ClassicalEducator

Thank you, I've actually spoken to several programs and was just wondering if anyone on these boards might share their experiences. I'm pretty set with my path, and I do have quite a bit of experience in education but have absolutely no interest in teaching, which is why I have carefully selected my MA program in education I'm also fairly set on business school, though likely not planning on enrolling in both programs simultaneously because I am not sure that is the best path for me. Thanks for your response though!

Thank you - I've already looked into all of those programs and am considering those options, but have essentially ruled out UVA due to its location (spouse's needs preclude my ability to pick up and move everywhere). I definitely need to look into more funding because that is the one area I haven't researched thoroughly. I will try to look for the previous post in the meantime, and keep contacting schools to weigh potential options.

Hello, I am currently considering applying to a handful of MBA/MA programs, and I was wondering if anyone else has knowledge of these kinds of programs, or if they are currently enrolled in one, particularly with regards to the field of education. If so, please let me know - I'd love to hear about your experiences! I'm also mulling over entering an MA program directly and applying to an MBA program after accepting an offer of admission from the school of education. Again, if there are any students with that kind of interdisciplinary interest or experience, please let me know! Thank you!

No, I had the same issue as well but ended up pulling my applications from last year's cycle for other reasons. I actually had to go down to my local branch of the post office and speak to them personally, because they rerouted two of my transcripts since the carrier simply "didn't believe my address existed." And we had lived there for 2.5 years at that point. Unfortunately, transcript issues seem like they are a necessary evil, but I doubt you are the only one.

Call the schools. I spoke to one of mine (different field and Master's rather than Ph.D) and they were very reassuring, despite that a sister school had posted a cutoff date of October 30/31 for their GREs. (Am registered to take the test on Nov. 10 - tons of drama trying to sign up since ETS's site has been down for weeks and seats were unavailable/not visible for the longest time too). The admissions staff have generally been pretty nice and know the ins and outs of deadlines - my current top choice is why I'm taking it that early for me, I honestly was hoping to push my test back a month or so but my scores won't be recommended to arrive in time for their January deadline. Good luck studying!

Honestly I've just been practicing/doing homework (enrolled in a GRE prep class and have more resources than a GRE tutor) and my silly mistakes have decreased with practice, time and training. It's frustrating, annoying, draining, and insanely maddening but I find that with diligence and time things have been improving. I'm using/have used Manhattan Prep (all books and class), Magoosh, Kaplan and may slowly be going insane because of this stupid test. But my scores are increasing and I generally feel more confident - even when I make errors now (usually during homework) I have the fundamentals down so it isn't too scary. Good luck!

Hi, They are opening their application either this weekend or next week. That's what they told me when I called them earlier today. When in doubt, call the admissions offices. They're usually very helpful and kind

Haven't posted in awhile, but I finally registered for my GRE and am for some reason intensely nervous about sitting for it! I have been prepping for months - since July - and my scores keep improving *knocks on wood* but I still feel so nervous. Side note - the problems with ETS added a completely unnecessary layer of stress but I suppose I will try to relax between now and my exam. I've also been picking away at my SOPs, working on my apps, whittling down my schools, and intermittently bothering my professors. I am awaiting the start of the fall quarter and resignedly working part-time as well. How are others managing to keep from going too terribly crazy right now? I can't be the only one.

Thank you very much for bringing Princeton to my attention again - I was looking into their Art and Archaeology program (or something similar) and only saw the Certificate in Af Am Studies. I didn't know that cross-registration was allowed there, and Rutgers has a visual art professor who just transferred from Columbia and is my current favorite artist at the moment. I would love to take a class with her. And I hadn't seen any information about a consortium with UPenn - they mostly seem to mention their ties with Bryn Mawr and semester abroad study programs. I do know that Brown and Harvard are in a consortium and had wanted to look back into Cornell, but again they phased out their Ed program and I'm not entirely sure what I can do beyond their very strong Af Am Studies department. Do you have any more information on this Princeton program? I will look into it and others to see what else I might find. Thank you!

Have you spoken to anyone from the program? I've found that in general, reaching out to program organizers is incredibly helpful - they're usually eager to help out prospective students in any way that they can and they also point you in the direction of current students, blogs, and other possible avenues for help. I spoke to a few professors at UW-Madison and they were incredibly nice actually. (Not that they were in your dept though, my interests are more along the lines of minority education). But it was very reassuring. In my case, they did mention that they prefer for students to have a Master's before applying to their Ph.D program - not sure if this is what you mentioned though. Again, I am in a separate field, but I do recall seeing information about Harvard and Columbia as other schools with solid international ed programs. I also think I saw something about a program down in the D.C. area, but I can't recall which school. Maybe browse last year's boards because that seems to be a common thread and potential avenue of concentration. Hopefully this was somewhat helpful to you!

Thank you so much! I've been perusing the website for some time now and it seems like a solid program - just wish it had more of a focus in education that could be a better fit with my interests. I think I may continue to look at Af Am Studies programs to see whether they fit with Anthro or some other possible substitute for Education, in case I go in a different direction.

I would call the admissions offices for your specific programs but I heard that you should address those issues in an attachment or addendum. Depending on the school, they may have different names for it or different length requirements. I don't think it is normally addressed in the SOP because that is supposed to be your statement to shine and discuss why you are a good fit - the explanation for why you had some undergraduate missteps would go elsewhere.

Read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Phenomenal novel and one of the best ones I've read in years. Another great book is Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangaremba. I am essentially an Af Am Studies person, so my reading lately has skewed towards that. If those are insufficient, let me know and I can think of others. Both novels feature female African protagonists and demonstrate a wonderfully broad vocabulary.

Thanks so much! My current research advisor keeps telling me to think broadly - so for right now, in her mind at least, Af Am Studies is a bit narrow. I'm considering combinations of English/Af Am or History/Af Am but I keep envisioning myself not touching the educational piece (at for example Yale or Princeton since their Ed schools are seemingly fazed out) and feel as though that would be doing myself quite a disservice. I'm leaning towards a broad program/school that allows for plenty of cross-registration and has a strong Af Am Studies dept as well as Ed. Thanks for your input, and apologies for the evasive comments - I get really antsy about the application process so I hate mentioning Ivies or big name schools even though that's primarily where I have studied. Good luck to you too!

Hi, Thanks for your input. I guess I can keep doing my research on my own - I already know that I want a Ph.D and not an Ed.D (Dad has one and I have zero desire to go back into teaching formally). I already have a career trajectory in mind and am pretty far into researching programs and schools - at least from the educational side of things. I was essentially seeking input from those who have studied or will study African American History in some capacity, and was trying to gauge how they chose their programs and whether there were any who have been in a situation that is similar to mine. Thanks anyway.