amandaaimeparis

Hi all- Was wondering if anyone had some input on this: I'm a first-year PhD student in poli sci, focusing on Western Europe. I speak French very well (fluently while I was abroad there but not quite that level anymore), and my comps include a language exam. I also want to brush up on my French for field work purposes. I'd like to go there for a few weeks sometime before comps to take a language immersion class. What I'm wondering is what possible sources of funding there are for foreign language study. FLAS specifically eliminates Spanish, French, and German, and I'm not really sure how to go about finding other sources of funding to do this. Any ideas? thanks!

Rutgers-New Brunswick with curiousgeorge and NEPA for me! Super excited!

George Mason (no tuition waiver but a TA-ship worth $10K)

I'm trying to make a decision between two schools and was wondering what people's opinions were. One school is ranked (not top ten, but solid top 50) but can't offer any funding for the first year other than in-state tuition, although they cite many opportunities once you get there. It was one of my top choices to begin with and I really want to go, it's a great fit. The second school is unranked but is offering full funding, tuition waiver, decent stipend, health insurance. Basically I'm conflicted between the two statements I've always heard about getting your ph.d.-follow the money or go to the best school you get into? I have no debt from undergrad and am not opposed to taking out some loans for grad school if I have to. But in the end, which is more important? funding or ranking?

I grew up in and around the city, and I can say that the area around NYU is fairly expensive. It's doable if you get roommates, however. I applied to NYU and have presumably been rejected, but when I was investigating housing options I found stuff about subsidized housing in Stuyvesvant Square for $900 a month. look into that, definitely. Also, the university has an off-campus housing office that can help students find affordable housing in decent areas. Brooklyn is fine nowadays, and I hear they are cleaning up a lot of Harlem as well, despite its traditional reputation of being crime-ridden. NYC is a fairly safe city in terms of violent crime compared to many other cities in the US--just look up the stats!

I haven't heard about funding yet--I called the office yesterday but I am assuming they were digging out of the foot and a half of snow they just received, as no one returned the message I left. I will most likely be attending anyway--I've been rejected everywhere else I applied thus far except for UConn (don't know about funding there yet either), and am only waiting on a few more schools. Rutgers was one of my top choices to begin with--I like the program, it's in-state tuition and commuting distance from home even if I don't get any funding the first year. My advisors and I feel it's worth going to the best school I get into even if I have to find external funding for the later years/wait a year to get a department fellowship and take out a small loan, as I have no debt from undergrad. So you will probably be seeing me in September!

I got a rejection from Pittsburgh a week ago in the mail after having called the graduate office, where they told me ALL letters were mailed out a week ago Tuesday. You may want to call and check on that.

I am also in at Rutgers!!! exactly the same thing here--two rejections in two days and now I am so relieved to know I'm going somewhere next year!!! will most likely be attending :-)

So true.

For those who applied to Pittsburgh: I just called the Political Science department and the secretary told me all the letters were mailed yesterday.

finally heard from them, first notification from any of my ten schools, but it was a no as well. oh well?

that would be nice! fingers crossed! I am hoping for Rutgers this week as well.

I applied, also comparative, and haven't heard anything back. I haven't heard anything from a single school...starting to wonder if I didn't actually apply to graduate school or something.

I don't really know, but I saw one or two on this forum somewhere. so I really couldn't say if everyone has been notified, no.

is it foolish/naive to hope that NYU didn't send out all their acceptances at once, since it was towards the end of the day? this seems to be the 3rd de facto rejection (Madison, Pittsburgh, and now NYU) I've gotten due to hearing about other people's acceptances and I'm starting to get discouraged... I hate that the schools don't let you know if you got rejected til later!

Thanks for the advice, gradstudent!! Thanks to some advice I received here and from professors, I revised my list a bit and am applying to: Harvard, Wisconsin-Madison, NYU, Syracuse, George Mason, UConnecticut, Brandeis, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers. (all for PH.D. in comparative with a focus on Western Europe)

Hi-- I'm a senior at a top 30 liberal arts college. I went to the Idealist.org grad school fair in DC last night and was told by a few schools I was looking at that they were reluctant to take students directly out of undergrad for Ph.D. programs. I had known this was the case for masters' programs, but had been unaware that it was the case for Ph.D.s. Is this true across the board, or just at those schools? I know I want to get a Ph.D., and am reluctant to go for a terminal masters' first because of the prohibitive expense. Am I better off looking for a fellowship to pay for the masters' if I get rejected from the Ph.D. programs, or working for a few years to try to save up money/gain experience? (I'd prefer to just go straight into grad school but I guess if it's not possible then...) I would really appreciate any advice, as the grad school fair was rather discouraging and now I'm not sure what to do! thank you! To be more specific, here are some stats: top 30 liberal arts college GPA 3.5 (probably 3.57 counting study abroad grades); 3.7+ in poli sci planning to focus on comparative with a concentration in European studies GRE: 96th % verbal, 81st% math, 77th% writing doing research this semester with a professor who is writing a rec, have two other good recs lined up extracurriculars really good but don't know how much this matters... applying to: NYU, American, Rutgers, Pitt, UConn, George Mason, Syracuse, Brandeis (and two masters' programs in Paris)

Hi! I am going to be applying to Ph.D. programs in comparative politics, specializing in Western Europe, and I am looking for advice on some target and safety schools. My GPA is 3.5 (3.7 in major, which is poli sci), GREs are 740q690v5.0w (percentile on verbal was 96), and I should have good LoRs, and good extracurriculars, including ODK membership. I've never held internships due to financial need, but consistent work experience, and will be doing research this fall. I would really appreciate any help--no one in my family has ever gone to grad school before and I kind of feel really overwhelmed by the entire process! Thanks!