stilesg57

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 Read that article this week and it put a knife in my heart. I want a PhD and to eventually teach at the collegiate level too, but I have to admit that dream is slowly but steadily leaving me. I'm 25, and I'm just not liking the idea of being poor into my mid 30s - if I'm lucky. I'm sorry about your position. It sucks to want something so badly and put so much work into it for so long and then have to take stock of whether or not to scrap your dreams/plans and move on. Best of luck to you.

I've always heard from those in the know that SAIS is the far and away the best, with Gtown standing out mostly because of it's placement in the Foreign Service. I know here in Beijing SAIS and Hopkins-Nanjing people run this town, at least when it comes to foreigner stuff (business, government, non-profit, EVERYTHING). My little sis is fluent in Mandarin (a big reason why I'm out here) and she got into Hopkins-Nanjing but deferred till next year. She wants a bit on her resume though since she's pretty fresh out of undergrad. That way if she rocks the certificate program it can lead directly to the SAIS MA. The connections she's seeing from the JHU programs out here are incredible.

Thanks for the info! Sounds like picking up a cheap beater is the way to go. I'm in no position to be spending money but I don't want to ruin my car or have it be effectively useless up there. What would the point be of even having it then? (scours craigslist/annarbor for $1500 hatchbacks...)

Here's Foreign Policy Magazine's list: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4685&page=1 About what I would come up with, though I would rank UCSD's program a little higher and Columbia's a little lower (behind Princeton).

PhD. Don't take on debt for a Masters degree just to go to a PhD program when you're already in at a good one. George Washington may not be Harvard when it comes to name recognition, but it's not Central Northwestern Idaho State Jesus Teachers University either :wink: I wish I were in your position - I applied to PhDs last year and didn't get in anywhere. That's the direction I'm eventually going to go, but now I have to do a Masters to get in. I'm excited about going to a good Masters program but frustrated that I have to rack up a ton of debt just to get to the PhD Good luck!

Yes. Okay. [/thread hijack]

I said "majority" In all seriousness though, coming from a rigorous small liberal arts college the pathetic state of the community school literally shocked me. I mean, I'm smart and certainly an above-average student, but I'm not a genius by any means. So when I never even had to crack a book to get perfect or near-perfect As in three different courses (which were my weakest subjects in undergrad - hence why I was taking them) while the class averages hovered in the low B to high C range, you can tell something is up with both the student body and the material/courses/teaching. See my earlier post as well. It's funnier

I'm a fellow soon-to-be UM'er I'll only be around for two or three years though. Any other Ford School people? Sounds like there's a lot of North Campus degrees in this thread... See you all in late August/early September!

With all due respect, the majority of community college students I worked/dealt/talked with were absolute idiots. Even most of the profs were far from Mensa candidates, and I only met one with a PhD. Not to be rude, just calling it like I saw it.

^^^Ha, I'm in a similar spot. My first job out of college paid 14k, my next 33k then raised a couple times to 42k, my third 22k (what a difference six months of a bad economy and a change in location make) till I got laid off, and my fourth 14k until I got laid off. This is all substantially less than I was making in high school - you know, BEFORE I got a bachelor's degree from a great school. After the last layoff I couldn't find a job for almost 6 months, not a one in San Diego. I had to move to frickin' China and teach English just to stop the backsliding. So yeah, 50k sounds beyond wonderful right now. I'm just pissed that I'll have to take out the better part of 100k in loans to do it This is driving me very much towards private sector consulting unfortunately. We'll see what the picture looks like two or three years from now. Not to start a rant or anything, but I have to ask: how is our generation (I'm 25) ever going to afford things like houses, college educations for our kids, or retirement? The fact that the baby-boomer generation and the one that preceded it were able to do all this largely with one-income households has me a little bitter.

I have two car-related questions for you Ann Arborites: 1) How is corrosion in MI? I have an old car that's spent its life in the dry mountain west and west coast. When I lived out in DC I noticed that after 10 years people often get rid of cars because of rust damage - not the case out west. How is MI in this regard? I'd rather get a different (beater) car if to use up there if corrosion is an issue. I don't want my project to become a rust bucket 2) Rumor is you guys get some snow there in AA How good are the plow crews about clearing it? The car I'm talking about is absolutely undriveable in the snow (lightweight, rear engine, rear wheel drive), but if the roads are plowed it's fine. It's not like the Trader Joe's/Costco trip can't wait a day or two till a snowstorm passes, but if the streets are covered for weeks on end I might think about getting a beater. Thanks, I'll probably have some more housing-related questions in the coming days. Can't wait to move to AA and get going on my degree.

I can vouch that Cougar Gold is the best cheese made in the US, and perhaps the world I went to undergrad in Walla Walla and made several trips to Pullman/Moscow over the years. My senior year I dated a girl whose parents were professors at U Idaho; she'd lived in Moscow since she was 5 and made for a good tour guide Pullman's a wonderful place if you like small towns, and even if you don't it just may grow on you. I would recommend a car though. It's definitely do-able without one, but it's such a nice convenience you'll love having one. Moscow is not within walking distance, but with a car you can get there any time you want and it's a nice town too. A car also allows you to go to Spokane, Lewiston, or Coeur d'Alene (or even Walla Walla for a fun day trip and to go camping or try other outdoor activities in the area. Housing is cheap and the presence of two major universities within 8 miles of each other guarantees a good amount of culture gets shipped in.

I would have done the same thing. HKS.

I wouldn't worry about debt when you're talking about Harvard, especially since you're getting a half-ride (I would kill a puppy - an extra adorable one - to have a half-ride at any school I applied to, let alone HKS). Harvard is THE gold standard in academia for the entire world. My little Chinese landlady speaks about 100 words of English and "Harvard" is one of them. You're in at the best, they're giving you money, go for it. Nobody who has a graduate degree from Harvard is living under a bridge. Don't worry about the debt.

I'm surprised there are so many fully funded +stipend Masters. Unfair

^^^It's a little hard to call when their office was only open from 9:30am-noon/2pm-4pm and I'm 15 time zones away I still managed to call several times and never got in touch with anyone I wanted to talk to or who could answer my questions. Boo. FWIW, I had a similar experience last year when I was applying to UCLA's PoliSci Phd. As for the email situation, I emailed the director of student services (after being referred to him specifically by Nancy) Maciek three times over the course of two weeks about career services questions and never heard back. By contrast, Michigan people always got back to me within three days and Duke people always got back with me immediately. I literally have emails time stamped at 7:03am EST from Chuck Pringle answers questions I sent in the night before. Elizabeth Gill and Donna Dyer also got back with me immediately and answered all my questions thoroughly. Even the one person I emailed at Pitt got back to me within a day. The only school that was worse with communication than UCLA was U Washington (Evans School). I withdrew my application there due to problems with the admissions office.

I've lived three places in SD: 1) Ocean Beach: COOL neighborhood and right on the beach but a little crazy and it eventually got annoying. Fast access to the freeways - I could be downtown or in La Jolla in 20 minutes during rush hour. Parking is a nightmare come summer. Really it was OK until the summer months, then all the tourists ruined it. Still, very workable and parts of Pacific Beach may be an improvement. 2) La Jolla Colony: Right at the foot of the huge Mormon temple on I-5. You can't miss it. Also right across the freeway from UCSD. Miserable though - just a weird suburban-type lifestyle. Strip malls full of chains. The students who live near campus are often the stranger and less sociable ones. I would avoid this area, nothing really fun or interesting about it. And it's the most expensive area I've lived. 3) University Heights/Hillcrest/North Park: Where I was staying (and am still paying rent - boo) most recently in SD. Great place to live. 25 minutes to UCSD in rush hour. 10 minutes to the beach, 15 minutes to Mission Trails for hiking. Fun, interesting, dynamic, walkable neighborhoods. Reasonable rent for the right parts of the neighborhood, there's a few shady sections but not many (stay west of the 805, period). The free shuttle to UCSD from Hillcrest makes this a great deal. I'm jealous of everyone who gets to move to or stay in SD. I've lived in many parts of the country and SD has a special place in me heart. Even though I knew UCSD's IR/PS wasn't the best school for me I still applied just so I could hold out hope of staying in my favorite big US city. Instead I'm off to the cold for a couple years. Hopefully I'll be back If anybody has any more questions about living in SD let me know and I'll be happy to talk with you.

Depends. What do you want to study/do? Where do you want to live? How much is the funding discrepancy between all the schools?

This was the last nail in the coffin on UCLA for me.

For what it's worth, a good friend of mine is a PhD student at Berkeley for political theory. She has an MPP from LSE, and she told me that three of her classmates have MPPs from Goldman. So yes, an MPP can be a way into a PhD. I'd probably go for Wharton were I in your enviable position. Jobs in academia tend to value "institutional diversity" quite highly. You already have a Harvard degree, so there's nothing to prove about what programs you can get into. Wharton is such a great business school that you'll have no problem doing anything in the private sector. The biggest benefit I see to staying at HKS is that you've already knocked out some required courses. Any funding discrepancies?

Yes. I'm not going to law school because I don't want to be a lawyer, but man I wish there were a way to make lawyer pay doing what I want to do. Three years of work experience (all over the map, unfortunately) and an MPP I would want to make something in the $50s. My best paying job so far paid low $40s. I'm going to dual degree though and I will expect to make more if I do my second degree in a favorable-to-consulting field (Econ, Enviro, Chinese). Not sure yet. After two masters degrees I'd like to be knocking on the door of $70k, but a lot of that depends on where the economy is three years from now. Hopefully it's a lot better. 10 years from now: ~$100-120s, adjusted for inflation. Via the private sector or academia most likely.

THIS IS WHERE I'M GOING TO ATTEND: University of Michigan - Ford School OTHER SCHOOLS I CONSIDERED: In order of most to least consideration - Duke, Chicago, UCLA, UCSD, GWU, Pitt. The decision that tore at me for two weeks was Duke vs. Michigan WHY I CHOSE MY NEW SCHOOL: 1. Dual degree opportunities: I'm going to get a dual degree, I really like that option as a way to hone your interests and training. I'm just not sure what the dual degree is going to be yet. I have a couple career paths in mind that I'm not sure about yet but will feel a lot better about by this time next year. No matter which direction I go Michigan is a top 10 program; they're excellent at EVERYTHING. I could easily end up with an MA in Poli Sci, Econ, Chinese Studies, or an MS in Enviro, depending on what I want to do after graduating. Seeing how I do in certain (quant) classes, how I like graduate student life, working with the career center and talking to alumni for the better part of a year is going to help me narrow that down. 2. Courses and course options: Duke just doesn't have enough electives for all the classes I want to take. Michigan has substantially more elective options and the courses offered within the policy school in general sounded more along the lines of what I'm interested in. 3. Location of alumni: I have lived in DC and didn't care for it. I don't want to go back there unless I absolutely have to for a couple years to get my career started. I will not settle down there, period. I want to live in the West, i.e., nothing east of Colorado. 90% of Duke grads were going to DC, NYC, or somewhere else on the eastern seaboard. UCLA and UCSD had the best showing here, but UCLA's career services are, to be kind, lacking and UCSD is more of an IR school than I thought. Michigan alums are everywhere, with a good concentration in DC but strong showings throughout the country and abroad. There were many others of course and they weighed differently at all the schools I considered, but these were the main points for me in decided to forgo funding and go with what I believe will be the best school for me.

I took the plunge. I'm pretty confident it was the right decision. Not totally, but pretty. Really hope they come up with some fellowship money for me. [crosses fingers...] See you all in Ann Arbor in the fall!

If you're between Ford and HKS I know what I'd do: HKS in a heartbeat. And I'm going to Ford in the fall. If you get into Harvard, you go to Harvard. It's the single most recognized name in the world when it comes to all things academia. Whatever debt you rack up you'll be able to pay back. You'll be in touch with Harvard alumni and Harvard grads run the world. I wouldn't worry about debt one iota to have an advanced degree from Harvard. So, what's your decision?

My seat's open If you're on a waitlist and really want to go to Harris no matter how much it costs I'd bet you have a good chance. If their endowment took the kind of hit everyone is talking about then they couldn't have offered much money to a lot of candidates (I didn't get any) and might have a lot of accepted students turning them down. Best of luck to you!