candidate, someone with strong experience but also strong academic credentials. Even with practioner focused programs there is still going to be a heavy emphasis on academics. GRE is generally hit or miss. Some programs require it, most don't. I assume the ones that do require it more for traditional reasons than anything else. I'd also add your personal statement into the mix as well. It really shouldn't. Most schools want to have a diverse cohort. "Diverse" meaning a lot of different things, people from all different undergraduate institutions, majors, backgrounds, etc.

@RedPill You may have already addressed this, but is there any particular benefit to doing a Masters first, then the PhD? Have you considered just applying to PhD programs or adding a PhD program in to the mix to see what happens? Your other option could be to look for funding opportunities outside of the program. Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, etc. etc. They may not be super glamorous, but every bit helps.

What I've been finding is that most programs that have interview weekends in Feb/March are due in at least January. I think Syracuse (which you mentioned above) is the latest deadline that I've seen with a formal interview weekend. Eastern Michigan University has a rolling deadline, but you need to have the application submitted by Jan/Feb to be invited to the mid-March interview weekend. Another plus with EMU is they only require two letters of reference. Personally I decided to stay with my original four (GVSU, MSU, EMU, UConn), mostly because I didn't want to deal with harassing my letter writers anymore and travel to Connecticut will already be really expensive for me if I make candidate status.

One school that might be of interest to you is University of Southern California. They have a whole social justice component to their Student Affairs program. When you mentioned an interest in working with low-income individuals, their program came to mind.

Thanks guys! Initially I wanted to keep everything managable but now I'm worried about the possibility of not getting accepted or not getting an assistantship/non-loan financial aid. But of course the applications take time to put together so... Syracuse might be a decent option for me because they match the AmeriCorps Ed award. I'll look into it!

I know that many programs have deadlines that have already passed or are fast approaching, but I'm considering adding a program to my list of schools to apply to. Does anyone know of any programs that have later deadlines, like in early to mid January or later, but also still offer assistantship funding?

Well MSU is a very big school in a small town so I can see how it's not for everybody. It's my undergraduate alma mater so it personally feels like home to me there. I'd love to be able to go back but I know it's a competitive program so we'll see. I hope everything works out for you though this time around, you look like you've got a pretty good list going!

I think for some you can kind of tell based on the schools their looking at. For me I'm DEFINITELY looking more toward Student Affairs, ideally Academic Advising but would settle for Admissions, Career Services, or Program Advising in a Service Learning office. At first I got caught up in looking into more "prestigious" programs, but I ultimately decided to apply to schools that are known for offering assistantship/field experience in advising. Regretting paying for the GRE now since none of my schools require it, but it was a learning experience to say the least...

Have you considered Boston University, George Washington, Southern Methodist, or SUNY-Albany? I found them through the NASPA directory and based on what I've skimmed of their directory listings, they focus more on administration, policy, and/or leadership and they claim to offer assistantships (I'm at work right now so I can't explore further, because I should probably at least try to look like I'm busy ). You could also explore their directory yourself! I've found it pretty helpful in my program search. You can narrow the results by program focus and financial aid offerings. Of course the results it gives aren't 100% perfect, but it's a helpful starting point. http://www.naspa.org/careers/graduate/graduate-program-directory Hope this helped to some degree!

I'm going to answer this, but with the disclaimer that we're both looking at very different types of programs (I'm looking more at practioner focused programs). Some of the schools I'm looking at are slowly but surely starting to update their information about which departments will have internships and assistantships available. So it's possible that some of your programs might not have that information available yet. For example, I just spoke to MSU's SAA program about this and their departments have until December to let them know if they can take on a GA next year. I'd just call or email a program director and see if they can at least send you a list of internships/assistantships that were offered in previous years. Since assistantships tend to be a feature of more practitioner focused programs that there is the possibility you're not finding their offerings because they don't offer them. But contacting someone should clarify this.

Did you apply to Student Affairs or HALE at MSU? If you applied to Student Affairs, I'm just curious what was it that you didn't like? Also, based on your location I'm wondering why you aren't considering UConn? I know their program is competitive but if you're admitted you're guaranteed funding by virtue of the way they structure their admissions requirements. I'm just wondering these things since those are my top two school choices right now...

Definitely contact programs directly about what they offer. It sounds like you are looking into more research focused work in higher ed and less direct work with students, is that a fairly accurate statement? I think you're looking in to the right type of program, unfortunately those programs tend to focus more on their PhD students and providing them with financial assistance and so their Master's candidates take a back seat in that area. That's why they're a little more limited funding wise then a HESA or Student Affairs focused Master's program, IMO. It was my understanding though that graduate students are automatically considered independent students, so I'd still apply for financial aid even if you don't think you'll qualify for much. However, that might not necessarily be true...

When most people on here refer to "funding" I usually assume that they mean some type of non-loan financial aid (scholarships, assistantships, etc). How much an assistantship covers depends on the school. Some programs are very generous and offer a full tuition waiver, stipend, health insurance, and housing if you're working in the ResLife system. However, these programs tend to have very small cohorts and are therefore more competitive. Others only cover partial tuition. Stipend amounts generally vary as well. So I guess whether or not you have to take out loans depends on what the school offers you and your own personal financial situation. I can answer this question for Michigan's program at least since I was looking at it briefly then decided not to bother applying. The short answer is that, at least for their Master's students the funding they offer is very limited. There are scholarships available and your required internship is paid. They don't offer assistantships to their Master's students, only their PhD students. I personally saw this as a huge drawback to their program, but I guess it depends on what you're looking for from your program. Unfortunately I can't provide much insight on the other programs since I didn't consider applying to those.

I'll second what everyone else is saying. I think what might be tripping you up is that most higher education programs don't have requirements for certain prerequisite courses to be taken during undergrad the same way medical schools do. So a student from any major can apply, and actually a lot of programs like to have students from very diverse backgrounds (including undergraduate major). So I'm making a big assumption here, but I'm assuming you're a college senior right now? My personal advice is keep your options open going forward. My big mistake during my senior year was limiting my self to "I'm either applying for graduate school OR I'm looking for a job..." Why not do both? Applying to grad school now doesn't mean you HAVE to start Fall 2014. If you happen to be admitted, you could explore the possibility of deferring for a year to gain some work experience (I'm pretty sure most schools allow this). Even as a prospective applicant now I will probably consider applying for some jobs this spring...