hitomimay

Hey! Thank you for the clarification. My recommendation for the Statement of Purpose is to free-write. Don't try to force it or structure it just yet, there's always time for it later. I currently work in Admissions, and it is usually fairly apparent when an essay is "forced", meaning you're trying to make it sound a certain way, rather than a genuine SOP. Free-writing will give you the ability to write from your heart. I'd try to answer the following questions during this process: 1. What is it about education that frustrates you, and why do you want to impact/change it? 2. What from my personal experiences in education (whether your work/volunteer experiences, or your own education experiences growing up as a student) can you use as examples that demonstrate this frustration? For instance, when I was teaching in inner-city Detroit, I wrote about how my students didn't identify themselves in careers of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) because there was no one in their immediate environment that acted as a model/idol for them, and how it became my personal mission to understand HOW students identify with role models so that I can improve upon education programs later. And that's why I wanted to be in such and such program because I wanted to make this impact. Make sense? I'd also recommend vivid details, a quote that someone said that left a pronounced mark in your mind, things that bring your story/experience to life for the reader. Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck with the application process, Best, Jenny

Hi Grace, I wouldn't worry about your GRE scores and GPA, they are decently sufficient enough to survive the first cut-off to remain in their pool of applicants where they will look at the rest of your application more carefully. That being said, your essay is key, I cannot stress this enough. You need to make sure you make an extremely compelling reason why you're interested in higher education administration, and why you need the degree AND the institution to help achieve your said goals. I just have one question for you, what exactly is your interest? You say you love working with low-income communities, yet you want to work in higher education administration. Are you trying to increase access and opportunities for low-income students into higher education? If so, are you looking to help those who have already made it into college, or those K-12 students who are trying to apply to college? These are two very different sectors with different approaches to a common goal. So you want to be very specific in your essay what your goals are, and show that you've done your basic research. Your background is also a little scattered in education, which makes it a little difficult to pinpoint where you want to go with this degree (half are K-12/low-income, half are higher ed admin). Nevertheless, I highly recommend you apply, the worst case scenario would be they'd say "no" and you'd try again another year. There's a lot to learn from the application process/experience on its own. Hopefully the information I provided was a little helpful. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask me!

Since no one's replied yet, I thought I'd give this a go... I think first off, the Masters depends on the region. I was a TFA Detroit CM in 2010-2012, and multiple institutions offered a Masters including UofM and Oakland U. These programs were run by the institution themselves, and we took the classes alongside other non-TFA applicants. TFA has a separate TFA alternative certification program that was run by UofM at the time that was tailored to TFA only, but the Masters were not and they were optional. Keep in mind, for Detroit anyway, that means we had to pay out of pocket (and out-of-state!) for these degrees. Other regions I know receive a stipend to get their Masters, so they didn't have to pay, which was pretty cool. Once again, it depends on the region. Also, we had to take the GREs and apply to these Masters programs, and while you had a better shot at getting in than regular applicants (probably considering you already have the requirements necessary to be admitted as a TFA CM in the first place), it's not a guarantee. Also, the University Partnerships that are shown online? Those are not designed for TFA. What it means is... if you had applied to medical or law school for instance, they'd allow you to defer your admission for 2 years, which is not an option available for other admits into their programs. Also, after TFA, should you be admitted (not guaranteed) after your application, you could receive a scholarship or additional stipend. Personally, since UofM was going to be almost $40,000 for me, I chose to do my Masters with USC online. It made my schedule more flexible, and I could interact with classmates and faculty in real-time from the comfort of home (so I could grade papers on the side or finally get some food in my system, heehee). Let me know if you have any further questions, I'd be more than happy to help.

I think the amount of tax being taken away will be the same, it just depends on how much you need or want per month. But I'm on the taxable income and I got over $2500 back in taxes this year, so it's a sizeable sum. I don't think we get all our taxes back, but definitely majority. The other way they just ask you to pay up a couple hundred dollars (the amount they didn't give back in our tax refund if you did it the other way). Either way, it's the same amount taken, just depends which way you prefer. Hope I explained that clearly lol. As for housing, here's an example of what my housing situation looks like. Actually I'm immediately adjacent to this unit. http://www.dancohousing.com/listing/57. This is a one-bedroom so it's a little on the pricier side, but it has it's own kitchen and bathroom and own private entrance. This is from the same house but upstairs, http://www.dancohousing.com/listing/47. It's a bachelors, so you share a kitchen, but you have your own studio-like room with your own bathroom. And this is a studio with your own private entrance and kitchen and bathroom. http://www.dancohousing.com/listing/32 I'm not sure what your budget looks like, but I can tell you that our leasing office is extremely friendly, they're always there immediately when there's any problem with your unit. For instance, my ceiling fan made this weird clicking noise, and I had only just mentioned it, and the very next day they replaced it with a brand new one. They take care of the yard, garbage...etc. A lot of the utilities are covered depending on which unit you're in. And if you're close to campus, you save a lot on time (very precious as a PhD/grad student), save on parking costs, or annoying public transportation moments. Oh right, everyone who lives in our house are PhD or graduate students, and we all keep to ourselves/quiet, but all are friendly and hang out once in a while too. As for groceries, there's a Smart and Final grocery store on your way home from your 3 min walk from campus. There's also a Ralphs 0.1 miles away from the house down the street that we all go to. We usually double up in a car to make grocery trips. But if you have a car, definitely VERY easy to get groceries. Oh right, if you don't like any of the apt units listed on DancoHousing, definitely check out Westside Rentals. It's $60 for 2 months of use, but it literally has a TON of housing options with a lot of filters that makes it easy for you to find exactly what you're looking for (that's how I found this house). As for living further out, all my fellow PhD students who live alone are paying from a range of $800 - $1500 per month, and you get what you pay for, those who live in cheaper areas are much farther out (takes them approximately 40 min to get to school, and may not be in such a patrolled secure area). The $1500 are in downtown in really nice apartments, but obviously the pricing can be an issue. Hmmm, sorry I realized I'm rambling now... let me know if you have any questions lol.

Hi William, first of all, congrats! And fight on! I'm a first year PhD student at USC, and I'd be more than happy to talk to you further about living situations if you'd like. To answer your questions though, I have a 25,000 stipend, and after tax, I get about 21,300. The tax is approximately 13% I believe. You have two options however. You can either choose to receive ALL of your stipend every paycheck, and save up enough to pay taxes in April, or, you can have them remove 13% and get most of it back as a refund. Also, I'd personally recommend living close to campus. It's within walking distance (for me it's a 3 min walk). There are a lot of houses, a lot of USC students in this area, and most of the places are rather affordable. I have a 1-bedroom apartment to myself within a house (I have my own bathroom and kitchen and doorway,etc) and I'm still managing financially. If you're concerned about safety, the areas immediately outside USC have security petrolling and standing guard on EVERY CORNER almost 24 hours a day. They are there from noon til 10am everyday.

Congratulations to everyone who received an acceptance! As for housing, I wanted to recommend http://www.dancohousing.com/listing/rent While it's a "house", it's designed like apartment building complex, where every room has its own private entrance. The current tenants are all graduate students, and we're all really friendly and the management is extremely awesome and responsive to any concerns/needs we have. The units are also pet friendly I'm currently a 1st year PhD student at USC, so if anyone would be interested in living around here, we're only a 3 minute walk (or 30 second bike ride) from USC. Feel free to message me Congratulations again!

Hi there, I was a biology pre-med major in undergrad, did a lot of research in the field...etc etc etc. I'm currently in my first year PhD in Education with a focus on Higher Education access. If you would like, feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I'll be more than happy to answer them.

Congratulations! One more thing I wanted to add... If you plan to use your Masters ONLY to teach, then the prestige of the school doesn't matter. If you intend to further your education by going for a PhD, then the prestige DOES matter because the faculty you work with are weighted greater. But without the PhD, nah... no other circumstance really cares about WHERE you got the degree from.

Hey, your best bet is to attend AERA (http://www.aera.net/). It's held in May every year, has its own journal that you can publish in, or you can present papers and posters there. It's the biggest Education conference of the year with over 25,000 attendants. Specifically, look into Divisions within AERA. They range from policy, higher education to educational psychology. I believe your best bet is the Ed Psych division. Feel free to ask me questions if you still have any.

Hi there, As a former teacher who went through a Masters program, I need to stress a few things. First off, if you're a certified teacher in multiple subjects, especially in high-need content areas (math and science usually), you should be able to receive a few interviews regardless of a Masters. Now, a number of districts and states have gotten rid of the education-tiered pay system. For instance, a few years ago in Detroit, if you had a Masters, you would reach a higher level on the pay scale, so the degree over time paid for itself. However, as of last year, they removed that system and froze all the pay levels, so my Masters didn't help me any. Also, there's a number of governmental programs that will cover all your Masters loans should you be teaching at a Title I school as a science or math teacher for 5 years. Note however, this incentive is ONLY for math and science (high need content area). Thus, if you intend of staying at a Title I school for that long, and will be teaching math or science, a Masters may be worth your while because your loans would be forgiven in that time. If your content area is different, then I would sincerely reconsider paying full-tuition. If you reapply to other programs again (a number of them accept students all year round, for instance USC's MAT program online), you may get a few scholarships. I know a few friends who received 2/3 tuition scholarship. Lots of things to consider I know, but I hope I gave you some food for thought. It is better than sitting on top 60k worth of debt, like I am at the moment.

I have a Masters in Secondary Science and English Education from MAT@USC, which is an entirely online program. ALL my classes and interactions have been online. Note however that USC boasts that their online program is identical to their on-campus program. However, this degree has definitely been credible, I've taught for 2 years in a public school classroom, and it's been enough to get me into a PhD program, so I wouldn't worry too much about the credibility of online programs nowadays. Don't hesitate to contact me should you have any other questions.

If it's any idea on your chances... here are my stats, it's rather similar to yours. Undergrad GPA: 3.0 (Biology) Masters GPA: 4.0 (Obtained at MAT@USC while doing TFA in Detroit) Teach for America - Detroit: Taught for 2 years. GRE: Verbal: 700, Quant: 800, Writing: 5.0 Applied during the start of my 2nd year in TFA, got into a PhD program at USC the very following year. I can also tell you that outside of TFA, I have NEVER had ANY education experience before (I was a Bio researcher in undergrad, and went straight to TFA) Therefore, you stand a chance, and your stats are more than enough. You just want to frame your SOP very carefully, it'll make or break you. So as for which program you choose, you need to KNOW that very carefully before you apply, fit is everything. So start with this: are you interested in pursuing academic research? Because a PhD is definitely a road down that path. Most become tenure-track faculty, although some black sheep like myself will use it to pursue consulting, think-tanks...etc, but definitely research-centered. If the answer is yes, then know WHAT research interests you have, and go find the prominent authors in literature and see what programs they came out of, and are currently teaching at. That'll guide you a bit. More than happy to answer any other questions you may have. (PS, It's either a PhD or an EdD. )

I'm doing similar research, but through a different approach. You can consider Innovations in Higher Education, WHY there is a need for distance learning...etc. I'd start with "Reinventing Higher Education" by Bed Wildavsky, Andrew Kelly and Kevin Carey. It is a collection of academic articles related to the topic. Hope that helps.

You can also consider looking up the hot faculty in the field of Economics and Finance of Education. Check who's articles are often gospel in this field and taught in courses, those prominent in literature. For example, USC's Rossier School of Education has Dominic Brewer and Lawrence Picus. I also really liked USC's program and financial package, and wanted to pursue quantitative methods, so this worked out nicely. As for GREs and background, I'd say everyone who's "quant" in my program has minimum 750 on their Quantitative Math score, most with perfect 800s from what I have deducted. A high Quant score is a must if you wish to enter any program as a quantitative methods researcher. We as quant people all also have a strong background in quant, so we come from math, econ or science backgrounds. Obviously, this is not a requirement, but a strong quant background is a good indicator of how well you'll do in these types of methods.

When I had first applied for my PhD, all the admission offices said that they do not expect, nor require research experience before applying. I didn't have any research experience in my MAT, and it seems I'm okay. I can't stress this enough, your intent and research interests must be EXTREMELY clear in your SOP. It'll make or break you.