Decisions, Decisions! 2012 Decision Thread

[PhDreams]

Eek! I know... It's kind of sad that when I got the email I was like, "don't be a good offer! Don't be a good offer.. Dang!"

Seriously, last month I would have killed for this news. This month I'm just more stressed out... lol

[darlindukkie]

LOL, I know. I'm absolutely torn. I'm comparing apples and oranges. I'm hoping campus visits and conversations with potential advisers will help. But I have no idea how I'm going to choose and feel like I made the best choice!

I'm in the same boat as you - I have a full tuition offer from another campus but HGSE is most attractive to me at a distance. I've never been to Boston or lived out of California, so I'm hoping the campus visits give me the perspective I need to make a decision. Congratulations though - it's a wonderful predicament to be in

[TexanLex]

I feel the same way, wildviolet! I was dead set on HGSE, but now Michigan made me a very attractive financial offer. I absolutely love Michigan and now I feel like I'm not as sure about HGSE. I guess I'll see how I feel after the visit to Michigan and after I receive hGSE's fin aid package. I'm always here to chat if you need someone to talk to... Especially since now I'm in a similar situation with michigan.

Thanks, I'd really appreciate that! And yesterday, I was browsing through rankings again and stumbled across the new ones, which now have Michigan at #1, Vandy at #5, and Penn at #9. I can't win :'(

Edited March 16, 2012 by TexanLex

[wannabeaphd]

TexanLex -- where are your rankings coming from? I thought I got to the right Ed rankings, but they said Vandy was still #1...?

[HigherLearning]

Wannabeaphd, I think TexanLex was referring to the rankings for the Higher Education specialization. Vandy is #1 overall for Education and #5 for Higher Education.

[teach24]

@TexanLex Did you see how they determine speciality rankings? They're done solely via a peer assesment survey.

[wannabeaphd]

Oh! I didn't look at the specializations! *skips off to have a look*

[wildviolet]

Oh! I didn't look at the specializations! *skips off to have a look*

Curriculum and Instruction Specialization

MSU #2

UW #8

Hmmm...

[wildviolet]

I can't win :'(

LOL. Nope, you can't!

[wildviolet]

Congratulations though - it's a wonderful predicament to be in

Wonderfully frustrating!

Congrats to you, too! OMG, this is going to be a long month...

[captainwombat27]

Finally decided--HGSE TIE for me too! Made the most sense because I felt like the TIE program offers a lot more flexibility than Columbia's CCTE.

I'm excited!

[Airwick]

Finally decided--HGSE TIE for me too! Made the most sense because I felt like the TIE program offers a lot more flexibility than Columbia's CCTE.

I'm excited!

Make sure to join our Facebook group!

[kamadeva]

Hello everyone,

My daughter got accepted to Columbia TC, Penn GSE, and NYU for a Masters in Literacy. They are all great schools, but would like any advice from people who would know better. One unfortunate thing is that she needs to reply to Penn GSE by April 15 and the admitted student visit at TC isn't until April 20-21, so she really won't have the chance to visit all schools and hear more about their programs before making a decision. Any advice, please? Thanks!!!

[Malachi Constant]

Hello everyone,

My daughter got accepted to Columbia TC, Penn GSE, and NYU for a Masters in Literacy. They are all great schools, but would like any advice from people who would know better. One unfortunate thing is that she needs to reply to Penn GSE by April 15 and the admitted student visit at TC isn't until April 20-21, so she really won't have the chance to visit all schools and hear more about their programs before making a decision. Any advice, please? Thanks!!!

I have set up a pre-admitted student visit at TC, set for the end of this month. If she writes to her potential advisor, they should be able to set up an informal orientation.

[kamadeva]

Thanks for this information! It's very helpful.

[mrsanchez]

Program: Secondary English Education/Teaching of English

Applied/Accepted: TC (work-study + loans offered, scholarships pending), NYU Steinhardt (fellowship + work-study/loans), IUP (safety school, no aid info)

[wheatGrass]

If there are any Canadians/Canada-bound people here, I would love to discuss my OISE vs. York dilemma....

Edited March 30, 2012 by wheatGrass

[Revo]

If anyone has any insights into Stanford or Michigan, it would be great to hear from you, since I'm probably going to end up picking between Michigan's higher ed program and Stanford's POLS program (both Master's-level).

[wildviolet]

Decision made... Michigan State! Loved the people in my program--so many awesome people with impressive backgrounds and life experiences.

[litjust]

Decision made... Michigan State! Loved the people in my program--so many awesome people with impressive backgrounds and life experiences.

Awesome! Congratulations

[emma1frost]

Went to the Open House for MAT students at Brown this past Monday and it was great. Really confirmed by decision about the next year. I was going through the normal worries of, do I really want to do this? And meeting the staff, department leaders, and fellow admitted students was an important part of the day. We visited with current students and got to ask them all our questions. It was a great day and while their website is very out of date, the admit day answered all my questions about the program. So glad I went.

[hello3angel]

Made my decision this week--I'll be attending Stanford. Anyone else who will be there?

[PhDreams]

Went to the Open House for MAT students at Brown this past Monday and it was great. Really confirmed by decision about the next year. I was going through the normal worries of, do I really want to do this? And meeting the staff, department leaders, and fellow admitted students was an important part of the day. We visited with current students and got to ask them all our questions. It was a great day and while their website is very out of date, the admit day answered all my questions about the program. So glad I went.

That's exactly how I felt at HGSE! I'm so glad you felt that connection too. Best of luck to you. Congrats on your decision!

[PhDreams]

Decision made... Michigan State! Loved the people in my program--so many awesome people with impressive backgrounds and life experiences.

Congrats!!!!

[TexanLex]

Finally made a decision!! *drum rolls* PENN! I feel so relieved that this ordeal is over, but at the same time, it feels like it's just begun! I had a really difficult time deciding between UPenn and Michigan. Even though Michigan was touted as the better program, I felt that I would forever regret not attending Penn. I think what it came down to was location, opportunity, and experience. Penn and Philadelphia are NOTHING like UT Austin (where I am currently), and I wanted a completely different graduate school experience and didn't want to attend an institution that was similar to my undergrad. Plus, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and just take a chance and follow a dream/inkling. East coast/Philly/Penn are a total 180 from what I've experienced in life and I thought it would be a huge change and a bit of a challenge, something I look forward to! Also, there are tons of schools on the east coast, and this is a chance for me to really get out and explore.

I'm really excited and I think I made the right decision. Something was pulling me in that direction and I always follow my gut. It hurt to turn down a job offer I got from Michigan (I really would have enjoyed the people and the department I would've worked in), but I'd like to think that maybe one day I'll be at Michigan for something else. Anywho, I'm babbling, but that's just because I'm excited and scared and this is JUST SO NEW AND SO AWESOME AND SO AMAZING!!

Good luck to everyone else in their decision-making and thank you all for sharing in the journey!

Edited April 12, 2012 by TexanLex