SilverSoul Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 MA in Political Science at Duke University or MA in Regional Studies: East Asia at Columbia University No funding. International student from China. Bachelor degree in Political Science. Interested in political economy, especially that in East Asian countries. Not decided whether to pursue a Phd degree yet. I'm not sure whether there're more internship chances in New York, or North Carolina may be satisfying too. And Columbia seems to have a better reputation in China. I really have difficulty in deciding which one to choose, so I hope you guys may give me some advice. Thanks a lot!
MJA87 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Are finances a concern of yours? Did you get a funding offer from either school? As far a living expenses (rent, food, transportation, etc..) Columbia will be massively more expensive than Duke, so that's something to keep in mind. As far as the programs themselves, Columbia's seems to be more tailored to your specific interest? I wonder how much you could specialize your degree at Duke, maybe it's worth a call to the program.
SilverSoul Posted March 5, 2015 Author Posted March 5, 2015 Are finances a concern of yours? Did you get a funding offer from either school? As far a living expenses (rent, food, transportation, etc..) Columbia will be massively more expensive than Duke, so that's something to keep in mind. As far as the programs themselves, Columbia's seems to be more tailored to your specific interest? I wonder how much you could specialize your degree at Duke, maybe it's worth a call to the program. It seems that the tuition is expensive for both of them. Generally, how much will it cost in New York in one month? What about Durham?
idiochromatic Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 It seems that the tuition is expensive for both of them. Generally, how much will it cost in New York in one month? What about Durham? http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ You can live in Durham for probably half of what you would live on in Manhattan.
grad_wannabe Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 have you looked at or talked to alumni from each program? whose activities match your aspirations?
SilverSoul Posted March 6, 2015 Author Posted March 6, 2015 http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ You can live in Durham for probably half of what you would live on in Manhattan. Thank you. That means a lot.
SilverSoul Posted March 6, 2015 Author Posted March 6, 2015 have you looked at or talked to alumni from each program? whose activities match your aspirations? Yeah. I'm asking for more detailed information now, and I'm trying to weigh these two programs.
Wullbluomen Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 SilverSoul, the hardest part about living in NYC will be finding an affordable place to live. If you decide to go to Columbia, you can apply for housing close to the Morningside Heights campus through UAH (http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/how-apply), but it's hard for MA students to get housing assignments. I live with family in Brooklyn, and I know several other students in my cohort who decided to get off-campus housing. If you live within walking distance of campus, you won't need to worry about transporation costs until you take up an internship (or just want to explore the city); if you need to commute to campus, you'll pay at least 5 USD each day for subway/bus fare. The MTA will be implementing a fare hike soon, so please keep that in mind, too. The Columbia Center for Career Education makes finding (unpaid) internships easy! There are a lot of on-campus recruiting events, and you can search for and apply to internships online via the LionSHARE system. WEAI also has its own list of available internships here: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/internships.html
SilverSoul Posted March 6, 2015 Author Posted March 6, 2015 SilverSoul, the hardest part about living in NYC will be finding an affordable place to live. If you decide to go to Columbia, you can apply for housing close to the Morningside Heights campus through UAH (http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/how-apply), but it's hard for MA students to get housing assignments. I live with family in Brooklyn, and I know several other students in my cohort who decided to get off-campus housing. If you live within walking distance of campus, you won't need to worry about transporation costs until you take up an internship (or just want to explore the city); if you need to commute to campus, you'll pay at least 5 USD each day for subway/bus fare. The MTA will be implementing a fare hike soon, so please keep that in mind, too. The Columbia Center for Career Education makes finding (unpaid) internships easy! There are a lot of on-campus recruiting events, and you can search for and apply to internships online via the LionSHARE system. WEAI also has its own list of available internships here: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/internships.html Thanks a lot! I guess it's not easy to live in NYC as an international graduate student. LOL. I'll keep an eye on the internship information.
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