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Everything posted by SeriousSillyPutty
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I've only heard about Maryville's school leadership program (or whatever they call the program designed for wannabe principals), and that it has a reputation for making it *relatively* easy to get a doctorate. (But that was what I heard from someone who doesn't go there, so take it with a grain of salt.) I don't know about their certification programs, but since in general Maryville markets itself as a a good fit for working professionals, I would imagine their programs designed for certification would also be focused on being practical. I hope you can find someone on here that can comment with real information!
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Re-engaging with a future advisor
SeriousSillyPutty replied to Kirobaito's topic in Officially Grads
When I think I've corresponded with a person before but I'm not sure, I organize my inbox by address and see if anything comes up. Of course, like others said, profs get a lot more emails than I do. Not starting a serious dialog until you're into the program doesn't seem crazy to me. (I felt really awkward when I met with a professor to essentially ask, "If I get accepted into the school, and if I make it through the years of coursework,then three years from now would you be willing to supervise my research?"... fortunately it seemed like a pretty normal thing for him.) I think you could split the difference -- not an apology, but an explanation of why you're contacting him now: "Dear Prof. X, I became interested in your research last fall, and this was a motivator for my application to ______ grad program. Now that I got accepted into the program and have decided to attend, would you be willing to answer some questions I have?" This could be interpreted as a first email or a follow-up with a justified delay (waiting to be in the program before bugging the prof), so it might cover you either way. -
I might be like your friend in that the parts of physics I like are the big picture how-cool-is-this-universe stuff and the tangible wow-I-see-physics-everywhere stuff. I did a physics undergrad and truly treasure it, but if I'm honest, I didn't actually like the classes toward the end... I loved elementary calculus, but differential equations never clicked for me, so I did well in the classes but didn't delight in them. Like TakeruK said, a B.S. in physics doesn't do much for you. (In my experience.) Your options are to go to graduate school, teach, or work at McDonald's (or someplace else that has nothing to do with physics). I went into education and absolutely love it (I was planning it before I graduated, not because I couldn't find anything else) but that's not something you want to do just because you can't find something better. I have a friend who got a B.A. in physics (still a lot of math, but not quite as much) and also got a communications degree. After a short internship, she landed a job at CERN doing the press releases and such, writing about all the cool stuff that ends up on The Universe and such without dealing so much with the technicalities. Maybe for your friend, a degree in science writing, with a focus on physics, would be more practical?
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Funding in Graduate Education Programs
SeriousSillyPutty replied to turkeyteacher's topic in Education Forums
At WashU (the only school I have experience with), they give students a tuition waiver and scholarship stipend for the first year, and then after that place people in TA positions that are the same amount as the first year stipend. I got the funding info in the acceptance letter. (It's also a really small department though, so I don't know how common that is.) My school was pretty good about connecting me with current students, and I was able to ask them a few questions not worth bothering the professors about -- like asking what people do over the summer. Maybe you could ask some current students? -
The Definitions: Fully Funded, Stipened, ...
SeriousSillyPutty replied to biobiobioman's topic in The Bank
Also -- and this is secondary -- at my school they warned that, for some reason, taxes ARE NOT automatically taken out like a regular paycheck, BUT you are responsible for the taxes come April. You're supposed to fill out a thing so that you pay some taxes quarterly, I believe. Anyway, just didn't want anyone to think they're getting away tax-free when they see their first pay stub. -
I'm not a principal, and I only taught high school very briefly, so these are just my thoughts. The first year of teaching is really, really, hard. I don't think it matters how awesome your program was. So, teaching experience alone is a pretty big deal -- especially if you would get to really teach a section of the class (as opposed to just grading/holding office hours -- which is nothing to sneeze at). So, if you're looking at getting a job, I think it would be easier to market that this isn't your first paid teaching gig, than to market that yes, you're a first year teacher, but you've been well trained. The nice thing with education is that, because salaries aren't that high, lots of good people can't justify spending the big bucks for a degree, so I don't think the degree location is as important as, say, where you went to law or business school. Of course, any principals looking to hire would also get an insight into the type of person you are based on the fact that you got into such a selective program, and they only know you got in if that's where you go. If you were to do the CSU offer, maybe you could get the stats so that, on your resume, you can say, "Offered GA as one of the top ___ people in the program" or something like that? Maybe call up your old high school and get the principal's advice? Good luck & congrats!
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SSNs are used for so much here -- bank accounts, background checks, etc. -- that it's probably best to get one.
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(First disclaimer: I'm an American, so completely ignorant about what it takes to move here. This ignorance should keep me from talking, but, like I said, I'm American, so...) You may all know this already, but most phones in the U.S. don't have removable SIM cards. So, for instance, when I was in Ireland I got a phone off the internet and bought a SIM card to go in it, then when I went to Italy I used the same phone with an Italian SIM card. But I couldn't use that phone in the U.S., because the companies usually "lock" the phones for their use. There are pre-paid phones though that are easy to get. I also recommend Bank of Internet USA. Yeah, anything with "internet" in the title sounds a little shady, but they're legit and have a real office in CA. Instead of having branches, they reimburse you for using other banks' ATMs, and give you postage-paid envelopes for mailing in checks. (Or, now, I think you can email them.) It's worked well for me because I didn't have to change banks when I moved, and I didn't have to pay fees when using my card over-seas.
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Hi all! I'll be attending WashU in the fall for a really small program (education) so I'm not expecting to find anyone for that, but wanted to see if there are any other incoming WashU peeps out there. Are you moving here or are you already in town? For what it's worth, I've been living in St. Louis for about 5 years. Recently I've been on campus a bit for work-related stuff, so I'm starting to get a little sense of it. It's really a charming campus, though it's quite different from the huge spread I was used to at Michigan State. Any questions about St. Louis I will do my best to help. (I really love this city!)
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Washington University in St. Louis incoming MFA looking for housing
SeriousSillyPutty replied to borges's topic in Visual
Hi Borges! I'm not looking for housing, but there aren't a lot of WashU peeps posting yet so I wanted to say hi anyway. I'll be starting the education program in the fall. It's a small campus, so I may see you around! ? -
Is it too cliche to teach English abroad for a year? Being able to discus an experience outside the classroom (whatever it is) can strengthen one's application.
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When I was at my meet & greet/interview day, one of the professors I met with said that when he looked through the application, he immediately deleted the ones that mentioned a desire to work with him (but hadn't actually contacted him about this). So DON'T NAME PROFESSORS YOU HAVEN'T MADE CONTACT WITH. They may take it the wrong way. (Incidentally, this professor seemed happy to work with me, even though I hadn't mentioned or contacted him before.)
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Okay, I got into the program I wanted, and Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I'll be starting in the fall. Now what? I work full time and have community commitments, so I'm plenty busy, but I still have graduate-school on the brain and want to direct that energy somewhere useful. My experience with grad school is based on those I interacted with 5 years ago as a physics undergrad. Now I'm going for a PhD in science education, and the world of social science is new to me. From what I understand about the program, it's all classes first year, then classes & TAing second year, then after that research. But all the big grants one might want to apply for (NSF fellowship is on my radar for the future) expect you to already be involved in research. Should I be trying to set up an "in" in research before the program starts? Would it be appropriate to start contacting professors now, or should I wait until the fall? My only thought so far is to email the profs I met on the interview day and ask if there's a book they'd recommend I read. Any thoughts or insights are much appreciated!
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I know what you mean. What's made me uncomfortable is when I say, "I'll be getting a stipend of $20k a year," some people reply, "Well you can live on that," -- like it's no big deal. I have a job I love, but struggle to keep things in order on $25K right now. I think the difference is that the people that think it won't be a problem are the people that are married. Maybe $40K for a couple is more doable? I'm hoping to do some tutoring on the side, so that I can base my side work based on how crazy grad school is. The current grad students in the program I'll be enrolling in say there's also the possibility of a summer stipend. It might be worth asking around to see if that's possible in your program.
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I don't have any science ed stats, but I am going to put a biased plug in for Michigan State anyway. I did my physics undergrad there, so I didn't have much interaction with the college of ed., but I had a great experience at MSU. There's a lot of top-notch research going on in the college of Natural Science, and in my experience there were a lot of professors that actually cared about teaching. There are also a number of science outreach programs hosted by the school. This would all suggest good opportunities for collaboration. I really like the community at Michigan State. For undergrads, MSU and U of M are always compared, and I would put it this way: The University of Michigan is a "better school", but Michigan State is a better place. That is, because there is a larger percentage of the population that's not from the "upper crust", there's a bit more balance and I think people are nicer. The campus is HUGE, but is all contained in one place. Because it's so big, the main library is open 24/7 and coffee shops abound. Plus, most importantly, Michigan State makes its own ice cream (courtesy its own cows), and I doubt the other schools do that. (So if you visit, make sure they take you to the Dairy Store; they will, if the want to woo you.) I recommend sesquicentennial swirl. Good luck on your decision making!