Joe Lordan

My understanding about the Rosetta stone is that it acts as a great compliment to a language course, but on its own merits isn't nearly as powerful as one. I've stolen my buddy's copy for french and, a few lessons in, it seems to do well with vocabulary but not as well with syntax (I was told that it is a good idea to go out and buy/borrow a grammar book from the library before you start). It is true, though, that both the military and the State Department use the programs, so there are obviously some high ranking bureaucrats out there who approve of the program - in fact, I know that the military has their own unique version of Arabic that has more of a military emphasis and contains vocabulary not in the civilian version. Really the biggest thing against the Rosetta Stone is the cost. Like I said, I am borrowing my copy, but my pal had paid 500 bucks for all 5 "levels" of french; At 100 dollars a pop I suppose it isn't that bad of a deal, but still, we're all worthless humanities students here - what do we know about having that much money on hand?

Oh, you use one of those pens! How do you like it? I recently learned about them and I'm very interested in picking one up. Do you think they're worth the cost? Also, do they use ink (if so, where do you go to buy refills) - or are they entirely electronic? Another question for you mac users: have you ever had trouble using your laptops with projection units? I hope to be doing a lot of power point as a TA so the thought of not having that work properly is worrying

What i also found surprising was that it said something to the effect of the top 25 programs producing something like 44% of all history PhDs. That seems like an awfully large number for such a proportionally small group of schools... if it wasn't for this acceptance season I might even allow myself the chance to hope that it is actually "possible" for me to be admitted to one of them after I get my MA!

Northeastern is the same way

I'll be going there for my MA in history!

So it looks like I'll be going with Northeastern's MA program/certificate in public history this fall! Is anyone else going to the program? We need to form an exclusive internet clique STAT

I got a rejection letter from them in the mail this afternoon. The way they folded the letter was magnificent (I have become a conosur of rejection letters this season)

I was rejected from their MA program a few weeks back

BC is incredibly obnoxious, especially since some people have evidently heard from them (if the "results search" is telling the truth). I wonder if we late hearers were on their waiting list or some such... anyways, as it is the only thing that school has succeeded at is preventing me from telling my other school that I'm accepting their offer :/

Thanks for the update! I'm waiting (to be rejected) from them so that I can finally make a decision about where I'm going. I don't know if it is funny or sad, but before admissions season I was something of an optimist

Well I'm going to be going to Northeastern next year, so we may have to put that drink on hold! It looks like a really good program, especially since due to its certificate in public history (after graduating from college I worked for two archives and a historical society so it is right up my ally). They also claim to be able to help 80% of applicants with financial aid PLUS the chance to be a TA. Not a bad deal, all-in-all!

haha well if it makes you feel any better I too was rejected, so we can wallow in our sorrow together! I'd invite you out to get a drink tonight, but I fear the drive from Florida to connecticut may not be worth the trouble

I'd say Umass is a strong second for me, with BC coming in first. With that said, though, I'm also strongly considering Northeastern. I was accepted to their American History/Public History MA program, and it was hinted by a professor there that I'd probably be able to get most of my funding taken care of. Not a bad deal, and it is nice to actually have options - when I first started this awful application season I assumed I'd be accepted to one program and rejected from all the rest!

I wonder if they'll fix the problem by just not letting the people who only applied for a terminal MA in? It could explain why I was rejected from some schools I should have gotten into easily, UConn for one. I had a good gpa/lors/gre score but I certainly am not as good as a potential PhD candidate - hell, that's the entire reason why I want to get a MA anyhow, so I can be competitive when it is TIME to get a PhD. As annoying as it sounds, I guess it makes sense for programs to give my potential spot to a PhD applicant they had to turn away who had better credentials. It is still annoying and frustrating, though :/

Nope, I'm just a masters student. As for the two waves, I'm not quite sure if they actually have them... although it goes to reason that if some people have received acceptances in the mail while others have not then that means that they're still deliberating (a theory that is backed up by Rachel's last post, where she was directly told that the department is still considering her application)