sisepuede Posted March 11, 2009 Author Posted March 11, 2009 i'm with linden. let's do this already! then i will start a thread so all of the really strong quant people can tell me what books to read so i can relearn how to use graph paper. :mrgreen:
Cornell07 Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 omg...any word yet? Well, I'm in bed feeling ill (no connection to the waiting process) and my cellphone is on loud, so WWS, feel free to arouse me from this drug induced haze anytime now.
linden Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 I find myself wondering these past few days... How did Barack Obama and John McCain sleep/concentrate/eat/etc throughout the month of October? Seriously. This grad school thing is peanuts compared to running for president. And, I am about to fall apart.
Cornell07 Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 I find myself wondering these past few days... How did Barack Obama and John McCain sleep/concentrate/eat/etc throughout the month of October? Seriously. This grad school thing is peanuts compared to running for president. And, I am about to fall apart. Well, on the all staff phone call one or two weeks before e-day. Barack told us: "Now, if I see or hear about anyone getting sloppy or complacent, I'll come down and whoop 'em. I'm probably at least twice as old as most of you and I've been doing this since before you were born. If I can keep it up, so can you."
dayafterxmas Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 i know this...but. don't others (future employers, PhD programs) define us by our alma maters? maybe they don't. does anyone really know?
Cornell07 Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 i know this...but. don't others (future employers, PhD programs) define us by our alma maters? maybe they don't. does anyone really know? I used to work at a law firm and the HR people did to a large extent.
younglions Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Ignats - Thanks for the perspective. I'll counter by saying that most of us are probably gaga over Princeton because its generous aid packages will allow us to explore our areas of interests without reservation. Not just for two years during grad school, but afterwards as well. When many alumni of SIPA, HKS, SAIS, Georgetown, etc. are taking jobs in the private sector, dedicating their days to goals for which they might not give a damn in order to send their $900/month student loan checks in, graduates of WWS will have the financial flexibility to do exactly what it is that they want to do. In the words of Amartya Sen, education is both instrumental and constitutive. In my opinion, WWS is the best instrument to open up a rewarding career in public service. It has very little to do with prestige.
Dreams Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 i know this...but. don't others (future employers, PhD programs) define us by our alma maters? maybe they don't. does anyone really know? Your degree may provide a leg up for your initial job. But afterwards, it is your work experience and contacts that matter. If you have a string of poor references, then not even your Harvard degree will help you there!
jduds Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Drats. Thank you for editing the post. I agree with Ignats and FSIA.
policy_applicant Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 I'm going to agree with linden here. I mean, you don't have to get a degree at all to go into public service or affect people's lives. You can always just volunteer at a local nonprofit or get a job right out of undergrad. But we're all applying to masters (or PhD) programs for a reason, and that's to further explore areas that interest us and also to get a leg up in the job market after graduation. Sure, you can explore a topic of interest at just about any institution, but only to a certain extent. I mean, there's a reason the top universities are ranked more highly than the others--for the most part, they have impressive faculty who have more knowledge and hands-on experience in the field. And beyond that, to the extent that your degree from WWS, for example, helps you land the job you want, it can help you do more good in your public service career than the degree from directional state u. Also, Princeton gives super generous funding packages. That said, prestige is not everything, and most of us will be successful no matter where we end up. Going to top schools, however, can help us achieve our public goals as well as our personal ones, and that shouldn't be discounted.
Ignats Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Ignats - Thanks for the perspective. I'll counter by saying that most of us are probably gaga over Princeton because its generous aid packages will allow us to explore our areas of interests without reservation. Not just for two years during grad school, but afterwards as well. When many alumni of SIPA, HKS, SAIS, Georgetown, etc. are taking jobs in the private sector, dedicating their days to goals for which they might not give a damn in order to send their $900/month student loan checks in, graduates of WWS will have the financial flexibility to do exactly what it is that they want to do. In the words of Amartya Sen, education is both instrumental and constitutive. In my opinion, WWS is the best instrument to open up a rewarding career in public service. It has very little to do with prestige. Thanks Younglions, I like that quote. Certainly the financial aid at WWS is nice. However, I am aware of several people who attended HKS or Fletcher (including a family member), took out very significant loans and continue to work in the public sector. They had to make some sacrifices/lifestyle adjustments post-graduation but are none the worse for them. It hasn't meaningfully altered their happiness or quality of life. They also had a graduate experiences that were quite powerful and transformative. I am merely suggesting most grad schools will position one to work if the public sector if they are commited to doing so and if they take advantage of the resources of school X. I will now step down from my pedestal and stop preaching.
linden Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 jduds: I am sorry my original post offended you. (I intended to edit it, erased it by mistake, and felt too lazy to retype it.) Nevertheless, the tone on this board has been cordial so far, and it would be a shame if that changed. We're all sharing opinions, ideas, and information, and, it helps me to hear diverse viewpoints as I shape my plans. Nevertheless, like policy_applicant and others, I do think name--the faculty, alumni, and prestige it gets you--counts. It's not everything, but it counts. My original edit: Anyone giving up hope yet that we will hear from WWS today?
policy_applicant Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 My original edit: Anyone giving up hope yet that we will hear from WWS today? [raises hand] I was sure it was going to be today. That said, I'm really not getting my hopes up for WWS, so I can at least still sleep. I still think admits will be tomorrow and rejects will be on Friday. That would just be wrong to make the rejects wait the whole weekend before making it official.
younglions Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 I've gone so far as to look when people received decisions last year (as in what time). I didn't find any admits, but I did see a message from someone with a rejection that posted at 2:05 pm central time. S/he said that s/he had just been rejected. So no, don't give up hope yet on today yet! Also, I'm officially crazy.
jduds Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 jduds: I am sorry my original post offended you. (I intended to edit it, erased it by mistake, and felt too lazy to retype it.) Nevertheless, the tone on this board has been cordial so far, and it would be a shame if that changed. We're all sharing opinions, ideas, and information, and, it helps me to hear diverse viewpoints as I shape my plans. Nevertheless, like policy_applicant and others, I do think name--the faculty, alumni, and prestige it gets you--counts. It's not everything, but it counts. My original edit: Anyone giving up hope yet that we will hear from WWS today? Not offended at all. I tend to side with Ignats. But can understand your perspective.
younglions Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Thanks Younglions, I like that quote. Certainly the financial aid at WWS is nice. However, I am aware of several people who attended HKS or Fletcher (including a family member), took out very significant loans and continue to work in the public sector. They had to make some sacrifices/lifestyle adjustments post-graduation but are none the worse for them. It hasn't meaningfully altered their happiness or quality of life. They also had a graduate experiences that were quite powerful and transformative. I am merely suggesting most grad schools will position one to work if the public sector if they are commited to doing so and if they take advantage of the resources of school X. I will now step down from my pedestal and stop preaching. You've got a point, but I still think graduate school debt can be VERY limiting for some. For example, if I were to decide after my masters to do some microfinance surveying fieldwork, it would be near impossible to find a position that would allow me to pay down any significant amount of loans. A lot of these positions are very low paid, and some even unpaid. Perhaps those interested in domestic policy don't have as much to worry about (this could be totally false, I haven't researched domestic policy careers), but for those of us interested in international development, debt can drastically shape what options we pursue post-graduation. Anyways, thanks for bringing the topic up. It's certainly a discussion worth having.
linden Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 [raises hand] I was sure it was going to be today. That said, I'm really not getting my hopes up for WWS, so I can at least still sleep. I still think admits will be tomorrow and rejects will be on Friday. That would just be wrong to make the rejects wait the whole weekend before making it official. policy_applicant: Oh, I hope you are right. And, it's so funny, up until a few days ago, I actually had very little hope for WWS. And, now my imagination is running wild.
linden Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 I've gone so far as to look when people received decisions last year (as in what time). I didn't find any admits, but I did see a message from someone with a rejection that posted at 2:05 pm central time. S/he said that s/he had just been rejected. So no, don't give up hope yet on today yet! Also, I'm officially crazy. younglions: Which keywords are you using for your search? I see an admit last year that includes the following info. "Emailed 6:40pm EST, last name starts with 's'." (Which has led me to perform all sorts of calculations about when my last name's turn might be.) But, I don't see the 2:05 rejection. (I wonder if WWS adcom people are sitting around reading our crazy theories, laughing their behinds off. :?: )
younglions Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 The reject is from the forums, not the results page.
policy_applicant Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 "Emailed 6:40pm EST, last name starts with 's'." (Which has led me to perform all sorts of calculations about when my last name's turn might be.) But, I don't see the 2:05 rejection. (I wonder if WWS adcom people are sitting around reading our crazy theories, laughing their behinds off. :?: ) I think I also saw a 5:00 EST admit. Don't worry younglions, you're just as crazy as the rest of us. Erm, on second thought, maybe that is reason for worry.
sisepuede Posted March 11, 2009 Author Posted March 11, 2009 younglions: Which keywords are you using for your search? I see an admit last year that includes the following info. "Emailed 6:40pm EST, last name starts with 's'." (Which has led me to perform all sorts of calculations about when my last name's turn might be.) But, I don't see the 2:05 rejection. (I wonder if WWS adcom people are sitting around reading our crazy theories, laughing their behinds off. :?: ) about those adcom people sitting around...here's a bit from matt's march 5 entry on the SIPA admissions blog discussing applicant's confusion over rejections. if he admits to it, i would guess that means lots of others do it...and there aren't that many grad boards around. "I know discussion about this goes on, quite passionate discussion in fact, because occasionally I will visit discussion boards pertaining to graduate schools and graduate school admission. I visited a few yesterday and the discussion is quite . . . lively. I do not comment on the boards, the boards are for applicants and students, not administrators. The discussion on the boards provides a unique perspective on the graduate school admission process for sure - especially from the standpoint of an administrator. I often try to learn from the discussion and comments to develop more clear communication strategies."
invictus Posted March 11, 2009 Posted March 11, 2009 Waitlisted - email 2 minutes ago Edit: With a typo in the email subject line no less: "Princeton University Gradaute Admission Decision"
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