two offers, which one to choose

Applying to College
1

<p>I applied for MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages(TESOL) for Fall 2001 and for the time being, I've got two offers from Monterey Institute of International Studies and Penn GSE, respectively. Which one is better if I want to stay in the States and work for a while as a Chinese teacher?</p>

<p>1.locationMIIS:The Monterey Institute of International Studies is located on the scenic Monterey Peninsula, 130 miles (210 km) south of San Francisco and 345 miles (555 km) north of Los Angeles.</p>

<p>UPenn:Philadelphia, PA</p>

<p>2.program difficulty</p>

<p>MIIS(MA)>UPenn(MEd)</p>

<p>3.faculty</p>

<p>MIIS(8): from UCLA,USC,Columbia,McGill,Lancaster,U Wisconsin-Madison</p>

<p>UPenn(10): from UCLA,UPenn,Stanford,U Wisconsin-Madison,Georgetown,Edinburgh</p>

<p>4.students</p>

<p>MIIS: 23, 15% international students(data of last year)</p>

<p>UPenn:around 70, 90% Chinese</p>

<p>5.reputation</p>

<p>MIIS:A graduate school of Middlebury College(top 5 Liberal Arts College),famous for translation&interpretation programs</p>

<p>UPenn:Ivy League,famous for Wharton</p>

<p>6.certificate tracks</p>

<p>MIIS:Teaching Foreign Language, Computer-assisted Language Learning, Language Program Administration</p>

<p>UPenn:Business Communication</p>

<p>7.funding</p>

<p>MIIS: $13,000 per year</p>

<p>UPenn: $6500 scholarship + $3500 graduate assistantship (only for first-year)</p>

<p>My goal for graduate studies: be able to speak English in a native-like way, lay a solid foundation in applied linguistics, be able to teach Chinese as well as English to speakers of other languages,get a better understanding of American society and culture.</p>

<p>Could you give me some suggestions?</p>

2

<p>Can’t help you much, but you’ve made UPenn look a lot less prestigious than it is. Sounds like you know more about MIIS and are leaning towards it. Just saying.</p>

3

<p>You should take this question to the Graduate School Forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen, and then scroll down to find it. </p>

<p>When you post your question there, make the title clearer. Something along the lines of “Which MA TESOL program would be better?” That way people who are familiar with your field of study will be more likely to spot it.</p>

<p>What would your Cost of Attendance be for a year at each place once you account for the scholarships and assistantships? What is the chance of renewing the assistantship at Penn if you go there? What is the job placement like from these two programs? Do either of them offer you opportunities to work toward some kind of certification in teaching Chinese?</p>

<p>Just from the information here, it looks to me like MIIS offers a better program for you, as you goal is to work in foreign language instruction. I teach ESL to adults, and I know that there is increasing emphasis on computer-assisted instruction. I also know that if I had a better background in program administration I could make more money than I do in the classroom! Lastly, I have visited the Monterrey area, and I’ve lived in Philadelphia: on the weather alone, I would choose MIIS.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best, where ever it is that you do decide to study!</p>

4

<p>I do appreciate your comments. Thanks a lot.</p>

5

<p>Go with whichever program is cheapest.</p>

6

<p>Why do you say so? Actually, money is not my biggest concern. Surrounded by Chinese classmates, it seems as if I were having a class taught by a foreign teacher in China. I feel like I won’t have the feeling of going abroad and enough chance to practice my oral English. I may meet a lot of Americans at other settings, but I’m afraid it would be hard for me to have deep discussion with them if they were not my classmates. Adapting myself to a new environment (both life and study) is not easy. I am wondering whether I’ll have enough time and energy to get away from the usual social circle of the Chinese graduates at Penn GSE(amost all Chinese) and find new friends to talk and share stories. U Penn as a whole is fantastic, but how can I enrich myself academically and embrace more about the American culture when most of my fellow classmates are Chinese? If I decided to come to U Penn, what should I do so that I can practice my oral English and have a real feeling of what America is?</p>

7

<p>I just re-read your original post. There is a HUGE difference between a program with 23 students and eight faculty members, and a program with 70 students and ten faculty members. You would have a lot more direct interaction with the professors at MIIS than at Penn.</p>

<p>Given the large number of Chinese students in the program at Penn, I think that you are correct in your evaluation of the classroom and social situations. In order to increase your opportunities to meet students from other countries (not just US students), you would have to make deliberate choices about where to live and who to spend your free time with. As you know, the single best way to improve your English is to surround yourself by people with whom you absolutely must use that language for communication. Your best bet would be to share an apartment with US students, or to live in a grad student dorm that has students from many different academic programs and many different countries. When I was in grad school, my dormmates included people from every department in the university. This meant that my social circle wasn’t limited to my department.</p>

<p>If MIIS is not significantly more expensive than Penn, I think MIIS would be a much better place for you.</p>