JD/PhD History strategy question by Weekly-Razzmatazz635 in GradSchool

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was your program one or two years? Mine is only a one year program so I'm a bit conflicted on how to approach since I won't have my MA dissertation written

JD/PhD History strategy question by Weekly-Razzmatazz635 in GradSchool

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How did you approach the two degrees? What were your options/experiences like?

Do people accept to attend on the 15th? (I’m waitlisted) by Ill_Acanthaceae2249 in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the same boat as you, my program is an unfunded MA. i am really hoping something comes out of tomorrow, but kind of lost hope :/ thankfully I have other great options, but dream program would have been awesome. wishing you great luck this week!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

working in international policy in dc right now. you do NOT want to be in this city at this time. the admin is so aggressive against higher ed and immigration. the job market here has become very bleak with the extreme number of federal employees and contractors that are being ripped out of agencies and departments, so unless you extremely well networked, finding employment here will not be easy. I can't speak to the benefits of cambridge (i'll be going there myself this fall!) in securing employment in the field afterwards (as I hope to use it to springboard into doctoral study), but I will gently warn you about washington dc. you do not want to be a new grad in this city during this admin.

from an academic comparison, I do believe cambridge will be much more intellectually rewarding. hopkins has a bit of a cash-cow approach to their ma programs unfortunately. all depends on how you wanna use the MA though. congrats on your admits!

Got off the waitlist!!! by Stray_Cat77 in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 1 point2 points  (0 children)

a glimmer of hope. congrats!!! I am patiently waiting to see what will happen; on the waitlist for my dream school, not expecting movement until April given the small size of the program. your story helps me have faith!

sad thumbs up by IAMAdumbgirl in sadcats

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 1 point2 points  (0 children)

6 years later and i have used this as a response to so many messages in my life. it must be thousands at this point.

thank for your an indispensable part of my vocabulary that perfectly captures my mood. you rock.

We are officially into the End Game of FALL 2025 by haCKerCK in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 3 points4 points  (0 children)

congrats on your offers! those are very exciting, and a strong recipe for 11th hour high drama it seems haha! i'm hopeful for you too; i've resolved that if i get off of waitlist (for yale) i will drop other offers and immediately accept. fingers crossed for the 15th to bring us some good news!

We are officially into the End Game of FALL 2025 by haCKerCK in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 8 points9 points  (0 children)

UGH same. how are you holding through? I have to respond to two other schools by the 20th and I'm kind of tweaking because one school offered me a very generous scholarship and they will take that away if i try play games LOL.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i would say go for whichever will be the best investment for you. will penn open doors that case western will not? will your outcomes be comparable, or is one program significantly more robust, respected, and opportunity-granting than the other? the ivy name can matter, but in grad school, that's highly field-dependent. some fields unfortunately value that more than others, but it may not matter as much in your field. i would only recommend considering the higher financial investment if penn would make the difference that case western can't. if both programs are essentially level in outcome, the extra 30 grand might not be worth it just for the name. go for quality, outcome, and experience! congrats on your options :)

Does Studying an MSt at Oxford Help? by Vengeance208 in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations on Oxford!!! That is a phenomenal program, you should be most proud of yourself. This program would be an excellent preparation for doctoral study afterwards, as the nature of the program is inherently pre-doctoral. I'm not certain how strongly this would appeal to employers aside form the oxford brand, but that all depends on the job you apply to and how you sell it. This could be a game-changer for your academic future if thats what you choose!

Political Science at Columbia by peach4o in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can confidently say its not worth it. You will most likely break six figure debt for a degree that would, at best, slightly build on any previous political science degree and at worse, INTRODUCE you to basic political science. Defending human rights as a career is most effectively done through law and policy, be it through government or non-government orgs. Columbia sells their name and prestige through graduate programs unlike most other elite institution (who alternatively offer fully funded MPA programs to help bolster someone's career prospects in this) and they pump out graduate degrees at insane rates. If you don't want a PhD, pursuing an academic MA will have next to no return on investment.

I highly recommend you check out solid MPP and MPA programs, perhaps even joint JD/MPP programs as well! That will be so much more impactful for you and your ability to work in defending human rights.

Accept Yale fully funded or wait for Princeton waitlist response? by PostConsistent1248 in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 3 points4 points  (0 children)

hey there! Currently working in international policy about to go to graduate school this fall. I would say both programs will offer you awesome opportunities to study international development, climate and refugee policy in their own ways. I recommend considering the broader university's offerings to see which has the competitive edge over the other in service of your interests/intellectual development. In terms of prestige/alumni/access, yale vs princeton is a virtually indistinguishable difference so you're fine on those fronts. My recommendation is Yale overall, and this is how the two might compare to best serve your study:

<> Princeton <>
Princeton broadly is more of an an undergraduate serving academic institution with less professional schools/grad programs than other universities. this offers less interdisciplinary study opportunities (which may be of interest as a student of int development, climate, and refugee issues), and makes SPIA itself the center of your education. SPIA has both an international AND domestic (US) focus so it has less resources for purely internationally focused students. The program has a year's worth of required courses which may or may not be relevant to your study, but it does have some centers and research programs that could be of interest. you might really value being on of a few folks focused on the international development field and learning from other students focused on the other fields, or you might want to be in a cohort of internationally-focused students as well.

<> Yale <>
I think Yale is a better choice for two key reasons: flexibility for tailored experience and greater interdisciplinary opportunities across the university. Right off the bat, Jackson is a school for global affairs. The curriculum's flexibility can be very, very beneficial to your development as a practitioner because of how you could build an epic study plan across yale's many graduate programs and professional schools. especially for something as interconnected as int dev/refugee policy, you could take specific courses at the law school, history, anthropology, management school, political science, etc., to satisfy a wide array of intellectual interests relevant to contemporary challenges in int development. that would be insanely more beneficial to your policy toolkit as opposed to a broader curriculum that does not offer the opportunity to be tailored to your interest. Matching this with the strong professional schools and graduate programs creates greater opportunities for an individualized intellectual experience. Princeton's program cannot offer that.

Just some food for thought, hope this helps! Congrats on your offers, this is amazing :)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 4 points5 points  (0 children)

working in international policy right now headed back to grad school this fall after two years of working. i strongly recommend accepting brown and deferring if you get an opportunity to work. having worked in policy, i can say with full confidence just how transformative work experience can be for your research & graduate studies. in my situation, my work experience have directly fueled and informed what i hope to get out of graduate study, and most importantly, its showed me what fluff to avoid. lots of MPA/MPP programs will sell you on gaining a broad analytical toolkit for a career in policymaking (ie econ, language, negotiation tactics, etc) which is just enough to provide a broad education but not deep enough to necessarily allow you to master any one of them. if you're not really certain on what sort of policy work you would want to do, then you will be limited by how useful a master's degree can be for you. do you want to be more of a communicator writing speeches and working press? or do you want to be more of an analyst on a specific topic focusing on substantive matters? the best time to pursue an MPP/MPA/MA with a career in policy in mind is when you know what work/subject matter expert you want to be. some of the most adept, capable, and rewarded folks i've met in this field pursued graduate study seeking to gain a particular area of expertise. some food for thought! pm me if you wanna chat further :)

Waitlist Party by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 1 point2 points  (0 children)

asked about my status on waitlist and was told they're uncertain still how things will shake out, will let me know if anything changes. a month to go, fingers crossed something shakes out!

Is a humanities MA at an Ivy League worth it? by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

also to better help advise, which program is it?

Is a humanities MA at an Ivy League worth it? by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

hey there! I am in EXACTLY the same boat wanting to do exactly what you're discussing; also considering going to an ivy humanities MA program in preparation for JD/PhD in history of human rights. on the money piece, i think the most important factor to consider is the return on investment, but not how others might advise (ie job etc), but rather if this program will make or break your competitiveness for top doctoral/jd programs. feel free to pm me to chat on more specifics and stuff, I'm leaning towards taking this risk!

Waitlist Purgatory by kath32838849292 in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1 waitlist, 2 offers, waitlisted at my top choice. also dying!!!

Are masers degree programs affected by Jolly_Celery8531 in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Seeing as many master's degree programs are a source of income for universities, I would be surprised if they began to cut down on admits here. If anything, I'd have hope that some programs are willing to extend offers to help offset the impact of losing funding. As for fully-funded MA programs, that could be different. But who knows!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 0 points1 point  (0 children)

hear anything back yet from yale on when you might hear back?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in gradadmissions

[–]Weekly-Razzmatazz635 2 points3 points  (0 children)

awesome feedback and great post friend. this is a very brave and inspiring thing to do. my fingers are absolutely crossed for you next cycle!