TypeA

Going to leave this link here for you guys. "GSI" (Graduate Student Instructor) is our way of saying "TA." Application requirements vary across departments, but everything with open applications is here. Fair warning: it's not common for people to receive GSI positions their first term. I want to say only two or three people in our cohort did. However, second-term/second-year it becomes much more common. Hope to meet some of you at the visitation weekend! http://umjobs.org/graduate_student/

My cohort (current first-years) is about 100 students. The second-years is a little larger -- more people took their Ford offers than they predicted, so I think they have about 120 students, but that's considered anomalous. It's not really possible to predict for certain, but I'd hedge somewhere in that range is likely.

Hey all, I'm another current Ford student (dual with the School of Public Health, but started at Ford this past fall). Just wanted to enthusiastically second everything Method said.

I, too, spent a lot of time considering deferral if my financials didn't work out. I set a maximum grad school debt I was comfortable with ($40-50,000) and decided that I was going to defer unless I could make that happen. I was fortunate, and my worst-case scenario (ie: applying all of my savings, no assistantships, and little/no income) falls squarely in the middle of that range. One thing you didn't mention above is whether you know how you'd use your year off. Do you have a job you would continue working in, or something else you know you'd be doing? If you can use that extra year to further bolster your profile (and save money!), then I think it's a pretty solid, rational choice. Just make sure you know GWU's deferral policy inside and out, and you'll want to verify that re-application for the fellowships is permitted. I would email someone to confirm so you have it in writing, just in case anyone were to question it in the future. Best of luck with your decision!

Try the Government Affairs forum: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/11-government-affairs/

I had just taken the GRE and was scouring this site and others to make sure I didn't want to take it again--I would have had to study for the new version practically from scratch. Thank goodness I was satisfied with my scores. I was also ruminating on my SOP, but I don't think I actually started putting pen to paper (hands to keyboard?) until late August. Now I'm plotting how to furnish/design my apartment, which I'll be moving into in a month.

Are you working part-time at your same position? I'm keeping my current job part-time once school starts, and am fortunate in how my employer decided to tackle the transition: I'm having my "effort reduced to half-time" instead of being changed to an hourly-wage employee. This means--at least, where I work--that I get to keep my benefits. Any chance your employer could be persuaded to do something similar?

Streaming the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Pursuing a joint degree isn't something you should do based on the motivation "two degrees look better than one." If a dual/joint degree suits your needs, it's an option worth investigating. Knowing that I want to work in health care policy, I looked at degrees from both the schools public policy and public health at the university I'll be attending. I want the quantitative rigor (quantitative program evaluation, econometrics, analysis using various programs) I would get from the policy program, but decided I wanted more immersion in health care courses than a two-year MPP could provide. The program in health management and policy at the school of public health offers courses that appeal to me on this level--but the MPH is very structured, and with that alone I'm unable to take all of the "policy analysis" classes I'd set my sights on. The MPP/MPH is a perfect marriage of curricula for me. Importantly, I was also able to work it out financially. Can you describe why the MPP/IDEV combination is suited to your goals? I'm not familiar with international development programs, so I don't know how much overlap already exists--but I do know that people get MPPs with intentions of going into international development. Would the two degrees be redundant? If so, there's no reason to pay for a third year. As far as whether joint-degrees get "watered down," I can only speak to what I'm doing (two degrees in three years instead of four). The MPP/MPH does have some overlap, so I'll be able to waive certain courses: econ, statistics, program evaluation, politics of public/health policy... I'm not certain of the specifics, but it'll probably be 4-6 classes--the equivalent of a full semester or more. Had I gone the MPP-only route, I likely would have taken 3-4 electives within the school of public health anyways. So no, I don't feel that I'm diluting my degrees at all. I suppose someone who's combining less-related degrees (like the JD/MBA you mentioned) might feel differently.

I've been working out on-and-off for the past few months, but I really want to commit to 4-5 solid days a week of working out at my gym for the rest of the summer. I usually do 30-50 minutes of cardio, almost always a combination of elliptical, rowing machine, and treadmill (speedy uphill walking--I loathe running). I follow that with 20-30 minutes of strength training, and then stretches. I'd like to drop one more clothing size by September, but I'd be content just being a "fitter" version of my current size. My latest attempt to clean up my diet has been making tzatziki to use as a veggie dip for snacking. If you use Greek yogurt for the whole base (instead of including sour cream, like some recipes do), it's quite healthy. I've also recently become addicted to Clif bars, which I like before or after a workout. And summertime means grilled veggies, of course.

Coming from a different work background doesn't have to be a weakness--a professor told me that my "atypical" academic background (major in neuroscience) could set me apart from the political science/economics/etc majors as long as I could work it into a coherent narrative. So, think about how your work experience has shaped the way you approach problem-solving (as a property manager?) and your ability to distill large amounts of (esoteric?) information into accessible summaries (this is akin to policy briefs; I imagine your work as a writer and legal assistant could fit here). I second the suggestion to consider retaking the GRE, since I also get the impression that aid offers are somewhat formulaic. The rest of your profile and plan looks pretty solid to me.

No experience with social work, but I'm from the area. What about Ypsilanti? Michigan in general has terrible public transit, but the AATA buses pretty much all have Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti routes, and it's a high-need area.

For the public schools, you may want to look into state residency requirements. If moving and working for a year or two is feasible for you, I know at UMich the in-state cost of tuition is close to half that of out-of-state... $22k/yr instead of ~$40k/yr. Buut I believe the policy in MI is that you have to be working full-time for two years before you can achieve residency (I think it has stricter requirements than most). I'm not familiar with the other schools/states.

I feel like something of an odd duck around this board for being domestically focused, so I can't really provide much advice regarding experience. That said, I wouldn't rule out UMich Ford if I were you (full disclosure: undergrad alum, matriculating next year). The university as a whole has been putting a lot of effort recently into expanding their global focus, and I'd estimate that about a third of the prospectives at the Ford admitted students day had international interests. With your particular interests, the opportunity to take classes at Ross (the business school) might also be great. And--not insignificantly--assuming you maintain MI residency, in-state tuition could be a terrific boon.

If you're interested in a PhD and a career in research/academia in the realm of health policy, you may want to look into a MS degree through a school of public health (rather than another professional degree). I believe a number of universities offer MS degrees in "health services research," which would give you a research methods/analysis foundation. I'm just speculating here, but it might be easier to find funding opportunities (fellowships, assistantships, etc) in a research-oriented program than in a professional degree program.