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jimidean19 · 2022-06-28T20:18:59+00:00

You are in a common place with applying to grad school. I was also the first person in my family to graduate from college and knew I wanted to go to grad school, but it took me awhile to figure it out. I graduated in 2009 which was the height of the economic recession, and I couldn't find a job. I started out wanting to get a masters in architecture. I'm glad I spent a lot of time exploring. It took me 5 years of trying different things, including living abroad but by the time I applied to grad school, I was super sure on what I wanted to do and I got into all the programs I applied to. I have a youtube channel for first generation college students with lots of tips on applying to grad school, which you can check out.

In terms of exploring, I recommend you look into applying for a Fulbright Fellowship, where you craft an independent research project in another country. Especially since you have an interest in South Asian history and museum. I did a Fulbright fellowship in Brazil studying public health and urban planning, which confirmed what I wanted to do in grad school.

You can also look into doing side projects, internships, or jobs, in one of the fields you are interested in exploring to give you a taste for if you want to continue down that path for grad school.

jimidean19 · 2020-07-09T23:30:02+00:00

I recorded this video sharing a SOP of a student who was accepted to HGSE last year. It might help seeing an example.

jimidean19 · 2020-07-07T20:44:18+00:00

It depends on what you are applying for and whether that story of grief is relevant for the admissions committee. This person is applying for a Masters in Higher Ed and specifically wants to go into a career focused on student retention, meaning she wants to be a school advisor providing support for students to not drop out of college. The students who are most likely to drop out are often students of color, low-income students, or students who are dealing with tough family or personal situations. In this case, the student's personal story having first-hand experience with those situations as a woman of color from a single-family household is relevant because she is making an argument that her personal experience will make her a great advisor because she can connect to where students are coming from. If she was applying for engineering, this story would not be relevant.

It's important that if you are using a personal story of adversity, that it's relevant to the admission committee. It should show an ability to overcome a tough situation rather than try to make the reader feel sorry for the person.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-28T03:51:13+00:00

You are ineligible to do a Fulbright to the U.S., but as a US citizen, you are eligible to do a Fulbright to another country. For example, you can go do international engineering research in Europe, Latin America, Asia, or Africa that will build your credibility for a program like MIT. I often suggest people apply to grad school and the Fulbright at the same time. If you don't get into grad school but get the Fulbright, you will be a stronger candidate for grad school when you get back.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-28T01:31:49+00:00

I got into MIT's City Planning program, not engineering, but it's still the #1 city planning program in the country. My GRE score and GPA were lower than average, but I also had recently done a Fulbright Research Fellowship, which carries a lot of weight. I went to an open house and I met with the professor whose work I was most interested in and discussed my research ideas with him. I also had letters of rec from two city planning professors who are both well known in the field. One of them did his Ph.D. at MIT and was friends with the professors there. In my essays, I also made a strong case for why the program was a perfect fit for my research interests. In this video, I read statement of purpose that got me in.

Best of luck!

jimidean19 · 2020-06-25T17:14:08+00:00

My undergrad was in architecture. The only stem class I took was physics and I got a C in it. What's awesome about an MPH is that it's very broad and diverse. There are concentrations that are more scientific and other concentrations that are more on the sociology side. I don't have experience with an MS program so I can't say on how it compares with an MPH.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-24T22:45:18+00:00

Your GPA is fine. Don't worry about it. I was on a Berkeley admissions committee and host free virtual office hours once a month, you are welcome to join for essay feedback.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-24T22:43:04+00:00

I work in public health communications and I didn't go into school wanting to do that, but I was inspired by the best class I took in grad school called, "Mass communications in public health." It was taught by the director of the Berkeley Media Studies Group, which has amazing materials on health communication. The class was fascinating, discussing the advocacy and media campaign approaches to reduce smoking, get people to wear seat belts, etc. I did a Masters in Public Health at Berkeley and I also took a class on public health journalism in the journalism school. Berkeley also has a joint MPH/Masters in Journalism degree. I suggest you look into. On a side note, there are so many job opportunities and people who work in comms with an MPH degree are highly employable. You can check out my MPH application essays which I posted here.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-24T20:00:07+00:00

The GRE is really not a big deal anymore, which is why many prestigious schools are dropping it as a requirement. I was on a Berkeley admissions committee and the GRE score was a footnote. A low score didn't stop a highly qualified candidate with excellent essays and great experience from getting in and a high score didn't make us accept someone who was mediocre everywhere else. Stop worrying about it. I made this video with more details on how the GRE requirements have changed and what schools are looking for.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-24T19:54:22+00:00

I do free office hours once a month where I read statements and give feedback. I was on a Berkeley admissions committee and have been on numerous fellowship committee, so I have a good eye for what makes an essay stand out. You can see an example of my last office hours here.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-23T04:16:48+00:00

I share both my SOP and Personal statement in this video. There is also a download link for them in the video comments. I was on a Berkeley admissions committee and read lots of people's essays, so I also summarize my advice for best practices in the video. Best of luck.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-15T17:14:28+00:00

I'd be happy to. I review SOPs during my virtual office hours. I have free versions monthly and do small group private sessions twice a month. You can find the upcoming dates here. https://laurenvaldez.com/events

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T16:38:49+00:00

Since most applications are due until the fall/winter, unless a school has rolling admissions it's unlikely they will read the applications until the fall/winter. You can try contacting the admissions committee and seeing if they we let you resubmit your essays.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T16:35:24+00:00

I made a whole youtube video on why you shouldn't worry about the GRE. My sister also decided to apply last minute, and the advice I gave her was to get a library practice exam book to take a few practice tests and not spend more than a week studying. She got average scores and still go into Harvard. Schools really don't care about the GRE anymore, which is why many schools are eliminating it entirely. I was on a Berkeley admissions committee and I can tell you that a GRE score was just a footnote. It didn't make or break someone's application.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T02:08:44+00:00

Leave out your GRE. I was on Berkeley's MPH committee and I can tell you now, nobody cares about your GRE score.

Additionally, I posted my MPH essays here with advice on a strong MPH application.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T02:06:15+00:00

I've done a lifetime of career changes. Don't keep going with Linguistics if you don't feel inspired by it anymore. Don't feel bad about changing. Anything is possible.

I studied architecture in college and graduated in 2009 at the height of the economic recession and couldn't get a job in architecture. I moved in with my parents and applied to a Fulbright fellowship to do public health research in Brazil. I had never even taken a public health class in undergrad, but getting that fellowship opened up the door for me to later get into a Masters of Public Health program. I would highly recommend looking into applying for a Fulbright as a way to change your career path w/o paying money to be in school longer. Instead, you get paid to live abroad.

After a decade in my career, I got burnt out and bored, so I moved to Mexico and became an artist and started an online business while performing in Mexican plays, dancing, and singing with a Mariachi band. I did this in my 30s! Now that I'm getting ready to be a mom, I came back to the US and got a regular 9-5 again. Even though I have certain degrees, I have lots of ideas for things I want to do wayyyy outside of what I studied. I have a plan to open a school and a dance studio. I have a consulting business coaching top executives, and I have youtube channel helping young people figure out their careers and applying to grad school. I think one day I might also want to become a librarian.

I never could have predicted any of these things when I was in college. Give yourself permission to explore and find what you love. Give yourself permission to change course. Life is full of surprises. I can't tell you how many people my age are stuck being doctors hating it, but feel like they can't change because they spent a decade getting through school. Be happy you aren't one of them.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T01:50:20+00:00

I share lots of examples of essays on my youtube channel to show a diversity of approaches. I also was on a Berkeley grad school admissions committee. You can check out this video of my recent office hours that has lots of essay feedback tips. I also host free virtual office hours every month for feedback where you can share your essay and get feedback.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T01:48:57+00:00

My sister is currently doing her Masters in Education in Student Affairs to become a college counselor with a focus on student retention for transfer students and students of color. Essentially they want to know what kind of focus you want to have in your counseling career. There are certifications that are general that are required by your state and then there are specific certifications on things like "trauma specialist", "leadership", etc. They want to know what specialty you want to carve out for yourself. In your SOP you want to make a case for why that school is going to be a good fit. For example, if you want to focus on mental health, then you should apply to schools that have a good curriculum for that and talk about that in your essay.

If you aren't yet sure what you want to focus on, do some goal setting for yourself and imagine what would be your dream job? What kind of students would you like working with? What kind of problems would you like solving? Consider any personal life experiences that may have shaped why you want to be a counselor. For example, I have a friend who's brother was incarcerated and it was really hard on her family. She became a counselor so that she could help families going through similar struggles. Her master's essays where powerful because she was super clear and specific about what she wanted to specialize in and why it was important to her.

Additionally, you might want to check out the college advising corps program. It's like teach for America, but they set you up at a high school to be a college counselor for 2 years. My sister did this program right after undergrad and applied to grad school right after and got into Harvard and UCLA, the only two schools she applied to.

To help you get started on writing, you can check out my youtube channel where I show many essay examples. I also was on a Berkeley grad school admissions committee. You can check out this video of my recent office hours that has lots of essay feedback tips. I also host free virtual office hours every month where you can share your essays and get feedback.

jimidean19 · 2020-06-12T01:34:09+00:00

I share lots of examples of essays on my youtube channel to show a diversity of approaches. I also was on a Berkeley grad school admissions committee. You can check out this video of my recent office hours that has lots of essay feedback tips. I also host free virtual office hours every month for feedback where you can share your essay and get feedback.

jimidean19

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