MastersHoping

Yeah, I wish Georgetown had grad student housing

I too am wondering the same thing. I was admitted to an unfunded Masters program at a prestigious university, but my GPA was nothing extraordinary to begin with. If I get, say, 1 A, 1 B, and 2 Cs this term, is that really bad?

Hello all, I just found out today that I was not awarded FLAS... Next year, I was (still am at least for the moment) planning to go to Georgetown SFS for a masters program, but it is going to be really expensive. My parents can help pay for parts of it, but the rest of it will have to be loans/work money. The other option I have is going to a SUNY school and since I'm a NY resident will get in-state tuition. However, the difference in quality is ENORMOUS. The email communication I've had with the SUNY department had me less than impressed, and they are not exactly in D.C. and close to internship opportunities the way Georgetown is. Another consideration I have is to apply to University of Geneva. Though the living expenses are high, the tuition is really cheap and plus I would get to be in Geneva and close to the IRC or the UN. Help!!! I'm terrified of debt!

From the looks of things, I feel that Harvard Extension is your best option. It's the cheapest, does what you need it to do (prepare you for your Ph.D), proximity to the places you want to work, and can possibly give you connections to other Harvard scholars who can be LOR writers. The cons of it don't look that bad. Cold? Sure that sucks but I feel like program is more important than whether it's cold or not (and I live in Chicago!!!) Presumably you'd be able to pass those three courses with a B or higher.

Why did you have to withdraw from your cc course? And yeah multivariate calculus is pretty standard anywhere. Do you actually need a credit-bearing course or just the content knowledge? If the latter, my gut reaction, like ParanoidAndroid said, would be to do MIT OpenCourseWare or a MOOC. http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-02sc-multivariable-calculus-fall-2010/ Probably one of the better online Multivariate Calc courses imo

sr41489: Congratulations on your decision to attend HES! It sounds like it's a great fit for you and your interests. Best of luck with your future endeavors, and be sure to keep us updated about your progress when you start applying to doctoral programs! Crimson2014: I owe you a big thank you for your helpful posts on this thread! I was thinking of possibly pursuing a HES masters eventually, though after some reconsideration I don't think it's a good fit for what I want to do in the future, but your posts were highly informative and seem to be someone who got exactly what he/she wanted from the program. Congrats on your Ivy grad school acceptance! Further proof that you had a "legit" quality degree from Harvard.

^If I were you, I wouldn't worry. For several reasons. Harvard Extension School degrees are real degrees. Period. And you are a Harvard alum after getting it. Harvard, and most universities, have many different schools (Engineering, Arts and Sciences, Medical, Law, Journalism, Business, etc., and in the case of Harvard, extension.) If you get a degree from any one of those individual schools, you are recognized as an alum of the university. Additionally, it is even less of a concern for you specifically because you want to go on to a doctorate. Most masters in traditional programs cost like, what, 50, 000 a year??? Two years and boom you're 100k down the drain even before setting foot in a doctoral program. The HES masters cost about 1/3rd - 1/4th of a traditional degree, and probably just as good quality (although I heard a little less structured...meh). Plus, check out this list: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/degrees-certificates/master-liberal-arts/overview/after-alm-graduate-schools Ph.D Programs themselves obviously don't seem to hold it against for going to HES. It seems to me that for your case, HES is a clear route! Best of luck, and let me know how it goes !

^Dunno about anywhere else, but Georgetown offers 3 specializations, one of which is Political Economy/Business of East Asia. And you can also pursue a certificate (I guess it's kinda like a minor) in International Business Development.

I got into two schools and turned one down. And yeah you're right! Thanks.

^Will they be upset if you turn them down in a normal, timely fashion much before April 15th and for an unfunded offer in a masters program? For some reason, I feel guilty about turning down this one school I got into (I only got into two) and chose the one more appropriate for my career interests. I feel like it's a dumb question, but I can't help but feel kinda bad...

Cool! I'm going to Georgetown University for an MA. Pretty stoked!

In my grad program, there are about 25 students each year. Two years ago it was like 27, this past year was like 23 or something like that.

Let us know how it goes! I hope you get in!

I'm going to have to my current quarter first XD Where you headed to?

I lived in Buffalo for five years! I never really had an official affiliation with the university but have been on their campus many times, have many acquaintances who go there, and lived near there. PM if you want! I'd be glad to talk about Buffalo! And I can offer you a few opinions on UB but as someone who never went there I can't give you any sort of insider's information.

^No, you should let them know now. You are applying under the pretext that you will be taking those courses. If they do accept you, they will be accepting you under the impression that you are currently enrolled in those classes, unless you inform them otherwise. It might not be a big deal, but they would technically be admitting you under false information. You wouldn't want that risk would you? Plus, letting them know now wouldn't exactly be a blip in your application (at least that's the way it seems to me) as long as the courses you're replacing them with are of comparable quality. If you end up getting rejected, it obviously wouldn't have mattered, but since you still have a shot at getting accepted, let them know as soon as you can.

Unless they are prerequisites to your program, I don't think it'd be enough to rescind an acceptance. I'd still email them and let them know of a change in your schedule, however.

Your second paragraph was exactly my point. My original post in this thread was just asking whether the person actually experienced some sort of judgment or if he/she was simply imagining it due to being self conscious. When you're in grad school, you're in. Basically, wherever you went for undergrad, "we're all here now!" The person who first responded to my original post belabored a side point (whether or not MSU could compare to Harvard), and had I known it would turn into a debate, I would have said another, no-name place instead.

Okay, jeez, replace the names Ohio State/Michigan State with a mid-tier, regional college if it makes you happy - I was just using those as examples! Sheesh. There were people who also went to even less prestigious, regional colleges that I can't remember. The point being, no one seemed to look down on anyone for going to a lesser-known place and no one exalted anyone else for going to Harvard or Cornell or something. I'm not saying that MSU/OSU/whatever aren't good schools, I'm just saying that people weren't judged either way for going to a top undergrad or not.

^that was just an example. If you don't see a difference between Michigan State and Harvard, a) you are unique in your way of thinking, b ) it was just an example, replace msu with like ohio state or with st. john fisher college or something if it helps you see my point better. my point is that it didn't seem like anyone in my program looked at anyone any differently for going to a prestigious or non-prestigious undergrad, whereas the person I was responding to in my original post said he/she felt like other people were wondering what he/she was doing at a top school

Are you absolutely sure you weren't just imagining it/felt self conscious? At my grad school open house, I met current and admitted students who went to places as varied in prestige as Harvard vs. Michigan State, and other mid-tier state universities. Maybe it was just me, or maybe just this program, but I don't anyone was like "wow Harvard you so smart!" or "wow Michigan State not so smart!" , after all, we're all here now, aren't we? And to be perfectly honest, I can't even remember where most of the people went to undergrad even after they told me (hey, gimme a break, there were probably over 30 people ) and definitely wouldn't hold against them a lower-ranked undergrad. In fact, one of the people I talked to who I was most impressed by was the one who went to Michigan State. Edit: I should add that the grad school I'm going to is also fairly prestigious.

In my honest opinion, I think you should go to Emory. It's a big risk. And if when you applied to Emory, you applied thinking you'd be just fine going, then what changed? If you applied knowing you didn't want to go, why'd you bother applying? And it's not exactly like Emory is terrible place to be...and master's are only 1 - 2 years.

Do you have time to even breathe?!!?!? Kudos to you for being to pull that off!

^Did you go to Georgetown College in KY?

^Congrats!