Dreams

Which ones are offering the best funding package? Which ones have professors that will guide your particular research interests? What's your plan after you graduate?

Anyone submitting applications to MA programs this fall? Curious as to what people are looking at and focusing on. Besides Davis and Tulane, which offer full funding, what other programs are good with funding?

Many schools are giving students the option of doing the fall semester or quarter completely online from their homes. if classes would begin in person later, it will be important to work with the international student office to change the anticipated arrival date in SEVIS.

Are there any other incoming international students who were informed by your departments that classes would be 100% online for the fall? if so, did they comment on how that would affect eligibility for a student visa since DHS regulations limit the number of online credits a student can take to maintain visa eligibility?

I think they are offering this both to build up cash reserves, and likely because a lot of people declined their admissions offers this year. So they need the bodies. I would not expect any significant financial aid offers for the online program.

Good luck, and stay safe. I see things are in a bad spot in Brazil at the moment.

How much is your stipend? Knowing a ballpark amount, we can give you an idea of how it will stack up against cost of living.

With many universities moving to online class format, are there people out there who are funded with a TAship that find themselves affected by this? Are you still TAing, but now virtually? For people who currently have no classes, did the department reduce your stipend? For incoming 2020 students, have any universities contacted you to change the terms of your offer (rescind a TA offer)?

Has anyone given the recent events going to holding virtual discussion sections with the students? Or are your sections suspended altogether? I would be interested to hear people's experiences.

With many universities moving to online class format, are there people out there who are funded with a TAship that find themselves affected by this? Are you still TAing, but now virtually? For people who currently have no classes, did the department reduce your stipend? For incoming 2020 students, have any universities contacted you to change the terms of your offer (rescind a TA offer)?

Have fun in Kosovo! The entire region is great. And if you like monasteries, there will be a lot to visit.

The Payne fellowship is for people interested in working for USAID. http://www.paynefellows.org/?areaid=2&contentid=941&CFID=45&CFTOKEN=317F5091-EA05-40A4-8FC43E29C55F448F

Take it as a good sign for your case. My interviewer told me that they generally make these types of proposals if they actually want to offer the grant to the person. I got the same message when I applied for a Fulbright. They told me that they felt my proposal would fit another award category better, but I could opt for the traditional grant as well. Either/or. After a funding boost, they had added this category after the deadline for submissions, so it was not available as an option while applying. They said the length of the two would be the same, except with the new award I would have access to some additional specialized pots of funds. I opted for the other award since it did fit my proposal better and had a blast.

Good luck, they all look like good programs. I have also always been interested more in culture and area studies than lit or linguistics. With practically no options at the PHD level (and former programs with those options closing down), I decided to put it off.

Your personal statement gives good insight into you as a person. I know you already mentioned that you focus on your motivations in your SOP, but it may be helpful to at least mention a bit more detail about what drew you to the field in this statement. It looked like you were heading there but then those last two paragraphs got in the way :-) You might be able to make space for that by shortening and combining the final two paragraphs. It seems more like a personal rant/criticism than something the committee can use to gain insight into you as a person.

Always proofread your work before submitting it. In addition to the many grammatical errors, your essay doesn't make much sense. What point are you trying to argue? Can you break up the mega paragraph into two or three smaller ones? What program is this for? Give another stab at it and repost it by editing your original post.

If you have an otherwise strong profile, including transcripts, go ahead and apply. Schools won't ding you on one aspect of your application if everything else is fine.

With limited exceptions, as others said, many schools will want to see some sort of work experience. Take two years and do something public service related in the field where you eventually hope to end up then reapply. Not only will you be a better candidate, you will also have more to contribute to class discussions.

Of course you should list your volunteer experience. The frequency you volunteered does not matter. And if you made any significant contributions, be sure to highlight those either in your resume or SOP.

One D in an otherwise good profile is not going to rule you out of consideration from good schools. When you apply to schools, focus on your development (personal, professional, academic) and show them that you understand how their programs fit into your goals.

Ask them for a timeline before the interview is over. They told me at the end of my interview that I would hear back by the end of the week, which was true. Since you already had your interview, if you got a good feeling from it, then nothing to worry about.

I would be happy to review.

Thank you @J_Phil for pasting the texts. They were great as is. Good opening, clear that you did your research, and nicely shows your aims and how you ended up with them. Good luck in the application round.

Ditto with the others on the relevant coursework - it is redundant. I went back and looked at the resume/CV I submitted and it was three pages with the following sections: Education (awards and foreign study in here), Skills and Competencies (languages and other relevant stuff in here), Domestic experience, International Experience, Publications, Professional affiliations.

Not in the same boat but I say good luck. I work with several fellows and they are doing amazing things.