sonnyday

OMG! SSA applicant here that received my acceptance today from Jermaine Jones at 10:56 am. Full grant to Mauritius! Subject line read: "Your Fulbright Candidacy (P)" For those still waiting, hang in there! Its getting close!

The surrounding area including Greenbelt and Hyattsville are a good way to go. Many students live behind Beltway Mall near the Greenbelt metro station, which has a grocery store and a Target among other things. Cost of living will be cheaper than in the city and the commute will be easier coming from the MD side. But honestly, anywhere within the 495 Beltway loop will have a bit of traffic. As I'm from the area I'm pretty used to it though, and its not that bad to me, but may be for some people.

Awaiting a decision is so nerve-wrecking right now! I am happy for everyone else though--all these acceptances and alternates make me feel somewhat hopeful. But I can't help but wonder how many people are willing to post that they have an acceptance but not the rejections. Is it that there are generally more acceptances than rejections or is it that the rejections are too ashamed to post?

Yep. We've been making plans and alternate plans and my spouse is just as anxious to find out what will happen as I am! We both think the Fullbright is the optimal plan but still have to prepare not to go just in case. Which sucks.

I think it depends on the individual. For me it was. It was very isolating and you generally had to stay focused and finish the project on your own. My advisor treated me like advisors do now in grad school--little guidance but there to help when you need. Its not for everyone if you can't work independently. They also pay you to live on campus and I spent the day in the library or in my room studying, which is also what we do in grad school. Its not perfect, but it emulates the research aspect of it well. Of course you don't get an understanding of how classes go and all the reading you must do to prepare for classes, so maybe it is based more on the later years of grad school when you are working independently on your dissertation/research. I loved it, so I knew a PhD was right for me. Three years in and no regrets.

I'm a Gilman Alumnus. Won the award back in 2006. I can answer any questions. I'm not sure why the previous poster had a hard time. The process wasn't stressful at all (if you think that's stressful, wait to you have to apply for visas and actually prepare to go abroad). I was awarded $5000 and the money was applied to my study abroad program, which was linked through my university. I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket for tuition and fees, and I was very thankful I'd gotten the money. Doesn't make sense to turn your nose up at $1500 just because you don't think its enough. Free money is free money! I did have to pay for my own plane tickets, food and spending money, but that depends on the study abroad program, not Gilman, and you would normally have to pay for that. The follow-on project was also very simple. They do require it, but they were pretty flexible about when you did. I was given up to a year to complete and submit evidence of it. There's a variety of things you can do. I gave a presentation at a nearby high school to learn about the country I went to and encourage seniors to study abroad when they entered college.

McNair scholar here. I'm in my 3rd year of graduate school, and I think the program really prepared me. We had seminars and workshops for all types of things, but the most valuable was the summer research institute they have. Here, you get to spend a paid summer conducting your own independent research and presenting it at conference. There's no reason you can't try to get it published when you're done either. You essentially get to mimick grad student life for a few months with other students of a similar background/culture. And they also paid for me to take the GRE and the application fees for all of the grad schools I applied to. You can't beat that. I'm still in contact with the program staff today, and they are still very supportive and always there to make sure I stay through the program. The program name is also helpful--I think grad programs recognize the program as producing good students/scholars, so you're looked at a little differently when you have the name under your belt.

Another Africanist here! I was recommended for a full grant to Mauritius.

I think its fine to catch up with background reading as long as you do it in a relaxed, informal way. Have fun while doing it if you can, with little pressure. For instance, I've started just reading the parts of the subject that interested me in undergrad (even reading some wikipedia to start off) and then finding books and journal articles to read from renowned scholars in that area. But because I'm doing it at my own pace, with no pressure, its actually kind of fun and I'm taking in information without taking notes. I'm also casually reading the newspaper and focusing on articles that relate to those subjects. I've thrown in a novel I am reading too, for when I get bored of the other stuff. I'm a natural reader, though. But there's no real plan, so if I get tired, I'll stop. Somehow the lack of a plan makes it easier to do. Jasper, I'm also pissed about not having access to journal articles, but I still go back to my undergrad college library and download and save them there. Luckily, my husband still attends and has an account with them.

I have another question related to CV's: How much of your undergraduate information is expected on your CV? In other words, can I name honor societies, awards, presentations, undergrad publications, etc. that I received during undergrad, or does that just look like filler?

Pretty much everyone knows here at work--I told one person who was so excited he let everyone know as loudly as possible. Most are really proud and congratulatory and were honestly shocked when they found out I was going for a Ph.D (I don't think anyone has a Ph.D here). They do treat me differently, I think they expect me to come back to do big things and somehow provide them with a "hook-up" someday. My direct team all knew I was applying, but I doubt they expected me to actually get in--lots of people talk about going back to school but don't really do it. They understand that I am leaving but we worked out a contract for me to stay until the end of July (giving me a month vacation before school starts). I think if they find you a valuable employee, they won't let you go any sooner than they have to, and its good to give them time to find someone else to replace you. Hiring someone is a headache most want to avoid. In the meantime, it is hard working and doing the everyday mundane tasks without thinking about how ridiculously trivial they are now. But I've been keeping myself busy at work preparing for school, doing background reading, preparing schedules and organization manuals (yes I am that obsessive about it), researching the school, looking for apartments, etc. etc. Yes I am counting down the days...

This sounds like political science to me, except more of a focus on Area Studies. Bethany, your work sounds interdisplinary and interesting, and doable in many schools of Poli Sci. But don't second-guess yourself. You may end up attending a Tier 4, but atleast apply to a wide range of schools with different rankings. There is no reason to think you can't get into a higher school, and GRE and GPA aren't everything. Plus, for Ph.D, you should get funded wherever you get in so don't worry about the money. You can appyl for Tier 4 schools as safeties, but you don't have to limit yourself so soon. I had the same feelings you had as an undergrad junior/senior, but obtained very good options for grad school and I don't have high stats. Its more about your research fit with professors and the schools focus, and in my case I think, the possible novelty of your research area.

I completely agree with your second paragraph, except I think the two overlap more than you think. And IMO, they should be overlapping more, as the clear distinctions between the two (to the point where people in these two groups don't even associate with each other or read each others work) is a severe disadvantage to our society. I seek to understand the causes of phenomenon for the specific purpose of finding solutions to them, whether that's through teaching or consulting or doing more research at a think tank. Actually, many political scientists do both at points in their careers. Like sommelier said, this leads to much more enriching knowledge. But to the bolded sentence: It sounds a little insulting. As if the policy world is for failed academics or those who weren't good enough for academia (implying a hierarchy of sorts). In some cases that may be true, but I also think academia has a certain cushioning to it that allows those who don't want to get their hands dirty to mill around and debate semantics or create repeated spin-offs of old research without really trying to contribute to society. They both have their noble and low points.

Wow, interesting comment. I don't think a school is any less "serious" because they allow working students access to higher education. Your statement sounds elitist as if you are questioning the type of students they attract as being less serious. Part-time work is perfectly fine for an MA. And last I heard, USNWR ranked graduate schools, not strictly Ph.D programs. IMO, it shouldn't matter whether a school is to train professors/researchers or government analysts/policymakers. The rigors of the program should still be access at how well they do there job in providing which ever one their specialty is. Its a little unfair that research institutions are simply ranked higher. I think most know that GW and Georgetown are great at producing high-paying, high-producing policymakers and the like. Why should they have a lower ranking because they don't tend to become professors? If anything, the USNWR rankings should be ranked separately for both field and theory schools.

I'll also be attending JHU. Very excited about it. I'm living in Baltimore now (for past 3 yrs). What are you all doing to prepare?