ay761

Hmm well it says, "Congratulations! You've been admitted to a master's program at Vanderbilt's Peabody College!" ... I don't think that can mean anything other than an acceptance.

I recieved this email too, and I definitely took it as an acceptance... so congrats! I just assume we haven't heard about funding yet. I applied to several PhD programs (that I haven't heard back from) and applied to this MA program to have a back up option... so I am not in a big rush for them to give me information on financial aid. It is nice to know I have an option open for next year, though!

yes, yes, yes. I only sent an email to one POI during this application process - at my first choice school. I typed "the the." I spell checked and re-read many times, but didn't notice the mistake. Until I pressed send..... and then it was standing out clear as day on the screen.

No... haven't seen anything in the results section either. Berkeley is my first choice, I am anxiously awaiting a response - I know accepted PhD applicants tend to hear at the end of January / early feb., based on the results posts from the past few years.

Sorry I realized this post was better suited elsewhere.... good luck!

I did too.... haha.

I also applied for Culture, Communities & Education. And also curious as to how selective that specific program is!

I've gotten two emails from 'admissions' recently. One from a school saying "Thanks for applying, we look forward to communicating with you further in the near future" but it looks like a standardized email so I can't really read anything into it. The other saying they want to submit my application to the admissions committee for review but can't because they haven't received a mailed official transcript -- though it specifically says on the website not to mail transcripts in unless requested (I guess this is the request? - maybe that is a good sign?!). Anyway, any email with the word 'admissions' nearly gives me a heart attack!

I got an email saying my application is incomplete because they have not received my official transcript by mail. I was sure that the instructions on the website said to upload an official transcript and do not send it by mail... I just double-checked and that appears to be the case. Did everyone else mail transcripts?

I have a 149 quant and I'm applying for an Ed.D at harvard (culture, communities and education), so I hope you are wrong about 'the cut'! I'm surprised you let that hold you back from applying, but maybe I'm not being realistic? I didn't even mention it in my application. I also got a B in stats which was my only b (rest were all As) my last 2 years of college. What can I say? I have a background in anthropology and math is just not my strong point -- though I am actually interested in statistics and am more than willing to put in as many hours as I need to (though my research proposal is based on qualitative research) to succeed in a program. Standardized tests are also not my strong point.... I didn't do fabulously on the verbal either (159). I'm just hoping my SOP, LORs, relevant life experience and 4 years as a teacher overseas will be enough. If not.... I'll go back to the US next year and hire a tutor for math; re-take the GRE.... :\

3000 applications & 50 interviews?! where did you get those stats? I'm applying for the EdD not EDLD, but I thought the acceptance rate was around 7%.

oh wow! Society and Cultural Studies! you?

It's killing me too :\ Have you looked at the archived dates in result search re: when accepted people were contacted in previous years? In my field (education) it seems that in all previous years most people entered in their acceptances Berkeley between Jan. 25th - 28th (and the rejections came much later), so I'm not really expecting anything until then. I'm really glad the results search section exists -- having an idea of the time patterns in previous years keeps me from obsessively checking my email all of the time. However, I'm going to be going crazy on those days, and I'm going to be really sad if I don't hear anything by Jan. 28th!

Ah, I guess it probably did just delete your whole app, that's really too bad! I applied to Berkeley too but in the education department, wow, sounds like a much more intensive process in your department. It is really difficult to manage time -- I can think of so many things I will do differently next year if I don't get in this year (my job contract is up in July, so I will utilize 4 months solely for the purpose of grad school apps & improving my GRE... though I really hope I won't have to). Maybe you'll get into one of your other schools, and if not at least you have been through the process so you can probably make your application even better next year!

I would email the admissions office immediately.... see if they can make an exception? It couldn't hurt. I did a similarly dumb thing. This whole time, I thought one of my PhD programs was due on Dec. 31st. I was putting that application off because I thought I had so much time, and then finally got around to doing some in depth research on the site after all the other apps were submitted and discovered the due date was Dec. 1st! I logged into my app, and it still said Dec. 31st... but it turns out I accidentally selected MA rather than PhD. So now I am going to go ahead and apply for the MA program... may as well, since my professors already submitted the letters! I'm also working 60 hours a week -- it's really hard to manage all the small details of this process with a busy schedule. Don't be too hard on yourself! But yeah, I'm kicking myself too, I was applying to 5 PhD programs and now it is only 4.

GRE Score: V 159, Q 149 AWA: 4.5 GPA: Undergraduate: 3.5 Graduate: N/A Work Experience: 3 years in an unrelated field, 3 years teaching overseas, various volunteer teaching activities, 2 years total spent studying overseas Undergrad Institution (Public, Private, Ivy, etc..): private liberal arts Research Experience: Only independent projects in undergrad; no publications. 3 conference presentations related to teaching & skill development Applying for PhD or Masters: Ed.D Program: Culture, Communities, and Education What Other Schools Are You Applying To: Stanford, UC Berkeley (both PhD) Just recently submitted my HGSE application. Good luck everyone

Hmm, ok, it's nice to get another opinion. Basically, a friend of mine applied to 7 different top programs and only checked the box at one school. At that one school, his application got deferred to the masters program, but got accepted into phd programs with generous fellowships everywhere else. His theory is that they get so many applications they are looking for reasons to reject people...and if you state that you are open to paying for yourself to be there, rather than them paying for you, why wouldn't they choose that option?

Hello everyone, I'm facing a huge dilemma here and I'd like some feedback. What are your thoughts in regards to checking the box that says you would like to be considered for a masters if you don't get accepted into the PhD (or in my case, EdD)? In truth, I really want to do a PhD / EdD. I have heard that if you check the box, it means your application will likely be considered for a masters rather than the PhD (heard that from both a current grad student at an Ivy and also from one of my professors). I therefore didn't check the box at Stanford, but tomorrow I have to submit Harvard's application and I am really tempted to check it, because I really want to at least go to an MA program I'm excited about if I don't get into a PhD program (and then reapply for PhD while doing the MA). I am really confident about my SOP, background experience, undergrad work, letters of rec. etc., but my GRE scores make me worry that I might not make the cut for EdD at Harvard (159 v 149 q, 4.5 AW). My question is, is there anyone out there who has checked the box that they wanted to be considered for an MA if rejected by the EdD / PhD... but then got accepted into the EdD / PhD program anyway? Or is there anyone out there who has received useful advice on this issue, one way or the other? Furthermore, do you think there is any chance that if I don't check the box... if I am close to making the cut, they just might ask if I'd be interested in doing the MA anyway? I have 24 hours to make a decision, and I've been struggling with it for months :\ Thanks!

well, i am applying with a lower GPA (3.5 overall, 3.8 major), and a gre score of 159 v. 149 m 4.5 aw... and i don't know if you are international but if so it probably evens us out or even makes you more competitive in terms of statistics. i think you should also consider what you have done in terms of teaching, research etc. and how confident you feel about your SOP. harvard supposedly looks at the overall picture.

Hello Stanford - International Comparative Education PhD Harvard - Culture, Communities and Education EdD NYU - International Education PhD (specializing in Global Education) Vanderbilt - Leadership and Policy Studies PhD (specializing in International Education Policy) UC Berkeley - Social and Cultural Studies PhD Also applied to two MA programs at other schools as back-up options, though I'm not sure if I would go to those even if I get rejected elsewhere. Right now UC Berkeley is my first choice because of excellent faculty match.

Yeah, I was wondering about sending the emails.... I think it might be a little early though, I mean I really doubt anyone will be contacting anyone before Jan. 14th. I'm kind of scared to bother the admissions committee by sending such an email, but maybe I should. haha, last time I applied for something I really wanted I decided to take a vacation to a remote beach out-of-country the week the results were due in, and then ended up hitchhiking into town every morning to check and see if I received an email. I guess I still haven't learned my lesson... Good luck on your second round of applying!

Yeah that's crazy, I'm 28 and applying now... will be 29 when I start, or maybe 30 if I get rejected this time around! Although I thought about applying years ago during my senior year of college, I feel much, much more prepared now and am so glad I waited. I would think, if anything, being in your upper 20s or lower 30s would help your application.

teagirl, did you make a new SOP? i'm really worried that if i get rejected i'll have to change my SOP (come up with a different research proposal). seems like the most obvious thing to do I guess.... but I really want to study what I proposed. I was only able to find one school with a perfect fit in terms of my ideas, the other 3 are only indirectly related.

Yes. I have been living overseas for a long time, and I have to make my decision about whether or not to renew my contract in January -- a month or so before decisions come out. Of course, I have to say no. And then if I get rejected from all grad schools, I'm out of work and will have to move out of the country with no plans at all. Scary as hell. And everything I've been doing overseas for years has been leading up to these applications... I just can't imagine what will happen if I get rejected. And my GRE scores are not good. And I didn't apply to back up schools. Very dumb. I also think about it all the time. I even dream about my SOP!

I just bought a ticket to Bangladesh from jan 3rd - jan 14th just so I don't have to think about it. But after I bought it I realized I won't be able to access my voice mail or return phone calls and now I have this fear of a professor calling me and not being able to respond while I am away...