katiegud

Thanks for the input! Glad to hear that ranking doesn't matter as much in the UK, though I will likely be going with either Manchester or Leeds, which are both highly ranked in policy. Fit is great at all of them (which is why I chose these universities over Oxford and Cambridge). Now I just have to find out the funding info...

I'll join in your misery, except mine isn't an admission rejection. I completely bombed my funding interview last week, so even though I was admitted, I get absolutely no money! Still waiting to hear from one school, and waiting to hear about funding at two others, but it is really disheartening.

I have already been interviewed by the people that would supervise me at the University of Kent, and accepted, but tomorrow I have an interview for funding. I looked at the panel that will be interviewing me and none of them are in my area. What sort of questions do you think they'll ask? Will it be focused on my research interests, like the admissions interview, or are there funding specific questions that I'm not thinking of? I think this interview will also decide TAships. Any tips?

My fastest was 20 days. I've heard of someone getting a call in 4 days, which is crazy. I also had to wait weeks for others though, so I think it just depends on the university and the schedules of the profs.

Will I get funding at Kent? Most likely Will I get funding at Leeds? Better not tell you now Will I get funding at Manchester? Better not tell you now My magic 8 ball blows!

I didn't for my masters, just for PhD. I did decide where to apply for a PhD based on responses though. Places that seemed uninterested in me, or that were rude, I didn't apply. You can kind of use it to gauge whether or not that is someone you'd really want to spend a lot of time with! For an MSW I don't think that is as important though, as you'll have classwork with a lot of different professors rather than just one supervisor.

I know the feeling. I've heard from everywhere but one. When I emailed them, they said the person that needed to review it was out of town, but would be back the last week of Jan. Then the application deadline was Feb. 1, so I'm assuming he just waited until after that to review them. It's killing me though. I also won't find out about funding until March/April, so I can't actually make a decision until then anyway. The stress of waiting is making my stomach turn.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat, but waiting to hear about funding before I make a decision. The places that I've been accepted know that I'm waiting to hear about funding, so they haven't given strict deadlines. If you have to make a decision, just email them that you'd like an extension, or accept and then withdraw later (kind of rude, but what can you do?).

Do you need to pay a deposit when you accept? If not, you could just accept your place and withdraw if you don't get the scholarships. It's kind of rude, but I've heard of people doing it. I'm also applying in the UK, but for PhDs, and they have been willing to wait until I hear about funding before I decide. I think for a masters there are probably more applicants though, so they might not want to wait as long.

Mostly a desire to move there and to study European drug policies. They also have 3 year PhDs and no GRE. I already have two masters degrees, so the idea of spending two more years in classes did not appeal to me.

I applied for Social Policy and Political Science programs. I've heard from all but one now, but they are in the UK so they have rolling admissions for the most part. The application deadline for the one I haven't heard from is 2/1, so I'm hoping to get a reply soon. THIS! ^ I'm so excited about the prospect of moving to the UK, but funding decisions don't come out until Feb-May. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much in case the funding is non-existent or too low to be worth the move.

That's what I was wondering. I'm not actually sure I want to come back to the US, but I'd like it to be an option. If they all look the same to the people that are hiring, however, it doesn't really matter where I go!

My masters is technically a terminal degree (MPA) and I have still been accepted to PhD programs. If you have a strong research component to your MEng it might work the same way. Maybe you could ask the person that sent you the email. They would probably know your chances of moving on to a PhD with the MEng.

I have been accepted to a few programs now. Just found out yesterday that I was accepted to one that is ranked significantly higher than the others. I won't find out about funding for a few weeks at least (March/April for two programs), so that isn't a factor yet. However, I am probably more likely to get funding from a lower ranked university due to the competition at the higher ranked program. How much does ranking matter? Since I'll be in the UK, will it even matter in the US if I come back for a job? Will they even be aware of the rankings of UK programs? What do you think?

I had one recently. I wore regular interview clothes (nice shirt, jacket). Mine was for a totally different program, but they were really focused on my research ideas and how I would deal with potential problems. It was actually much more technical than I would have expected (like asking about how I would find interpreters for my proposed fieldwork).

Ah, this is familiar! I had trouble with fit at a couple of mine, too. Then I got rejected by one - because of fit. If I were you I would probably apply anyway though, even if you think you'll get rejected! I'm all about convenience when moving.

Same here. I still have to hear from 2 schools, but even those that have already accepted me haven't said anything about funding. I probably won't find out until March. That seems so far away!

My husband had veto power on where I applied, which actually took out 2 of my top choice universities. I have also applied to a couple where it would be harder for him to find a job, so that will be considered when I actually accept an offer. On Friday I have an interview with a professor that wanted me to apply to a specific program and I opted not to due to my family. It would have required me to move to other countries for long periods and I didn't think that would work well with my husband and daughter trying to settle in somewhere. As of right now he doesn't know why I declined, but it might come up in my interview, in which case I'll explain the personal situation. Honestly, if it bothers them that I make decisions with my family in mind, I probably don't want to attend anyway. I don't think it's unusual for grad students to have partners/families that influence location decisions. In your case it limits you to some pretty high profile programs, but that could work out well on your end! I don't think anyone will look down on you for it.

Part of it was the lack of application fees, part was that they don't require the GRE (took it for my masters, but my scores have expired because it was more than 5 years ago), part was that a PhD there is 3-4 years, and part was just that I wanted to move there! I spent a few months in Scotland after undergrad and loved it, so I've been hoping to go back at some point.

Yep, I have an interview with one and haven't heard from the other two. Won't find out funding info until March though, which makes it harder to commit to anyone. This waiting thing is not fun!

It was my top choice, of course. (Leeds was second though, so that's good!) The letter was nice. It just said my research interests were outside their area of expertise, which is about as nice as you can get in a rejection letter.

Boo. Even though I have been accepted elsewhere, I'm bummed. Had to vent to someone, and figured there would be people on here that understand the feeling!

I would submit it. It's possible that one or the other could offer you a better funding package or something, so it's worth doing if you've already completed the work.

I'm still waiting to hear from 3 programs I applied to, I have an interview at another, and two have accepted me. Of the offers though, one is almost definitely unfunded and the other I won't find out until March (arg!). The ones I'm waiting to hear from have potential funding (I applied for scholarships), but in the UK funded PhDs are very competitive. My fear is that my only offers will be without funding. I can defer for a year to reapply for scholarships, so that is my first option, but what if I still don't get anything? Would you fund yourself? Or would you take that as a rejection? Just looking for some outside opinions.

I actually didn't apply to McMaster because they were so rude when I contacted them about applying. Apparently it's a trend.