MonYX

hi! yes, I got an email from the department saying that I got their GA funding. It is not shown on my offer. A survey? do you mean an GA application form for you to fill in?

Hi. thanks for your reply! sorry I didn't make it clear that I am applying for quantitative research programs in education. So my offers are all in this field. But you are right. Budget is no. 1 concern for me. It must be hard to pay that huge debt even with an Ivy title.

I asked so many ppl living in the U.S about their opinions about Alabama and none of them gave me any feedback! They are all like"Hmmmm...I dunno know." This state is kinda "Invisible". Interesting! I found a website listing all the quanti research programs in the US education schools. I excluded those requiring degrees in statistics/math/other quanti disciplines and emailed the universities left in my list asking if they have accepted ppl like me in previous years. After that, I only had five or six options. Alabama is one of them.

Hi there, thank you! Sorry I didn't mention that my offer from Alabama is the quantitative research program in education. I am not studying in counseling/mental health related discipline. Most graduates become researchers/analysts/university faculty members etc and there is also a payment gap between master- and doctor-level employees in this field.

My program (M.Ed in SMART. I wonder if I mentioned this before) only had 20-25 students in previous years. But this year 40-45! The faculty members are seeking to split us into two classes, but I wonder if it's possible to achieve. They are already so busy! I don't think it would be easy to double their hours in having classes... In fact, I am a teacher myself. Doubling teaching hours or having larger class size will exhaust instructors for sure... I got accepted in Boston College as well! Unfortunately, it does not come with any scholarship. So I think I'll pass. But BC faculty are quite welcoming! They keep emailing so many funding opportunities. The one with tuition waiver and stipend is a Ph.D offer from the Uni of Alabama. I saw your message with the other guy. I heard the same thing from my previous professors/managers and some ppl in senior positions in my field: the master level employees kinda get the same rates regardless of their institutions! The payment difference is between doctoral and master levels. So this Alabama offer is very tempting for me... even though I know nothing about this state.

Good for you! Things are a bit different for me. I mean the professors are very nice. Approachable and funny. I met some other incoming students as well. They all seem so smart! But my program has a much bigger intake of students this year! In fact, the number of students doubled... so I am not sure about paying such high tuition for a place in a much bigger class... I wonder if it's the same in your program? Plus, I got an offer from another university. It comes with full tuition waiver and monthly stipend. Not a big name as UPenn. So quite a struggling situation for me...

Hi there. So how is your session? have u decided?

Hi there. So which program did you apply for?

I am going for the AM session coz I am in Asia. I guess we could have further discussion after that. Hopefully my Zoom works this time. I have missed a webinar of GSE. Tech prob. It was loading like, forever...

I signed up for that online preview session as well! I wonder if you are attending the same one. Hopefully they could provide more info on funding opportunities. I don't think I'll be able to pay in full. sigh...

No prob. Yep. Many of those scholarships only provide 1k-30k. That is far from covering the tuition. Plus, the competition for these scholarships would be insane. I was told that there are more than 50 students in just one master program... I wonder how many students there would be for all the master's programs combined.

Hi. Nice to meet you! I sent a message to you on Whatsapp.

Hi there. I got accepted into GSE as well. Very small amount of scholarship. Just like you. So haven't decided yet. I asked several previous Master students of GSE. They just paid with their savings, parents' support or student loans. None of them got their tuition fully covered by UPenn funding I am afraid. Hopefully we could wait for more ppl to reply.

Anybody got accepted in the SMART program in GSE?

I got an offer from the Uni of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Ph.D in Educational Research. It comes with an assistantship funding. Tuition fully waived plus monthly stipend. Received offers from Ivy League schools as well (but ! they are so expensive!). Alabama is the most generous one. The assistantship is very tempting. I haven't decided yet. Is there anyone in the same shoes? Has anyone accepted the offer from Alabama? Maybe we could have a chat or something. Thanks.