k i think You should go to the Germany program because it's your dream and if u go to the program in the US u will probably me miserable and always say things in ur head like "i wish i was in germany rite now" good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
I know this is the internet, and this style of writing is common here. However, this is also an academic community.
You might consider abandoning the chat speak and using proper capitalization and punctuation in this community, even if you don't do so elsewhere. People in academia take people who write properly more seriously than those who don't.
You could always teach ESL in Germany after grad school. Plus, you can save up money in America before you go. Could that be a suitable compromise? What gives me pause is that fact that you won't hear until June and that you would be paying a LOT to be in Germany.
As for the exoticism; you'll be among older peers and working with colleagues. It may not be as bad as it was during your undergraduate career.
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I would really like to continue on the ESL track, although I don't see myself making an entire career out of it, but it's still an interest of mine.
As for the exoticism; you'll be among older peers and working with colleagues. It may not be as bad as it was during your undergraduate career. You're probably right about this. I guess I wasn't expecting diversification to come up.
It's going to continue to come up. I'm not sure what field you're in, but it's pretty huge in academia, especially the sciences and social sciences. Every grant for students, you have to describe how you're going to contribute to "broader impacts" or the diversity of the science workplace. All the job descriptions talk about how they "especially welcome" applications from "diverse" candidates (and everyone knows what that means
( ... )
I don't think there would be anything wrong in your situation with planning to attend America but withdrawing later if you hear positive news from Germany. You aren't intentionally trying to screw the American school over, you just don't want to wind up not being accepted to Germany and having turned down a great offer from America. If Germany is your dream, I don't think you should turn it down for America. But if I were in your spot, I wouldn't forfeit my spot at America in hopes of hearing good news from Germany, either.
As for the note about not having a job waiting for you - you may want to check with people in Germany or familiar with German laws to see what kind of jobs you could even get there. I know in the US, foreign exchange students can hold grad assistantships, but they usually can't have "real" jobs in the US (that is, jobs off campus) while on a student visa. (At least as I understand it.) Definitely something to at least look into.
I hadn't thought about whether or not I would be able to get a job there; I had done some reading that if I found a job all I would have to do is get my employer to help me apply for a work visa. But I definitely need to see if there's more to it than that.
How would you feel about seeing if the US program will let you do a year's nonbinding deferral? That's a calculated risk, you might end up at loose ends for a year if you ultimately are turned down in Germany, but will let you ensure a place without taking one away from another student if you eventually don't go into the US program.
I'm not 100% on what I want to do afterward. I would like a PhD someday, but I'm not sure that I want to just go straight into it. I've been advised by many professors not to just go straight through, because it would give me more life experience to just get a job for a while. I don't know, though. As much as I would like to work afterward, I don't know that I could find a job.
A last nugget of advice: Under NO circumstances should you accept the offer at the US institution if you aren't fully committed to attending. It's tacky and disingenuous and I'm very surprised that several people have advocated you to do so.
That's good to know. I had the feeling that this was the case, but like I said, having so many people suggest it made me wonder if it was actually common or permissible.
Schools understand that sometimes your top choice schools don't make you an offer until later. People get wait-listed, etc. It happens. (It shouldn't happen all the time, or to everyone, but it does happen.) Maybe it depends on your field, though. One of my professors told me that she accepted admittance to her school, and later was offered a spot at a much better school. She turned it down because she felt bad (since she had responded by the requested deadline at the school she ended up going to), but has since learned that it would have been acceptable and understandable to withdraw from that school and go to the better one - especially since in my field, pedigree of your PhD institution is extremely important if you plan to work in academia. So, maybe ask your professors for their advice, since they'll have the best idea about your field. (Note: She's the department head, so it's not like she's 2 years out of a PhD and giving this advice, too.)
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good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
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You might consider abandoning the chat speak and using proper capitalization and punctuation in this community, even if you don't do so elsewhere. People in academia take people who write properly more seriously than those who don't.
Just a suggestion, feel free to ignore it.
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Sorry for the redundancy coaldustcanary. I haven't been following applyingtograd as closely lately because I'm busy with coursework and TAing.
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As for the exoticism; you'll be among older peers and working with colleagues. It may not be as bad as it was during your undergraduate career.
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As for the exoticism; you'll be among older peers and working with colleagues. It may not be as bad as it was during your undergraduate career.
You're probably right about this. I guess I wasn't expecting diversification to come up.
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As for the note about not having a job waiting for you - you may want to check with people in Germany or familiar with German laws to see what kind of jobs you could even get there. I know in the US, foreign exchange students can hold grad assistantships, but they usually can't have "real" jobs in the US (that is, jobs off campus) while on a student visa. (At least as I understand it.) Definitely something to at least look into.
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A last nugget of advice: Under NO circumstances should you accept the offer at the US institution if you aren't fully committed to attending. It's tacky and disingenuous and I'm very surprised that several people have advocated you to do so.
That's good to know. I had the feeling that this was the case, but like I said, having so many people suggest it made me wonder if it was actually common or permissible.
Thanks for all of your advice.
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