StephanieJ

I just graduated from a smaller state school. My future plans include the Fulbright and admission into SPEA at Indiana University-Bloomington, the 2nd best public affairs program. I'd say that my letters of recommendations, internships, and intensive research background got me into grad school more than where I went. Undergrad is much less important than grad school...

Agree with the break suggestions. The whole thing wiped my brain out...

I got my placement like two weeks after I was notified. About half the other ETAs got their notifications with mine and two or three are still waiting. Our letters went out March 30th.

I think all the regions/countries have to go through final budget approval. It might just be taking Africa longer.

I read somewhere that all notifications were by email starting this year. And everyone who's been notified thus far has followed that trend.

If there's only a "slight edge" with the rankings...I wouldn't worry about it too much. In the high rankings, a lot of times it's more nuanced than anything. If you think you have a better chance at getting a TA/RA position at Michigan, I'd follow the money. In the end, both schools are going to give you really great degrees. Also, look at the cost of living in both areas. Atlanta is a bigger city, so it might be more expensive than Ann Arbor. Also, I know from experience that you can live in Ypsilanti which is a 10-20 minute drive to U of M for significantly less money.

Just to add a little to all the great advice people have given you. Connections are important, but you said Syracuse is a great program-that means there will be connections there. You might just have to work a little bit harder to make the connections, but it won't matter if you do a good job

I wouldn't pick a grad school for the party atmosphere. I'd pick Michigan, but then again I'm from the midwest and the Ford School was my #1 choice for an MPP. Unfortunately, I wasn't accepted there. Michigan is a great state and Ann Arbor is a pretty fun town for its size. I spent a summer there during undergrad and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I got into UChicago and IU with a 3.84. My GRE quant was 57%, my verbal 90%. I'm going into public policy, so it might be different. Admissions told me they were looking for "well-rounded" candidates.

Ann Arbor really isn't that cold (comparatively speaking...I live about 3 hours north of it.) Not sure which one is better in your field, but I imagine U of M's name recognition is higher in general. It is a VERY good school for graduate programs as the alumni base is very large and well-connected. If you have questions about living in Ann Arbor or what it's like feel free to message me. I lived there for a summer and have always lived in Michigan.

I agree with above...your best bet is probably a dual degree. I'm going for and MPA (similar to public policy) and MA in Russian and Eastern European studies at Indiana University.

I know Poland has heard cause I was awarded an ETA there

Just wondering...what's the name of this year-long fellowship? I'm heading to Poland on an Fulbright ETA, but I'm always looking for additional ways in the future to increase my fluency in Polish.

I visited SPEA also...I'm deferring admission for a year, but it's a fantastic program. From my understanding, the MPA and MSES programs are well-respected. I think that the programs are fairly equally recognized as good programs (with the exception of Duke...I know nothing about them). I prefer SPEA over Umich because the program is incredibly flexible for a graduate program and they seem to be really focused on making sure everyone has an individualized education that best suits their needs.

Blech. They kept telling me I had to drink the piwo z sokiem because that's what girls drink. I thought it was disgusting...

From my experience with the notification...they really don't hear before we do. My campus advisor was CCed on my notification email and she told me how she got it and started freaking out. (I'm the first undergrad to get a Fulbright from my university...so they're making a BIG deal out of it.)

It doesn't ask specifically for PAP smears. My doctor said I didn't need one till I was 25 or sexually active...neither of which has occurred yet. Curious what she'll do on this one.

For future reference and all you that are curious. My university's program director just forwarded me an email from IIE (I think). Anyways, it said there were 35 applicants, 15 recommended, and 10 actual ETA grants.

I'd totally be down for an Eastern Europe facebook group. It's help facilitate places to stay if people want to travel P.S. I'm going to Poland.

I'm just excited for some piwo miodowa! I miss the honey beer.

A guy from my school was rejected from the Korea ETA.

Thanks I'm going to be living in Gdansk (just got the email this morning). I'm kind of disappointed that I won't be in the outh because I really wanted to be in the southern part. My family is in Katowice, a good friend in Wroclaw, and all my study abroad friends are in Warsaw. Good thing is a 6 hour train ride doesn't scare me

Sometimes alternates won't find out until much later than that. I have a friend who was notified in June she had a Fulbright.

I spent a semester in Warsaw 2 years ago. I'm SO SO SO happy to be returning in a few short months.

I just went through the whole MPP or PhD dealio. I asked advice from some friends in public policy. It boils down to WHERE you want to do research. I want to do policy analysis also, but not in academia...more government analysis or think tank stuff. This is a rather long email from my friend that works for a think tank about my conundrum. Enjoy the advice The short answer is that if your desire is to work in the policy arena rather than academia, a PhD would probably be overkill for most positions. There are certainly scholars at places like Heritage/AEI/Mercatus et al that have PhDs and do more serious, scholarly analysis, but a PhD is a huge investment of time and money that might be more than you’d need. The other piece of advice I would give is to be very careful about student loans. I know it’s hard to conceptualize while you’re still in school, but student loan debt can be a huge drag on your income and quality of life. I would only take out loans if you are absolutely certain that the degree you’re seeking is something you’d enjoy AND that said degree will be necessary to get you where you want to be professionally. If you can’t honestly say that you’ll need that degree, then I’d reevaluate whether or not going into debt for it makes sense. As an example, a former colleague of mine left NTU to go to law school. He didn’t particularly want to be a practicing lawyer, he just thought the law was interesting and, hey, lots of smart and ambitious people go to law school, right? Well, three miserable/difficult years and $100,000+ in debt later and he’s now at a policy job he could have gotten without the degree and has huge debt payments weighing him down. Don’t get me wrong; advanced degrees are great and continuing your education can be a wonderful thing. Just make sure you’re absolutely certain it’s what you want to do AND that it will be worth your while professionally. The short answer is that if your desire is to work in the policy arena rather than academia, a PhD would probably be overkill for most positions. There are certainly scholars at places like Heritage/AEI/Mercatus et al that have PhDs and do more serious, scholarly analysis, but a PhD is a huge investment of time and money that might be more than you’d need. The other piece of advice I would give is to be very careful about student loans. I know it’s hard to conceptualize while you’re still in school, but student loan debt can be a huge drag on your income and quality of life. I would only take out loans if you are absolutely certain that the degree you’re seeking is something you’d enjoy AND that said degree will be necessary to get you where you want to be professionally. If you can’t honestly say that you’ll need that degree, then I’d reevaluate whether or not going into debt for it makes sense. As an example, a former colleague of mine left NTU to go to law school. He didn’t particularly want to be a practicing lawyer, he just thought the law was interesting and, hey, lots of smart and ambitious people go to law school, right? Well, three miserable/difficult years and $100,000+ in debt later and he’s now at a policy job he could have gotten without the degree and has huge debt payments weighing him down. Don’t get me wrong; advanced degrees are great and continuing your education can be a wonderful thing. Just make sure you’re absolutely certain it’s what you want to do AND that it will be worth your while professionally.