asha

So I have gotten into 6 masters programs (no plans for a PhD at this point). So far I have only eliminated one for sure. The other five are: 1. UVA - Environmental Science - 3 year program - Tuition, fees, health insurance, plus a very generous stipend for three years. I would have no debt at the end and would possibly even be able to pay down some of my small debts from undergrad. I would only have to teach one lab section in the second and third years. Charlottesville is gorgeous and I know I would love living there. It wouldn't be too difficult to move there since it's only 3 hours from my family. The only downside is that I am really interested in Environmental Health, and this would be an Environmental Science degree. I don't know how much this would hurt me when I go to look for a job in the future. Oh, and I would be able to transition to a PhD if I wanted to, but I don't right now. 2. Duke Nicholas School - 2 year terminal masters program, but very little funding. I would end up with a huge debt at the end of the two years. I know I would enjoy Durham/NC - I actually want to end up in North Carolina eventually. The program has a focus on what I am interested in, Environmental Health. Job prospects would be excellent coming out of Duke. However, I get the feeling that the student body is much younger than I am (20s instead of 30s) and the program is not as sciency as I am. 3. UCSB Bren School - 2 year terminal masters, no funding, slightly less debt at the end than Duke, but travel costs to and from the East Coast would be insane. Location is the most beautiful of all my choices, but cost of living would be most expensive. They don't have an exact match, but it's closer than "environmental science" would be. I hate group project work and the program is based on group work. Ok, I really am only still considering Bren because I want to live on the beach in California. Should be able to get a great job coming out of Bren. 4. University of Oregon - two year traditional masters, tuition, fees, health insurance and about half the stipend of UVA. I would have debt after this program but nothing like if I went to Duke or Bren. Like Bren, moving here would be costly, and I probably wouldn't be able to visit home much/at all. Would TA one class all the way through. This would also be an environmental science degree, but with a duel focus in biology and public policy. Eugene seems like the perfect place for me, but I haven't been able to visit because of cost. Also, this is probably the least prestigious program. 5. UNC-CH Gillings School of Public Health - 2 year traditional masters program with Environmental Health focus. This program would be the best fit for me on paper, however they have been unable to find any funding for me. I have been told that they probably would be able to find something for me, but I might not know for sure until August (!) and that would require a huge leap of faith from me. I think all my hair will have fallen out if I have to wait until August to find out about funding. Funding would probably involve TAing a biology class. There is a specific chance to work at EPA for my master's project, but it's not something I am interested in at all. If I had funding, this would probably be my top choice because of fit. Just typing this out has helped me to see that I am probably going to UVA. I just feel sad because a little part of me really wants to go to each of these schools for different reasons. I don't see myself ever making a huge salary - I am more of a save the world type - so taking on a huge ($50k+) debt at Duke or Bren seems ridiculous. Putting in an extra year at UVA seems worth it considering I would have no debt. I also am hoping that getting an environmental science degree won't be too much of a hindrance in eventually getting into environmental health. I guess my question is just: am I missing something? UVA is the right choice, right?

Sorry! I know how that feels.

You are right. It says the 19th "Due to the significant increase of applications, the review process has been extended, therefore all students will receive the final admission decision no later than March 19th." I don't know why I had next week in mind.

Not heard a peep from Yale FES. I just heard from Duke today, I got in there. I check my email every 5 minutes... it is driving me crazy. I also haven't heard from UCSB Bren School, but they sent out an email saying they were running late and it would be next week or later. Ugh. I don't think I want to go there anyhow.

Getting a credit card doesn't make you more adult. Be very careful what you sign up for.

I went to the interview last week, and tried to keep an open mind. It was only two hours each way at rush hour, so that was a nice surprise. The professor was nice enough, but I don't think we clicked. I just couldn't get a good read on him. He explained that the department has switched how they are doing things this year, admitting people and then finding funding by matching them up with a professor. This is similar to the other university I got into except that here they don't take you if you can't find funding - at the other university you can still attend with loans or whatever. I really find this method of doing things frustrating and confusing. I wish they would have communicated the process more clearly. Oh well. I will hear from him in the next week or two. I had an email from another professor at the same university on Thursday, asking me to come visit. Now... this again seems strange to me, but I am going again. Maybe I am a glutton for punishment, but the thing is, the university is extremely highly ranked, the department is respected, and I really liked the people I did meet. Also, they give a really large stipend, the area is gorgeous, and it would be one of the simpler moves for me. I feel I owe it to myself to try to make it work. I can always say no thanks. If it doesn't work out, I have several other options. I am just along for the ride at this point.

Got another MS offer with decent funding, so what your saying seems to be wrong, at least for the sciences.

I found one brand new at TJ Max for $25. I love it. I have ridden my bike for 10 minutes through a downpour without a drop getting inside. That is what I love about it. I hate backpacks, they just aren't comfy on a bike for me. I've had my timbuk2 for a year now and it still looks brand new. The only thing I don't like is how loud it is when you open it. I have learned to open it BEFORE entering class if I am late. I use a black leather satchel for more formal occasions.

I did this. I wore "comfortable" flats and ended the day with bleeding ankles and blisters everywhere else. I had to drive home in my socks because I couldn't wear my shoes without crying. I didn't expect to walk into town for lunch, up and down several hills. My mistake. I am going to another hilly campus in a week and I won't be wearing those shoes. I will have to find some that are actually walkable because I refuse to wear athletic shoes.

Interesting. Several of the environmental science programs I am applying to have funding (full or partial) for masters. This particular one doesn't admit without full funding.

The professor has funding for a specific project... I don't think it's that unusual in the sciences?

There is actually quite a bit of research with this particular lab (at the second school) - field work and lab work. The first school is in another discipline and would mean less research. I am not really sure how to compare across two fields. Anyhow, that is neither here nor there. I do want to avoid debt, where possible, but I don't want to end up with a PI who doesn't give a shit. It's a three hour drive each way, so I am going to go up and come back in the same day. I am going to go, but I am not holding out much hope that it will work for me.

So, I have applied to several MS programs in two very closely related fields. I have zero desire to get a PhD. Most of these programs won't be sending out notices until this coming week or the week after. However, I have been admitted to one very good school, which has several professors doing the type of work I am interested in. I do not have any funding tied down there because they admit you and then tie you to a professor who either does or does not have funding. If I don't get in anywhere else, I would still be completely thrilled to go to this school. I'll probably go even without funding. It's the no. 3 school in the country for this type of program. On Monday, I received an email directing me to a second school's apply yourself website, which told me I was admitted. I was pretty excited about this because it's also a very good school, and they usually don't take MS students without fully funding them. I actually told many of my friends and family that I had been admitted. I wasn't as over the moon about it as school one, but I figured it would just give me another option in addition to school one. Then today I get an email from one of their professors asking to do a short phone interview, which we did this afternoon. I mentioned that I had gotten an email saying I was admitted and he kind of laughed and said he probably did that by accident. WTF? How is that a remotely funny? We spoke awhile about his research, and then about my interests, and I agreed to go up there early next week to meet with him and some other members of the department. He did say some nice things about my application and my experience. It's very clear that I am NOT admitted, and that this is just an interview. I just feel so pissed off that they would or could accidentally tell someone they are admitted and then just laugh it off. Who does that? I don't even know if I want to waste my time going up there for an interview. He said something about funding needing to be tied down by next week, so he was trying to make a decision quickly. Well, I haven't heard from 5 schools, several of which I would prefer. I am also not going to know about funding at school one for at least two weeks. Lastly, this professor's research doesn't tie into what I am really passionate about as closely as other programs do. I just feel like canceling and waiting out my other schools, but then again, what if I am throwing away a fully funded offer? I really don't know what to do at this point. Advise me !

C- take precalc, calc, AND study for the GRE You're looking for a magic pill. There is no magic pill, I am sorry. If you are a "science" student who has somehow successfully avoided math, and then done badly on the quant GRE, then these two things just reinforce each other to adcoms. If you want to take a chance that you can get admitted to a science program without calc, then only do up to precalc. I wouldn't take that chance, plus it's MUCH easier to just do them one after the other than to wait a year in between. You can easily do them in two short summer sessions at a community college. I would think it would make your application look much stronger to take calc. If the programs you're applying to require linear algebra, there is no way they will admit you if you need to take 4 classes to get there. They just won't. As others have said, there is no way around getting a good quant GRE for a science program. It's boring as hell, but you're going to have to spend time learning the test. I'm lucky to be one of these people that just do well on standardized tests. I am really thankful for that!

The GRE isn't your only problem. All the science programs that I have researched require at least a semester of calculus, if not more. Some places will let you do it your first year or so, others want it fulfilled before you get there. If you haven't taken a math class in a long time, and are hoping to get a degree that requires calculus, it might be a lot of work to get to that level in a short time period. I wouldn't suggest paying for basic algebra or geometry if you have already taken these classes in the past. You might be able to get away with getting a couple of algebra and geometry books and just working your way through them, and then taking pre-calc and calc in succession this summer. If you were able to do that and do well in them, it could really improve your application. You would still have to study for the GRE, but it would mostly be fresh in your mind, making it much easier. I came back to school after being out for almost ten years. I had taken calc in high school, but I had long forgotten most of it. I brushed up on my algebra by myself, and took a precalc class at a community college, and then calc 1 & 2 at my university. This worked out very well for me and I was able to do fine on the GRE with little prep. Your mileage may vary.

Me! I have applied to a mix of env health and MEM programs. I actually only applied to two EH programs, UNC and UMD. I got accepted to UNC today, and I missed a call from UMD today but they didn't leave a message. The MEM/MESc programs I have applied to include Yale, Duke, UCSB-Bren, University of Oregon, and UVA. I haven't heard back from any of them yet, but I am hopeful. I didn't apply to JH because I only want to do a masters and I have heard that there isn't much for there masters students in the field I am interested in.

Virginia Beach is a weird "city" because it is the size of a county, but it doesn't really have a city center. Norfolk is kind of the "downtown" for people in Virginia Beach, if that makes sense. The resort area of Virginia Beach is about 20 minutes from Norfolk, very touristy, and parking is indeed a nightmare in the summer. There is a very nice boardwalk which also has a bike path - it's three miles long I think, and there are places to rent bikes down there. That is probably my favorite thing about the resort area. Most locals don't go to the beach at the resort area during the summer. Virginia Beach is geographically huge, so there are several other beach options - there is literally miles and miles of sandy beach. In addition, Norfolk and Virgina Beach are on the Chesapeake Bay, which has quieter beaches and boating/fishing. The proximity of the bay and ocean mean that good seafood abounds. Also, it's probably worth noting that Norfolk & Virgina Beach are definitely in the South, which can be a culture shock. Also, the summers can get very hot and humid, but almost everything is air conditioned. Coming from Sweden, winters will seem mild. After living away from the area and coming back, the things that strike me about it is just how flat it is and how spread out everything is. Another negative for me is that you can't use a bike to get around because there are virtually no bike lanes and drivers aren't used to seeing bikes. The positives include the amount of water, between the bay, the tidal rivers, and the ocean, you are never far from beautiful water views. The wildlife - it is mostly birds like osprey, pelicans, bald eagles, etc. There are several large parks around like First Landing State Park, but the walks there are kind of boring to me. There is also Backbay refuge, which is nice for kayaking or birdwatching. The mountains are about a 3 hour drive away. The nearest big cities are Washington DC, about four hours away, or Raleigh-Durham which is about 3.5 hours away. I have to admit that I left the area at 19 and have only come back (to Williamsburg) for school purposes. Although I will always miss the water and the bay, I just don't like flat suburbia! If I could afford to live in one of the cute neighborhoods in Norfolk, I might feel differently about the area.

I've lived in Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Norfolk has a small city feel. There is probably a lot you can walk to downtown, and there has been a concerted effort to make the Granby Street area safer at night - more lighting, more police, etc. However, there are some really bad neighborhoods that I don't like to go to if I can help it. Public transportation exists in the form of buses, but getting to the beach or to Williamsburg/Hampton is a nightmare by bus. I would recommend having a car, if possible. The beach is nice, but I feel like it drives up the cost of living in the area. The navy is definitely a big part of the city, for better or worse.

You're just repeating things I already shot down, only adding even more ridiculous nonsensical hyperbole. It is sad when people like you can't hold a civilized discussion, internet anonymity or no. I think the KKK is close enough to Godwin's Law for me, so congrats, you've won the internets! Enjoy grad school.

When I went to visit Duke for the MEM program, the financial aid guy told us that the average graduate had $40k in loans. Not much help with your questions, but congrats on getting in

So your argument about my business knowledge crumbles hilariously since you're the one who doesn't understand the basic premise of what profits are, and you move on to more hyperbolic personal attacks? The information was taken from ETS's 2007 tax return, the only one that they have divulged. There is nothing wrong with asking questions about a monopolistic non-profit when it has next to zero transparency and a mandate to serve the community. There is nothing "shoddy" going on on that website, it has fair comparisons with other non-profits. So, it's nice that you're concerned with my being more careful, but once again, your unasked for advice falls flat. Not even going to respond to the rest of the garbage you posted.

Seadub, thanks for the suggestion, but I am pretty sure I do not need a business 101 class. Might I suggest Manners 101 to you, since we are making suggestions to each other? Research is part of there operating costs, it is something they plan for. Profits are in excess of their operating costs. See, don't need business 101. I didn't actually give my opinion on health insurance companies' profits one way or the other. I said that you are comparing apples and oranges. It isn't relevant to this discussion. The end.