gracieh

I live in New Jersey and the letter was dated April 7th. And if you log into your Ford account online, you won't see a change. It'll look the same as it has for the past several months.

I also received my letter today. Honorable mention again....oh well! Now I can stop frantically checking my mailbox everyday. Good luck to everyone else!

That's good to know. Now I can stop checking my email every 2 minutes.

That's a little weird. Thanks for the update. I was going to call, but I expect that they are being bombarded by emails and phone calls.

So, I guess no one else has heard anything since last night?

I hate this waiting part...oh well!

It all depends on how much you want to spend. Since you mentioned an interest in living in a newer apartment building, I'd suggest New Lawrence or Old Lawrence. The New Lawrence apartments are modern, clean, and spacious, but they're also more expensive. The only problem is that you might have a hard time getting one of these apartments because they tend to be first on most people's lists. I prefer Old Lawrence because the apartments are big, clean, a cheaper than New Lawrence, and the school is renovating all the kitchens. In terms of proximity, there is a very efficient shuttle system that all grad students use. The school has recently updated the transportation system and the shuttles leave pretty regularly. Hope this helps!

I don't mean to be mean, but why do you have 4 master's degrees?

I took 2 years off after undergrad to make sure that grad school was the right choice for me. And thank goodness I did!! Not only did I have a 9-5 job, but I experienced life outside of academia. And it was wonderful! It definitely helped me realize my goals and aspirations, at least professionally. It was nice to go home and not have work to do and to make some $$ in the process. I have friends who went straight to grad school after undergrad and they were there the ones who were burnt out intellectually. I was definitely ready to go back to school and I did so with a better outlook.

I pay my taxes quarterly, so I'm cool. Some people get really exited about having a little extra $$ each month and get scared when tax season rolls around.

From what I understand, stipends are taxed while fellowships are not taxed. For example, I have a fellowship and my school does not take taxes out of my monthly fellowship payment. However, when I had a TA position with a stipend, it was taxed. Also, health insurance for your family depends on your institution. As for moving expenses, that also depends on your school and department. A friend of mine received $1000 reimbursement for moving expenses during her first year in grad school.

One could argue that American Studies, cultural studies and the like are not "traditional" disciplines either.

There are a handful of AAS Master's programs in the U.S. The list includes Columbia, UCLA, U-Mass Amherst, Ohio State, Morgan State, Florida International University, Clark Atlanta, and Cornell.

Is anyone applying for the Ford this year?

I started contacting professors in September, but I began compiling a list during the summer. So this would be a good time for you to evaluate which people you'd be interested in working with. I suggest simply sending an email to the professors introducing yourself, your academic background, and your area of interest. I then asked if the specific professors felt that my work would be supported in the department. Most of the professors I emailed were very candid. One responded that she was advising too many graduate students and did not want to take on any more. I crossed that school off my list. I found that my communications with professors, first by email then by phone, were the most productive. On the personal statement, my first draft was a story about me and my interests. It ended up being way too long and not specific enough. A professor of mine suggested that I get right to the point. So I quickly delved into the research that I've done in the past, what I'd like to do in the future at the particular schools, and why I thought the specific department would fit my needs. After many drafts, my personal statement was thorough yet concise.