Dreams

You will need to check the policies of the universities you are interested in about this. Some universities only allow one application per year to any division while others allows allow multiple across several applications. I can't recall them all, but take this example. Princeton only allows one application to any graduate unit of the university per year. http://gradschool.princeton.edu/admissi ... 00103f6408 Harvard allows two applications per year across two graduate units, but only three applications to the university in the applicants lifetime. http://www.gsas.harvard.edu/prospective ... ission.php Still other schools allow multiple applications with no lifetime cap. So you will need to keep this in mind when applying to your programs.

I don't know if it applies to all regions, but there is a large window for when you can start your fellowship. I believe you can push the start date as far back as February/March of the following year.

I second T-Mobile's crappy service. While I have never had the service, I have several friends who have left their network because of it. My first and only provider has been AT&T. Best phone company ever for both their plans and customer service for my needs! And exceptionally good coverage in DC. Since JHU offers you a discount for it, I say go for it.

Congrats to those of you ETAs to Cameroon, South Africa, Egypt, Jordan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Apparently there only 30 of you total and you will be first to your respective regions if I am correct. Your specific orientation will be on June 23, and the pre-departure orientation should be on June 24-26.

I would say that is pretty unrealistic for an MSW. Especially one who will not be able to practice independently. Unless you are using the Information side of your studies more or land a good gig in the government (like the Army civilian section, which is looking for a lot of SW), I just can't see it. Even when I hired MSWs last year, it was for much less than that.

I would make it a point to live as close to campus as possible, even at risk of it being expensive. Given that I commuted during undergrad where each way was upwards of an hour or more, and very draining, I do not want to repeat that. While most people can use that time to read, I am not able to because I get distracted and worn out by the ride.

Columbia has January admissions. You may want to look into that. There are several programs that still have an open deadline. You may want to do a search of some of the schools that interest you and check it out.

If your department needs you to be on campus earlier than the the housing date so you can register, contact them for an Early Arrival/Registration form. That way they can forward it to Housing to get permission to move in early.

I also recommend AT&T. I have no problems with it from New York to Florida on the East Coast. Plus they have treated me excellently with all types of deals for the past 10 years.

How about Bank Street?

Given your background, I say you would make a fair contender for either school. Be aware that WWS has a special 1 year MPP program specifically for lawyers, physicians, and PhD scientists. So you may want to apply to that. You will need to paint a very clear picture of your new interest in public service, as you lack of PS experience could hurt your application against others who already show a strong commitment. As for HKS, I don't see why you would not get in to their 2-year MPP program.

I would argue that Perkins loans are now the better of the two because the Sub Staff now has a higher fixed interest rate of 6.8%. The Perkins still stands at 5%. But yes OP, go for the Sub Staff and Perkins loans. You will get a grace period of 6 months after graduation to begin paying them off. If you don't qualify for either, which I am not sure of any reason why you would not if you have remaining need, go for the Unsub Staff over any other private loans. Though be aware that you will either need to pay interest in the Unsub Staff, or let it compound. With the new rate, I am not liking the compounding idea at all if the borrowed amount is high.

Thanks FSIA that thread answered a lot of my questions. Nope, I am not in the DC area. Will schools recognize courses from any community college or should I make sure that they do before i go register for them.

It likely will not decrease your chances; but it will give the adcoms less to weigh when compared to others who will have already completed econ classes. Check out this thread from before with some of the same concerns. Do note that not all schools require (only recommend) that applicants take the classes. viewtopic.php?f=15&t=14690

If you are looking for warmer locations, then you may want to cross the following schools from your list: Minn Twin Cities SUNY Buffalo

I know of one, but it is limited specifically to people in the intelligence and security committees in the federal government. I would also like to know of any ones for people in general who have an interest in the subjects.

I have been having a weird time work as well; but in a different way from you. Everyone at both of my jobs knew I was applying to graduate schools. They eventually became a bit annoying like the auntie who would squeeze your cheeks every time you would come for a visit. I would constantly get "heard anything yet?", "when are you leaving?", "how much are they giving you?", or even "how often can I come visit you?" Strange indeed. It got so bad that, once all of my decisions came in, they convened mini meetings with me to decide for me which school I should attend. Now that I have chosen though, things are relatively calm on their end. I didn't even need to complete an annual review. And since "traffic" at one of my jobs is dying down, I will spend most of the summer reading and relaxing before the storm.

Arrange a discussion with the program coordinator either in person or on the phone to see what the weak points were in your application, and how you can position yourself to be stronger for next year. Many are willing to share this information with you. You may want to contact a few of the faculty members you are interested in working with to ask them for some suggestions of relevant literature to read to keep up on things. Other than that, I don't think there is much else you can do. You may want to work on producing an article or other artistic work before the next round of applications as well. Good luck.

Does PTS offer a dual MDiv/MSW? I was not aware of this unless it is offered in conjunction with another university. In general both will prepare you for Humanitarian work. Though the MSW will give you much more flexibility, and access to some positions that a divinity degree would not qualify you for. I don't see the point of doing them both unless you want to go into ministry too. If so then a dual degree may be a good bet. Would you give the link to the dual MDiv/MSW please?

I used PowerPrep also and the GRE sample test booklets that I had from ETS. They were pretty much indicative of what I faced on the exam. The Verbal section is a strange beast. I would say not only review words, but also the word patterns you will see on that section.

Several people I know doing PhD studies at TC were encouraged, and even aided by their departments in securing administrative type jobs with Columbia and TC. This gave them tuition remission and a salary. You may want to talk about that possibility with your department.

Doesn't that just burn you up? The same thing happened to me this season.

A bit off topic I know and I am sorry that I can't answer your question; but Ruslan has got to be one of my favorite names!

I don't think you need anyone to give you the answer to this. Once yo answer your last question, then you got it. Ask yourself also if the prestige is worth the debt? Who will you be impressing by going to either school? Hopefully no one at that point. The purpose of a grad degree is to further yourself professionally. If both schools will net you the same opportunities, then are you willing to turn down funding at one to rack debt at the other?

Welcome outofredink. I am thinking the Humanities section may a better fit for you based on your post. Most of the folks in this subsection are policy/IR wonks.