2010 Ed PhD hopefuls?

[t_ruth]

Step up and introduce yourself!

I'm in my first year now and I remember how great it was last year to at least know some other education people (as it seems there are few of us on these forums)...

[gem]

I am! I would like to talk to others.....

[t_ruth]

tell us about you emgem. Area of focus? Particular schools you are looking at? What is your background?

[tetrisenthusiast]

I am! I would like to talk to others.....

I was wondering where all the PhD/EdD applicants were hiding this cycle!

I saw another post of yours in the Waiting it Out forum, and it looks like we're applying to some of the same schools. If you don't mind my asking, which programs are you applying to within those schools?

For me:

Policy Research, Evaluation, and Measurement at UPenn

Quantitative Policy Analysis at Harvard

Experimental Education Research Training at Vanderbilt.

My background:

-3 years as a math teacher in public schools

-2 years at a non-profit research organization that contracts with several federal and state offices

No masters yet, but I'm currently enrolled in classes that could culminate in one if I'm not admitted to any other schools for Fall 2010.

Also, congrats on the acceptance from Maryland! I know their graduate programs in education have very strong reputations.

[gem]

Hi there!

I don't mind telling you about myself at all, it seems that many are very tight-lipped on here!

I have a master's degree in reading from Penn and a bachelors also from Penn, but in public policy. I have been a teacher-researcher for the past four years. My research work deals with learner differences related to literate practices in populations of struggling readers and my other project deals with content area literacy in adolescents. This work has involved qual/quan mixed-methods models. This work has allowed me to get some experience with publications and with conference presentations. I love this part of my job, which is why I am applying to doctoral programs.

I teach English and Latin, which I love and if I do begin a doctoral program next year I will miss!

I have applied to programs at Upenn (reading, writing, literacy), Stanford, UC Berkeley, Maryland, Michigan, & Harvard---because of my research interests all of the programs I have applied to conduct research in adolescent literacy.

I am excited about Maryland, but would love to attend any of the schools to which I have applied. It will be all about funding in the end! I am simply dying to hear back from these schools.

Tetris...it sounds like we are applying to the same schools but to entirely different programs. How has waiting it out been for you?

[gem]

I wanted to encourage all of those "lurkers" who have looked at this thread to tell us about themselves, this is the purpose of the boards, no?

[tetrisenthusiast]

I wanted to encourage all of those "lurkers" who have looked at this thread to tell us about themselves, this is the purpose of the boards, no?

Absolutely. I haven't decided yet whether fretting over applications for the last 3 months was preferable to agonizing over the responses for the next 3. I'm almost glad that we've been slammed at work lately; it's so much easier not to worry about grad school when you barely have enough time for three meals daily.

It sounds like you're ready to hit the ground running next fall, wherever you may be attending school. Your profile seems so strong that I'm rather relieved that we're applying to different programs.

Who've you worked with during your time at Penn? I ask because I know that a few Penn professors have coauthored papers with researchers at my workplace.

[t_ruth]

It sounds like you're ready to hit the ground running next fall, wherever you may be attending school. Your profile seems so strong that I'm rather relieved that we're applying to different programs.

yeah, geesh, I was thinking the same thing!

I can say that if you get into a lot of programs you would consider, you'll need to have set aside some time for traveling...you may want to start working on that now, especially if it looks like work will keep you busy.

Last year, I ended up visiting three schools only, even though I was going to visit five - I just fell in love w/the first one I visited.

[gem]

yeah, geesh, I was thinking the same thing!

I can say that if you get into a lot of programs you would consider, you'll need to have set aside some time for traveling...you may want to start working on that now, especially if it looks like work will keep you busy.

Last year, I ended up visiting three schools only, even though I was going to visit five - I just fell in love w/the first one I visited.

Thank you for this tip, t_ruth! Did most of your schools have weekends set aside for you to visit or did you plan these visits on your own? What made you choose your school in the end?

I think that there are many qualified applicants out there with qualifications much like mine. This is what makes this process so nerve wracking. It would be great to hear from others who are also applying. What is your background and why have you decided to apply?

Is anyone out there also interested in literacy?

[t_ruth]

Thank you for this tip, t_ruth! Did most of your schools have weekends set aside for you to visit or did you plan these visits on your own? What made you choose your school in the end?

Some schools had recruitment weekends and others did not. Also, there was a conflict b/w two recruitment weekends, but they were accommodating and made a separate visit itinerary just for me (I've heard from others this is common). The school I'm at put on an amazing recruitment weekend and they made a big impression on both me and my husband because of this.

All the schools to which I applied had good faculty (matching my interests), good reputations and programs, but it ultimately came down to funding. It was between two schools in the end and I ended up at the one that offered slightly less money. The main deciding factor between these two schools was the job market for my husband - one school was just not in a big enough metro region for his career needs. I'm pretty happy with my choice though (so far)!

As for getting accepted...for me, it seemed to be about contact w/professors and research match. I had good numbers and a fairly solid background, and except for one (which was actually my safety school, lol), I was only rejected by schools at which I had a tenuous research match - and I have other theories about that one too, which I'd be happy to explain in a PM

I wasn't looking at most of the schools on your list though...because of some health/well-being concerns for my family, I only looked in warm climates.

[eelatan]

I'm applying to PhD programs @ Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley. My focus is urban education, specifically the ongoing implications for present day perpetuation of cultural anxieties and constructions of race, class, and gender and the ways they impact not only teachers’ subconscious perceptions of students of color, but also those students’ perceptions of themselves and their roles in American society.

Background:

Teach For America, 1997-99, Rio Grande Valley, TX, 2 years

Teacher - Oakland Unified School District, 5 years

Co-founder of first New Small Autonomous School in Oakland (International Community School, 2001)

Teacher, San Francisco Unified, 1 year

Charter school VP/ Instructional Leader, 1 year

Teacher, Berkeley Unified, 1 year

Administrative Credential through BayCES (Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools)

Presented at several Small Schools/ Urban School Redesign conferences

Masters in Literature and Critical Race Theory

GRE scores are above average (can't remember off hand) and my grad school GPA is a 3.97

I'm not really sure what my chances are since I've only applied to top programs. I've got over a decade of practical experience, as well as quite a bit of experience writing/researching. I think it also helps that I grew up in underserved urban schools myself - a point I definitely highlighted in my applications.

Good luck to everyone!!

...holding my breath until results come in....

[gem]

Hi Guys--

Any News? I am still waiting, but after checking the results board---it seems that people began to hear this time last year.

Sending out good vibes to all!

[t_ruth]

I started to hear at a pretty consistent pace (almost one a week) from the last week of January on. Good luck!

[90sNickelodeon]

I'm applying to PhD programs @ Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley. My focus is urban education, specifically the ongoing implications for present day perpetuation of cultural anxieties and constructions of race, class, and gender and the ways they impact not only teachers’ subconscious perceptions of students of color, but also those students’ perceptions of themselves and their roles in American society.

Background:

Teach For America, 1997-99, Rio Grande Valley, TX, 2 years

Teacher - Oakland Unified School District, 5 years

Co-founder of first New Small Autonomous School in Oakland (International Community School, 2001)

Teacher, San Francisco Unified, 1 year

Charter school VP/ Instructional Leader, 1 year

Teacher, Berkeley Unified, 1 year

Administrative Credential through BayCES (Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools)

Presented at several Small Schools/ Urban School Redesign conferences

Masters in Literature and Critical Race Theory

GRE scores are above average (can't remember off hand) and my grad school GPA is a 3.97

I'm not really sure what my chances are since I've only applied to top programs. I've got over a decade of practical experience, as well as quite a bit of experience writing/researching. I think it also helps that I grew up in underserved urban schools myself - a point I definitely highlighted in my applications.

Good luck to everyone!!

...holding my breath until results come in....

Hey that's impressive. You shouldn't have any trouble getting into those schools!

[imokyoureadrone]

I'm a 2011 Ed Ph.D. hopeful, but my stats aren't going to change substantially between then and now.

I go to a public liberal arts college. My topic of interest is history curriculum/instruction and the history of education -- specifically the history of history textbooks and curriculum materials. Right now, at my college, I'm working with a faculty member to revamp our world history program. Based on an idea I had, we're completely changing world history as it is taught here, and that's pretty awesome. I will have been a TA for both an American survey and a World survey by the time I've graduated, as well as having taken a practicum on the teaching of history. I'm doing a research project with a professor this year about narrative in fundamentalist Christian homeschooling history textbooks, which will hopefully culminate in a published paper. I'm also presenting at multiple conferences in social studies education/history education/history of education (four or five conference presentations in all, depending on one acceptance I'm waiting for but suspect I will get). My GPA is hovering right around a 3.6, but may rise to a 3.7, and my GRE scores are pretty good -- I used to teach GRE classes for Kaplan, so I'm pretty good with standardized testing. My writing sample is excellent -- I'm trying, with the encouragement of my professors, to get my first publication with it. I'm interested in exploring curriculum for the ways in which it changes students' conceptualization and consciousness of history.

My main weakness is that I will not be graduating with a teaching certificate, which is a conscious choice that I am aware could undermine my chances at getting into good programs.

I'm going to be applying next year to:

Stanford (their history ed program takes ONE student per year, but Sam Wineburg is my idol and I have to give this a shot)

University of British Columbia

Indiana

Michigan

Michigan State

Kansas

Maryland

Minnesota

Washington University in St. Louis

Does anyone have any other suggestions for someone with my interest base? I've researched the hell out of schools, but if I've missed a school that's absolutely aces in history ed, please let me know so I can add it to my "apply to and visit" pile.

[t_ruth]

that sounds awesome! so well thought out I don't think the lack of teaching credential will matter at all.

[tetrisenthusiast]

Hi Guys--

Any News? I am still waiting, but after checking the results board---it seems that people began to hear this time last year.

Sending out good vibes to all!

I just received an e-mail from Penn with an invitation to the PhD Applicants' Weekend.

I wasn't expecting to hear anything for at least a few more weeks, so this is certainly a surprise (albeit a very pleasant one)!

The e-mail mentioned that the faculty are currently in the process of reviewing applications, but also noted that the final admissions decisions would not be rendered until late in February. Consequently, I'm reaaaally trying not to read too much into all of this.

Is anyone else planning to attend the event?

[gem]

I just received an e-mail from Penn with an invitation to the PhD Applicants' Weekend.

I wasn't expecting to hear anything for at least a few more weeks, so this is certainly a surprise (albeit a very pleasant one)!

The e-mail mentioned that the faculty are currently in the process of reviewing applications, but also noted that the final admissions decisions would not be rendered until late in February. Consequently, I'm reaaaally trying not to read too much into all of this.

Is anyone else planning to attend the event?

I will be there also, Tetris. We are not in the same division though, so we may not see one another. I will keep my eyes peeled for someone who looks like a Tetris enthusiast!

[Angelicasassy]

I will be there also, Tetris. We are not in the same division though, so we may not see one another. I will keep my eyes peeled for someone who looks like a Tetris enthusiast!

I applied to Penn and got no invite for the weekend! My Penn dreams are done :-(

[gem]

I applied to Penn and got no invite for the weekend! My Penn dreams are done :-(

Hi Angelica-

Don't give up hope yet, I am sure that like at many schools, different departments at Penn GSE are on different schedules.

[tetrisenthusiast]

I applied to Penn and got no invite for the weekend! My Penn dreams are done :-(

Don't throw in the towel just yet!

• Invitations to the Applicants' Weekend aren't tantamount to actual offers of admission; we really have no idea what criteria they used for selection. For all we know, a given invitee could've been invited based on proximity to Penn or because he/she is a marginal candidate and thus would benefit most from face-to-face interaction.
  
  
• I've read a number of your other posts this year and you seem like someone who has found a calling in education. If you're absolutely set on attending Penn, there's no reason why you can't apply next year after strengthening your application. If you've been discouraged by your GRE score or GPA, then submit an addendum. (Although Penn's online application has no field for this, it couldn't hurt to ask the admissions office to add a document to your file.) Because you've already earned a JD, exceptional performance in law school beyond LSAT-implied levels of achievement would give credence to the fact that you're more than just your numbers.
  
  

I really believe that education is a bit of an odd duck compared to other graduate programs. Perhaps more than in any other field, applicants should have some expectation of being holistically reviewed. Best of luck this cycle!

[gem]

Don't throw in the towel just yet!

• Invitations to the Applicants' Weekend aren't tantamount to actual offers of admission; we really have no idea what criteria they used for selection. For all we know, a given invitee could've been invited based on proximity to Penn or because he/she is a marginal candidate and thus would benefit most from face-to-face interaction.
• I've read a number of your other posts this year and you seem like someone who has found a calling in education. If you're absolutely set on attending Penn, there's no reason why you can't apply next year after strengthening your application. If you've been discouraged by your GRE score or GPA, then submit an addendum. (Although Penn's online application has no field for this, it couldn't hurt to ask the admissions office to add a document to your file.) Because you've already earned a JD, exceptional performance in law school beyond LSAT-implied levels of achievement would give credence to the fact that you're more than just your numbers.

I really believe that education is a bit of an odd duck compared to other graduate programs. Perhaps more than in any other field, applicants should have some expectation of being holistically reviewed. Best of luck this cycle!

I agree with Tetris, Angelica! I think you are a very strong applicant and who knows what an invite to this weekend means! Also, some departments, because of funding, may not be participating in this weekend.

Edited January 20, 2010 by emgem

[Angelicasassy]

Thank you both for your words of encouragement. I am looking at this process holistically and if I don't receive acceptances to any of the programs I am interested in (which I know are all long shots) I will definitely not give up my dreams.

My numbers, along with the economy and other candidates that may have better numbers, better statements of purposes and better fits leads me to believe that this may not be the year for me. However, I am praying and hoping and ready to accept whatever comes my way.

Thanks once again for the nice words you both wrote to me. You are the sort of people that need to be in the education system!!

[LaurenA]

Any Human Development/Family Studies applicants? I've applied to three, all the schools of education, and haven't heard a thing....

[gem]

Anyone hear from UC berkeley?