ZeChocMoose

My impression of a MAT is that you earn that degree because you are teaching in a specific subject area in a K - 12 classroom. As for going back to get a MEd before you do a PhD or EdD, I suppose it could be recommended, but a lot of that would depend on what subfield you would want to earn your doctoral degree in and how much experience you have in that particular subfield. My personally experience with applying to Education PhDs is if the school has a degree requirement usually they require a master's degree, but generally don't specify what type of master's degree that it has to be or the field that it is in. In my incoming education doctoral cohort, some people do not have education master's-- instead, they are in related fields depending on their research interests. That being said, I suppose it could happen (i.e. requiring the MEd), but I doubt that it is common.

I am seconding newms. It took 3 weeks from getting the phone call from my POI to receiving an official letter from Rackham. Your status also changes on Wolverine Access as well. Sounds like you'll have good news coming your way. Congrats

My friend was in your same situation-- admitted to Maryland with below a 3.0. Usually what happens is you'll get a conditional acceptance and you'll need to maintain a certain GPA by a certain credit level. (I believe the terms and conditions of the conditional acceptance is determined by the ad comm and the chair of the committee needs to write a letter to the Grad School requesting an exception to the 3.0 rule.) I think the terms and conditions of his acceptance was he needed to maintain at least a 3.50 by 9 credits (or something like that). He had to wait until his grades came in before he could register for his second semester. It ended up being fine and the only difference was not being allowed to preregister for that second semester. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I am going to lean towards years of experience in your current job will be more important because usually that translates into increased responsibility i.e. managing professional staff, creating and maintaining an office budget, making semi-autonomous decisions on tricky academic policy issues, etc. When looking for higher level student affairs positions, usually hiring managers/search committees look for those skills along with the number of years AFTER your master's degree. (Personally, I thought this was an odd requirement esp if you chose to delay going back to school, but I have seen it come up a number of times in job postings. Not sure if this is a trend or what...) Early 30s (I am assuming here) might make you older than some of your cohort mates, but I don't think it is going to be that unusual. My master's cohort had people who ranged from 24 - 36. That being said, how you think about debt is definitely different compared to your early 20s! Yea, it is so uncertain what the job market is going to do especially in student affairs positions. It might make sense to leverage your degree and your years of experience at your current job to get a title change, increased responsibilities, etc than doing multiple internships as a full-time student. Unfortunately, student affairs positions tend to be the first ones cut during budget short falls and the last one filled when the economy picks up again-- unless the unit is financially solvent like development, residential life, or admissions.

Hmmm that is a good question. My thoughts are that relevant experience tends to be important when selecting who to hire in higher ed. It would probably be easier to go from academic advising to student affairs or student life. I think it may be harder to get into student conduct without relevant experience unless you have been involved in these type of issues in your academic advising job. Whether you should go full time or part time is a tricky decision. If it was me, I would chose to be a full time student because you have the opportunity to take advantage of all the opportunities that come up and complete internships in areas of higher ed that you haven't explored. It is a good chance to get your feet wet and see what else you enjoy. This is how I ended up in my current position after my master's degree and I am glad that I had the freedom to explore numerous experiences while in grad school. That being said, 20K is still a significant amount of money and it is tough to say how that should factor in because I don't know what your financial situation is or what your financial goals are for the future. Also, I find it hard to tell people to go in debt for a master's degree in higher ed because there are so many great programs that fully fund their master's students. Lastly, doctoral degrees. What do you want to do with your doctoral degree? If you are interested in staying in administration (that is sense I am getting from your posts), then years of work experience become more important as it helps you advance in the field. Usually people with this end goal will work full time and attend school part-time as doctoral students and possibly as master's students. As for which degree is better for doctoral placement? I don't think it matters really. I have met both master's alumni from TC and HGSE in Higher Ed PhD programs so I don't think one is necessarily better than the other. It seems to me that both programs do a fine job but you should probably ask current faculty what their placement numbers are. If you do want to pursue the doctoral degree (however), I would suggest getting research experience in your master's program. Also, I won't worry about whether you earn a MA or MEd. At one point, the MA was more research intensive and the MEd was more practitioner focused, but now they are used interchangeably. As long as you have had a stats course and a research methods class you should be all set with a MEd.

I did my master's at Maryland. For graduate students who can't get funded from their department/school, there are graduate assistantships that are available in various offices on campus. They are posted here: https://jobs.umd.edu...Results_css.jsp and are updated pretty regularly when new opportunities become available. They are competitive (though) and usually require you to work 20 hours/wk. In exchange, you are given 10 credits of tuition remission, a minimum stipend (I think it is now around 18K for a 12 month position. The 9.5 month position has a lower stipend but I can't remember what the minimum amount is), and healthcare. It is a great deal if you can find a position that really interests you. Check the fine print in the posting, but I think most are open to graduate students of any field. It is definitely worth the effort to apply to these positions if you know you are coming to Maryland. Good luck!

My only regret in regards to the GREs was that I focused on quality instead of quantity for the analytical writing section. That was a mistake especially since it hindered my progress. I spent so much time outlining and thinking about transitions that I ran out of time when it came to actually writing the essay. In fact, one essay I had to submit without a conclusion! Whoops! In the end, my GRE scores were good enough that I don't think my scores made a difference on whether I was admitted or not since my field doesn't seem to put that much weight on the outcome of the test.* The other unfortunate part about the GREs is they are only good for 5 years. Unfortunately, this meant I had to take the GRE again since my scores expired in 2009. Blah. I would recommend carefully monitoring when your scores expire and plan accordingly. * I did self study-- reviewed the math content and tried to memorize some vocab words.

Since both options are unfunded and both are good programs, I would select the option that is the least expensive. That being said, do you think your workplace will be supportive if you decide to become a part-time student? If you are not sure-- maybe that is a good conversation to have now before you decide because working full-time and going to school part-time can be very stressful in general. I can only imagine how difficult it would be if your job isn't supportive or at least neutral about your decision. The other thought is if you are trying to change positions in higher ed and want to explore other avenues, I can see becoming a full-time student either at TC or HGSE and exploring other areas through internships.

Since you don't seem that excited about the offer at Northeastern, I would write the thesis, retake the GREs, and try again. Potentially, after the thesis and a master's, you'll be a stronger candidate for the schools you want to go to. For what it is worth, I know that UPenn and Harvard fund their education doctoral students. I think the funding at TC is spotty and not sure about the funding situation at NYU. The point being is that Northeastern is not the only school where you can get your degree for free. I also assume you want to go to these schools because you are interested in the research that is going on, not because they are well known. If you don't have a great research fit for these institutions, then high GREs and a master's thesis is not going to help you get in.

I would also suggest looking at schools that offer Education Policy M.A.s or if you are set on the MPP then looking at schools with Education Policy programs so you may take a couple electives there.

I grew up in Boston and I have worked in RA positions in hospitals there. I feel that the advice you are getting is weird-- or maybe it is targeted at labs in university settings i.e. they only hire people who they train. If so, expand out. And yes, you should write a good cover letter! Also, the Partners Hospitals usually have a lot of RA positions posted on their website. Good luck!

I am curious about this as well i.e. people who buy houses as full-time graduate students. That items that I would be concerned about on top of your mortgage payments would be closing costs, utilities, maintenance, and property taxes. Do you have money to cover all of these? Also the other sticky point for me would be once you finish your degree and your job is in a different area, what happens if you have real difficulty selling the house?

The reason that I think it is weird that people are telling you that they are only looking to hire someone with a B.S. is because you are in a highly educated part of the nation (Boston) and a lot of the entry level jobs tend to be held with young professionals with master's degrees. Also if only one person told you were "overqualified" for the position that she could offer you, I won't take that to mean that you are "overqualified" for all of the clinical RA positions that are out there. Your three years of research experience I assume was when you were a master's student and you were working in a more part-time capacity. That is really different from three years of full-time research experience. Good luck though on whatever you decide: MPH or RA.

I agree with you that in an office setting the priority on who gets time off or a more flexible work schedule tends to go to those coworkers that have children. (i.e. Sally can't work late because she needs to pick up Little Sprout at soccer practice, but Mary can work late because she is childless.) My understanding of being a professor (however) is that they are more autonomous on choosing what hours they are going to work and I can't imagine the scenario that you described really being relevant to the academic setting because they are not covering the operating hours of an office. However, I could see it come to play in other ways such as scheduling classes, committee meetings, the tenure clock, course load, etc. A "family-friend" department would try to accommodate those members of the department whose schedule might not be as flexible. I don't necessarily think a "family-friendly" department has to be bad for the childless though as I would assume this environment would strive for a better work-life balance for all its members.

What type of positions are you applying for? How long have you been applying for? The RAs that I have encountered in hospital research were in the same type of position that you are in when they secured their current position (Master's degree with limited to no full-time research experience). Just reading the description of your experience and education, I am not quite sure why you are being told you are "overqualified" unless there is something that I am missing about your qualifications. Also the pay scales for RAs in the hospitals that I have worked in were at a fixed level-- I don't think the department had the ability to pay people in the same level at different rates.

One thing to think about you will probably end up losing 15-20% of that 50K due to taxes and healthcare costs. So the 1K a month may end up being about 30% of your take home pay. (This also assumes that securing a job that pays 50K is a reasonable expectation-- which I have no idea. I know in my field (higher education) it is not. Recent master's students (that have limited experience) usually get paid between 35 - 45K.) I definitely agree with ruralworks4me, crunch the numbers to figure out what that is going to look like. The other question is-- do you have other options for graduate school? If you do and they would be more affordable, I would explore them as well especially if you plan to pursue a doctorate at some point.

Generally, not. Usually this too requires experience and an interview. I usually don't suggest this route to a lot of people unless you know you can handle the stress of a live-in position on top of graduate school. The interest rate for Stafford loans (Subsidized or Unsubsidized) is 6.8% for graduate students. I would suggest reading the federal student financial aid website. http://studentaid.ed...gradstudent.jsp Make sure you understand the terms and conditions of your education loan(s) before you sign.

If it was me and I couldn't visit the programs, I would ask to be put in touch with current students and at least one faculty member. Since master's programs are short, you want to make sure that the program can help you with the next step in your career. I would want to know whether there are comps, if a thesis is encouraged, what are the methodological/stats requirements, what is the availability of internships, etc. I understand that weather and location plays a role in the decision making process, but there are other factors that you need to find out about before you invest your time, energy, and money into a program. Good luck

I think the problem with that is some departments treat their master's and doctoral students similarly and some don't. You would want to talk to current master's students to see how well they feel they are being treated.

It seems like you are focused on weather and location. How good are these programs for what you want to do? (I assume that is international ed?) I would be more interested in whether they offer the classes that I want to take, whether the faculty are accessible and knowledgeable, and whether I will be able to get involved in either research, policy, or practical experiences (depending on what I am trying to get a job in). I have discussed this in length on some of my other posts-- but USNWR only ranks doctoral programs so I wouldn't try to extrapolate a PhD ranking of a program/school to a master's experience and the overall rank of the education school might not be helpful if the international ed program within that school is just average or weak.

Well... I assume that your advisor and mentor are telling you to complete the thesis because you have no research experience and a thesis would be easy way to get it. I agree with them. It is going to be very difficult to get a funded offer from a PhD program in education measurement/psychometrics/quant methods without any research experience. You will be competing with people who have years of research experience and may have some publications by the time they apply. Honestly, I would just stick it out with the master's and really work on getting solid research experience. I don't know how your program is structured, but do you have the opportunity to take elective courses in either advanced statistics, research methodology, or measurement classes? I think this will really help you flesh out what your research interests are in the field (which isn't clear to me from your post). The question on whether to do a thesis or not? Personally, I don't think you need a master's thesis to get into a great PhD program, but you do need research experience. Since you don't have any, completing a thesis may be the path of least resistance. Also if you drop out after this year, what do you plan to do in the gap year? I also enjoy statistics, research methodology, and psychometrics so it is good to see other people who enjoy the same interests. Good luck!

I would probably go with UPenn. I say that though because I like the faculty there better. You have Laura Perna, Matthew Hartley, and Robert Zemsky (just to name a few!). The questions that I would ask myself would be: What do you want to do with your degree? (Are you interested in student affairs jobs, policy jobs, or research jobs). What classes do you want to take? (do you want to learn about: education policy, colleges and universities as organizations, access/retention of certain populations of students, finance, student development, etc). I would make sure that there are multiple electives on whatever I am hoping to study in the program. Since both programs are one year-- it is going to be very course intensive. I would also ask current students how well the courses are taught. In higher education, you are going to need experience in order to secure a job when you are done. What are the opportunities at either school to have internships or assistantships. Assistantships are ideal since they cover tuition and give you a stipend. I actually thought UPenn offered assistantships to their higher ed master's students, but I guess I am wrong... Lastly, if you want to do the PhD-- what are the opportunities to get involved in research in either program? (Especially since you only have a year), what are the programs' philosophies on accepting master's students to their PhD or EdD programs? Does this happen? Or is this frowned upon? Good luck. There is probably not a wrong choice with either program. Both are well respected in the field. You just want to make sure that you selecting the best one for your academic and professional interests.

Welcome cyborges! I'm an incoming graduate student as well that just secured housing. I actually was looking for a one bedroom apt in a house, but couldn't find one that met all my criteria (1-1.5 miles away from campus, off-street parking, laundry, ~500 sq feet, cat friendly, etc). I ended up in a small apartment building with less than 15 units. I would echo the advice to try Kerrytown or the Old Westside. The apartments that I saw that weren't in these areas were definitely geared towards undergraduates and didn't look like they were well maintained (at least not the ones that I saw!). My realtor also referred to these areas (mostly south of Central Campus) as the "student ghetto." That didn't seem conducive to studying... I also got the impression that apartments go quickly. I would recommend planning a trip to AA soon and going to see several apartments. I set up 10 appointments about a week to a couple days before I visited. Surprisingly, 2 out of the 10 were rented before I had a chance to see them. I found a couple that I liked and put down a deposit that day. Good luck!

Okay-- so what I understand is that the PhD program is not ranked in your subfield whereas the master's program is in a department/program that is ranked #1. I don't know if you are aware or not, but the USNWR rankings only rank doctoral programs. I wouldn't try to use those rankings to extrapolate that this program is also #1 in your subfield for a master's experience. Instead, I would research if the master's students are treated well. Do they have the same or similar opportunities as PhD students (i.e. can they get involved in research (if that is something you are interested in), can you take a wide range of classes or do they restrict classes to "only PhD students," are faculty members accessible to master's students?, do master's students get accepted into "good" PhD programs (if you decide you eventually want the PhD)?). In my education subfield, master's and PhD students can be treated very differently depending on the program. Also do you hope to pursue a faculty position (if you chose the PhD)? If you want to go into academia, my understanding is they do care about program reputation. Although, I am not sure how much actually and I have never been on a search committee for an open faculty position so I couldn't say exactly how this plays out. I would talk with faculty members in your field of interest and get their perspective on whether going to your specific PhD program will put you at a disadvantage. If your end goal is "industry," I don't think rankings/program reputations have the same weight in deciding who to hire for these types of jobs . My understanding (and my practical experience working in education research) is that hiring decisions come down to the applicant's experiences (do they have experience with: policy analysis, research design, quant methods, etc), whether a specific level of degree is earned (if that is a requirement of the job), and personality fit with the culture of the organization. I have never witnessed a discussion about the reputation of an applicant's graduate program. (That being said though, it could happen. I have just never experienced it.) It sounds like you have a tough decision and need to weigh a lot of factors. At the end of the day, I would go with what makes the most sense in the long run.

When you graduate, what is the average starting salary for your field? Typically, it's best not to borrow more than the mean starting salary. Also, are there many jobs available for what you want to do? If you don't know the answers to either of these questions, then I would do more research so you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. That being said, I think it is going to depend on a lot of different factors. How do you feel about being 100K in debt? Do you have any financial safety nets in place if you cannot immediately begin paying back your loans or if your starting salary is lower than expected. Personally, 100K would be too much for me in the field of education. I think the other issue that I see since you are going straight from undergraduate and haven't worked full-time is that you don't quite understand how onerous monthly loan payments can be especially when you need to pay for other monthly expenses such as rent, utilities, food, and transportation. Believe me, it can begin to add up. Once you start working full time and have a better picture of how much you need each month to keep afloat, you may view 100K in debt differently. I know when I was in college, I didn't have a good understanding of what my undergraduate loans really translated into each month and what that would mean for my financial future. How I viewed debt then and how I view debt now is worlds apart especially debt as large as three figures. I wish you the best of luck with your decision.