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Threeday star - I sent you a PM a couple of weeks ago. Did you get it? Have you decided if your going to Oxford this fall?

I agree with the opinions of the other posters. It sounds like you are really uncertain and I think it would be difficult to prepare for and start a grad program, if your not at least 80% sure its what you want to do. My advice would be to wait a year, work, try and defer admission to NYU for next year in case you do decide that you want to go there. I don't think you will lose anything by waiting a year. But in the meantime, do what you can to prepare to reapply next year. It sounds like you might want to continue your education. But, you also sound unsure of whether or not a PhD is right for you. I would also suggest looking into other degrees, since it sounds like your not totally certain. You might also talk to professors for advice. Good luck! I know this is all very nerve wracking!! But, I think you will make the right decision.

One more thing I wanted to throw out -- I have been emailing a student at Oxford (I was accepted there for the Fall) and found out that as an international student you can work 20 hrs/week. I know that won't put much of a dent in your loans, but it could help. I also think you should really look at the outside scholarships available for study in the UK. In my search, I haven't found many (mainly Fulbright, Rotary, Clarendon Fund, ORS Scholarship, and a few random scholarships from private orgs). I found a few scholarships for studying for a phd overseas, but it seems a little tougher to find money to study for an MA overseas. Talk to the international students office at Oxford and LSE -- they may have good advice about funding and deferring. If you are thinking about deferring, just make sure you have a solid plan. In that year, you could have earned your MA at LSE and could potentially get a job with a higher salary upon graduation. As an international student, you also have the option of working in the UK for a year after graduation. And on the other hand, maybe taking that year to defer and sift through your options might give you the time you need to apply for funding, possibly apply to other schools, and make a decision you feel good about.

Congratulations on getting into two excellent programs. I don't think either will be the wrong choice -- they are both great schools. Oxford is definitely very research oriented, so you will learn how to do research in your program. You will be in a good position to get into a PhD program with a degree from Oxford. I don't know anything about the structure of LSE's courses, but I do know a few people who went there and I've heard only good things. Personally, I think with a degree from either school, your going to be able to get into a good PhD program, provided you have awesome grades, interesting writing samples, and excellent letters of rec. I am also struggling with the loan decision, so I feel your pain. I can say that I have friends who are very much in debt from grad school, and they are just working and paying their loans back. They all have good jobs (education, law, nursing) and they are able to balance loan payments and living a decent, but frugal, lifestyle. Have you used one of those online loan calculators? Do you think you'll be able to swing the monthly payments? Are you willing to adjust your budget so that you can make your loan payments? If so, go for it. You should also ask yourself if you will regret passing up the opportunity to go to Oxford or LSE. That is another thing to consider. It gets harder to pick up and move for grad school as the years go on and you get more settled in your career. It seems like it is a bit easier to do these types of things now. On the other hand, school will always be there. You can always reapply later, after you've payed down some of your undergrad debt. You could also reapply to schools in the US and hope for a better financial aid package. A few friends have suggested to me that I make a list of the pros and cons of each choice. That might help with your decision too. Think about where you want to be in the next five years and think about what will help you get there. I think your professors might also have good advice since they probable are very familiar with the field you are in and the types of jobs you will be able to get with your MA. I know its a tough decision. Best of luck to you and let us know how things turn out!

Tough question. I think the previous poster has a good point. You could stay where you are and continue into the MA program, present at conferences, write good papers, and work on reapplying to PhD programs again next year. You could strengthen your application and possibly get more funding. I do think that if Columbia is your dream school -- completing your MA could give you a definite advantage if you apply to the PhD program at Columbia next year. I would advise taking classes with the profs at Columbia who are on the admissions committee and try and get a good letter of rec or two from these profs. 30k also seems like a pretty good deal for a degree at Columbia. Is this a one year program? Could you work part-time or try and get a graduate assistant position to help reduce your debt a little? If 30k is the only loan you'll be paying back, then that's not a horrible amount of debt. I would go to the program you feel most excited about and the one that you think will best prepare you for a PhD program (if that is your ultimate goal).

I work at an international development organization and I from what I have gathered, Monterey is a good program, but it doesn't seem to have the strongest reputation. I think Brandeis has more name recognition which can be important when looking for jobs overseas or with international organizations. If you haven't already done so, try and visit both campuses, since you mention that the atmosphere and fellow classmates are both important considerations. I've been to the Monterey campus and checked it out for grad school -- it is in a beautiful location. I've never been to Brandeis so I can't comment.

While you didn't receive funding from GW, if you are able to get a job working for the university, they have excellent tuition benefits. I have friends who worked at GW in administrative positions and used the tuition benefits -- they graduated with no debt! Just something to look into...

Just to clarify my situation -- I was accepted into masters programs, not PhD programs. The programs I applied to were all programs I would be happy attending. I honestly did not realize the difference in timing between the US and UK programs. Program #2 (my second choice) requires an answer by May 15th, though I need to respond sooner in order not to loose priority for on campus housing. My decision with Oxford is now purely financial. I applied for several scholarships and am now waiting to hear back about a very good one, however, I won't know about the result until June. This is a private scholarship that I found out about after I had applied. Program #2 has offered me some funding, but not full funding. If I recieve this scholarship for the Oxford program, it would cover everything. It does put me into a difficult situation with timing. I guess I am wondering what the consequences would be of "angering" a department by accepting an offer and possibly declining. I am considering asking for an extension, though I'm not sure if an extension will give me enough time to wait on the results of my scholarship application... Thank you all for offering your thoughts. It does help to get different perspectives before making a decision like this!

It sounds from your post that you would rather go to the University of Chicago. 40k is a lot, but if you don't have loans from undergrad, its not horrible. I have a lot of friends who took out 70K for their MA degrees. Plus, the program is one year, which could be a bonus. I also don't think SFSU is a bad school. And if its fully funded, you might find yourself with enough time to work on publishing articles and get involved with things that would help prepare you for PhD applications. If the PhD is your ultimate goal, then go the the program that will best prepare you for doctoral work.

I have been admitted to a few different programs and have narrowed it down to two. One of the programs needs an answer now if I am too secure on campus housing. This program is my second choice, but a very good second choice. I was also accepted into a program at Oxford, which is my top choice. I won't receive notification about one of the scholarships I applied for until June. The deadline to accept Oxfords offer is June 30th. It is a slim chance that I will qualify for this scholarship, but if I did, it would provide full funding. I don't want to loose my spot though in the other program. Is it a bad idea to accept an offer and later decline? If so, why?

girlathehelm -- I like your advice!

SWR22 -- Why do you think that a US PhD is better than a DPhil? I'm just curious about your thoughts on this.

Threedaystar -- I applied in the second gathered field and received an acceptance around the middle of March. I was notified about my college placement about two weeks ago. I just found out I did not qualify for the Clarendon or Overseas Research awards, but it is still possible that I might receive a bursary from my department. I also didn't qualify for any scholarships from my college -- the one I may have qualified for had an application deadline about a month before I received my college placement. I applied for a few outside scholarships, but won't hear back about those for a couple of months. Frustrating!

I want to attend Oxford for two reasons -- one being that I would like to get into the DPhil. But, I know funding is not guaranteed. I should have added in my original post that I have also been accepted to two ivy league schools in the US. One offered me funding. I have also considered doing a masters in the US and applying to a range of doctoral programs next year. And hopefully receiving funding.

I got into a MSc program at Oxford and would love to attend the DPhil at Oxford as well. I think I might have a better chance of getting into the DPhil from the MSc program. The only problem is that so far I have not been offered funding for the one year MSc. Do any of you have an opinion on taking on student loan debt for an Oxford degree? I would end up having to borrow around $30,000. I already have about $19,000 in debt from undergrad. Any advice?