Chasing_Shadows

MPP program

Declined my offer (no scholarship), hope it goes to one of you. Good luck!

First-time poster, here. I really need to vent, otherwise I think I am going to cry. A bit of context: I am coming out straight from undergrad and out of field, so I applied to mostly MA programs this cycle to boost my credentials for eventual PhD applications. Today I heard from the last place I applied, and the outcome was much better than I hoped: I got accepted to five MA programs, one of them a very prestigious MA program in Europe. I hoped to be able to fund some of those programs with internal scholarships, but those plans fell through, sadly. Now, there is a program (let's call it Program A) that offered me funding that will basically cover all my tuition plus a small 3k a semester stipend to cover a fraction of living expenses, so this is where I am going this fall. Frankly, I love my offer, the department seems very cool, and the research fit is great. I talked with some current grad students and they had only good things to say. It's a medium-sized public research university, not top-ranked or anything but a good, solid school. Here's where the venting part comes in: my (very Asian) family is aware of my application process, the scholarships and programs I applied to. They have nothing but good intentions and love me, but they also, for the most part, operate under the assumption that only a fully-funded offer counts as something worthy, and if you have to pay money for a degree, your acceptance doesn't count for anything. In their heads, it's "Anyone who can pay, no matter how bad their academics are, will get accepted, right?" which, after trying a couple of times I gave up on trying to explain how the system works, it's just not worth it. Given this mindset, it's not surprising that today, when I told them I heard back from all of the places and am going to Program A, what I basically got from them was: "Oh, so those other scholarships didn't work out? Pity. So how much do we have to pay for that Program A again?" That reaction just sucked out all the joy from me right there. It's so stupid, and I know they honestly come from a good place, but just like that, they dismissed all of my hard work to get those acceptances. In a world of MA programs, especially when you're an international student, it's something to be proud of, and my family turned them into failures; it makes me feel like a failure because I did not get a fully funded offer. I feel very upset, and they keep asking me these questions like "Is it a top program? Will you have a job after this? It will be so expensive to move there, isn't it?" which just makes me feel worse. They just don't understand why I am so hurt by their reaction, and I can't explain any of it without this turning into a fight. I wanted so badly to feel good about my acceptances, to have them be glad for me, to finally commit to a school and plan my future in peace, and now I just don't feel much of anything. What keeps running through my head is "you should have gotten a fully funded offer, somehow". I know, rationally, that this feeling will eventually go away, it's just an immediate reaction, but it doesn't make me feel any better at the moment. Anyway, if you managed to read this far, thank you. Putting all of this down in words helps a little.

Yes, I think it's just an update in the system, which is very good - decisions must be coming soon

Well, that's it for my US run this cycle, I am 2 for 2 on rejections. I think I am mostly okay with that. At least I got some valuable feedback out of the whole thing for if/when I apply in the future. Besides, I just learned I got into a very good MA program in Europe which I am super excited about! No word on funding yet, but I am optimistic Also, ladies of this thread, Happy International Women's Day! You are awesome and deserve the best in life! Here's for more good news to come in March!

Does anyone know when AES/AMS results will be released?

If anyone else is applying to MediaAC, just a heads up that they selected candidates for the final review round, and expect to put out a list of ranked candidates by the end of March/early April.

@DBear Thanks for letting me know! Next week is not that bad, considering everything )) In other news, got a rejection from McGill. Wasn't very surprised because it was a reach, but man, the way they phrased their email was so weird: "a significant new decision has been made". Who says significant for a rejection? Anyway, hope we all hear back one way or the other soon!

I am waiting to hear from MediaAC and EMMIR, but from what I've seen on the website the results come out only in April/May.

I know, I resigned myself to basically not having a life until then. Oh well... And that cricket thing, sounds great doesn't it? Personally, I blame Tumblr for getting me hooked At least this forum is here for us to vent about waiting in the meantime =) We live to fight another week, then.

It's a little hard to explain without revealing the details of the case, but basically "if you were a policy maker, what would you do in situation A? Situation B? Explain your reasoning using specific evidence from case study" and variations thereof.

I really hope there will be some news soon =) I have offers from U of Westminster for two different MA programs, but funding is very competitive and you need to complete a separate application that'll cost me money I don't really have to spare (postal services, notarizing and translating documents, etc.). Since this option is less than ideal, I'd rather wait to hear from other places before putting time and effort into yet another application that may not pay off in the end. The deadline for that is only in May, so I have plenty of time to think it through. I also had an interview with National University of Singapore for their MPP program. I have a good feeling about it, but their results go out only in May, and, you know, it's public policy My advisor wanted me to apply there to keep some in-field options open, and it's a good school, so I did. Can't say I am super enthusiastic about staying in polisci, but we'll see what happens

The uncertainty about future is the worst, honestly. I keep thinking that if I get one solid, financially feasible offer to go somewhere, anywhere, I will finally calm down, but who am I kidding? I'll be totally riding this fretting-fueled train until summer, ugh, so frustrating. Some of the MA programs I applied to release results only in May, whyyyy?? @feyfatale how many schools are you waiting to hear from? @DBear yeah, I struck out with UW-Madison, which is a bummer because it was a really good fit, so UMass Amherst is the only US school I have left to hear from. On the website they said notifications usually go out early February, but it's almost the end of the month and still crickets.

Anyone else feel like their life is basically in "on hold" mode until the entire process is over and done with? All I do all day every day is obsessively refresh application portals and gmail, it feels like. Come on, UMass, put us out of our misery soon. Please?

It's still fairly early in the game, so if you didn't hear anything yet it's not a big deal. Over the last two cycles the interview requests were coming out in batches by the region up until April or even later, and I suspect this year is going to be the same.