I should've just gone out to wander the neighborhood and get my chocolate and passed a night reading Lu Xun, like I said I was going to
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I figure that my fees were probably about $500. Add in about $100-$150 or so more for test results (particularly since they kept getting screwed up), plus the $150 from when I originally took the test, and then my parents spent I'm guessing about $30 to print out and send my thesis and CV. All together, though, I don't think it was more than $800.
Still, that averages to about $100/school. I knew the application season would hit my bankbook (not to mention my sanity) fairly hard, but it's a hard number to swallow. It's a lot of money.
University searching can be difficult, but it's worth it for those moments when you're like "Eureka! This is exactly what I want to study!" It also helps that the AAR website has a fabulous search engine to look for specific programs in almost all US and Canadian schools. That helped me immensely.
I also took notes and had a checklist, which I think you said you did too. Not only did this help me keep track of which programs offered what degrees and to make notes regarding professors and such, but also was easy to use to compare programs. Later on when I started applying I adapted it to add in things like deadline dates, number of letters of recommendation, GRE codes and such. Not to mention it made it so much easier to have the links there and the passwords for the various applications. Best thing I probably did during the whole process (8 didn't seem like so many when I started, and looking back it doesn't seem like many now, but it was a lot to juggle at the time).
Heh, well Taiwan may be an option :o). You could luck out with an MA too - I found one that's giving me funding (even without the funding it's fairly affordable). And while it may not be a top program, at the same time it's well respected. Both the professors I was talking to at Columbia and Virginia praised the people I will be working with, so I think I still have a good chance at those place when I reapply in a few years. I never would have expected that when I started. Still surprises me.
Still, that averages to about $100/school. I knew the application season would hit my bankbook (not to mention my sanity) fairly hard, but it's a hard number to swallow. It's a lot of money.
University searching can be difficult, but it's worth it for those moments when you're like "Eureka! This is exactly what I want to study!" It also helps that the AAR website has a fabulous search engine to look for specific programs in almost all US and Canadian schools. That helped me immensely.
I also took notes and had a checklist, which I think you said you did too. Not only did this help me keep track of which programs offered what degrees and to make notes regarding professors and such, but also was easy to use to compare programs. Later on when I started applying I adapted it to add in things like deadline dates, number of letters of recommendation, GRE codes and such. Not to mention it made it so much easier to have the links there and the passwords for the various applications. Best thing I probably did during the whole process (8 didn't seem like so many when I started, and looking back it doesn't seem like many now, but it was a lot to juggle at the time).
Heh, well Taiwan may be an option :o). You could luck out with an MA too - I found one that's giving me funding (even without the funding it's fairly affordable). And while it may not be a top program, at the same time it's well respected. Both the professors I was talking to at Columbia and Virginia praised the people I will be working with, so I think I still have a good chance at those place when I reapply in a few years. I never would have expected that when I started. Still surprises me.
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