bakalamba

I think you can just ask them how much they can reimburse you for a flight. I'm visiting two schools, and one has a set amount, and the other books travel for visiting students, but also has a set budget. They won't balk at any cost, but simply will reimburse you for as much as they can - and often, it's up to you to pay the difference for a flight booked late. But it's important to be clear about how much they reimburse for travel costs. If I were you, I'd visit Pitt anyways, because there is certainly a good chance you may be studying there (in two possible events: UNC rejects you, or UNC accepts but gives a less appealing offer). Since they're paying for accommodation and flight, it's not any cost to you (just costing you your time). And there's a lot you can learn from a visit that might inform your decision, particularly if you're in a situation where you have a great offer from your second choice and a less comparable one from your top school. Good luck.

University of Pittsburgh. Their application deadline was mid-January, so it makes sense. Interviewed with them in late February.

Yeah, I'd ask what the transition is like. I was denied application to a PhD, but accepted to the MA, because I didn't write a formal thesis for my previous MA. According to the POI, core classes can be transferred over from their MA to their PhD, so that path only would add one more semester of courses than just obtaining the PhD. If you want to look on the bright side, an MA is a great opportunity to see the interior of a program and University and decide if you want to pursue a PhD there - if not, it's easier to get a PhD elsewhere with a closely related MA. But for most fields there's a significant difference in funding.

Are you maybe second-guessing your own decision? Or just closer to the job market than others? I think this article spells out in detail more of the poor reasons to attend graduate school: http://www.idealist.org/info/GradEducation/BadReasons

On Grad/Family housing: I've lived in two different grad housing apartments while I was at UCLA, and now that my wife is studying there. Weyburn is very nice, a walk away from campus, good amenities, but very expensive (I ended up paying $1000 for half of a two bedroom). It could be a good option for someone coming out of state or internationally who doesn't know the housing market, but it doesn't work out long term, it's too pricey and people tend to get tired of living in Westwood after a year or so. Now I live in Keystone & Mentone, the graduate family housing. I think it's better than the family housing on Sepulveda/Sawtelle (I think it's called University Village), which is in an uninteresting neighborhood and is right next to a large and loud freeway, the 405. I'm assuming people like it because there's the school there, and more room for kids (we don't have kids). Keystone & Mentone is in a nice area, lots of food options (Cuban, Brazilian, Indian, Nepalese, Mexican, you name it), is a short walk from downtown Culver City. You can walk to grocery stores, which is unique in Los Angeles. It's much cheaper than Westwood, we pay about $1200 for a good sized one bedroom with a balcony, laundry on every floor, free cable/wifi, and two parking spaces included. It's very quiet (too quiet, I think) and many people have been living here for 3-5 years. There's a free shuttle for apartment dwellers, takes about 25-45 minutes to campus, depending on traffic. Biking is doable (message me if you want to know a hill-free bike route to campus). Plus, you can bike down Venice and be on the beach in a few minutes. Venice Barry seems nice, I think it's a little older than our apartments, it has less to walk to, but still notable things (a farmer's market on Sundays, a bicycle co-op, Dave Egger's Time Travel Mart). It does have a pool, which I'm a little jealous about. Graduate students often live near campus in the Westwood area, and often head down south for cheaper rents and different communities (not only to avoid all the undergraduates - Westwood Village is a pretty stagnant community, and many large storefronts have been vacant for years). It's the best direction to relocate to: Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and Brentwood don't exactly have cheaper rents, although I know some people who live on the border of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, with a combination of things to do and less crime.

I visited UMN last week, and thought Minneapolis looks pretty cool. I'm wondering if any of the locals have insight on this: are there any good neighborhoods along the route of the new green Metro rail line that might be cheaper or undervalued because the line opens this year? I'd love to live where downtown and the University is a short train ride away. Any interesting neighborhoods along the line (Prospect Park, St. Paul)?

Interesting stuff. Good luck to your apps.

Just curious ... do you all have a particular region or country you're focusing on, and did that affect which schools you applied to? If a University does not have an area studies program in your interested region, is that a deal-breaker for you?

Good point. I think a clear distinction between theory and practice has been set in other fields, but this hasn't happened yet in education. Psychology might be a good example of this - to my knowledge, there isn't a requisite that everyone studying the mind should practice therapy first. In policy we're interested in bridging practice & theory, but having a bridge does not necessitate that the territories should be muddle - rather they should be distinct. Maybe this is a hold out from education's past, from being an institution constructed for the employment of women, set apart from science and the humanities, with clear boundaries between teaching (the profession of women) and learning theory/philosophy (a field considered outside of the experience/knowledge of women). And then schools of education are seen mostly as technical schools, which certainly doesn't help the field. What aspect of anarchist education are you interested in? That's an area I've had some exposure to, being interested in free schools (like Summerhill), and Ivan Illich's pre-Internet concept of learning webs.

I think we just all need sweatshirts emblazened with the logo "COLLEGE". Or, rather, "GRAD SCHOOL".

I'm interested in Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in Zambia and bordering countries. Want to analyze how colonialism and international efforts have contributed to the institution of education there. Education programs can be very policy orientated, so I'm also looking for some historical or philosophical component to my work, and to situate it more in the context of postcolonialism. What aspect of Philosophy of Ed are you interested in? I'm also applying to some of these schools (though Michigan State). From my experience, many PhD students have tertiary teaching experience (no classroom teaching in public schools) or even none at all. Most programs, hopefully, have realized there's a vast difference between teaching and research about education.

You can usually find previous versions of the U.S. News rankings in college libraries. Although there's barely anything scientific about these rankings, as they change their metric to make it "better" every year, conveniently pressuring people to buy the latest editions. NRC did graduate school "rankings", but their latest doesn't actually rank schools, and there's a lot of years in between each study. Maybe the best way is more qualitative, asking faculty members to evaluate other programs? In my experience, faculty who I have a good relationship with (or a referral from faculty I worked with) are upfront about what programs are rising or lowering in quality.

I agree with likemythesis, it's always favorable to ask graduate students about their experience. There are a lot of things that you won't get out of faculty or administration - the general intellectual environment of the program, who works well/doesn't work well with students, and how easily students get funding/research opportunities/TAships. Just be wary of students who might be having bad experiences, or unfairly comparing a program with previous graduate experiences - increase your sample size of students to get a more accurate view of grad life in the department. There's programs I never took seriously until I spoke with grad students and found they were working well, with funding, in my particular area.

International Ed Policy, but previous MA advisor was a philosopher, so I've looked for programs with at least one faculty in Philosophy of Education. Where are you applying?

The department can't fully guarantee funding for my flight out. So that makes the decision easy for me.

I was just accepted into the Masters program - my PhD application was deferred because I didn't write a thesis when I obtained a MA in Education. Which is unique, as most other programs don't have this requirement. From my first conversation with my POI, she was very straightforward that the program has little funding: previously students were able to easily secure TA and GA jobs in other departments or schools, but apparently now it's more difficult. But I guess it depends on one's experience and CV. I was notified about admission on 1/27 and given a $5,000 one-time scholarship for the MA. The idea of doing a second Masters with little funding doesn't entice me, although my research interests match closely with my POI.

I guess the notion of "safety school" is different for everyone. I applied to 7 Universities this year, and I can actually see myself at any of them. Of course, certain programs have a better fit with faculty members, and my off-campus life would be more interesting in some cities above others. For my undergraduate, I only applied to two schools, I got in to both my desired University and the "safety" school. I had a great experience, but I still wonder what would have happened if I extended my reach, if only slightly. I think the idea of safety schools work for people who would only be happy at a few Ivy League institutions, or have a field where the options for their particular type of research are very limited. I'm in a pretty small field, but I still cherry picked from about 14 Universities to apply to.

I just received news that I was admitted to a Masters program at a University, after applying for the Masters and the PhD (they require a more significant thesis for admission to the latter, and guarantee that obtaining the Masters and PhD will only add one semester of coursework). It is a robust program, but they have very little funding for graduate students. However, they do have visitation days, or recruitment days, and have a fund for transportation and lodging. I'm not seriously considering the school, as I have another offer with funding. My field (International Education Policy) is very small and I would like to meet faculty and graduate students working in it. Out of curiosity, would you attend visitation/recruitment days at a University you're not seriously considering? Have you already?

I have the same notification from Minnesota, "Decision Made", although I'm applying to a different Department. It's been there since yesterday. Torture.

Often it can be difficult to prove residency, as Universities prefer charging out-of-state tuition, for obvious reasons. I don't think it affects admission, but it does affect financial support, whether the program is willing to cover regular tuition plus the out-of-state tuition. I did have one acceptance letter (Michigan State) where they delineated funding as covering both tuition and out-of-state). I've heard in order to change your residency, you should start the process on your first month - like changing your bank account to a local bank, etc. Usually you have to show you've been in the state for 12 months to become a resident.

I'm applying for PhD programs, specifically in International Education Policy or Comparative Education. I'm interesting in Sub-Saharan African education, and found programs with faculty working in the same area: Harvard, Stanford (SHIPS), NYU (Sociology of Ed), Wisconsin-Madison, Michigan State, Pittsburgh University, U of Minnesota. I went to UCLA (SSCE) for Masters, in case anyone has questions about that program, MA or PhD. Good luck everyone!

Are you all applying for the MA? I got a MA in Comparative Education at UCLA, and am applying for PhD in International Ed Development/Comparative Education at Stanford (SHIPS) and Harvard, but there are also great programs with faculty in my area (Sub-Saharan Africa) at University of Pittsburgh, Michigan State, U of Minnesota, and U of Wisconsin-Madison. Last year I only applied to top schools, but in a different field (Anthropology or Sociology) and didn't get in any. Learning the power of diversifying my options, as I hear many positive experiences working with dedicated faculty in great programs at lesser known schools. In graduate school, it's all about who you work with.

Hi all, I'm also applying to 7 Education Ph.D programs - my focus is Ed Policy and Comparative Education, so I focused mainly on schools with strong International and African Education programs. I was admitted to Michigan State for the PhD and Wisconsin-Madison for the MA (instead of the PhD, according to their policy, because I didn't write a Masters thesis). I had an informal and useful interview with a POI at University of Minnesota, and she said they were making their picks last Friday. I had some success emailing professors beforehand, and also asking graduate coordinators for PhD students in the program with similar interests (this was very useful, as I found out which professors are inactive or very difficult to work with). I'm trying not to obsessively check my email or the results search. But I even set up a IFTTT that sends me a text if I get emails from any of the schools.