modernity

is there anyone on the board that has applied to schools in the UK from the US and can share any experiences? I am curious about this myself. How the gpa transfers, what time of year applications are usually do, how often international students are taken? The websites that I have looked at so far have been very vague.

I am really interested in an international relations or international studies masters degree. But... I come from an anthropology background, and all of my work experience is either irrelevant (working in customer service) or anthro related (read: working in a museum) so I don't really have any of the work experience or references that most people who have always known IR was their calling do... I changed my mind my senior year of undergrad. when I started taking international conflict, and political geography courses and I realized that the actual diplomacy and euro/us relations interested me far more than the more obscure subjects that anthropology covers. (Don't get me wrong I still love anthropology, but I feel it will limit me from subjects I have a stronger interest in)... I worked 50 or more hours a week at two jobs through full time undergrad, so I wasn't involved in extracurriculars. For similar reasons, I can't exactly drop everything and volunteer for something more IR related now. Am I doomed? Is there any chance at all that I can get into one of these programs? I am perfectly open to schools that are not top 10s as I realize I have pretty much zero chance of those... I've read that there were a few people that got in without super relevant credentials, but they seemed to find a way to make it work for them. Are there any suggestions? Also, as I am researching.... I have to wonder is there a major difference, other than name, between IR programs and IS programs or is it just semantics? Any suggestions or thoughts are welcome!

yes, i had a dream in which i received a letter from my top choice, and all that it said on the letter was "NO!".... not even a sentence...or rejection or anything... just NO! then the dream continued with me getting an acceptance to my least favorite school (still better than nothing) but with no funding, and I couldn't come up with any of my own either. I just woke up in a bad mood after all of that nonsense.

this is a good one. particularly when the online applications have to be completed in one fell swoop, and you don't figure out something has to be snail mailed until you have to pay ungodly sums of money to have it in on time. I also wish that I would have asked for recommendations as an undergradth and then kept in touch. As someone who has been working for awhile and out of the school loop, many of my professors that I could have asked for recs were MIA once I went looking for them..and it made the process of tracking them down, requesting recs, etc. harder than I had anticipated.

I was not looking for any help on the subject of LORs - I'm not one of the people that's worrying. I was simply trying to give some comforting words to the people that were worried that essentially, if they tried their best, and they made a good impression, and they're determined the odds are in their favor. I was not talking about the ENTIRE recommendation when IvyHope quoted me. Someone - the screen name is escaping me at the moment, said "but what about things like emotional maturity?(an item that appears on the checklist)" and I said well SOME indicators of emotional maturity would be... it was an example, off the cuff, and meant to be comforting. That's all I was referring to- NOT whether or not that candidate was prepared for PhD work in general, or that if you were punctual you would get a stellar LOR - this is a huge oversimplification of what I said... IvyHope commented on how what I was saying was not the entirety of the situation which was NEVER what I was getting at and why I was disagreeing with her. I never said that IvyHope's points weren't valid so I'm not sure why you're talking to me as if I had. My point was that my words were being taken out of context and then oversimplified. I am annoyed that I have to be so explicit/continue to clarify when you could very easily go back and read the exchange I was having with the other individual and see that. I am simply trying to get advice on other subjects, and give some encouraging words to others. I'm not here to argue, or to be patronized. As someone who is new around here and thought that they'd finally found a friendly community to discuss these things with, its a huge turnoff to have to constantly be on the defensive.

I said in my second sentence that it doesn't guarantee anything, and I also said "pretty good chance." I never once said "these are the exact and only parameters your professors are going to be considering" so I am not exactly sure why you are saying "That's not even close to what it takes" I was giving one small/partial example so its a given that that is not all it takes. All I am saying is that IN GENERAL you know what sort of work you did and what sort of person you were in those classes/around that professor, and what sort of image you have produced in their minds. So you should already know which direction they are leaning in. Could there be surprises? Might they mark you down somewhere you wouldn't expect? Of course, anything is possible... but the chance that something completely shocking is going to be in that letter is a lot slimmer than most of us imagine.

Some of mine were open ended, and some wanted them to fill out a check list. You're right that it doesn't guarantee an effort on their part, but I think you'll have a pretty good idea of what they'll say - if they like you/think you were a good student I don't think they're going to mark you down. For example on the emotional maturity one - if they know that you always came to class on time, turned things in on time (and if you didn't you took responsibility for it and weren't coming up with excuses) and that you didn't harass them, and fight with them point for point on assignments/tests, and you could formulate opinions with solid reasons/examples if you did happen to disagree with them instead of throwing a tantrum (as i have seen some college students do) then you know there's a pretty good chance they're going to mark you high there. I'm not saying you're going to know exactly what they are putting on there, but you're going to have a pretty solid understanding of the nature of their comments/ratings.

I waived my right. I don't think that either of my professors would have cared if I hadn't but honestly you should have a pretty good idea of what they were going to say. I personally picked professors that I had worked with for quite sometime, and taken at least 2 classes with (one I had taken 4)... I had gotten A's in all of the classes, always turned my work in on time, was polite/never harassed them for anything, etc. Heck, for one I even came back to school early from surgery to take the final so that she and I wouldn't have to put it off into the next quarter. I guess what I am trying to say is - I know what sort of student I was for them, and I know there's nothing bad they could say about me or my work, and I also know they're the sort of people that would be thrilled to get their student into a graduate program and would do what they could to help. I wouldn't choose someone that I know I'd bothered, or felt that they might not be interested in writing the letter...so I really wasn't that tempted to read it. After all, a professor would have to really dislike/have a need for vindication if he/she was to agree to writing your letters of recommendation only to say less than nice things about you- and I'm guessing you would have the sensibility to recognize that ahead of time.

I'm just hoping the lateness of my application doesn't change anything, since I was not aware they had to be mailed until the day of the deadline (yes I am a work-under-pressure sort so I was applying on the morning of the deadline). Apparently the way I worded things led to some confusion i do absolutely have to submit a writing sample to both of these programs - they both required it on their department website list, its just that most of the other programs at these universities did not require it. I've found that the vast majority of history programs ( I am applying for master's not PhD) that I have come across do require one, but this certainly may not be the case for all of them. Regardless, they made it their before noon today, so I don't think anyone other than the admissions secretary will be wise to the fact that they didn't appear until the next morning. Unless the committee was feeling particularly excited about diving into the admissions and started late last night.

I haven't told anyone what my top choice is (besides close family and of course my recs), and I don't intend to unless I get in. The other two programs that I applied to - well no one around here has really heard of either so that hasn't been anything I've needed to explain/defend.

I did, I had it sent today and its guaranteed to be at both schools by noon tomorrow. I was just concerned about how it would look. I am a little annoyed that there was nowhere to just enter it in, and that it wasn't on the check list..but at the same time if I'm applying for grad school I should be intelligent enough to remember so there's really no excuse for it. Hopefully they don't think I am a total moron.

They did, most programs don't...but mine does - its history after all. I am assuming they must have wanted it in the 'other documents: transcripts, languages,etc' area... it wasn't listed but that's the only place it could have gone. I have a photographic memory, and going back through it - there wasn't anywhere besides that. I just started a new job this week where I as someone with only a BA have people with MA's and PhD's under me, and between the pressure of that and grad school applications.... I am losing my mind. :shock: :cry:

so today after carefully checking my applications to make sure all content was there, and even using their checker to double check...i submitted my applications. As I was breathing a sigh of relief that the process was over and closed out my browser... I saw my writing sample document on my desktop and realized that I was never prompted, nor saw a space on either application for it. I thought that I would be prompted for it just like my SOP, but I was clearly wrong. So, I printed out copies for each school and rushed to the post office and had them sent by tomorrow at noon. Am I screwed or will this still get in in time to be considered on time with the application? I know they wait for all recommendations to come in for a couple of days, but what about writing samples?

I am spending so much money on applications (and I am only applying to three schools) between postage, transcript fees, etc. that I like a previous poster have next to nothing in my bank account, and have resorted to borrowing from family JUST to get all the last bits in. I really want grad school, and I am a very firm believer in "where there is a will, there is a way"... so even though the odds are completely stacked against me that I'll even get in, let alone be able to fund myself... I've put myself through this process. As its coming to an end I'm really wondering what kind of masochist I must be to put myself through this nonsense now that I am sincerely worried about rejections across the board. I also feel a bit of angst at the idea that this process is easier for people who have money (and can apply to more than 3-4 schools because they can afford it/ have better options of funding themselves), are well connected, did not have to work 50+ hours a week during their undergrad (had plenty of time to study, schmooze professors,etc)....but i guess if i make it, this will eventually be my "i walked both ways uphill in 3 feet of snow" story for future generations.

well besides the obvious "get rejected across the board" nightmare... that i get accepted only to my last choice school, with no funding. I almost think that scenario would be worse than getting rejected because I would have to decide between putting grad school off yet another year, or going to a school that I am lukewarm about and paying full price for it. I think part of me wouldn't want to give up grad school, and another part of me would worry about regret if I did go ahead with it.

Did you send it at the post office, with the help of a postal worker? I've never done it any other way so I'm speaking from limited experience if you did it otherwise. They do need the customs form, so far as I recall. I have family in Europe and have sent them things via priority mail, and I've always had them ask for that customs form - but that was when I was sending gifts/coins/etc. not when I was sending just plain old paper. If its not needed because its just paper, and there's nothing to "declare" it should make it just fine by my estimation. If it needed the customs form regardless - it may be parked at your local post office, and you might want to give them a call. For priority mail they should have given you a tracking number - and they should be able to locate it rather quickly/remedy the situation. Its entirely possible that it will pass through without the customs form as from what I am told it is all run through a scanner, and if there is anything of question its opened anyway (can't tell you how many times we have gotten things that have been rifled through. i'm sure the postal workers felt mighty silly when they found chocolate...) Also, we have sent things priority to Europe (emergency items forgotten on my grandparents trip) and had them arrive in less than 3 days- guaranteed (although i believe it was ups/dhl or something that we used rather than USPS and it was not exactly cheap), so 15 days should give you plenty of wiggle room. Don't panic yet. Dig up the tracking number, call your post office, etc. before you give up.

This may be posted elsewhere, but after a diligent search I could not find it. Please direct me to it if you know... but.. my question is this... My overall GPA is a not so impressive 3.3. This is due to the fact that, I started out as a biology major only to find i had no talent when it came to chemistry and math.Combined with the fact that my undergrad saw me with frequent health problems requiring surgeries/hospitlizations etc. that caused irregularity in my grades throughout. Once I switched my major, my grades improved drastically, and I was almost always on the dean's list. My gpa in my major (anthropology) and my gpa in the field i am applying to for grad school/essentially my minor (history) was consistently much higher - a 3.7/3.8. These will obviously not be the GPAs i am reporting to schools (unless i am focusing on the last 60 upper level credit hours that some programs ask for), will adcoms take the time to investigate this (My thought is no)? Is this something I should mention in an SOP? I am just deathly afraid they will see a dismal 3.3 and toss me into the trash. I personally don't know many that have applied for grad school, so I'm trying to get a better opinion on this.

I asked them at the very beginning of November for these recs as well...which I hoped would be plenty of time. I know they haven't sent them, because one university wants them to send me the letter first (signed and sealed of course) and for me to send the entirety of the package to them. Another university updates you immediately upon receipt of the professor's submission through their online system, and I have received neither (and already received both from others). I have already had to narrow down my choices of programs because 3 of the professors I wanted to ask for recommendations are MIA (they have left the university, moved on else where and no one has any contact with them, they didnt update email etc.)... so I have no extra recommendations to buffer me. It makes me want to kick myself for not getting them when i left undergrad...but unfortunately I cannot change the past. I am going to give it another day, and then likely send the polite email you suggested. I am really surprised that its this professor, as they seem very organized, and I have a lot of respect for them. Its also my most important recommendation, because I took the most classes with them, always had A's, worked extra hard in their classes, etc. Thank god for there being such a thing as overnight mail, because I'm going to need it!

One of my recommenders is killing me. I contacted this particular professor months ago, in order to obtain a recommendation and they agreed. I sent them all of the information, and gave them instructions, and now, less than a week before the due date they still haven't sent anything. I understand their position, and how busy this time of year is for them.. so I'm trying to remain calm and give them the benefit of the doubt... but I gave them plenty of time, and making me sweat like this is the last thing I really need when I'm trying to tie up all the ends. Anyone else have a similar experience?