jlbigham

Oh sorry...I just saw a bunch of people writing where they were from. I didn't go through many of the pages.

From the website: 04/04/11 - GRFP/FastLane will be unavailable from 11:00PM ET Monday, April 4th - 5:00AM ET Tuesday, April 5th for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. Does that mean it is coming soon?

Thank you for the advice. It's always nice to hear from someone that has more experience in the field. I met with a professor at the university where I am currently finishing my undergraduate degree today, and he also gave me some good advice. I am going to visit one of the schools tomorrow (I visited the other a few weeks ago), so I am hoping I can figure out what is going to work best for me.

My program is in education, and I completely agree with you about the rankings. I was using them to avoid naming the programs and to give a general idea of what I have to choose between. However, the program reputations pretty much match up with those rankings, and as far as subfield is concerned, the higher ranked program I mentioned is also ranked #1 in my subfield (I do not know how the other one ranks). When I applied, one of them was a school I wasn't sure I would get into because of how competitive it is, and the other was one I was fairly confident I would be accepted to because it isn't nearly as well known. The programs both fit my interests, and they both seem great from what I have read about them. I don't actually think the lower ranked program is lower quality by any means. However, I know that (unfortunately) names do carry a lot of weight, and I want to make sure I will be in the best possible situation after I graduate...BUT I don't know that the debt is worth any possible advantages when it comes to getting a job.

I am in a very similar situation right now. I ultimately hope to get a PhD, but I applied to a few MA programs just in case I didn't get into a PhD program. At this point, I have been accepted to one PhD program from a school that ranks around #75 in my field, and I received full funding plus stipends that would cover my living expenses. However, I was also accepted to an MA program that ranks within the top 5 in my field, but it looks like I am not going to receive any funding. If I go to that school, I will also hit over $100,000 in loan debt. At this point I have absolutely no idea what to do. I visited the school where I am being offered full funding and really liked it a lot, but I am afraid I will regret turning down the other school considering that the program is supposed to be a lot better.

I'm not really sure what that means for your friend, but you have to already have an MA to be admitted to the PhD program. So, if your friend doesn't have an MA yet, that would be why he or she was admitted to the MA program instead. Also, I just got an email with a financial aid package, but still nothing about scholarships. I have a bad feeling that information might be coming late, especially since the scholarship application isn't officially due until April 20th.

Just found out a few days ago that I was accepted into the MA program for Comparative and International Education! Anyone else accepted to the same program? Also, is there any chance that I could actually get funding considering it is only an MA program?

Congrats! That is awesome. I still haven't heard anything yet.

Thanks! I am hoping I hear something soon because it is the only program I am still waiting on... I'm actually a little concerned because I don't have any experience, and my background is in anthropology rather than education. My GPA (3.85) and GRE scores (680/620/5) are fine though, so who knows. I also studied abroad for a year, so I am hoping that makes a somewhat unique applicant. Did they give you any information about funding? Do you think that is where you will go?

I was admitted to the same program! I applied to the PhD program. Which did you apply to? I am flying out next week because it is my spring break (I'm still finishing up my undergraduate degree), so I should have a better idea as to whether or not I am going to take the offer. Are you from the CA area or from somewhere else?

I still haven't heard anything back yet, but it seems like a lot of people are starting to get notifications. How long ago did you get your acceptance? Congratulations!

Thanks! I didn't get any information about funding though. By the way, oiseauaudio, my faculty advisor at UCSB called yesterday. She said they have made some funding decisions, and they are going to offer me a fellowship! I don't know if I am going to take offer, especially with this UCLA acceptance, but I was happy to hear about funding from there. Have you heard anything else from there?

Yeah I called today, and it definitely said the end of March. I don't know if it is good or bad that it is going to take longer to hear back.

I just got my acceptance letter to the MA program in Social Sciences and Comparative Education in the mail today! Letters should be coming to the rest of you very soon...Good luck everyone!

Oh that's good to know. Does anyone know how we will be notified?