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Thanks! Couldn't download it directly, but will Google it and take a look.

hi, i'm a master's applicant, and it turns out one of my schools has interviews as well, which seems unusual to me (I thought mostly it was doctoral programs that had interviews). I've had job interviews, and (a long time ago) scholarship interviews, but not a grad school interview before! Any advice on what to expect? thanks!

I did hear back from Vandy, I applied for a Masters' in International Education Policy & Management and was accepted! Funny, I just logged on to ask if anyone was going to Master's Visit Days! I'm an IEPM admit and won't be able to go, but I would really appreciate your impressions, if anyone is going...

Thanks for replying! I can see how with your public health background, the Vandy program would be great for you. They do seem to have a very strong emphasis/expertise in that area. They also seem to be strong on Latin American studies and Asian studies - they have research centres / certificate programs etc. However, my geographic area of interest is sub-saharan Africa, and not only does the IEPM not really seem to address that, but Vandy itself, unlike most of the other unis, doesn't even have an African Studies department, where I could take additional courses, or faculty in that area. So that's one of my hesitations. On the other hand, my major goals for the program include getting a good foundation in children's education and school leadership, and in general terms Peabody is totally solid, with all its various streams. Also the community action and development stream - I would definitely take a lot of courses from there (I considered applying to that for awhile, but decided that the international focus was more important to me in the end). Haha, I also went to a small liberal arts college so I do appreciate the small cohort idea, tho' I did do a master's at a big research univ and appreciate the huge resources (e.g. the library databases) available in that context. I think it's somewhat the best of both worlds if the program is smallish but set within a larger univ, and it seems like most of them are like that.

From past years' Peabody threads, it looks like there is quite a lot of research money floating around, and the Web site itself says that a lot of students do manage to get assistantships, so that's what I would be shooting for. An admissions office told me early on that it's unusual to combine scholarship and assistantship to get a 'full ride', but I'm optimistic that altho' not everyone is able to, at least some may! There was at least one person on one of the forums who got an assistantship that covered her tuition, I think. Also, Vandy's fees seem much reasonable than some others, and I think living in Nashville would also be less costly than some of the NE cities.

Glad to see fellow Vandy admits! What's your thinking in terms of decisions - I know we all still have to wait for HGSE and TC in March, but right now what do you think of Vandy's IEPM? I'm a bit concerned that it isn't as "international" as the other programs, and there were some slightly negative comments in last year's thread about diversity of the student body. Also it seems more research-oriented/theoretical than Penn or HGSE, or TC for that matter, less practitioner-oriented. Any comments? Anyone know the school/program a bit better?

thanks for the insight into the IEP. do you know if Master's students at HGSE are able to get research assistantships with professors? (and if so, do they often?)

Wow, cool - makes me want to go there even more

Hmm.. that's interesting about Quechua. Maybe it's something to do with Prof Nancy Hornberger's work? I think she did (does??) a lot of research in that area. No worries about not knowing it - it's a minority language, though a lot of language development work has been done on it. I wouldn't think it's very well-known outside of linguistic/anthropological circles.

I'm hoping to do Arabic too! (Actually Jordan is the main place I've heard of for learning, for the immersion experience; they have language schools for expats and it's a relatively stable country). I speak the colloquial dialect where I work, but would like to learn MSA to read and write... btw, if you want to speak, it's best to find a teacher/conversation partner who is from the country you are planning to work in, because what they speak on the street can be quite different in different countries... anyway that's beside the point. for language, I was also thinking mainly of auditing, so that it would be cheaper and low pressure. I guess it would depend on the scheduling, tho'. I had thought of other classes in the area as well - e.g. at a YMCA type place, so thanks for the tip on the community college. I did get the 'application complete' email, and haven't got the fin aid one yet.

Hadn't heard about it! Thanks for the heads up - unfortunately it's not a good time for my time zone, but do let us know what you find out

Yeah I had thought definitely 1 year at first because of the tuition reduction, but now I'm not so sure. I would like to take language courses and would need to work at the same time too... but I think I am still leaning toward 1 yr at the moment. Your rationale for 1.5 yrs makes sense for your situation, I would encourage you to take as much time and learn as much as possible, because once you get on the field, it's harder to take time out (which is my situation - I'm planning to go back to my current job, so I don't want to be away too long). Also getting to the highest level of language proficiency possible is always a plus. I've taken time out here and there to improve on language, but it's good if you can do it earlier.

Oh too bad, but looks like you got into lots of other places. Thanks and best wishes to you too!

Thanks for checking out the tuition thing. I see from my notes from last year's research that I did get a figure for how much each course cost, but they seem to have ditched that and only have the 'calculator' thing on the Web site. I do believe the 5 for the price of 4 thing must have been cancelled, since it's not mentioned anywhere either. So unfortunately it looks like the price stays the same, as you say, no matter whether you do it quicker or not!

I attend the AU ITEP virtual open house today. The application deadline to be considered for merit awards is feb 1, so decisions are only made after that. The faculty makes recommendations which are sent to the dean for decisions. They meet in early feb to decide, and the first award letters should go out in mid to late Feb. Even if you don't get one in the first round, there are several waves, so you might get one later. Someone did ask about the highest merit award amount/percentage, but my Internet connection chose just that moment to go wonky, so I didn't hear the answer! It seemed they were pretty reluctant to give any numbers, tho', so I don't know whether they did name a figure in the end. If they make the link to the recording available, I will try to listen to it to see if they did say anything... otherwise, it's just waiting another month or so to hear...

Welcome! Glad to hear from another new person I've applied to the same programs and just received the Vandy decision as well. They are fast!

congratulations heather!!! great news! yeah, I was also wondering whether the 5 for the price of 4 thing was still valid (take 5 classes in the semester but only pay for 4). I remember reading about it last year when I was researching programs, but haven't seen it on the official site anywhere... does anyone know about this?

HI, I asked about this, and was told that the admissions decision (from the CAS) is separate from the funding decision, which comes from the ITEP office. I'd also like to know what the awards are like... let's share the info if we get any!

Yeah, my mid-nov submission was a complete app. I guess your decision should be by end jan? I got an email saying to check the Web site. I was accepted ! There was a decision letter and scholarship offer together in the same file. I really like the program, but I'm afraid I still can't afford it, even with the scholarship. Still, it was very encouraging to receive such a positive first decision!

hi heather, i submitted my app in mid-nov and received an email telling me to check the web site just before christmas. so it looks like this year it's right in the 4-6 week period that they say.

I replied in the HGSE forum, but the short version, in case others want to know: I made a small mistake too (the same mistake in 2 applications), and I emailed admissions for my own peace of mind - in both cases, they wrote back to say it wasn’t a big deal. like the commenter above said, I think we are just so terrified we want it all to be perfect, but if it’s just one thing out of your whole application, then I guess it won’t make too much of a difference. i was actually admitted to those schools in the end.

Is it evident from the context what you mean? For what it’s worth, I had a similar experience - was mortified to find that I had submitted 2 applications with the wrong starting year for one of my degrees. Of course the correct year was in the transcript, so the committee would know how long my degree really took. I debated whether or not to email admissions and in the end I decided to do so, if only so they knew I noticed, and for my own peace of mind... In both cases, someone replied to say it wasn’t a big deal. And I actually just received offers of admission to both of them, so I guess it was okay! So I guess if it’s a little thing it doesn’t matter so much (and I think it’s up to you whether you want to email them or not).

Hi guys, you CAN upload your CV, but it's only AFTER you have submitted the complete application. (At least, that is the case for the Master's program). That info is buried in small print somewhere on the Web site, so I didn't realize that at first either. After you hit submit, if I remember correctly, then there are options to upload "additional materials", including a CV. all the best!

hi! I am applying to 6 schools : 4 are the usual suspects - TC IED, HGSE IEP, Penn IEDP, Vanderbilt IEPM (not NYU because it didn't look like I could get funding - I'm intl), and 2 others - American ITEP and the Master's program in International Education at UMass Amherst, which hardly anyone in these forums seems to talk about, so I didn't realize it existed until much later. It seems very relevant and similar to some of the others - practitioner-focused, which is what I'm looking for - so I don't know why it's not more well-known. Maybe it's just not a big-name school? I just submitted my final application this week, so now it's the waiting game... I found past forums very useful in researching these programs, so I guess I should contribute as well. Heather, your post struck a chord, as I'm also interested in refugee education - glad you are too! I have good grades and experience (I work with refugees in central Africa at the moment), but I don't have an education/teaching background per se (I was a librarian originally), which is why I'm thinking of going back to school... I am most concerned about funding, as I won't be able to attend any of these programs without a substantial scholarship and/or assistantship to cover the costs. Here's best wishes to all of us!