modernity

I think you guys are right about me needing to discuss this with my potential advisor/fin aid office. The fin aid office has the scholarship and all the tuition waiver hours factored in, just not the stipend. Which is where my confusion lies - I wasn't sure if there was a standard for this school wide or if it was school by school. Thanks for your input. I know its best to wait and get official word, but its always nice to hear from you guys as well.

I was just reviewing my financial aid award, and I noticed my stipend was not included on the version from the financial aid office - but was included from the department award. Is this because the stipend is considered outside the cost of attendance and therefore not included in that the same way scholarships/tuition waiver hours are? hopefully this question makes sense, if I need to clarify I'll do my best! I'm just trying to figure out if I'll be getting extra money the quarters I TA or if I'm going to get my other financial aid reduced during those quarters to accommodate for it. Thanks for any help on this.

The University of Denver,George Mason, and George Washington University have programs that are terminal MAs with the possibility of funding There are a lot of available programs in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, however - since they are only one year - when you apply for your PhD (if you do so to attend directly after), you'll have less than a quarter/semester of work behind you when you apply and it may not be enough to help with your application.

Please comment on the campus too if you can! I'm still trying to decide on whether or not to visit (I need to hurry) but even second hand information would be great!

I'm also looking at the University of Denver. Denver definitely looks gorgeous, I'm definitely excited about that. I am just completely clueless when it comes to the area.

I am also seriously considering the move to Denver, so I will join in the chorus asking for advice. What are good neighborhoods in Denver? Where might I look for decent housing (I have no family to worry about)? Any advice in general that could be given?

It's possible that they would overlook a lower GRE score (I'm admittedly not a Psych major) but the GRE is something you can study for, and improve your score. Because of this, a lot of schools will raise an eyebrow if you can't break the 1200 mark. This will vary by school/program because some schools don't even want your GRE, and others only use it for funding purposes. So investigate as much as you can into how much regard the programs you're interested in give to the GRE.

I just wanted to share with the forum, particularly because I have seen quite a few posts where people seem to be down on their chances/themselves. Last year I was rejected across the board. (My stats are pretty average so it wasn't entirely a surprise.) While it was incredibly depressing, I decided it was still a dream I really wanted to pursue. So I retook GREs (after actually studying), got new recommendations, and got some relevant work experience. I also reevaluated the schools and programs I was applying to for a better fit, and spent many many hours on my SOP. I finally got good news this week. I am in at two schools so far - and one has even offered me a TAship. So, while I know its crushing that things didn't go well this application round - do NOT let it ruin things for you!! Keep your head up - you are intelligent, there are things you can change about application to make it better, and the graduate admissions process is part luck anyway. Please do not let it discourage you.

I hope not! I was beginning to get discouraged at my top choice, logged in today and found out I'm in! Looks like you got into a couple schools, congrats on that! Maybe you were just further down the list for some reason? Now I just want to hurry up and hear from my other schools.

Mine have been under review for a couple weeks now. According to the one departments site, they will start notifying as soon as the 4th week- which is this week...ahhh! I want to know now... but I bet they'll take another 2-4 weeks at least. I'm really starting to the loathe the "under review" status... but at the same time, I will like the "DENIED" one a lot less...so I'm trying to accept the things I cannot change. Or something like that.

If you feel its important, and you're doing a "180" then I'd say yes, go ahead and attach it... especially if the interview is only for finalists.

And how...are potential students supposed to know to do this? Even when we have these discussions on the board, and we've been talking within a specific discipline, there hasn't been a consensus on whether to call or not. Some mentors have said yes, others no... no one knows unless they know the specific professor at the school/adcomm that they're applying to. So I guess this is another luck of the draw item to add to the "crapshoot list". If this is something they absolutely want, they need to let us know.

I have one more to do, and I definitely don't feel like doing it. I've had to change my personal statement for every school- because while they all are doing what I want to do, they're doing it in different ways and I didn't want my statement to seem generic. I already dropped one school though - when I realized how hard it was to write my SOP, I realized that the school wasn't for me - so I need to apply to this last one. Everyone else is finished it seems, and waiting on acceptances so it makes it frustrating.

Some of this is going to be reiterating what others have already said but: 1. Do whatever you can to pull up your GPA while you are still in there, make those last grades As or at the very least Bs 2. If you are still taking classes, and there is any prof. working in your field of interest/well known in the field - take a class, go to their office hours, do well in the class, ask questions - then hope they're willing to write you a LOR. 3. If there is not enough time to continue taking UG classes, once you graduate take classes as a non degree student - get As, do well, make favorable impressions on those profs. 4. Volunteer to work in a lab, or on someones research who is working in the field you're interested in. (again, make favorable impression for possible LOR) 5. Score high on the GRE general/subject - whatever it is you have to take 6. Apply for a MA instead of PhD after you have done the above things, work your butt off - get a good GPA, make favorable impressions 7. Then apply for PhD (If you feel you've done enough research, have superstar recommendations, have the money to spare, etc. you could apply to both MA and PhD's the first round and see what happens)

Can you ask your adviser what they think about your idea? The reason why I am warning about being subtle is that how the profs are going to take this is very much going to depend on their personality. Some profs are very easy going, or would appreciate a free chance to get to know a candidate better. Other profs would see it as inconvenient or presumptuous, and might take offense. So if you have someone that knows them a little better, I think their advice would be much better than anyone could give you here.

How many professors did you try ? Did you introduce yourself, what classes you took with them, and offer any other information they might need to help jog their memory? I would keep trying for professors- you'd be surprised some profs who you only took a class or two with might remember you if you keep looking. If there is anyone you are particularly close with at your new job, I would try there too. You might try your old job too - if you're that desperate for a rec, one is better than none, and they might be able to speak to some of your abilities. Finally, if you can't find enough - I suggest going back and taking some classes/auditing, whatever you need to do to get in touch with some professors in the field you want to go into in grad school. This way you can build fresh relationships, and you can attend office hours, and keep in contact with them so they won't forget you. I know this won't help for the current admission cycle, but if you're that tight and your letters are going to be iffy it might be in your best interest to wait til next year - some programs/departments put a lot of weight on your LORs and three iffy ones could make it very difficult for you to get in.

This sounds the best to me. I wouldn't email the professors themselves ahead of time, I think this is one of those situations where you have to be a little subtle.

Agreed. Some people have heard in the morning, the afternoon, and I think someone just said the other day they got a notice at midnight. So...really no way to gauge.. plus it would depend on your timezone vs. the school's.

I would say this significantly ups his chances from an anonymous nobody applying to the school with unknown LORs, etc. but as its been said everywhere on this board - grad school admissions is sometimes a crapshoot. I personally don't think he has anything to worry about, and if he/his LOR feel strongly about it, and those are the sorts of comments he's gotten - he sounds like he has a very good chance.

Unless you're broke from the application process and need the $200 for purchasing the alcohol.

I had a couple last year where my status never changed. I received my information through the mail for one, and never heard from the other. So, it is possible for them to never update the status, and simply to receive something through mail/email/phone. Some schools are a little bit more reliable on updating their website. Maybe check in the results search for the schools/programs that you are applying to, and see how those people heard (maybe you've already done this?)

I was the one saying that we should push for low SES over AA, and this is something that's already been discussed in government/activist forums. This for me is personal, as I was a first gen. college graduate who only made it through by working a lot through college. Even this grad school app process was difficult, as I have no family or friends who ever made it past a bachelors and no mentors to guide me along my way since I took a break after UG. While I understand that I certainly have (and have had) some advantages by being white, I too feel like my SES had some major effects on my opportunities. So on a personal level, I certainly relate to that sentiment. My points about AA and other race related issues still stand though. They're not as offensive/guilt-causing as many white people I have encountered seemed to think they were - IF they actually take the time to learn about them. Most of the dislike for AA and other legislation like it, is based on misconceptions and misunderstandings. I agree that sometimes white people get injured by the process, and some minorities get a boost up when they may not have needed it - but every law/rule/etc. has exceptions. I doubt any of them are perfect. My point was basically AA was not put into place to punish white people, and it's not as extreme as some would have you believe - it could however use modifications, and it probably will get them over the coming years as things change.

AA would only come in, in that situation (between two equally qualified individuals) if the department had a significant lack of minority presence- to the point where people were questioning/protesting it. If the department chooses to do it to increase diversity at their institution, that's a personal choice. There are plenty of poor white people, and plenty of rich black people - but they are still a significant minority. Laws/rules/suggestions are made for the "usual" cases - not necessarily for the exceptions to the rule. Personally I think giving AA a significant push in the low SES direction would be a good idea as it might help some of those exceptions to the rule...this may come around in the coming years - especially with the economy forcing the poor to be poorer...who knows. Racism is not caused by genetic differences - it's caused by perceived differences in appearance/background and social categories - which can be the result of geographic locations, and many other subjective factors depending on the society you're talking about (the US has 5 major racial categories while Brazil has over one hundred). Take the US for example... the races we generally think of are: White - skin color Black - skin color Asian - geographic location Native American - location Hispanic - ethnicity (the US census doesn't count this as a race, but that's another story) Even when you go by things like skin color - some people have very different definitions of what passes for white or black (see Obama and the big Is he white enough? Is he black enough? debate). Although this is really getting off topic again, because we're mostly questioning institutional racism more than any other - and in that case, no one has really argued against the fact that in general minorities are at a disadvantage when it comes to certain opportunities (education for example), which is the point of things like AA - to correct institutionalized racism. It's quite possible that some day multi-racial societies will live without these sorts of issues (I certainly hope for it!), but for now, and probably for some time, it's here.

I remember reading an article saying that it's not just public schools. Private schools are also having issues as their donors and endowments are taking hits from the economy and stock market/bank issues. I can't offer particular schools though - at least not any that haven't already been mentioned.

First, I want to address that this is not a personal attack on you. As I recall from everything I have associated with your user name you're a very polite and intelligent person, and none of what I am saying is meant to make you feel any of the above adjectives. I'm just trying to get some of the facts out there, and voice my own opinion at the same time. Please don't take it as an insult. Affirmative Action is not reverse racism - reverse racism would be if people ONLY hired non-whites, or hired non-whites instead of whites. This is not the case. As I was saying much earlier in this thread - AA is about hiring people who are already qualified who are minorities. To be very simplistic... Lets say the local community in Lawyer City is 100% lawyers - 70% of which are white, and 30% of which are non-white minorities - all equally qualified with degrees from Harvard (or some law school that's great). Larry's Law Firm has 100% white employees. Larry's Law Firm does not even remotely reflect the local community. So the next time LLF has a new job opening, AA is there to say hey larry, perhaps you should consider one of the 30% of the equally qualified minorities for that position. Again this is a very simplistic exaggeration of AA..but for the point I suppose it works. Racism has been around for MUCH longer in western society than that - among other places, it was around in ancient Greece in a different form. Human beings by nature (or programming depending on who you're talking to) like to categorize things, and associate themselves with "like" people. The categories change depending on time and place, but they're there regularly. It is for the forseeable future, a permanent fixture of society. As I said earlier, the fact that you and your family had nothing to do with the actual oppression, has nothing to do with whether or not you benefit from passing as "white". There are millions of different ways that a white person in US society, even today, benefits from being white. If you read the article I mentioned earlier it gives an amazingly long list. From stereotypes, to insurance policies, to the attraction to "likeness in category", etc. racism/white privilege are ingrained in US society at the moment. A lot of people (not saying you) seem to think that having equal rights and a "black" (although depending on who you talk to, he's not) president erases the effects of hundreds of years of racist policies and it simply doesn't. Where you live, how much your house is worth, whether or not your parents had education/good education, how much money they made, your family's accrued wealth, is still very relevant to "race" in the US. The civil rights movement was not that long ago - there are plenty of us here that probably have parents and grandparents that lived in a VERY different world. It takes a lot of time and effort to separate ourselves, and recover from those sorts of divides. It is not the sort of thing that just goes away because we want it to, or because you or I did not participate in the oppression of minorities (I am also white and only 2nd generation American). Wow...this post took far too long to write, and is really off topic..but oh well!