studentfromLA

I just did my 2008 taxes, and it cost me about $3,300 to move from Los Angeles to Madison, Wisconsin, including full-service movers (I packed myself but they moved the boxes/furniture), shipping a few boxes, packing materials and cost of gas to drive my car from CA to WI (about 2200 miles). This included a 10% gas surcharge from the movers (around $250) which shouldn't apply this summer, seeing as gas is about 1/2 the price it was last year at this time. Another friend ditched all her stuff and bought new (cheap) furniture when she moved from Boston, MA to New Mexico for grad school, and she spent about $2000 on new (cheap) furniture. She also had driving expenses, so her move cost her about $2,300. However, she complains all the time that she hates her futon bed and misses her nice stuff that she left behind. Personally, I'm really happy I brought my stuff with me -- the cost differential between getting a moving company vs. getting a U-Haul was not very significant last year, because gas was so expensive -- the U-Haul truck estimate was $1,700 but gas for the vehicle was expected to run around $500, and the movers were $2,700, so the difference was around $500. I guess it really depends upon how nice your furniture is, and what your living situation will be in grad school vs. where you are now.

I suppose it depends on where you are going, but I do not think it is too early to start looking, especially if you are going to a tradtionally college town, because in those places much of the housing is under student leases, and the landlords can start asking as early as January 1st whether the current occupants are going to renew their leases for the next school year, and most leases run from August to August or the like. If you are going to a big city, it might be different, but if you are going to a university town, start looking now.

I started looking last year right around this time and I think I signed my lease by May 1st. There is a lot of housing near the school. The off-campus housing site on the UW website is pretty thorough, with lots of listings: http://campusareahousing.wisc.edu/ With your stipend, you will probably want to find places with roommates, as a studio is around $600-650 and 1 bedrooms around $700-750, but 2 bedrooms are around $900, so you can really reduce your rent with roomies. It would be worthwhile to visit if you can to check out neighborhoods. I live south of campus in the Regent area, less than a mile from campus (an easy walk and even easier bike ride) and it's really nice except for Football Weekends, when the whole area is overrun by Badger Fans. Madison itself is a pretty great town -- I moved here from Los Angeles and although Madison has a population of around 1/20th the size of LA, there really isn't too much I haven't been able to find in Madison. Great restaurants, grocery stores, farmer's markets, decent ethnic food options, shopping, culture, sports, etc. Winter *is* a bitch and the cold really blows, but the bus system is pretty good, and you do learn to suck it up and deal. As for biking, yes, people do it all year round, but the past two winters have had a lot of snow, and I for one would NOT want to bike in it, as they aren't the best about plowing the snow. You will want to get snow tires for your bike if you want to bike in the winter. During other parts of the year, biking is great as they have both dedicated bike paths and bike lanes on all the major roads.

In your case, I would say it depends on what you want to do with your life. If you want to go into academia, then when you are applying for positions, a higher ranked program will get your c.v. reviewed much more often than a lower ranked one, unless you do some incredible research while you are in school and/or are working with a top-ranked scholar in your field. The scuttlebutt as far as I've been able to deduce it is that when applying for professorships after a Ph.D., you are most likely to be hired by a deparment that is equal-to or lower-ranked than yours. So, if you go to the #1 ranked deparment in your field, you will have more options than if you go to a top 100 school or an Ivy, if their department is lower-ranked. Look closely at the placements of graduates from each of the schools, and see if you can talk to any of their advanced Ph.D. students to get a sense of how they are recieved on the job market.

I worked in my field for 12 years before deciding to change careers and go back to school. I gave up a 6 figure salary for a graduate student stipend, and I have not regretted the decision for one minute (okay, to be perfectly honest, when I'm up late working on an especially hard assignment, I have thought that my job was actually easier than grad school, but that's a different subject altogether ;-). But for the most part, I am optimistic that when I complete my program, I will actually be able to obtain gainful employment in a field of work that I find much more interesting, relevant and rewarding than what I was doing before. Believe me, if you don't like your job now, the money isn't going to make you like it any better as time goes on. Unless you think you will not have to work for a living for most of your adult life, I'd say go back to school now while you have the chance and are not too deep into life's responsibilties to make going to school too difficult to manage. My friends who are still working in my old career hate it too, but now they have kids and mortgages and don't have the flexibility to change careers mid-stream. One friend has a term for it -- staying in a job you hate because of the $$ -- he calls it the "golden handcuffs." Of course, only you can judge how much benefit the degree will bring to your future work life -- if it will allow you to do something you are more passionate about than the job you are doing now, I say go for it, because the average person works for over 40 years of their adult life. I think I'd have killed myself if I had to do my old job for another 25 years.

I moved from Los Angeles to Madison, Wisconsin for grad school and am now coming to the end of my first midwestern winter. While I'm not crazy about the cold weather, I actually like Madison, and am not upset that I made the choice to come here, despite being admitted to a school in CA, and having previously only ever lived in NY and LA. That said, from my perspective, with the amount of work I am doing as a grad student, I really haven't had that much time to do much other than study. Especially for a two year master's program, I would think that going to the best school, with funding, would be your best bet. A Ph.D. is a longer commitment, and location might be more important in that case. But for a master's, and a choice of funding or no funding, I'd go with your school "A". In this economy, you really don't want to be incurring more debt than you need to, and if your program is anything like mine, you may not see much other than your department and the computer lab/library for the next two years anyhow. Good luck with your decision!

Last year I got two admits in early February, one admit in early March, and one reject that took forever, but I think I finally heard in late March, so I would say, the timeline varies. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I wouldn't read too much into it yet. I think the person who said that the easy decisions, whether admits or rejects, can be made quickly, but the rest of them take time, was right on. Good luck!

That's really funny -- I actually think I spaced between paragraphs and didn't indent. Maybe that's why no 6? If so, that is totally and completely retarded.

Speaking from somebody who is not in school in the UK, but who has just finished her first semester of graduate education, graduate school is HARD. It was hard for everyone in my cohort; even the people who ended up doing very well on exams sweated it majorly before and after the first midterms and finals. If your program is like mine, you will have to study harder than you ever have before in your life, and you will feel for the first time in your life like you are definitely NOT the smartest one in the room. I think the first semester of graduate education is like being thrown in a pool, not knowing how to swim, and seeing if you can figure out how not to drown. Now that I have the first semester under my belt, I AM highly anticipating the second, because from what I garnered in the first semester, I think I'm beginning to figure out how to thrive in my chosen path. Grad school is also great. You finally get to learn from people who are doing what you think YOU might want to do. At my school, all the profs are very bright, supportive and accessible. If you are in the right program, the "aha" moments come fast and furious (i.e., when you read or learn or get exposed to those ideas that make your internal lightbulb go electric ). Go into school confident yet humble, be open to new approaches, and be prepared to work hard, and you will do well.

Double-sigh! "Out of 5,246 applicants last fall, Harvard took only 1,853. Yale's Law School got 2,000 applications for 165 openings. Michigan's graduate office mailed out 20,000 applications, got 12,000 back, accepted half, enrolled 2,000. Chicago enrolls only 1,500 of 6,000 applicants." So, back in 1966, only Yale was still as hard to get into as it is today :-) Harvard accepted 35% of applicants, Michigan accepted 50% and Chicago 25%. Those were the good old days!

I wouldn't worry so much about the GRE writing grade if your verbal score is high. One of my friends got into 4 Ph.D. programs in American Studies (she got in everywhere she applied, with funding), with a 4 on the writing. She was shocked at her score, like the OP was, and otherwise had a high score on the verbal. It didn't affect her application. I got a 5.5 and was surprised that I didn't get a 6, personally, since I like the OP have a JD and already was writing for a living when I took the GRE. I know that isn't really helpful since my 5.5 was a very good score, but I really don't know what they are looking for in a 6 if not what I wrote. If the OP is still following this thread, my technique on the writing was straight outta law school. I IRAC'ed (Issue, Rule, Analysis, Conclusion) and it worked for me. I also tried to throw some metaphors/similes/big words in there, in the intro sentences. But I truly believe the GRE is a crapshoot on the writing, because IN grad school, I have gotten the highest grades in the class in my two classes where we had paper requirements. So your JD experience will help, once you are in. I find I have a much better comprehension of what a "paper" should look like than some of my cohorts who don't have that background.

I'm not really familiar with the programs you are applying to, but want to reiterate that 17 schools is a LOT of applications. I would really pare it down. As an aside, I noticed one of the schools you are considering applying to is UW Madison, where I am currently attending. Just want to put in a good word for Madison, where the cost of living is very affordable (it's pretty doable to get by on the graduate stipend), and you can easily get a place in a good school district for your kid. New York, on the other hand, will be next to impossible, especially with a kid (I attended NYU for college).

I'm a little concerned about why you would be asking this question. Any paper you submit for anyone to read should have correct citations. Whether the schools reviewing your applications are apt to check them is beside the point. Why would you EVER want to put yourself in the position of having somebody check the references in a paper and find them to be incorrect or inexact? Just do it the right way when you draft the paper and never look back. It's so not worth the risk to short-cut on citations.

It definitely depends upon the field. I think it's more common in the sciences. Also, I think it is dependent upon if an interview is required, and on how bad they want you :-)

All schools work on the same April 15th acceptance-of-offers deadline, at least for students from the US. You should know by early February where you stand with the schools, and will have a couple of months to investigate your options. I personally wouldn't call a school and tell them I was admitted elsewhere before they'd gotten back to me. I don't understand your hesitation to apply to a school other than the select few you've chosen. You've already done all the work for the application process anyhow. Unless you've decided that you only want to go to grad school if you can get into a particular school or study with a particular professor, it doesn't make that much sense to me. Even for the best-pedigreed students, there are so many factors out of your control that go into an offer of acceptance, such as whether professors in your field of interest have funding in a given year to take on a new student. Unless you have an inside line on the schools you are applying to -- i.e. have had communications with professors at each one and know that your field of interest is at a premium, I personally wouldn't limit my options if I were you.