hj2012

Congratulations! Was this for research or ETA?

I understand the impulse to start with the best information possible but TakeruK is totally right: it's absolutely impossible to predict these things and will probably not get the results you desire. In my experience, I've gotten the feeling that speaking frankly about these kinds of things, at least with strangers/people who are not your advisors, is considered somewhat gauche. That said, it is completely appropriate to get career advice, network, and to scope out different department cultures and expectations. So, this is what I would suggest: From your signature it looks like you're from NYC (correct me if this is a wrong assumption!). If your "dream job" is at a CUNY, I might make efforts to get to know some grad students there and stay in the loop: for example, try to attend job talks for searches in your field or attend a grad student conference to get a sense of the department culture. But more importantly, rather than focusing on the school where you'd like a job, I think it might be more helpful to have conversations with recent graduates from your department. For example, I would check to see if there are alumni from the program you attend who have been hired there. Reach out and see if they'd be willing to chat. Don't frame it as a "how do I get a job at CUNY" conversation, because that will not reflect well on you. There's no point in fixating on one school, because the chances that they will open a search in your specialization the year you go on the job market are very, very slim. Instead, ask for best practices / advice about going through graduate school and preparing for the job market. I've had conversations with recent grads of my program who have jobs similar to the ones I'd like to have (we connected at our discipline's annual conference), and I've found their advice very illuminating. Hope this helps! Academia (and its cultural aspects) are like a black box so I totally understand the desire for more clarity...

You might look into University Village in Albany (https://housing.berkeley.edu/universityvillage), which is definitely safe and a good price for a one-bedroom in the area. What's your budget? My sense is that it will be challenging to find a one-bedroom apartment for less than $2,000 a month in Berkeley. Do you have geographical constraints? If you're open to living outside of Berkeley (e.g. Oakland, Albany, El Cerrito, Emeryville etc) that will give you more options. I'd start the search now (join relevant Bay Area housing Facebook groups, check the Cal listings site, etc) but also make contingency plans, i.e. moving to the Bay in August w/ a 2 week AirBnB rental to search for housing. The uncertainty might be stressful but it will definitely be doable to find someplace to live in August.

I'm not in your field so I unfortunately can't comment on that, but from your descriptions it seems that UMass isn't the best fit. One thing to consider regarding distance is that UIUC is a 2 1/2-3 hour bus ride from Chicago, so in terms of total travel time it would probably take you longer to go from UIUC to Dallas than Atlanta to Dallas or even Philly to Dallas.

I concur with fuzzylogician. Since you already have two programs in mind a faculty member or the graduate studies coordinator in the departments would probably be the best point of contact. UIC says that "prior coursework must include coursework in psychology and statistics," and I would check in with them to see if they would consider your MOOC series. If not, you might not meet the basic requirements for admission, which would be a waste of your application money. Do you already have a PI in mind at the two schools? I'd also send them an email and see if you could come by during office hours to chat frankly about your chances. I understand that money is tight, but you might look into taking psychology classes (especially statistics and courses in your area of specialization) at a local community college, where the tuition tends to be more affordable. What area of psychology are you interested in studying? If it's something related to your prior experience (school/edu psychology, developmental psychology, child psychology) that might work in your favor. You might also start applying to paid RA positions in your area: at some colleges, they provide subsidies for further coursework for employees. Good luck...

The Foreign Policy ranking shows overall reputation of the IR programs among policy wonks and academics and jives with my personal experience: http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/ You might also find this list of MPP programs (not IR specific) helpful: https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/public-policy-analysis-rankings Google is your friend! There's lots of info out there.

I understand rejection sucks, but don't descend into self-loathing. The fact of the matter is that graduate school (and academia in general!) is absolutely structured by rejection of all types, and this rejection has nothing to do with your self-worth or value as an intelligent human being. You only applied to four grad programs which is very few, especially in the humanities. PhD programs are a crapshoot: I know lots of people (very smart and successful people!) who applied multiple times before getting in. If this is absolutely what you want to do, I'm sure that you can improve your application and cast a wider net in the following year. [I also just want to say that our choices in life are hardly ever as binary as you've presented. There are lots of amazing, fulfilling career paths that academic tunnel vision might prevent us from seeing. This is not only unhealthy but also perpetuates some of the hierarchies and inequalities within the academic system itself. I think if this is really what you want to do, learning how to handle rejection and gain a critical distance from academia as an institution will make your journey more bearable.]

Yeah, there really isn't much information for you, unfortunately. It's late enough in the season that I think it would be appropriate to send an email to the department asking gently if all decisions had been made. Hope things work out for you!

Also, @pengpolaruin and @Tera : I am a former South Korea ETA, if you have any questions! 화이팅!

Yay! Someone else for Latin America good luck to you, hope we hear back soon!

Hi, what specific program did you apply to? You can check the "results" tab to see if the department has notified accepted students already. I think the same factors are important for international and domestic students: the ever-elusive "fit," statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and prior research experience/writing sample [depending on the field]. GRE and GPA, in my experience, won't get you into a school, but they can keep you out: as long as you're above a certain threshold you should be fine. Hope this helps, and that you hear good news soon.

Are you an RA for the department or for an individual professor? Of course this varies depending on where you are, but some "typical" duties I've seen for RA positions for the department include (somewhat higher level) administrative/research work that can't be delegated to an undergrad: editing a department newsletter or writing relevant articles/blurbs; keeping the website updated with faculty/student news; compiling department reports on undergrad/grad teaching for the graduate division; working on internal grant applications (e.g. to renovate TA office); and planning department events (e.g. securing speakers for a weekly colloquia). For professors, the work tends to be more focused on their individual research: compiling appropriate literature for a current project/writing annotated bibliographies; transcribing or coding interview data; copyediting book chapters; putting together a bibliography/index; working on getting permissions for images; checking citations/formatting, etc. Though I'm sure your department could probably give you more specifics, this is a general idea of what RAships have looked like (in my experience)! Hope this helps

From what I recall SIS offers a lot (perhaps even most?) of their grad classes in the evenings and the program is designed so that students can work full-time while attending. It'll be a difficult two years, but my friends who were most successful (and had the least amount of debt!) post-degree were the ones who were getting work experience along with their MA. I'd start applying to jobs/paid internships now, with the goal of finding something that will at least cover living expenses.

I just wanted to add another perspective for those who are thinking about applying to PhD programs. At least in my field, "better" PhD programs tend to also have better funding: the two are definitely correlated. The best strategy to avoid loans, at least for PhD applicants in my field, is to apply to the top programs, nearly all of which guarantee 6-7 years of competitive funding. Of course, the "name" school is not necessarily always the best option and there is legit NOTHING you can do to 100% guarantee long-term success in the academy. (It really is a crapshoot.) However, studies have shown that the "name brand" of your university sadly influences outcomes, and this is a factor that applicants should take into consideration while they make decisions on how to prepare for graduate school.

It sounds like you have a strong application otherwise, so I would definitely retake the GREs, since your scores are admittedly somewhat low. I personally would rather give it another shot than wonder, "What if?" after the application season is over. Good luck!

I think this is a case-by-case thing, but the ETA was helpful to me when I was applying to grad school. POIs at multiple schools mentioned that they were impressed by my participation in Fulbright when I was weighing options. However, I think the ETA is only as helpful as you make it. I could convincingly say, for example, that I was familiar with a language that was crucial to my project and that I had spent years living abroad making important connections with future interlocutors and academic collaborators. I also chose to do an independent research project (and received a small grant from the country's Fulbright Commission) during the second year of my ETA . If you can use the ETA to cultivate some of the skills necessary to your proposed project (e.g. language, cultural immersion, networking, etc) I think it's definitely worth it. Where I think the ETA is particularly useful is if you're applying to MPP/MPA/professional IR programs or education (especially international ed/TEFL) down the road. Totally anecdotal but there seems to be more "recognition" there, and my Fulbright cohort has done quite well in these fields. Anyway, I still think back to my ETAship as some of the best years of my life, so I think it's worth pursuing just for the experience!

Been doing my best not to think about my Fulbright application, but the anxiety brought me back to gradcafe... did anyone apply to Mexico? What did you think about the interview? Hoping we hear back soon!

I don't live in Michigan, but a friend of mine and his partner are doing this. He's a PhD student at Ann Arbor, she works in Dearborn. They live in Ypsilanti, which I think makes it an easier commute for the partner. We are also all from the Northern Virginia area, where average commute time is easily 1 hour one-way, so I don't think it was a hugely difficult transition.

Here's an older thread that discusses funded MA programs: I personally know folks who've had luck transitioning from Georgetown and Florida into great PhD programs.

You want a LOR from the professor in your lab. But instead of asking him first, you might want to talk to the grad student who was directly supervising your work about the best way to go about this. Many times, grad students can assist their PI in writing a more detailed letter. The other two professors that you know well from class sound like good options to fill out the rest of the letters.

If you eventually go on to a PhD, would you want to be in an Asian Studies department or a political science department? That might be a good indication of what would work best for you. If you're unsure, I would apply to a range of places across disciplines that have strengths in your areas of interest. (A slightly unrelated note: if you're looking for the training to enter the academy, the professional IR programs like the ones at SAIS, SIPA or Fletcher would not be a good fit for you. Also keep in mind that these days, a PhD is essentially a requirement to get a college-level teaching job that actually pays the bills, even at a two year college.)

bsharpe has really great advice. Also, you might also consider breaking up your letters among 2-3 writers if you feel uncomfortable asking one person for ten of them.

If you're willing to take the time to get into a top program, I would look into funded master's. They exist, and would do quite a bit to help your case when you go for the PhD. Consider applying to a mix of PhD and MA programs (Nebraska has a good funded MA program, for example) and see how the application season goes. Honestly, I don't know how the admissions committees will view your specific situation and I totally understand how difficult it is to transition to a different academic environment. At the same time, I don't think your academic background would inspire confidence, especially considering your lack of coursework and international status. Contextualizing your grades is a task best left to your letter writers. You can ask them to do that if you feel that you have a good rapport. Best of luck!

To be totally frank, that grad GPA is a little worrisome, especially if you were pulling Bs in some grad classes. You are applying to some very competitive programs, and if you're committed to going to a top tier program (and are willing to reapply next cycle if need be), that's totally fine. But considering your huge switch from engineering to English, you might consider applying to some funded masters programs as well. MIT's Comparative Media Studies program might be of interest to you (and is fully funded). Also, there are some programs that are slightly less competitive but have amazing DH/new media programs. Take a look at Maryland or Nebraska, for example. Good luck!

Out of your options, number 4 seems to be the best one, unless either 1 or 2 are faculty at a university in the country you're applying to. Good luck.