ep1181

Can someone tell me when the deadline is to accept offers for Africa? Alternate still waiting!

Yay! There is hope!

I know how you feel! There is still hope!

Ugh us poor alternates. I feel for all of you!

So what are the odds again on getting this after given alternate status?

AHhhh Thanks for the info! I applied to Tanzania so maybe I will hear next week too!

sub-Saharan Africa here! I'm sure we will be the last group to know. Africa time?

I applied to Tanzania!

Congrats!!

Do you want me to write it for you too?

Yeah really. Despite what you may think after reading these forums not everyone has a 4.0 gpa and a perfect GRE score. We either take out the loans or don't go to grad school. That's why I'm also going to a school that's much cheaper and where cost of living is also cheap.

I totally agree with everyone that said not to stress about the GRE. I didn't have the best scores in the world, but I still got into programs. I actually performed better the 2nd time I took the test because I had a "whatever let's just get this over with" attitude vs. the first time when I was overly stressed about scoring high. .

I totally agree with this. That is how I'm approaching my decision, it's not wrong it's just what I decided on!

It has been 6 years for me since undergrad. I don't regret taking that time off, because right out of undergrad I wanted to go to law school. Now I realize that would have been a complete waste of money. In those 5 years I landed a great job in a field that I know I want to work in for the rest of my life. Maybe some people can figure out what they want to do in life at 22 years old, but I know I didn't have a clue, I was more confused after college than I was after high school. I definitely recommend people take some time and start working in the field you think you're interested in before deciding on going to grad school. It also helps you with your applications!

I'm looking at Pitt's GSPIA too, but not for Security so I don't know how much help I will be. What I gathered from visiting is that if you're interested in Security Studies than Pitt seems to be a great place for it. They have two research centers specifically for this and it seemed like it would be pretty easy to get involved with them in some capacity. (Most likely unpaid research) . The Security program was definitely the most popular program within GSPIA and the students that I talked to in the program seemed to really like it. I also heard that you can take some classes at CMU which is huge for research and right next door to Pitt. They do have a DC semester in the fall of your 2nd year and they share a building with the Maxwell and Korbel schools. I think this decision really just depends on what you want to be doing after you graduate. If you have any questions about the campus or anything I might be able to help you more.