Accepted at Columbia University...
and in a bit of a pickle!
The rule of thumb for graduate school is: "Do not select a school purely based on its ranking or reputation."
I have already accepted NYU's offer to what looks like an excellent and challenging program. However, my intent with my MA degree is to demonstrate that I can do rigorous PhD work. In order to do this I need to be able to:
1. Establish close professional relationships with Professors within the His dept/Social Science dept
2. Present at conferences
3. Hopefully work on some material for publication/joint publication
4. Write a serious and competitive thesis that will demonstrate not only my skill as a student on a graduate level, but my own creativity and dedication to PhD work
5. Guidance!! I do not want to feel alone in my work...atleast not until I start the work on my PhD!
I am concerned that the program at Columbia will not offer me these 5 very important things. I am also not sure how competitive this program is or whether or not a school will look at the MA seriously...My mentor, who did her PhD work at Columbia is encouraging me to accept their offer...but I know she is atleast a little bit biased ^_^;; although her intentions are good.
She said, "if you want to go to an IVY for your PhD work, get your MA from an IVY!" This could be true--maybe it is a bit easier, but IVYs also accept students from other prestigious universities and not so prestigious universities. It is not a sure fire thing...
She is going to call Columbia on Monday and Tuesday and ask Professors she worked with about the program with the questions that I had.
I also hope I get the FAFSA info back by Tuesday or Monday--June 1st is their deadline for housing and if I change my mind, I have to secure a release from NYU before then!
I know that to alot of people, this feels like crying over spilled milk or like a completely rediculous problem to have. Columbia or NYU?? But I can assure anyone that reads this entry that this situation is quite stressful! When do I get to feel excited about entering school, and not bogged down by the gutt-wrenching process before registering for classes?
The rule of thumb for graduate school is: "Do not select a school purely based on its ranking or reputation."
I have already accepted NYU's offer to what looks like an excellent and challenging program. However, my intent with my MA degree is to demonstrate that I can do rigorous PhD work. In order to do this I need to be able to:
1. Establish close professional relationships with Professors within the His dept/Social Science dept
2. Present at conferences
3. Hopefully work on some material for publication/joint publication
4. Write a serious and competitive thesis that will demonstrate not only my skill as a student on a graduate level, but my own creativity and dedication to PhD work
5. Guidance!! I do not want to feel alone in my work...atleast not until I start the work on my PhD!
I am concerned that the program at Columbia will not offer me these 5 very important things. I am also not sure how competitive this program is or whether or not a school will look at the MA seriously...My mentor, who did her PhD work at Columbia is encouraging me to accept their offer...but I know she is atleast a little bit biased ^_^;; although her intentions are good.
She said, "if you want to go to an IVY for your PhD work, get your MA from an IVY!" This could be true--maybe it is a bit easier, but IVYs also accept students from other prestigious universities and not so prestigious universities. It is not a sure fire thing...
She is going to call Columbia on Monday and Tuesday and ask Professors she worked with about the program with the questions that I had.
I also hope I get the FAFSA info back by Tuesday or Monday--June 1st is their deadline for housing and if I change my mind, I have to secure a release from NYU before then!
I know that to alot of people, this feels like crying over spilled milk or like a completely rediculous problem to have. Columbia or NYU?? But I can assure anyone that reads this entry that this situation is quite stressful! When do I get to feel excited about entering school, and not bogged down by the gutt-wrenching process before registering for classes?