International Education Policy / Development

[yumpeh12]

Congratulations to all those who have heard from their programs and good luck to those still waiting! I figured we can use this space to ask questions, get feed back, make contacts etc. for those in our program of study!!

Any word yet on when we will find out financial aid information? Anyone going to Penn GSE's or HGSE's open house events?

[garrear0]

I'll be visiting Penn & Columbia TC. Unfortunately, I can't make it to Penn's preview day. Are those your top choices?

[yumpeh12]

I'll be visiting Penn & Columbia TC. Unfortunately, I can't make it to Penn's preview day. Are those your top choices?

I was accepted to GWU, UPenn (with small scholarship offer), Harvard (aid pending) and Vanderbilt (scholarship offer and likely assistantship offer later). After doing some thinking on my preferences, my needs as far as resources and costs (and UPenn was not helpful in helping with visit/travel costs unlike the others) I have decided to just go and visit only Harvard and Vanderbilt. So looks like it is going to be between these two. I am starting to do my pro and cons lists and I think the visits will really be able to help me in my final decision.

[patienceshmaitience]

Oh great to see this post is going! I just posted something similar in another forum. I applied to 5 schools and have only heard back from 2- Columbia-Teachers College (International Ed. Development) and University of London-Institute of Education (Education and International Development). I haven't received any info on funding from Columbia, however, and likely have weeks until I hear from my remaining choices- Lund University, NYU, and Clark. Hope I have something on funding from TC soon so I have some info to go on when deciding!

[garrear0]

I was accepted to GWU, UPenn (with small scholarship offer), Harvard (aid pending) and Vanderbilt (scholarship offer and likely assistantship offer later). After doing some thinking on my preferences, my needs as far as resources and costs (and UPenn was not helpful in helping with visit/travel costs unlike the others) I have decided to just go and visit only Harvard and Vanderbilt. So looks like it is going to be between these two. I am starting to do my pro and cons lists and I think the visits will really be able to help me in my final decision.

I actually work at Peabody (Vanderbilt) in International Affairs so if you need any help connecting with students and the like, I'm happy to do what I can to help. I can also provide any info about Nashville.

[garrear0]

Oh great to see this post is going! I just posted something similar in another forum. I applied to 5 schools and have only heard back from 2- Columbia-Teachers College (International Ed. Development) and University of London-Institute of Education (Education and International Development). I haven't received any info on funding from Columbia, however, and likely have weeks until I hear from my remaining choices- Lund University, NYU, and Clark. Hope I have something on funding from TC soon so I have some info to go on when deciding!

I received some info about federal loans from TC the same day that I submitted my scholarship app. I don't know, though, if there is scholarship info yet to come though. I am not holding my breath, as I know that for master's programs , funding is quite limited. Like @yumpeh12 I also got a scholarship offer from Penn. Though I'm most certainly happy with anything, it's, well, a drop in the bucket.

University of London--That's great. I never thought of even looking there- I looked at Finland because at this point they have free tuition for all including international students. What does the tuition look like for non-UK/EU citizens at University of London (I am assuming you are from the US. forgive me if I'm wrong)?

I haven't heard from NYU yet either, but I'm not really considering them at this point unless they make it financially worth my while, which I don't expect.

Good luck to you!!

[yumpeh12]

I actually work at Peabody (Vanderbilt) in International Affairs so if you need any help connecting with students and the like, I'm happy to do what I can to help. I can also provide any info about Nashville.

I actually work at Peabody (Vanderbilt) in International Affairs so if you need any help connecting with students and the like, I'm happy to do what I can to help. I can also provide any info about Nashville.

Thanks so much! That would be great. I have been in contact with one student- but the more inside information I get the better! Did you apply to Peabody as well?

[patienceshmaitience]

I received some info about federal loans from TC the same day that I submitted my scholarship app. I don't know, though, if there is scholarship info yet to come though. I am not holding my breath, as I know that for master's programs , funding is quite limited. Like @yumpeh12 I also got a scholarship offer from Penn. Though I'm most certainly happy with anything, it's, well, a drop in the bucket.

University of London--That's great. I never thought of even looking there- I looked at Finland because at this point they have free tuition for all including international students. What does the tuition look like for non-UK/EU citizens at University of London (I am assuming you are from the US. forgive me if I'm wrong)?

I haven't heard from NYU yet either, but I'm not really considering them at this point unless they make it financially worth my while, which I don't expect.

Good luck to you!!

I applied to University of London because I was really trying to cut costs for grad school and despite the high cost of living in London, tuition for my program (Education and Development) was $20k...half of what I would spend here! Housing is super expensive, on average about $1100-$1300 for a single room, but even with that cost, it's coming out to be cheaper. I've also read really great reviews of the Institute of Education but I am anxious about choosing the school because, well...who in the U.S. has ever heard of the Institute of Education? :-/

FYI- It's rolling admission so you could actually still apply if interested! They have a ton of programs that focus on different specialties of development and education. And they let you know about their admission decision within a month.

Finland is a great idea too! I didn't look there, though I did apply to Lund University in Sweden. Pretty expensive though.

I haven't heard from NYU yet either but like you, if they don't offer funding I don't think I would accept. I wish you luck as well!!

[garrear0]

Thanks so much! That would be great. I have been in contact with one student- but the more inside information I get the better! Did you apply to Peabody as well?

Just message me your email address and perhaps maybe a couple specifics of your background and goals and I will try to connect you with someone who has similar interests. I actually did not apply to Peabody, although, as you know, it's an excellent program and school. I like the idea of a one year program with the possibility of getting two master's degrees (for the price of 1 at Vanderbilt). I'm also eager to move to the Northeast and to a bigger city.

[Jimmy McNulty]

I applied to University of London because I was really trying to cut costs for grad school and despite the high cost of living in London, tuition for my program (Education and Development) was $20k...half of what I would spend here! Housing is super expensive, on average about $1100-$1300 for a single room, but even with that cost, it's coming out to be cheaper. I've also read really great reviews of the Institute of Education but I am anxious about choosing the school because, well...who in the U.S. has ever heard of the Institute of Education? :-/

FYI- It's rolling admission so you could actually still apply if interested! They have a ton of programs that focus on different specialties of development and education. And they let you know about their admission decision within a month.

I think people in the education field will have heard of it. It's a great school. Definitely the top graduate school of education in Europe and according to this document, it is in the top 6 in the world.

http://www.ioe.ac.uk/about/documents/Alumni_Ambassador_toolkit_FAQ.pdf

From page 2:

World Leading centre : the IOE is one of the top six graduate schools of education in the world, and a member of the International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes, as well as the UK’s 1994 Group of Research Intensive Universities

[kismetcapitan]

Vandy being two years was a negative, but now that I'm in the field of intl education policy, I know why. M.Eds are traditionally one year, but IEP is really a policy major, and it's far more like what you'd be doing in a M.P.P. program or even Fletcher, than a basic M.Ed. It takes two years to really get a full background, develop your policy interest, and network enough. We got networking mentoring and counseling (for future employment), starting from the second day of orientation!

In one year, you simply cannot get deep enough into the material to become a policymaker. You can study an overview of what's going on in the field, but from where I am now in my second of five semesters, I can't imagine having to graduate in a month and be prepared to work in the big leagues.

I am biased of course, but I have friends in the IEPM PhD program who graduated from other various IEP programs. The other good programs are TC and Stanford IEAPA (not ICE).

[mustangintokyo]

I asked Vanderbilt what was up with my application since nothing had changed in, oh I don't know, forever...and this is what I got back...

"Thanks for your email. I am glad you wrote.

Did you complete the International Student Financial Statement? (Link)

I can tell you that the department reviewed your file and recommended admission, but an offer of admission cannot come from the Dean's office until this document has been submitted. If you have not already done so, please complete this as soon as possible and submit to the email listed on the form. Please let me know, as well, when you have sent it so I can alert the graduate admission office that it was sent and have them start the process."

Now, it blows my mind that they did not even bother to send me a quick little reminder or notice that I'm missing this one vital part of the application...but the more important thing is, does this mean that, AS LONG AS I GET THIS FORM IN, I am essentially accepted? It sounds so very cryptic to me and I'm not sure how to decipher this...y'all have any idea?

[kasia]

Congrats to all! It's really nice to see people applying to same programmes. Well, i come from a little different background so it was a tough thing with no GRE and Ma diploma from Poland that was recognized as BA by WES. I guess that might have been one of the main reasons i did not get in to M.Ed at TC (should have applied for MA but how could i have known this).

Anyways, i was accepted to NYU, IOE-London (it's pretty big here in Europe, really a leading institution) and Lund. I have also got into Global Higher Education at Madison. I would really appreciate your honest opinion - i have been working in managing international projects with developing countries in higher education for the last 3 years and have 2 professional postgrad diplomas in this and global development. i have been thinking of venturing for international organisations in higher education development. it's a no-go without a well-recognized degree.

do you think it's better to go for international education or stick to higher education and do madison? here in europe nyu is a big thing (of course not like tc but i just do not want to wait another year) but it's very expensive. is it really worth it? what is your opinion on this? us degree is still the most valued and whatever you say i don't think you can compare ioe-london to this.

Any comments?

[patienceshmaitience]

Congrats to all! It's really nice to see people applying to same programmes. Well, i come from a little different background so it was a tough thing with no GRE and Ma diploma from Poland that was recognized as BA by WES. I guess that might have been one of the main reasons i did not get in to M.Ed at TC (should have applied for MA but how could i have known this).

Anyways, i was accepted to NYU, IOE-London (it's pretty big here in Europe, really a leading institution) and Lund. I have also got into Global Higher Education at Madison. I would really appreciate your honest opinion - i have been working in managing international projects with developing countries in higher education for the last 3 years and have 2 professional postgrad diplomas in this and global development. i have been thinking of venturing for international organisations in higher education development. it's a no-go without a well-recognized degree.

do you think it's better to go for international education or stick to higher education and do madison? here in europe nyu is a big thing (of course not like tc but i just do not want to wait another year) but it's very expensive. is it really worth it? what is your opinion on this? us degree is still the most valued and whatever you say i don't think you can compare ioe-london to this.

Any comments?

I applied to NYU and IOE as well and was accepted. I'm now trying to decide the same thing as you, except in reverse. I'm in the US and am concerned that IOE is not well known here, and thus may not be the best place to get a Masters if my hope is to ultimately stay in the US. Have you heard anything about the IOE programs, positive or negative? The big attraction for me was the cost. NYU's International Ed program for 2 years is over $50k, IOE is $20k!!

[kasia]

Hi patienceshmaitience! Well yes, i have been doing some research on IOE and here in Europe it really looks pretty well - if you take the number of interns they have in EC or UNESCO it's the leading Master you can get. I have heard good comments about their faculty and that you can get an assistantships in their projects pretty easily. They have been convincing me to apply for their Mundus Master in Life Long Learning - it's really interesting (IOE, Copenhaguen, Deusto in Spain and Melbourne - you get 3 diplomas at once) but i am not sure if i want to stay longer in Europe. My opinion would be that US education in Europe is super highly regarded and people in education/EC would be more impressed with an american degree from a good university. what is good about ioe is that it can land you in european organizations for summer. i don't know if you want to go back to the us right after your degree or wish to stay in europe to get some experience. if the latter is your opinion i would go for ioe and than get a more advance degree back in the us. i have been working in international education for a while now and honestly my bet is that ec has more interesting programmes (maybe smaller scale) but more grass-root and better to get experience

[patienceshmaitience]

Hi patienceshmaitience! Well yes, i have been doing some research on IOE and here in Europe it really looks pretty well - if you take the number of interns they have in EC or UNESCO it's the leading Master you can get. I have heard good comments about their faculty and that you can get an assistantships in their projects pretty easily. They have been convincing me to apply for their Mundus Master in Life Long Learning - it's really interesting (IOE, Copenhaguen, Deusto in Spain and Melbourne - you get 3 diplomas at once) but i am not sure if i want to stay longer in Europe. My opinion would be that US education in Europe is super highly regarded and people in education/EC would be more impressed with an american degree from a good university. what is good about ioe is that it can land you in european organizations for summer. i don't know if you want to go back to the us right after your degree or wish to stay in europe to get some experience. if the latter is your opinion i would go for ioe and than get a more advance degree back in the us. i have been working in international education for a while now and honestly my bet is that ec has more interesting programmes (maybe smaller scale) but more grass-root and better to get experience

Yeah you raise some good points about IOE. It was my top choice initially but because my husband would not be able to go with me (not a US citizen so getting a visa would be tough), I think I may stay in the US. Another thing is the cost of relocating to London. It's so pricey for a teeny little dorm room.

[SMF711]

Bump! Any IED/P applicants out there? I've been accepted at Peabody but I'm still waiting to hear back from Penn, Columbia & Harvard.

[lissybeau]

I applied to NYU for their International Ed program. After lurking online I'm thinking about applying for Columbia's TC as well. When did you apply to Columbia? I believe they are still accepting apps.

[SMF711]

I don't know what the final deadline is for Columbia but I sent mine in on January 15. I just checked my status online and my decision was saline. I'm in! Good luck!

[SMF711]

oops typo/autocorrect up there. I meant my decision was *available.

[lissybeau]

Wow congrats! I think the application period might be officially closed but it looks like a great program!