ajacot924

Thanks for the "astute" response. I actually tried Google, however they will not give actual information regarding how many people get full funding. Does anyone who has applied or is attending actually know the answer to this question?

Hey Everyone, Can anyone tell me about the funding situation for a Ph.D. in education from UNC or North Carolina State University? Do they offer funding to cover the entire Ph.D.? Is funding offered to most candidates? Thanks!

Hey Everyone, I am about to graduate from a masters program in May. I plan to take five years off from academia to gain work experience and then hope to enter a Ph.D. program in my field. My question is, since it will be 4 years between the end of my masters and my application for a doctoral program, how do I maintain relationships with my current professors for letters of recommendation? Do I mention it now? Do I email them periodically to check in? That feels weird, since I will be doing just for a future recommendation. Thanks for the advice!

Thanks everyone for your input. We are in the very beginning stages of this project (we only have an abstract and intro), so I feel a decision couldn't be made as to who did the most work. It was my idea to do this in the first place. I approached the professor and brought my colleague on secondly. I do feel that I should be second author. How should I broach this with my professor and colleague without sounding greedy or whiny? Thanks so much for your help.

I am working with a professor and another colleague on an article we plan to submit for publication. My professor is lead author, so her name with go first. For myself and my colleague, is there a way to decide whose name goes next? Is it alphabetical? Does it matter (i.e. does it show that one did more work than the other, etc.) Thanks!

I just began a ME.d program in Elementary Education. My program doesn't require a thesis. I specifically chose the school I attend because the final project was a class called Writing for Publication. In this course, we would work on publishing an article and be a co-author with a well known professor. I plan to get a Ph.D and hopefully become a professor myself, so this was great! Unfortunatley they pulled that option once I had already accepted the offer to attend. My current professor for one of my classes is the one who began this program. Myself and another student (who I don't know well) decided to approach this professor about possibly mentoring us in doing some writing that may or may not be publishable. I am basically looking for experience for admission into a Ph.D program. We met with the professor and she agreed to meet with us again to discuss it further. Not a yes, but not a no. I think it was nice of her to even entertain it. I understand how busy she is. Everything was all set, and then the other student I approached started talking about speaking with our advisor (we share the same one) about advice and maybe getting this to count for a degree requirment. I don't even want to bring that up because I understand that if that was an option, they would offer it. I want this for extra expereince, not to get out of doing what they have laid out as a requirement. I feel like I should break away from this person and do it on my own. I don't want her to make me look bad. Also, I don't want to bail on her and make myself look bad. I guess I just don't know what to do. Would it beneficial for me to get this experience? Should I give this person a chance and see what happens? Should I bail on her and do it myself? Should I bail on it period? Thanks for your help!

Hey Everyone, I am currently teaching in an elementary school full-time and pursuing a Master's in Elementary Education. Upon completion of my MEd, I would like to take three years off from academia and focus on gaining additional teaching experience and handling some personal things. During that time, is there anything else I can do that would strengthen my application? I will continue to teach full-time during this three years. My MEd is not research based. Should I do research? If so, how do you get into that? Thanks!

Hello Everyone! I am currently in a Master's Program. I plan to pursue my Ph.D. three years after graduation. I want to gain more work experience and handle some personal things before I make that big committment. I know it is fairly typical to take time off between degrees, but how do you get the LOR's if you haven't been in school for three years? I'm afraid my professors won't remember me. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your advice. Double Shot, when you took two years off, did you have a hard time getting recommendations from professors that hadn't taught you in a few years? That is my main concern with taking time off. I do plan to work in the field during that time. I am worried about feeling burnt out and I know if I take time off I will be anxious to get back when the time comes. May I ask if you worked while getting your Ph.D? If so, did you find it daunting? Thanks so much!

Hey Everyone, I am getting a Master's in Elementary Education and teach full-time. I would like to get my Ph.D. because I want to teach on the university level. This is my question: do people typically take time off after the master's or do they go straight into the Ph.D? Financially I need to work full-time so quitting to do my Ph.D. isn't possible. If I were to get enough funding, it may be possible so that isn't my main concern. My main concern is that my husband and I want to have a baby after I finish my Master's. I could possibly be working full-time, pursuing a Ph.D, and be pregnant/raising a new (our first) baby all at the same time. I am wondering if it would be better to wait until my child is born and things are more settled. Also, it is more likely that my husband and I will be in a better place financially and it will be more possible for me to quit my job and pursue my degree full-time. My concerns are that: 1. It may be more difficult to return once I have been out for awhile. 2. Will I be able to get recommendations from professors who haven't taught me for two or three years? 3. Will admissions committees frown upon my two-three year gap? I would appreciate any advice you could offer me. Thanks!

Hey Everyone! I have about a year to study for the GRE to apply for the Ph.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction. I took the GRE in December to apply to the Master's program, which I start next month. I got a 161 Verbal and 146 Quantitative. I know what I need to do to improve my verbal score, but math has NEVER been my strong suit. Can anyone recommend books, courses, etc. to help improve my quantitative score? I want to start now so I can give myself plenty of time to study. Thanks so much!

Hey Everyone, I am looking for some advice. I getting ready to enter a two year Master's program in education. I will be taking two classes per semester and working full-time (teaching elementary school). After my Master's, I would like to get my Ph.D. While I have been reviewing the admissions process for the Ph.D., it seems daunting. I was wondering if I should take a year off between my Master's degree so that I can focus on the application process at that time. My husband will also be buying a home and starting a family. It would be nice to have that year to focus on my personal life and getting my applications together. On the other hand, I am afraid that if I wait a year, my application won't be as strong as it would be if I went straight in. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks so much!

I finally got acceptance to the school of my choice. They said that the program accepted me and that once I send in my official transcripts, the Graduate School will make their decision. It also said that if I have questions about funding, I should contact the program to which I applied. My question is this: should I wait until I hear from the Graduate School or ask about it now? Also, how should I word that inquiry? Thanks!

I finally got acceptance to the school of my choice. They said that the program accepted me and that once I send in my official transcripts, the Graduate School will make their decision. It also said that if I have questions about funding, I should contact the program to which I applied. My question is this: should I wait until I hear from the Graduate School or ask about it now? Also, how should I word that inquiry? Thanks!

I think you should go for it. A 3.01 isn't a bad GPA and for a lot of places (except ivy schools and the like), a 3.0 is the required GPA. If you have good letters of rec and a good GRE score, you should be fine. Also, you may want to consider explaining your GPA in your SOP. Of course you don't want to make it sound like you are making excuses or telling a drama filled tale, but it is a good time to explain "blemishes" on your application. I had to explain some blemishes in my SOP and it was fine. There were a few websites that I found helpful: http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/gradapp/stmtpurpose.htm and http://www.essayedge.com/graduate/essayadvice/course/. I am by no means a grad school application expert, but in my opinion, the worst they can say is no. I think it would be better to apply, then to always wonder "what if?" I hope this was helpful and good luck to you!

I am applying to NC State University for their M.Ed program. I would like to pursue a M.Ed in Elementary Education with a focus on literacy. The deadline is May 1st for Fall 2012. I plan to submit my application once my GRE scores are officially published (hopefully within the week). May 1st seems awfully late to me. Is that the norm?

I took the GRE today and got my scores as soon as I finished. They were exact scores on the new scale, not a range. It said I would get my official scores in 10-15 days. Will my scores be different than the ones they showed me? If so, why? Thanks!

Hello Everyone! I am taking the GRE for the first time on Saturday and I have some questions. 1. When I finish, will it show me score estimates on the new range, old range, or both? 2. How long does it take to get your official score? 3. How accurate is the estimate? Thanks for your help!