Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with university and GraduateSchool

Best way to go back to school in an unrelated field?

Anonymous — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:39:39 -0800

Possibly going back to school in an unrelated field (engineering); what's the best way to approach this? note: (anonymous due to my boss being a regular reading of metafilter and knows my screen name).

My eventual goal would be a dual masters degree in engineering (civil / environmental) and international affairs (IA/IR). I know this is relatively uncommon and as a result I've had a hard time getting advice (even from professors). I'm hoping someone out there will give me some insight. Although they sound like an unusual combination to almost everyone, it would seem like expertise in something like water resource engineering and policy planning/analysis would be quite useful (in fact I did find that Tufts has a dual degree for that very combination).

Background Information: I'm 23 and graduated last year with a degree in economics and am currently working in banking. With my economics background (with a decent amount of political science and language) I think I have an okay chance of getting into an MA program for IA; the problem is engineering. I have no engineering background and in college took relatively few math and science classes. I know as it is right now my chances of getting into any MS engineering program is nearly impossible.

I was reading a similar thread on metafilter (http://ask.metafilter.com/69429/Should-I-go-back-to-school-for-a-second-degree) and I guess my main question would be the differences between getting a second bachelor's degree (in engineering) or rather taking the required background classes and applying directly to a M.Engineering program? I've read in multiple places that a second bachelor's might just end up being a waste of time, but I'm unsure as to which one would give me a better chance of getting into an engineering program.

Finding a way out of a tangled web of financial aid

dead_ — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:05:20 -0800

I've reached the end of the road for graduate school loans. Well, I was finally accepted to a master's program at my first choice school: Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Little did I know that funding my adventure in higher education would prove so ridiculously troublesome and depressing.

My situation is easily summed up as follows: no one wants to give me a loan.

In detail, it goes something like this: I cannot receive any kind of federal loan for graduate school, as my university doesn't admit many American students and as such has no relationship with the Department of Education here in the states--this means that Stafford loans are out of the question. Also, it is an impossibility for the university to get a FAFSA number through the DOE (thus allowing for federal funds) due to the length and intensity of the process and the relatively few American students at the school. I've talked with both the university, and the DOE on that one.

I also seem to have hit a roadblock with private loans. I have found many loans that allow deferred payment and disbursement of funds directly to me, yet during the application process I always encounter the mysterious "eligibility list" of universities they approve or do not approve of--which of course Waseda is not on, excluding me from the loan. After speaking with a few financial aid officers, I realized that these lists are of universities that banks have relationships with so they can determine if the student is still enrolled at full-time (and thus still eligible for the loan). So it looks like private loans are out, too. I've checked hundreds of them, with no luck.

The university itself offers no loans to foreign students, and has no relationships with any US financial institutions.

As for scholarships, I will undoubtedly get them--and have been told as much--however they are not awarded until after matriculation and the initial tuition payments, which I would need a loan to make. I also have no way of knowing how much I'm getting yet.

So what is a foreign-enrolled US citizen to do, with no one to loan him a dollar and his dream school slipping away? That's what I'm asking you.

This has been one of the most disheartening experiences of my life: a long, detailed admissions process fraught with doubt that eventually resulted in the wonderful news of admission to my dream school, and yet now I have no way to finance it--even with the almost certain possibility of scholarship.

Are there any options I haven't tried, or haven't thought of here? Is there anything I can do?

I need to find a religious studies graduate program!

Gideon — Sat, 12 May 2007 18:25:45 -0800

I'm about a year off from Grad school, and I'm beginning to look around for good places to go. I'm a bit of a dinosaur, however, and am very interested in existential religion and am interested in studying a kind of... ontological foundationalism whereas the focus will be how man establishes and functions through his sense of being/meaning in the world. I need some good suggestions on what schools I may want to look into. I'm not interested in a comparative or specialist program (Judaism, Christianity, etc) - I'm really looking for a Religion and Culture, or something similar to what I outlined above. I'm also not adverse to a religion and psychology (with a emphasis on the religion aspect) or general social sciences and religion.

I'm a fairly good student, and am considering Rice and Brown - but wouldn't want to try much higher than that. I'm alright with international schools, providing English is the primary language.

Thanks!

Am I just nervous?

Anonymous — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:57:55 -0800

GradSchoolAnxietyFilter: I have no research experience. How do I describe my research plan? Please describe in detail the research plan you wish to pursue at Institution including the theme, approach and methods, etc. which you intend to use.

That's just one of the various questions on the application. Problem is, I've never really done any graduate level research, and though I have a few different ideas for a "research plan" rolling around in my brain, I'm not feeling very confident about committing to one in my application, considering I am unfamiliar with the faculty (and have no geographic access to them). I really don't know what they are looking for here, or if whatever research plan I come up with would jive with their experience. I just don't know how to approach this. Writing a statement of purpose doesn't scare me at all, writing this does.

The program is for an MA in international relations at a school that is incredibly attractive to me, but I'm nervous. I have a general feeling of anxiety due mainly to two things: my lack of undergraduate research experience and the fact that an MA in IR will be a somewhat significant departure from my undergraduate studies (I have a BJ in news-editorial and a BA in international studies). My undergraduate education has left me feeling unprepared for grad school, particularly with questions like these on the app. I feel like my lack of independent research experience is going to really hurt me--all I've ever really written has been in the form of term papers.

It feels like they are expecting me to know a lot more than I already do.

So, the question(s)... basically two part:

How should I approach this essay question and what kind of things will the university be looking for here? I'm particularly concerned about the "approach" and "methods" they ask me to describe.

And

Is my anxiety about school normal, or was my undergraduate education truly bankrupt?

Any general grad school applications advice is also welcome.

Can I take graduate courses before I'm enrolled in a Ph.D. program?

ifranzen — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 21:08:17 -0800

Can I take graduate courses before I'm enrolled in a Ph.D. program? Do any grad students do this? I am going to be graduating in two years, and I am thinking about entering graduate school for philosophy (in the USA).

I am graduating one year early. During the time in between the completion of my B.A. and my enrollment in a Ph.D. program (possibly one year), would any schools let me enroll in graduate classes, and would the graduate program I enter recognize these credits? I would like to "get my feet wet" with a light course load. I know this is done all the time in undergrad institutions (the "non-matriculated student") but is this common at all for grad students? Can I pay to take graduate courses without being officially enrolled in their program?

I suspect this is something I would need to ask each university (the university I want to take the class at, and then the universities housing the Ph.D. programs that I am thinking about applying to) but I was wondering if fellow Mefites have any information.

I have heard that most Ph.D. programs build the M.A. into their program. Is this the way most people go in philosophy, or do most get their M.A. and Ph.D. at separate institutions? Also, if anyone can offer advice about pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy it would be more than welcome.

Thank you.

Options when you don't get accepted to your first choice graduate school?

hummus — Mon, 10 May 2004 07:44:20 -0800

Graduate school acceptance. Or really, not. I need some advice from all of you over-educated metafilterites. What do you do when you don't get accepted to your first choice graduate school? Besides, obviously, not attend. Have any of you had any luck with reapplying, and if so, what did you change on your application to "do the trick?" Anyone have luck with taking classes as a non-matriculated student just to get your foot in the door? Any advice is much appreciated.