babycakes

Not going to UMD but went there as an undergrad. Most grad students look into graduate gardens in adelphi. Some students also rent from the Varsity (pricey) on route one as well. Check out our student paper's classified section for more housing. http://www.diamondbackonline.com/classifieds_diamondback/

I own a MBA 11" from 2011 and it has been faithful. Even though my 3 year warranty expiration is approaching, I only had to have one real fix (LCD started screwing up) which I got fixed next day. I love it because it's so portable and lightweight, and it runs as well as a full sized macbook (the new macbook pro retinas and beyond are a hair faster when powering up from sleep). When I was a lab tech it was very useful. I like things "mini" so my reasons for getting the 11" over the 13" are fairly trivial (as well as the lower price). However if I had to do it again, I'll do the 13" just for a longer battery life. You're going to be spending a lot of time on that computer reading articles, crunching data, writing your dissertation, etc. and probably procrastinating so a long battery life is crucial.

I think for your situation a masters is as far as you should go for your education background. You do not need a PhD in ed to be qualified to teach or lead. It sounds like you only want to get into an education program to be qualified for something, but that's what masters are there for. PhDs are so you can contribute to research in educational theory. Ask around first before investing 50,100k into a masters program.

I was offered 16k and I turned down Columbia; if you're going into the classroom you really don't really benefit from the 75k or so you sink for the 50k degree plus about ~25k living expenses. A lot of people find that they love what they do, or worst case scenario are "stuck" in their situation and it's not like the kids or your coworkers will give a damn where you got your degree from. If you are absolutely dedicated to high ed later, I'd say Columbia but you have to go out on a limb to kiss up and make an impression on a few professors within the one year you're there because there's many accusations of the school being a "diploma mill" and classes being taught by graduate students (little to no benefit to you).

I officially made my decision this morning. So instead of Columbia, I'm going with JHU! I did get a 16k offer around the 19th, but as OCD mentioned the Yelp reviews were a major deterrent. My SO who is an AP at a top-ranked public HS also indicated the negative vibes of Columbia as not being student-focused. He was a comparative lit major before he became an educator and he knew the reputation Columbia had in English, but understood that they didn't give a rats ass about student education but were more about recruiting renowned faculty (which wouldn't make a difference if you're being taught by graduate students if the Yelp reviews are true!) I even made a Reddit thread and the students who went/are also saying the diploma mill / low morale statements. This sucks, because it was originally my #1, but career-wise I think JHU would be the best for me. My personal reasoning is that it's better to be in a smaller, student-focused program with an advisor who doesn't treat their advisees as inconveniences than to simply get the "ivy league" stamp on your degree. These stronger relationships will earn me better LORs that can vouch for my viability as a PhD candidate and someone working upstairs. I just didn't want to be Columbia Graduate #5244.

This point is the main deterrent for me attending TC. I don't want to get stiffed because I am "just" a masters student with an intent to teach. If I'm dropping $50k in a single year (not including room and board) for my education, I want to be able to have a good relationship with my advisor and potentially get involved in research to get a leg up into a PhD program. The school I'm gearing towards had me interview with my advisor and discuss their program, research opportunities, and even funding opportunities via fellowships and a program through the county I already intend to work in. My main reasoning behind applying to TC was mingling and getting to know potential doctorate advisors and I'm not getting that feeling as of right now. If all I wanted to do was get a teaching certificate and masters and no interaction, I'd go to the bottom barrel state school's online program for $5k, not $50k.

Just got my decision today via apply yourself (Admitted!) I was just about to give up, no word on funding though (probably not happening because it's the MA + Cert program).

Call me a tool for buying into the apple hype, but I vouch for the MacBook Air. It has the portability of a tablet yet with function on par with a MacBook Pro but cheaper. Ever minute problem I've ever had with it, I just go to the apple store and they fix it- never bad to pay a cent for it. Everything from slight cosmetic damage to a weird screen problem solved without an interrogation. And the extended warranty was only like a little under 200 dollars on top of the computer price so you get that back easily with the amount of service you get. SURE, you're paying 3x the amount of a 500 dollar PC laptop but at the end of the day, your satisfaction (little to no viruses, not constantly crashing, no bloatware, lightning fast processors, 101 in person service) and the longevity of the product far exceeds the price of buying a new PC laptop every (other) year. My computer froze a whopping TWO times within the last three years and it was all definitely my fault (I have like 5 active screens at a given time running full on programs... I suck I know). I went through three 500 dollar PC laptops in undergrad before I turned to Mac and I haven't bought a new computer in three years. I know that sounds ridiculous but my first computer blue-screen of deathed every other week, my second computer I admit I spilled water on (don't put a flimsy 32 oz soda cup of water on the shelf above your desk guis) and the third it just slowly fell apart ethin the first year and when I dropped it a whole chunk of the plastic casing straight up fell off and my hinge was slowly deteriorating due to above impact.

I feel like at 23 we're in social limbo (It's actually a line to a Blink182 song). You're not like irresponsible college student shit faced drunk on weeknights; they want you to have a job and your own place, but at the same time no one at works takes you that seriously because you're fresh meat. I am literally told everyday I look like a teenager by both teachers and students. And it's like... geez, thanks. And not like I was doing all of that crazy stuff as an undergrad, I was always ridiculously serious and responsible due to my circumstances (immigrant family, I pretty much wore the pants in the house). But I cannot seem to interact with adults that are 35+ in a manner that does not make me seem like a child. And when I speak to "adults" who are my colleagues I feel childish because they want to talk about their kids or their back pain and I'm like nopeeee. My only talking points is 1. I'm one hell of a baker, and 2. I am into working out / dieting so we can talk about spin class and calorie counting or something like that. I might get over it soon; I'm slowly learning how to figure out how to stand on my own two feet about this and do realize it's a matter of self-confidence advocating your own agenda / brand instead of regressing and being apologetic. I get a lot less nervous talking to adults now than I did earlier, HOWEVER, I am in the education profession where people are much more nicer overall. HAHAHA

Nothing showed up for me.

If you want to teach, you can get a one year masters and I think if you're a male esp. with a non-traditional background, they would LOVE you. Schools yearn for strong male role models. If you're interested in secondary education you might be stuck with math though unless you can earn 18-30 credits in the area you want to teach. HOWEVER, I wouldn't think the nursing route is a bad deal... if anything, see if you can get into med or PA school after a BSN undergrad. A lot of "non-traditional" students KILL IT when they go back to undergrad because they have a lot more self-discipline in their older age to do the courses with flying colors and less excuses to why they can't get the grade. With a great set of undergrad grades, the world is your oyster. If you get into a top medical school (not Ross or something) you're bound to make back all your med school debt in no time when you're rolling in six figures.

I feel amateurish for saying this, but I really like learning about EVERYTHING with the exception of physics and theoretical math. If I had all the money in the world I would have been a double biology (with neurobiology & physiology specialization) and art major with a german minor. I'd probably spend my whole life in school. I just ended up with the neuro-phys and a sprinkling of the other two (no minors in either). I just took just about every other course that appealed to me and graduated with a ridiculous number of credits in a number of depts. I love to discuss and learn about just about every other field there is so now I am one of those obnoxious open books of "do you knows" about every other topic. I am currently entering education because of my interest in topics pertaining to sociology and psychology. If dreams do come true, I would love to pursue a PhD pertaining to how socioeconomic background affects neural development and how it impacts education. I feel like because I like so many topics I'm seen as a scatterbrain amateur not fit for academia lulssss... if I'm not dorking out about hard and social sciences, I love film and literature as well. You don't know how satisfying it is after your 4 credit 400 level physiology classes it is to take a German film class and just write about Aguirre. Now whether or not I'm any good at German is up in the air, and if my art skills necessarily equate to earning a degree in it (I would say I was darn good and rivaled the top of my art classes...) I think what's wonderful about life is that it's so eclectic and variable that under few circumstances you end up with ONE thing to obsess about and no access to anything else. I would be sad if I ended up on a desert island with one research project and nothing else.

I am losing weight currently so I eat healthy and I count calories. I prep "toppings" for salads and just pop them into pre-made mixed green tupperwares I have. Everything is already pre-measured and pre-cooked so it's as easy as grabbing it out of the fridge in the morning. I have a costco membership too so I buy bulk frozen protein. I don't even really buy dressing anymore and just squeeze some lemon or a dash of vinegar onto my salads with some EVOO. I inhale salmon and tilapia like nobody's business and eat a lot of chicken breast too. As for carbs, I cook a batch of quinoa on sunday and dole it out. I also throw in sweet potatoes in the oven and eat half a sweet potato for a meal. I have a bento box I selected for my size and I just fill it up with as much food as I can and it usually comes out around 600 calories per meal (which is appropriate). Broccoli can be a very inexpensive and nutritious filling food that stays well in the fridge for a long time when properly stored as well as peas. And sauteeing greens like spinach or kale with garlic salt and pepper is really quick and easy so that's an easy go to green as well. I'm asian so I love me some baby bok choy, yu choy, and nappa but that's a personal preference. I usually never marinade (if I do, I stick to tandoori chicken because it's so good) so I sprinkle montreal steak seasoning or straight up salt and pepper on my meats before searing on a pan on a Sunday and I have food all week. The worst part of this is not diving head first into a restaurant at a whim but on grad school budgets it's not like you all are doing that right?

False alarm today: I got my JHU acceptance followed by an email from Columbia that was prefaced with "we got your application..." but it was advertising the JFEW scholarship (for women); unfortunately due to my personal circumstances I don't think I'll be spending 2 years in NYC because my SO works in MD. I was so pumped! At least I got JHU?

Nice! Some of the pros I recognized in JHU is due to my location and desire to also pursue a PhD, a smaller cohort allows for a more intimate setting and therefore have better recommendations and experiences for a PhD. Not to mention, as of this morning JHU is #1 in education by US News! http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2014-03-11/news/bs-md-graduate-school-rankings-20140310_1_towson-university-world-report-law-school The main reason why Columbia is appealing to me is that Science Education (Columbia's MA I applied to) is not available as a PhD at JHU and I feel like if I already established my contacts in my masters, it would be easier to pursue a PhD in Sci. Ed. at Columbia. Obviously I am at odds with it's larger graduate population. And good luck on your education! I'm not very sure about the hiring if international students as counselors either, but a reputable degree goes a long way.