University of Chicago MAPSS

[lacma]

They released the decisions today. Anyone plans on going?

Edited February 26, 2013 by lacma

[bizio]

I'm not sure where I'll end up going, but I'm planning on attending the Campus Days to meet people and get a feel for the program. So far, everyone I've met or talked to at U of C has been so kind and friendly, and I really love the school. I'm just not sure if it's the right program for my interests and goals.

[Bactrian]

I attended Chicago MAPSS last year and I would be happy to answer any questions people have (within reason). Unfortunately, I'm leaving tomorrow to interview at a school and I won't be back until Sunday. If people leave questions I'll answer them upon my return.

Just off the top though, I'd say my MAPSS year was very rewarding and has allowed me to reach my goals. I currently have a generous offer from a top-10 program in my field (an Ivy), an offer from a good state school, and I'm interviewing at another Ivy (I did not reapply to Chicago because my interests changed). Some of my friends have done even better, some not as well. The thing to know about MAPSS is that while it positions you to be able to do these things it does not guarantee them. To stand out at Chicago you have to work very hard, you have to be creative, you have to be smart, and you have to really want it.

For the record I was in history. Different fields have somewhat different experiences because aside from a single required course you take classes with the regular faculty and graduate students.

[lacma]

Thanks Bactrian!

I have been offered a full scholarship for the course, which makes MAPSS look very tempting right now. My only concern is that I've heard (on gradcafe and elsewhere on the internet) that the MAPSS class size is really big and thus does not lean itself to a lot of faculty attention. I am doing my BA at a top 10 university, comparable to UChicago in reputation, but my academic and thesis advisors are all very helpful and devoted despite of their busy schedules. I work very closely and have meaningful relationships with them and would prefer to experience something similar during my MA year.

What do you think of this concern? I hold another MA offer from a top English university where they guarantee one-on-one supervisor... the down side is that I won't hear back on funding from this school until April.

In addition, once you have graduated, do the MAPSS people continue to help you with your apps? (i.e. proofreading, giving suggestions, writing letters....)

Good luck with your interview, and hope to hear your thoughts!

[Bactrian]

Thanks Bactrian!

I have been offered a full scholarship for the course, which makes MAPSS look very tempting right now. My only concern is that I've heard (on gradcafe and elsewhere on the internet) that the MAPSS class size is really big and thus does not lean itself to a lot of faculty attention. I am doing my BA at a top 10 university, comparable to UChicago in reputation, but my academic and thesis advisors are all very helpful and devoted despite of their busy schedules. I work very closely and have meaningful relationships with them and would prefer to experience something similar during my MA year.

What do you think of this concern? I hold another MA offer from a top English university where they guarantee one-on-one supervisor... the down side is that I won't hear back on funding from this school until April.

In addition, once you have graduated, do the MAPSS people continue to help you with your apps? (i.e. proofreading, giving suggestions, writing letters....)

Good luck with your interview, and hope to hear your thoughts!

Sorry it took me a few days to respond, I've been very busy. The size of MAPSS cohorts is very large but that does not necessarily have much influence on whether you can get individualized attention. You're assigned a mentor by the program but that person is NOT faculty at the university (he or she is either a postdoc or an advanced doctoral student) and is really there to help you make the most out of your time at the university, though they are a second reader on your thesis. You're required to choose a primary thesis adviser from among the university's regular faculty (per their consent of course). Consequently how much attention you get from that person depends on the faculty member and your relationship with them. I know some people who became very close to their advisers and got a lot of attention, others struggled with and had trouble finding an adviser. My suggestion is to look through the regular faculty and see who you might want to be your thesis adviser and then set up a meeting with him or her (or them, if you're not sure who would best fit the bill) for the MAPSS visiting days. That is what I did and it's the reason I ended up doing the program instead of some of the others I was considering; I got along well with the faculty member I met with and he promised he would advise me and help me as much as he could (something he followed through on).

As far as applications the program does indeed give you help. In fact, that's one of the things they emphasize and why they have such a good placement rate.

What field are you in? The experiences of the various fields is slightly different but what I said above generally applies to all of them.

[pcv13]

Bactrian - Thanks for offering your insight!  I'm also contemplating MAPSS.  I think it would help me narrow my research focus and be a good boost academically but I've read mixed reviews on the forum.  The website says 900 applications were under review and 170 students were accepted.  How many people were in your class?

 

Also, if the Chicago academic year starts in late September/October, how do you get to know a professor well enough to request they write you a LOR in time to apply?  Or did you just use your original LORs?

[Bactrian]

Bactrian - Thanks for offering your insight!  I'm also contemplating MAPSS.  I think it would help me narrow my research focus and be a good boost academically but I've read mixed reviews on the forum.  The website says 900 applications were under review and 170 students were accepted.  How many people were in your class?

 

Also, if the Chicago academic year starts in late September/October, how do you get to know a professor well enough to request they write you a LOR in time to apply?  Or did you just use your original LORs?

So that's a tough one. Even though it's discouraged by the program I know a few people who got a new letter or two and applied the year they were in MAPSS. I don't have a good sense of how they did during that application cycle because I think the only ones who said anything about doing it were the ones who got good offers. FWIW though, those who did get offers seem to have been those people that were truly just unlucky the previous year and didn't need to narrow their focus and come up with a good proposed dissertation (like I did).

Most people apply the year after they do MAPSS. That way you have new letters from Chicago faculty as well as a completed MA thesis you can turn into a writing sample. Of course that means having a "gap" year. I used the time to work on my languages. Other people got jobs in their general field. Whether this is a major downside to the program is really up to you.

[dr. t]

In terms of financing, did you try for any RA or Work Study positions? If so, how easy (or not) were they to get?

[Bactrian]

In terms of financing, did you try for any RA or Work Study positions? If so, how easy (or not) were they to get?

I had an RAship for the summer following my MAPSS year (when I was writing my thesis, most students take the summer to do that) but I didn't really do it for the money. As far as I know most MAPSS students don't work during their time at Chicago unless they are fortunate enough to have a professor offer them an RAship. I think some did get work-study but I'm not sure.

[dr. t]

I had an RAship for the summer following my MAPSS year (when I was writing my thesis, most students take the summer to do that) but I didn't really do it for the money. As far as I know most MAPSS students don't work during their time at Chicago unless they are fortunate enough to have a professor offer them an RAship. I think some did get work-study but I'm not sure.

Interesting.

 

Was there a fairly even division among fields of interest within the history contingent, or did it lean one way or another? Were people fairly open, or more combative with an eye towards applying to the same programs?

 

Thanks for doing this, by the way!

Edited March 8, 2013 by telkanuru

[mpsser]

telkanuru

I am a current MAPSS student. The division of students between fields seems pretty even, maybe a little heavy on the PolySci end, but certainly not over-weighted in any one area.

[mpsser]

Ok, I see the edit.

[dhekiya]

Wow, this thread has been extremely helpful. I'm planning to go to the Campus visit. Is it best that I contact the professors I am interested working with in advance to set up a meeting? 

I guess I'll have to prepare specific questions for these professors, right? 

What are the three days of Campus visit like? Also, on perhaps a less important note, will I have to wear smth formal at some point during the visit? Like the reception or smth. 

[Bactrian]

Was there a fairly even division among fields of interest within the history contingent, or did it lean one way or another? Were people fairly open, or more combative with an eye towards applying to the same programs?

As mpsser says, it's a fairly even split between the disciplines (though I think poli sci is the largest contingent and psych the smallest). I will say, however, that at least in my disciplie, history, certain fields were much more heavily represented. Many people in my year were doing American or European history, I think it was easily 2/3 - 3/4 of the cohort. I've heard this year is even "worse" in that regard with close to everyone falling into those categories. i don't think this is anything in particular to MAPSS as I've heard that's more or less the norm if you look at the breakdown of applicants to any graduate program in history.

 

I'm planning to go to the Campus visit. Is it best that I contact the professors I am interested working with in advance to set up a meeting? 

I guess I'll have to prepare specific questions for these professors, right? 

What are the three days of Campus visit like? Also, on perhaps a less important note, will I have to wear smth formal at some point during the visit? Like the reception or smth. 

I would definitely set up meetings with faculty and plan something to talk about with them. As for as dress, just look nice.

[callista]

I graduated from MAPSS in 1998.  I'm glad that I did it, though it was like academic boot camp at times.  I had a work study job and received 1/3 funding.  I took mostly anthropology courses, but my faculty advisor was Wendy Doniger from the Divinity School.  Good stuff.

 

As for the open house- I would dress smart casual.  I remember a lot of beer and chit chat.

[HomelessSophist]

I'm also being offered full tuition and the decision gets harder every day that passes (I had no real desire whatsoever to consider it at first). As much as I would like to attend UChicago, this is more than anything a practical, short v. long term issue. Take the fully-funded PhD from a decent school with awesome faculty that's pretty great in my area but with risk of not getting a particularly great job (or a job at all, I suppose)or take the risk of MAPH, get into a bunch of debt and a) figure out what to do for a year after I graduate and then apply and hope for the best or b)Apply right away and hope for the best, the other side being that I get into Chicago's PhD (or some other amazing school with an amazing reputation/placement record).

 

 

Yeah, no, just writing it out makes the riskiness of the MAPH way too clear. I'll visit but I'm not sure I can allow myself to do it.

 

 

 

I just realized that there's literally nothing constructive about this post. Any advice or insight would be appreciated. Otherwise feel free to ignore the rant.

Edited March 12, 2013 by HomelessSophist

[dr. t]

For those who've been through the MAPSS program, where did you guys end up living? Grad housing? Independent apartment?

[Bactrian]

For those who've been through the MAPSS program, where did you guys end up living? Grad housing? Independent apartment?

I chose non-university housing in Hyde Park. I really like my apartment because it's pretty big with high ceilings and lots of natural light. The management company is terrible though (MAC apartments, though we made it work by being horribly annoying squeeky wheels until they fixed stuff and now they don't bother fighting with us anymore). A lot of MAPSS students, particularly those that were single, lived in the university's grad housing. Some lived in the Regency (a lot of Law students live in that building too) but I don't like high rises so I went with something else.

A few people chose to live on the north side of the city (Logan Square, in particular, was popular because it is gentrifying but still relatively cheap) or in South Loop because there's way more to do up there but that also means commuting every day. By public transit it's more an hour each way though it'd be faster by car.

[callista]

I lived in grad housing - http://rp.uchicago.edu/graduate_housing/5482_s_greenwood.shtml in a studio.  The location was very convenient.  But it's an old building, and there was a mouse/roach problem when I was there.    

[ughachugh]

Can any MAPSS alum/or prospective student who are ahead of the game shed some light on the likelihood of securing a meet with professors we are interested in working with during the Campus visit in April.  Since I assume most professors will receive a lot of requests to meet that week, I am tempted to hedge my bets and just email all professors remotely applicable (and some who aren't) to my intended thesis.  However, if most profs are reasonably accessible it would render that unnecessary -although the alternative would make deciding whether or not to attend Chicago much easier...  

[Bactrian]

Can any MAPSS alum/or prospective student who are ahead of the game shed some light on the likelihood of securing a meet with professors we are interested in working with during the Campus visit in April.  Since I assume most professors will receive a lot of requests to meet that week, I am tempted to hedge my bets and just email all professors remotely applicable (and some who aren't) to my intended thesis.  However, if most profs are reasonably accessible it would render that unnecessary -although the alternative would make deciding whether or not to attend Chicago much easier...  

I would target one or two faculty members, essentially only those who you think would make a good thesis adviser for you. You'll have enough on your plate getting a feel for MAPSS itself and, unlike if you were an admit to their department, faculty members don't really have any obligation to welcome you. Because of that I also wouldn't be too put off if they can't or won't meet. Your real opportunity to meet and impress faculty is in your classes.

I can't give you an indication of the likelihood that they'll agree meet with you, it's really up to each individual faculty member. Some are nice and happy to meet with anyone interested in their work while others will brush you off unless they think you're the Next Big Thing in their field (which, as an MA student, no one will think you are, at least not at first).

[dhekiya]

Thx for the great responses. 

Is there any other graduate housing on campus besides the International House? 

How certain and accurate do you have to be about the topic of your thesis when starting the program? 

Do most students come with a specific idea of what they want to write about? 

 

Thx again!

[mpsser]

For those who've been through the MAPSS program, where did you guys end up living? Grad housing? Independent apartment?

I live in grad housing. When I was here for admitted student days last year I checked out private rentals and I tried to walk by most of the University housing that interested me. None of the non-university buildings that i could afford appealed to me so decided to apply for grad housing.

[mpsser]

Thx for the great responses. 

Is there any other graduate housing on campus besides the International House? 

How certain and accurate do you have to be about the topic of your thesis when starting the program? 

Do most students come with a specific idea of what they want to write about? 

 

Thx again!

I-House is not "on Campus." Except for New Grad, which is across the midway, and one building across from the parking ramp, there really aren't any "on campus" grad housing buildings. Most of the buildings are within easy or reasonable walking distance of the university.

[callista]

Take classes with faculty who interest you, as you will have some time before having to select a faculty advisor.  (Your preceptor will be there on day 1.)  I  targeted three profs in that manner, and ended up approaching one of them after midterms.  She ended up being on sabbatical during my writing period, but we simply emailed a lot and that worked out great.

 

An aside: I don't know if Ray Fogelson is active with MAPSS much anymore (I see they have named an award after him,) but he is a super wicked nice person and stalwart champion for the program and its students.