ajak568

Hi development folks. I stumbled upon this thread. How did things shake out for folks? I'm in the US at Tufts in the Fall for the Econ/Public Policy PhD program (development track).

Thanks for this tip and for the links! I'm hoping to sign a lease soon. It's so hard to be able to get a jump on good deals without being able to go in person to speak with the realtor or landlord!

Thanks for the feedback, you've got a jump on things! It seems like more listings are starting to come on the market for closer to my projected move-in date, so I wanted to take a couple more weeks to scope it out and see how things are developing before I jump on anything! Quick question--since you went through a realtor, did you end up having to pay a broker fee? I've heard nowadays some landlords will pay the broker fee if there is one, but I don't know how common that is. Since my living situation isn't too complicated (just myself, my partner, and 1 vehicle), I figured I'm gonna try to find something my own first and see if I might be able to save a bit of cash.

Anybody moving to the Boston area from elsewhere and searching for housing? When are you looking to move into the area? What kind of timeline are you thinking about for signing a lease (if you're living off campus)? I'm new to the area and looking to move early September (I hear that's when half the town is moves into the area, haha). From my research it looks like maybe late May or June might be the best time to sign a lease? What do you guys think? I've been keeping an eye on apartments.com, hotpads.com, and Zillow rentals.

Update: FYI for anyone who cares, I messaged them on FB and they said the fact that Tufts wasn't listed on the site was just an oversight, they're gonna add it. Tufts students are also eligible to shop at MIT Furniture Exchange (once it reopens).

I checked out their site. I saw they list MIT, Harvard, BU and Suffolk students as being eligible to shop there with student ID but don't list Tufts (crying face). I'm going to Tufts in the Fall so I sent a message crossing my fingers they might be open to Tufts students shopping there in the future.

I highly recommend working first. It doesn't make sense to saddle yourself with debt if you don't have a clear idea of your future plans. Working can help you figure it out and be more financially beneficial to you in the interrim. Who knows? You may change your mind about grad school altogether, which is fine, too.

Could you explain this? Just for my general curiosity. How do interdisciplinary departments save money? Do universities form interdisciplinary studies departments as an alternative to having stand-alone departments?

I 100% agree with this. The best way to find a job that interests you is to do a lot of online research and follow up with informational interviews with people who do work that sounds interesting to you. (LinkedIn can be a great place to find people if you don't have any personal/professional connections to help you out with this.) Interviews can help you figure out what the day-to-day grind is like on different jobs and find out what it takes to get a job in that field. Take a look at what degrees those folks have to get an idea of what the standard is in the field. You'll get much better info than asking GradCafe! (Just make sure you do your research before reaching out to people so that you can make the best use of their time and yours!)

Second this. Maybe someone in the field of sociology could confirm (I'm more an econ person), but it seems like what you want to study might fit in some sociology departments. It may be worth checking out some sociology departments to see if there are researchers working in areas that are relevant to your interests.

Brushing up on linear algebra, going to look up some (i.e., Coursera/EdX) to learn a bit of Python (for data analysis purposes). Maybe brush up on STATA. Been using R and LaTeX recently on a small paper I'm working on, just trying to sharpen up for going back to school.

Maybe try one of the "Am I Competitive?" threads under the forum for the academic field in which you're interested (i.e., Psychology forum). Also FWIW I'm 31 and beginning a PhD program in the Fall.

For econ master's you can sometimes get funding, but full funding isn't common. Fully funded public policy master's (i.e., terminal degrees), however, are out there, but there still exist very expensive public policy programs that don't offer funding and people still choose to enroll in those for whatever reason.

My current partner and I started dating in 2016 and didn't really get serious about the relationship until JUUUUUUUST before I moved overseas in 2017 for my current job (my current job moves me around a lot). We went into the situation with zero expectations and kind of took things one step at a time trying out the long distance thing. We were constantly very open about where we were at in the relationship and how we felt, and we didn't put pressure on ourselves that this has to work out. If either of us wanted out, the rules are you can walk away, just be honest/open about it. In the end it worked out! It was not cute for the whole ride (as with any couple, it took some adjustments to figure out how to best make sure everybody's getting what they need in the relationship!), but honestly this whole little adventure has made me very happy. We see each other as much as we can, we talk all the time and still aren't tired/bored of each other, and we're each other's person! We'll finally get to put and end to the long distance bit when we move to Massachusetts together in the Fall (yay!) and we're both looking forward to it. I accepted an offer to a PhD program in the area, and it's a great city for young professionals and has a good arts scene we're confident it's going to be a good place for both of us!

Running, hiking, reading, listening to music (R&B!!!).

I'm a huge fan of blackwomenphds IG account. It gives me motivation seeing other women in the game who look like me! I'm committed to the Econ/Public Policy program at Tufts in the Fall and very much looking forward to it. I am hoping to plug into a community of black graduate students in the Boston area. There area a lot of universities in the Boston area and I already happen to know a couple of other black grad students already in the area (a clinical psych PhD at Northwestern and an Engineering PhD at MIT), so I'm definitely tryna link up! Connecting with other black grad students and women of color on campus really enhanced my experience in my previous master's program and keeping connections with like minded colleagues has been a HUGE help in my current profession (i.e., government work outside of academia) so I know I gotta have that support network on this next piece of my journey. Thanks for making this thread!

Quant skills can only help! If you have an appetite for the math and you're able to take a challenging micro and econometrics sequence, I think it should really open up opportunities for the kind of research you're able to conduct and help you a bit on the job market. I'm started an econ/public policy PhD program in the fall and that's kind of what I'm looking to do--get all the quant training I can stomach. This is the best time to do it!

Applying to: Pardee RAND Policy Analysis PhD, Tulane Economics and Policy Analysis PhD, University of Michigan Economics/Public Policy PhD, Duke University Public Policy PhD, Tufts University Economics/Public Policy PhD Admitted to: RAND, Tufts (both w/funding) Rejected: Michigan, Duke (not even an interview!) Undergrad institution: flagship state school Undergrad Major: Spanish/Global Studies Undergrad GPA: 3.54 Years out of undergrad: 8 Quant Background: Calc III, Stats and Econometrics, Time Series, Generalized Linear Models, and some other stats/modeling stuff from my master's program (master's in public policy) Relevant Work Experience: No real research experience to speak of beyond master's program. 2 years Peace Corps, 4 years federal government international affairs work. GRE: 166 V/163 Q/4.0 AWA Strength of LOR: Three profs from my master's program who have really good impressions of me. Strength of SOP: Just tried to be as honest as possible to represent my motivations and experience and let the readers decide whether I'm a fit or not. I just wanted to find a department who really wants me! I spoke about my interest in studying economic inequality and how pursuing a PhD is a career pivot for me (from practitioner to researcher), but still in line with my consistent interest in public policy. Extracurriculars/Leadership: Technically I did list some things on my resume (affinity groups I was involved in in grad school, Spanish ESL and Econ tutoring from back in the day in undergrad, band and music related services organizations I was a part of, etc.). . .I've done a lot of stuff, but I'm not sure it factors in for a PhD application? VERY excited that I've accepted the Tufts offer, looking forward to getting started!

I strongly agree with the others. Sit it out this year and apply again next year if your goal is to go into a PhD program. There's very little/very weak justification for taking out the debt just to go into an MA program this year. It might feel scary going onto the job market for the first time when you're finishing your bachelor's, but you'll be better for it!

Going just off the info provided (location v. funding), I'd go with the funding and going into the program with a focus on setting your routine in your new town/city in order to build some resiliency, settle in, and hopefully minimize any of the mental health issues you anticipate. Maybe going to the top choice school would make more sense if you/your family has money to blow on that (hey, some people do, but I don't!). Otherwise, I'd totally go for the funding.

Tufts for the Fall for me. I hope you enjoy your move to NC. I'm from NC (from Charlottte, went to undergrad in the Triangle area) and I love it. It's beautiful the weather is warm, it's more spacious, and the cost of living is soooo much better than a lot of places further North. Enjoy living in Durham!

Yup. I would still negotiate and explain that your cost of attendance at the other program would be lower. Worst Target School can do is say they don't have the extra funds.

For people who asked for templates--there's no cookie cutter way to do this! I know it may feel awkward or uncomfortable, but there's nobody to tell you exactly what to write to the program. Just make contact with them, be honest and explain your situation. The worst they can do is refuse additional aid. They're not gonna be like "this person is annoying, rescind the offer!" As long as you're not rude about it, don't be afraid to ask!

I would reach out to Tufts, explain your situation and make sure they're aware that they're your top choice. You might also ask them if there's anything you can do to support your candidacy while on the waitlist. Some programs will accept supplemental materials that could help you get off the waitlist. Selfishly, I hope you end up at Tufts in the Fall! I'm also starting a PhD there in the Fall (in the Econ dept). Best of luck!

Just today I wrote RAND and declined my admission to the Research, Analysis, and Design stream. Let me tell you, they did NOT make this decision easy! RAND seems like a really great place and I would be REALLY excited to collaborate with the researchers I talked to. In the end I had a competing offer in another program (at Tufts) that seems to be a better fit for me academically, so I chose that program. Hopefully I'll get to collaborate with some RAND researchers in the future (fingers crossed!). Good luck to those of you on the waitlist, I hope someone else gets to take advantage of an offer of admission.