hj2012

Your seniors are right. It's extremely difficult to get a job in aerospace. My dad was an aerospace professor at an R1 for a number of years, and he was always clear to incoming international students that they would have a hard time on the U.S. job market. All of them claimed they didn't care and planned on returning to their country, then threw fits when it came time to graduate. If your number one priority is to secure a job in the States, you'll have a better time in mechE, and you can do some allied work in aero if you so choose.

Depends. How supportive would your current adviser(s) be of your desire to transfer? You'd need recommendation letters from your current professors, and the desire to "trade up" is not usually looked upon fondly. It would be best for you to frame changing schools in terms of evolving research interests, if that's at all possible.

I tend to think it's because they went in with the mentality that 2014 was going to be a repeat of 2010, sticking to older athletes and a style of play that didn't serve them well. But according to my Latin American friends, it was bad karma, what with Diego Costa and playing in South America, etc.

Most students have, at some point in time, studied a foreign language. But the number of folks who can actually hold a conversation in the foreign language is much smaller. I studied Spanish for a number of years, but the only language that I would consider myself to be truly "proficient" is Korean, my heritage language. If the OP was interested in studying, say, the Protestant Reformation, advanced German would likely be a huge boost. But for an MS in Aerospace...I wouldn't expect that to help at all.

I was an applicant last year, and just wanted to say good luck to everyone applying! I applied to a mix of American Studies/Ethnic Studies/English programs and will be in an Ethnic Studies program next year. Ultimately, I applied to interdisciplinary programs because my interests and methodologies really fit best there, I'm slightly concerned about the "hirability" as well (hehe), but my department seems to have pretty solid placement so I hope that works in my favor. I could also see myself working outside the academy in a number of functions, so that helps alleviate some of my concerns, too. Cheers, everyone!

Here are the main reasons why really good Korean students don't get funding: 1. They are changing majors (from Linguistics or Education to Comp Lit, for example) and don't have the writing sample / recommendations / background to get them in the door. 2. They insist on applying only to top universities. I realize how difficult it is to get into SKY universities as a Korean student, but SKY has no name-brand value outside of Korea, at least in English Lit. I don't think we've EVER had a student get into a top-ten university without the student first doing a degree (either MA or undergrad or both) in the States. With a Korean M.A., mid-tier literature programs would be a reach, even for an outstanding Korean student. 3. They don't have good GRE scores. Many of our students struggle to get 160+ on the verbal section, which is basically a requirement to get into the tier of schools that most students want to attend. Our successful international students tend to: 1. Have already studied in the States, either in undergrad or for their masters. 2. Be applying for comp/rhet, where the "best" programs (Purdue, for example) tend to be less competitive than the "best" lit programs (Harvard, Berkeley, etc). 3. For those interested in comp lit, our students tend to have more success in East Asian Studies programs (with a focus on comparative literature in East Asia) than in actual comparative literature programs. Anyway, I'm writing this post with a few assumptions. Most of the students I work with, particularly the ones coming out of elite Seoul schools, want to go to a "name brand" school in America that all their friends and family have heard of. Many students also want to optimize their chances of being able to work in the States post-grad. Also, most of our students interested in comparative lit are looking at Chinese, Korean, Japanese literature, which may not be the case for you. Hope this helps -- let me know if there's anything I can clarify!

I'm going to agree with zinc. You're already facing an uphill battle because you're an international student, but a terrible GPA is going to make it worse. FWIW, I work with Korean students applying to American universities, and we had 4.0 students from SKY universities (the Korean Ivy League) fail to get funding from English Lit programs. It's just really hard for non native speakers to produce writing samples that compete. If you're really committed to this, here's what I would recommend: 1. Apply directly to U.S. Masters programs but understand that you will not get funding. Then, apply to PhD programs. 2. Apply to a top university in Seoul for the masters. After the MA, try for a mix of MA and PhD programs in the States. Understand that there is a VERY good chance you'll end up doing another MA in the States. Choice number 1 is only ideal if you have good enough TOEFL and GRE scores already. If not, #2 might be better. Sorry for the tough love, but you'll get the best results if you face this problem with eyes wide open. PM me if you want specific advice about applying to U.S. PhD programs as an international student.

I had professors who would invite a class over for a dinner or end of the year party and a professor who nearly always biked to school. I don't find any of this odd at all. Professors and teachers are people, after all. I don't are why they need to hide pretty mundane details of their lives like where they live or how they get to work.

Would it be possible for you to retake some of the classes you did poorly in and replace those grades? This might be worthwhile even if those classes were not philosophy related.

You might also look at media studies programs (like the ones at Brown and NYU) and cultural studies programs (like UC Davis or Minnesota). I also second everything lyoness said!

Is it a possibility for you to contact the department and ask for a list of where recent alumni ended up? This might give you a better sense of your options and networks for your future career. Ranking usually corresponds with higher placement rates, but this is not a hard and fast rule by any means. It'll be best to look at the outcomes for your specific program and make your decision from there.

Does your school have a senior thesis or honors thesis program? This is another way to work on developing a substantive project in your field. But honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about not having a lot of research experience. Formal "research experience" as an application requirement seems to be more common in the sciences and certain social sciences (psychology, for example) but less common in sociology, communication and media studies. I agree with the great suggestions to try submitting to conferences or asking around your department if you're looking to improve your application for grad school, but, as risingstar said, you may be more competitive than you realize!

Agreed with the above poster. Improve your GRE scores and broaden your range of schools outside the top 20. Is this for a PhD or an MA?

Yes, depending on the specifics of your interests UVa may be a very good fit for you. (You may already be familiar with Stephen Cushman and Mark Edmundson, both of whom work on poetry and are absolutely amazing. But I'm biased since I did my undergrad there!) I can't speak for Harvard, but from one Virginian to another, I've heard from many professors at UVa that those few points might indeed make a difference. When the median GRE score is a 169V, you want to be as close to perfect as possible.

Sounds like you're on the right path! I personally think it's worthwhile to put together a draft of the writing sample early, and potentially get some feedback from friends or advisers. Ditto for the statement of purpose; drafting the SOP may also help you narrow down your research interests and your list of schools. If you have access to your undergrad advisers, you may want to schedule a meeting and ask for program recommendations. This was immensely helpful to me. I would only retake the general GRE if you have your heart set on schools that are more or less firm with the 165+ rule, whether explicitly or implicitly e.g. Baylor, Harvard, UVa. Good luck!

Google it: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=i%2Fo+psychology+MA+rolling+admission In all seriousness, though, is it possible for you to start Spring 2015 instead? That'll open up a lot of options for you.

If your passion is truly the language and your main priority is to get good at it, option 3 seems most reasonable. It gives you an opportunity to improve your language skills and time to reflect more on what you'd like to do. You could always apply to PhD programs a couple years later if you decide that's what you really want. That said, if you already know that you'd like to focus on teaching the language, I don't know if a PhD is really necessary. As you said, an MA is a good launching point for jobs at CCs and independent high schools.

If you are no longer interested in research in your current discipline, you should definitely NOT pursue a PhD. "Sucking it up" might work for a semester, but it won't work for the 6-7 years you'll likely spend on the PhD. To me, your third option -- working a few years -- seems to be most reasonable, especially if you're looking to get a professional degree down the road. I wouldn't sweat the salary difference, as there's no guarantee that you'd get a higher paying job even with the doctorate. (Plus this isn't taking into account the opportunity cost of the time spent on the degree.) Considering your level of burnout, pursuing an even more intense academic program does not seem wise. The academy will always be there for you to return to. Good luck!

When I lived in a new city for a short time, I used apps like Circle or sites like Meetup to find people who enjoy similar activities (hiking, biking, etc). Like maelia said, it'll probably be difficult to make super meaningful relationships but I always enjoy meeting a variety of new people. Meetup worked really well for me! Good luck!

Have you considered looking at Education PhD programs as well? There are PhD programs in Education Policy that might be a good fit for your interests.

I'm not a grad student yet (as I'm starting this fall), but if you'd like an extra pair of eyes I'd be happy to take a look!

I do some admissions consulting, albeit in an East Asian country, but I think many of the same rules will apply to Indian international students. I would retake the GRE, as 162Q seems a bit low for an international student applying for engineering PhD programs, particularly the caliber of schools that you applied to. You want your Q score to be as close to perfect as possible. Do you have any other reason for suspecting that the third recommender was bad? Honestly, the reason you listed didn't sound compelling. If your written English in this forum is any indication, your statement of purpose was probably not as polished as it could be. Did you have it checked over by a native English speaker? If not, the admissions committees might have had a difficult time figuring out what exactly your interests were. In the future, try applying to a wider range of programs in terms of competitiveness, and, as others have stated, focus on "fit" over prestige. Good luck!

Hey there, You can use the MIT living wage calculator to get a sense of the bare-bones requirements: http://livingwage.mit.edu/ My sense is that it would be tough, but doable. Is it not an option for you to be on a J1 visa? That would allow your wife to take an additional job if she chose.

Hey there! I don't see why you think you're not competitive for these programs -- JET is great preparation for an IR program. People in my Fulbright ETA class (this year and years past) routinely get accepted to places like Harvard Kennedy, Tufts Fletcher, SAIS, Georgetown, etc etc without any other work experience other than ETA-ing. Many of them are coming from non-academic IR backgrounds as well. That said, if you're looking for more work experience to save money for grad school or get more experience, there's lots out there for you to do. Look into international education organizations or non-profit organizations focused on education or i-dev places with an education bent. Try poking around idealist.org to see the kinds of entry-level positions available in those fields. You can either look for research-focused positions (e.g. http://www.idealist.org/view/job/Hk2cWcZwGCH4/) or an administrative/operations-focused position (http://www.idealist.org/view/job/3259FdKbPmKh4/). Hope that helps! Good luck!

It's actually something I've thought of as well...but, as the other posters have expressed, I don't know how my program would feel about it (or if it's even allowed!). I could see myself applying to teaching positions at universities abroad after I finish my degree, and I think the TESOL certification would be really helpful. But yes, you'd have to check with your school and also consider if it'll make your advisers think you're "less committed" to your studies.