firefly85

Cornell, my funding info was in my acceptance letter. It sounds like other people heard at the same time as well. I'm not sure if that's how they're putting out all of the info though. I wish they would just post a list of things like when you'll hear about funding for sure or whatever else!

Thanks for being willing to answer our questions Leica! I got into SIS too (International Communication) with decent funding so it's one of the schools I'm seriously considering. What made you choose American over other schools you were considering? When you say you can design your degree around your interests, what do you mean by that? How does it work? What sort of research opportunities have you had? What are the professors like? Are they interested in the grad students? Hmm that's all I have for now, I'm sure I'll come up with more! Maybe if you could just give us a general overview of your experience there. Thanks again!

I agree with the WTF? If you weren't accepted why would they think you would want housing information for that area, because you applied so you must love it so much that you'll move there anyway? Sometimes I don't know what these adcoms are thinking. Huge waste of paper too. Sorry they jerked you around like that.

Money is definitely going to be a big factor for me. Luckily I didn't have one dream school so that makes it easier for me to turn down places if I get accepted but no funding. Then again without hugely strong preferences toward one school or another it may be harder to decide if I get similar offers from multiple schools! Of course if money is no object take the school that best fits your interests and has the best ranking. Unfortunately I don't think that's the case for most of us! Hopefully I'll get the funding info from all of my schools soon so I can work on a decision, I feel like I'm still just speculating without having all of the information.

i just got that e-mail too, well at least we know when they're coming! Too bad we don't know what time. Oh well another Friday spend frantically refreshing another admissions page. SAIS said they're trying to mail decisions out by this Friday so it should all be over for me by next week! Ahhhh, what will I obsess over when I know what schools I'm into (and the obvious answer is where I'm going to go, and then what's going to happen when I get there!).

Did anyone else get the aforementioned e-mail for Elliott? I didn't and it's worrying me a bit! Especially since they lost my transcript and I had to send another one. It does say everything is complete on the website, but still you never know (since BU just told me they were missing one of my recommendations after I e-mailed them to find out what was going on. Thanks, I'm glad you didn't tell me that when I e-mailed to ask about my transcript weeks ago!). Hopefully we'll hear good news soon!

Honestly I say go for it. My boyfriend and I met when I was home and doing an internship for the summer at the company where he worked (where I thought I'd be working with all middle aged people, having a totally boring summer, after going through a terrible break up the previous semester). We started dating about mid-way through the summer getting serious toward the end only, knowing I'd be going back to school about 5 states away for another year (I was going into senior year). Then after graduation I was home for a while, then were long-distance (well more short-distance, but still) during my first job. Now we live together, but are facing the prospect of being apart again, at least for a while, depending on grad school. So it can work even if you're not together very long before you leave! My brother and his ex also did cross-country long distance for several years (I don't think the break up had to do with distance). You'll never know unless you try and you'll probably regret it if you don't! Even if it doesn't work out at least you'll have some fun and a distraction from the application process for a while!

Does anyone know when the Elliott MA decisions will be going out? Do you think they may have mailed them last week since they are on spring break this week? If they didn't get them out last week that means they won't go out until next week (ugh!) unless the admissions people are actually working this week (yeah right...) Thoughts on this?

I've never played the grad admissions game before so I don't really know how all of this funding stuff works. I'm going for an MA in IR so I know it's different than PhD candidates who seem to get more money. Anyway, I've got a pretty decent funding package from one school but I've seen people post more in the results forum. If those people should turn down their acceptances and I accept could I be in line to get more money from the school, would it go to someone on the waitlist they're going to let in, or to no one? Also do people actually "play" schools against each other for (more) money? Since I have this one funding package from school X and I'm still waiting for funding news from school Y is there anything I can do to let school Y know I've gotten this funding that might encourage them to give me funding if they really want me (obviously not sure if they do yet)? Or if I get better funding from school Y can I tell school X in hopes that they might give me more money? I know these things sounds horribly selfish but as we all know grad school is expensive and I want to get the best "deal" I can! The reason I'm asking is that I'm really bad with negotiations and stuff so I just wanted to know what other people have done. Thanks guys!

I've got all my info from two schools (one accept with money, one rejection) then just an accept from another, but money to come later and am still waiting for any news on the last 3. Supposedly SAIS will get out their info by Friday (or is trying to) but I have heard nothing from GWU and BU. I'm assuming they'll come around the same time (I hope) and hopefully if I get any funding that info will come with it. One of my schools wants to hear back by April 15, which makes me nervous because most have May 1 deadlines. Can't the master's programs just work together to so we get the info around the same time and have to reply by the same time? Does it have to be so difficult??

Its really frustrating to be in and still not have all of the info isn't it? It's like I still can't make any decisions because the potential money from Syracuse could be a huge swing factor. I'm also waiting on the FLAS fellowship info and it could be 3-4 weeks for that, which is ok, but American wants a decision by April 15 and their visit day is only 2 days before that! Do you think if I don't have all of the info I need by a few days before April 15 I can ask American for a little more time to decide? Has anyone dealt with this before?

So I'm pretty sure it's going to come down to Maxwell and SIS for me, unless somehow I get an amazing offer from GWU or SAIS, which probably won't happen (just trying to be realistic). Anyway, I don't have all the info yet because Syracuse hasn't sent out funding information yet so this could all change depending on that. Right now I have a pretty good funding package from American for it's International Communications program which is why I'm seriously considering it. I've also been admitted to Syracuse's joint IR/PR degree with Maxwell and Newhouse, which are both good schools. Potential for some funding (not sure what the packages are like though) and also applied for a FLAS there which could provide a good amount of money, but it'll be a few weeks before I know about those. So does anyone have thoughts on the comparison of these two programs? The schools are pretty evenly ranked (American is one above Syracuse I think) which makes this harder! I do like that at Syracuse I would get two masters degrees (MAIR and MS PR) but I'm not sure how much that matters in terms of careers. With the Syracuse program you spend a semester in DC and do an internship so that nullifies the location issue in some ways and I'd do a semester or summer abroad with both too. Personally I'm in the Syracuse area already so it would be nice to not have to move far, I know the city, my bf and I have friends here, and the cost of living is pretty low. However, I also have friends and family (some I could possibly live with to cut down on cost) in the DC area and there's a lot more to do there, but it is more expensive. Also my bf says is his willing to move with me as long as he can find a job there, but who knows what that will be like in this economy! Like I said this could all change if I get great or little money from Syracuse, but I just want some preliminary thoughts. Sorry this was so long! Thanks if you made it all the way through!

So I probably should have been planning for this all along, but I was a bit overwhelmed with my applications... What is everyone doing for summer before grad school starts? The school that's been my top choice starts in the summer so I have been trying to keep it open for that. However now I've gotten a pretty decent funding package from another school (no funding info from top choice yet) and am seriously considering it, but of course it doesn't start until the fall. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I might do for the summer, especially a bit late in the game as it is (a lot of places seem to have already had application deadlines for internships etc). I know I could just work waiting tables or at the mall, but I'd rather do something to help advance my career. Thoughts from anyone?

This is one of the worst I've seen, that someone posted on the results page, The program recommended that you be denied admission... the dean of the graduate college has concurred with the recommendation." What?! How insensitive is that! I'm sorry to whoever got that letter, but you're probably better off going to a school where they actually have some tact and compassion.

I'm not sure if I will be totally helpful, but as a former journalist I'll try. I didn't go to J-school so I don't know that much about it, but I did write a daily paper. I too thought I wanted to be a journalist, although not as strongly as you probably. After graduation I kind of fell into because it was one of the few jobs I could find. Anyway long story short the stress of the daily paper was too much for me and now I'm planning to go to school for IR, but I digress. I think only one or two people I worked with out of about 12 reporters had a graduate degree (one of them might not have even been journalism, but English or something). So I personally believe that work experience can be more valuable than a J-school degree. Now that aside, if you got good funding for your degree I'd say go for it, but don't go into debt for a J-school degree because it can be hard to make a lot of money in the field (especially now). I'd say look for work experience in the field, internship or job or freelancing (I'm not sure what type of journalism you're looking for) to at least get something for your resume and to see if you really would like it. Especially try to get training in multi-media (video, websites, blogging, etc) because that's really where things are going. Anyway that's my two-cents, test out your dream career, that way you won't be spending thousands on a degree but will be getting experience. Then if it doesn't work out you can apply for Ed programs again (or something else) and switch fields without wondering "what if?". Hope that helps! PM me if you want to discuss it more.

What are people's thoughts on the SIS program? I got into the International Communications one and got a decent amount of money. I have a feeling it will probably come down to American vs. Syracuse Public Diplomacy program for me, still waiting on money there though. Is anyone else going to the admitted grad students day at American. It bugs me that it's only 2 days before they want decisions! Plus it's really inconvenient for me since I was already planning to go to the DC area the next weekend. Anyway, back on track, thoughts on the program and the admitted students day?

I doubt it either, they obviously have interest in you if they selected you off of a waitlist and will be fully funding you (!!!). None of the students will know it unless you tell them and at least some if not most of the professors probably won't either (idk how their admissions process works). Congrats on this great offer!

That's too bad about SIPA Bayron, but from what I've read it's incredibly expensive so you might have gotten lucky! As for the other schools, if you're talking about AU as American University I wouldn't worry as much about work experience, I got in there and have barely been out of undergrad for two years. I don't think it's quite as important there as other places. For SAIS I know they do want a good amount of work experience but I don't know about NYU. Your stats sounds really good so don't count yourself out yet!

Same here. I guess the site must have crashed because we've all been refreshing it frantically all night! Oh well...maybe tomorrow...or Monday I suppose. My name is near the end of the alphabet and I'm not expecting to get in, so most likely Monday. Good luck guys!

Just saw a Tufts MALD waitlist, apparently it's not just the admits tonight. God I'm obsessing and Tufts isn't even one of my top choices! I just need to know so I can go on with my life!

Ahh good luck Cornell! If it is alphabetical I probably won't hear until Monday, agh, don't they know we're totally obsessive and will go crazy if we don't all hear at the same time????

Just saw the first admit posting on the results page from Fletcher for an MALD. It begins... Good luck everyone!

I was just wondering that too since my name is near the end of the alphabet. I guess if we see a ton of accepts and no rejections tonight and tomorrow we'll know how they're doing it. I do wish they would have clued us in to have some idea of what is happening, but that would just be too easy for us now wouldn't it?

Just checked the Tufts Fletcher admissions blog and they said they are starting to post decisions tonight. They're hoping to get them done tonight but if they don't they will finish Monday (not to keep people hanging or anything!). They said they're done deciding on all programs so good luck everyone! Hopefully it will be a good Friday the 13th!