jujubea

I'm entering a combined MA/PhD program, so I'm interested to see others' advice on this as well.

You guys will be fine. Again, it took one of my offers two months after the unofficial acceptance. Another one took about 5-6 weeks. The third one took about 4-5 weeks. Agony, I know, but just have faith. You'll be OK.

I know it's kind of sad...

I wouldn't worry at all - at least not yet. Profs are very busy. I received my unofficial offer in January, got no responses from my own POI when I emailed her like you did above, and I didn't get my official offer until March! That was almost two months! If you're really freaking out, you can email the graduate program assistant (although they are very busy too!) and ask when you can expect to receive an official offer. He or she should be able to give you a reasonable timeline or range of dates to expect to hear something.

I second what TakeruK said. And that's also what I did. Just told the people that I made some kind of real connection with.

Thanks, surely. Let us know what you decide (and why!) for all the lurkers out there

From what I know, it looks like there's a lot of "forest" work going on by the apparent rock stars. Which is great because I love that type of stuff: the meta-level views, the study of the study of religion itself, the bridging between disciplines, etc. But this is only from what little I do know...So I'll take your last bullet of advice perhaps first

Is funding an issue for you? How much are their relative costs? How about job placement statistics for each place post-graduation? Do graduates work at the places you want to? How about living/lifestyle at each? Environment, cost of living, culture(s)? Do you plan to have a car? If not, what's public transportation like at each place? How much and what kind of support does each school offer international students? How about the international community, does that matter to you? You need to think about what matters to you, and then that's a starting point for deciding which school. If all that matters is the job afterwards, then focus on getting those statistics or at least an idea of those statistics. All depends on what matters most to you.

This is the first time I've ever heard that about fed govt recruiters, and have mostly been told and seen the opposite. But my stint in fed gov was only just over a few years, and I did not live in DC for much time at all. Is that an individual recruiter preference, or is that organization, department (little d), and/or office dependent? I'm surprised to hear it, so I want to learn more! I've also made several posts on here about how little fed gov seems to care about school rank/prestige (I was hired out of a no-name school, and have been on a few hiring committees, but that doesn't mean it's true across the board, it sounds like).

Ah, mannn, it makes me want to watch the whole interview! What that means?! ...Can we move on?

Reading this while drinking a beer to relax... And I haven't even started yet!

I just made one of her make-at-home face masks.... I'm LOVING it....

If it does not align with your interests, why bother?

Money can really mix things up. It sounds like you feel pretty good about American, despite the financial burden. Are you currently in significant debt right now? Here are some words of advice I recently got from a current PhD student: 'Following the $ is only smart to a point. A good package doesn’t mean much if you don’t get hired after the PhD, and getting a good job after the PhD can quickly make up for some levels of assumed debt."

I cannot. stop. watching this. With tears and laughter out of fear!

How much should one's interests be narrowed down by the time one enters a combined MA/PhD program? I am interested in a wide array of things related to my field, and while I had to select a geographic focus in order to apply, that's about the only thing I know for certain. I love the program I applied to because I could take my studies into ancient history, or into psychology and cognitive science, or into anthropology, or into the global-political arena. But these directions are pretty divergent. Should I be working over the summer to try and narrow them down? I have almost no background in religious studies, and the program admitted me with that (I said it in my SOP, plainly), so they know I have some foundations to build - is that a lame excuse to be a little unfocused in terms of topic? Also... ...Can I turn this into my (attributed!) signature?

This is such a relief to hear.... I will be a combination of all of the above: living one hour from campus, with two kids, multiple pets, right after getting hitched with my SO...!

Went OK. I spent most of the summer prepping for it (2-3 months), in fits and starts. So I'd binge for a few days, then break for a week or even two, then binge again, then break. Not terribly efficient, but I ended up making enough of a habit out of it that my practice test scores steadily improved. My SO did GRE flashcards with me, which made it way more fun/entertaining and less draining. I ended up at 158 Q and 161 (or 163?) Verbal. 5 writing. When I started taking practice tests I was significantly below that - and when I took the GRE over 5 years ago, my scores were actually lower! So I did a better job of studying this time You can doooo it! Also I have tons of GRE materials for sale if you'd like. I'm going to post them soon in the lobby.

Ouch, that is brutal.

I love your signature. So candid!

Also, just my opinion, I would take up that RAship offer, because it really adds to your CV at the end of the day, so even if you have to settle for an unrelated job somewhere, you at least have that relevant and real experience, plus the presumed accolades of having been offered the RAship in the first place. Just my two cents

I spoke with a recent graduate from one of the programs I was considering. He took 9 credits per semester, and worked full-time during the day, and had a wife and kids. He said what helped was the department understood his situation and wanted to work with him to help make it possible. He did his best to keep his classes to only one or two days per week (which meant on one day per week, he would go to class from 3:30 to 9:30; other semesters he'd have two nights of about 5 to 9). His job was also flexible with him, and he said that helped a lot too. He had to be very organized, and made Sunday his day of school work no matter what, which meant he missed certain family events, etc, but his wife was on board with this discipline, so he could get his PhD and skeedaddle. I used to work full-time and took 2-3 graduate classes per quarter; I second that it was only possible because both work and school were understanding (in my case, I worked AT the school). I came out with a 3.96 GPA and over 25 credits. I also found time to take martial arts classes 2-3 times per week and be part of a recreational club that met once a week. I was admittedly frazzled, but balancing the work and school with those extracurrics helped me stay sane. Part of my ability to do it was also that I was in my early 20's at the time, when I had much more energy than I do now. It sounds like it's possible, but not at all easy, and if I were in your shoes, I would consider reaching out to someone in the program to ask whether other students do this, and how it is handled (by both the student and the faculty). Good luck - and good on you for working so hard for a thing that many people will never have the chance to work hard at, even though they want to.

Great - I just wouldn't want anyone to think that they have to study in DC or their chances are shot. It's just not the case! Also - a huge perk of schooling in DC is finding out how many different types of jobs there actually are within the Federal Government. Things you just don't hear about/learn about without rubbing shoulders in the DC area...!

So, a couple of misconceptions abound regarding working for the Federal Government. 1. They do NOT care at all which school you went to for undergrad or grad. Yes, they care about the content and curriculum... but the actual name of the school does not matter, not the ranking, the prestige, none of it. You don't get extra hiring points for it, you don't get shortlisted for the job because of it, nada. The only time it matters is if you want a political appointment-type job; history reveals that those peeps generally come from a handful of traditionally prestigious schools (you want to be the Sec Def, Sec State, Director of CIA, Director of whatever). 2. A lot of people I've noticed on this thread have the idea that if they want to work for one of the Federal Departments, they ought to go to school in DC. I would argue that the opposite is just as true: these places look for people with diverse experience and backgrounds - and believe me, they get loads and loads of people from the DC area with DC-area degrees applying to their positions all the time. If you're going to be in a grad program, then you're going to be in a grad program, not simultaneously working for one of those places, and not trying to work at one of those places until you've graduated. So, I strongly recommend looking outside of DC for your grad career to diversify your background and what you bring to the table. Doing so will also not preclude you from doing summer internships in DC or with DC-area organizations. In some ways, you'll be more desirable, because you will be fresh blood, and will not have all the "dust" let's call it, of having already been in the DC circuit for months or years. So, that said, I would not narrow your list down by geographic location in consideration of the ultimate job you want, because in this case, that type of job doesn't much care, and they will also pay for relocating you to wherever you are hired (sweet deal, right?). Of course, if geographic location is important to you for other reasons, then by all means, narrow it down. More important is the content of your studies. I really advise against studying the same old things everyone else does. Specialize in a unique and different way. Learn about something that not many people learn about or focus on. General IR classes are not of very much help, I can tell you from experience, in the Foreign Service. Looking at a nuanced angle of bilateral relations between, say, Pakistan and Russia, however, is very intriguing on an applicant's resume, and will set you up for jobs in more Departments than would a general look at "Asia in the 21st Century" or some garbage like that that can be read about in a few issues of Economist or Foreign Affairs.