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Everything posted by aginath
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Speaking of Zotero... http://www.zotero.org/blog/standalone-zotero/
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EndNote was constantly making Word 2008 on my Mac crash. Since I never bothered to use it, I uninstalled it. At the recommendation of an old undergrad friend who just finished up his PhD, I looked into Zotero. LOVE.IT. Seriously. I can tag all of my references so that they can be cross-used and I can create lists that are specific to one project. The bibliography export is quite nice, too.
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It's never too soon to start looking, especially since you know you're moving there. I lived in one college town for 16 years and moved to another one 900 miles away. Something that shocked me about Athens (where I moved to) is that they pre-lease for Fall in March! And while I was looking online at various listings, I absolutely would not sign a lease sight unseen. So, I was limited to what would be available in late July and that I could see in early June when I visited. That created a rather narrow window and short list for me. That said, you're moving to LA. Options will be wildly varied. Perhaps you should visit the to see how others heading there are going about the housing search.
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Careful with broad, sweeping statements. Many folks I know, including myself, are on 20-25 year repayment plans for their loans. I had a state loan that was on a 10-year repayment schedule, but my federal loans had more options. As for the OP, consider the PSLF as an option, but by no means should you rely on it.
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I was accepted to NCSU last year in Curriculum & Instruction (chose another school). I, too, was not offered funding. However, about two to three weeks after I got the offer letter, I started receiving emails about applying for assistantship positions across the college and university. You might check with your department to see if this is a possibility.
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This situation depends entirely on the discipline and school. I agree with Firled. I was accepted to three programs last year and none of them could guarantee funding due to the economic climate hitting schools. One immediately started bombarding me with applications for assistantships outside the department (before I even accepted or declined the admissions offer). The other two said they would be glad to help me find something after accepting the offer. The school I chose had been hit by significant budget cuts thanks to a major reduction in state funding and was having a hard time continuing to support already admitted students. Knowing the risk, I took the leap. I spent countless hours scouring the university website looking for leads and investigating outside financial aid sources. I even stumbled onto a little known out of state tuition waiver that might apply to me. I arrived in town at the end of July. My advisor screened all sorts of possibilities and gave me a few leads to work on independently. I applied for the waiver and it was granted, decreasing the burden significantly! By the week before classes started, my advisor got a call for applicants for an assistantship with the Graduate School itself. I interviewed and had an offer shortly after classes started and began work Sept 1; it's valid for 21 months with reduced tuition and a monthly stipend, supporting me right up to the point of starting my dissertation. It is risky, but it can be done.
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MA not finished before PhD admit-- HELP!
aginath replied to karenwog's topic in Decisions, Decisions
You need to notify them ASAP. Only they can say how they will handle the situation. You owe it to them to reveal the situation and make a decision. If you withhold the information and it works out poorly for you with your current degree, it may not bode well for the potential of re-applying. Some schools allow you to defer your acceptance for up to a year. Worse case scenario, you tell them, they pull the offer, but encourage you to re-apply next year. FWIW, I have two classmates in my cohort who had not completed their Master's before we started last fall. One flew back to her Master's school at the end of last semester to defend her thesis. The other just needs to complete some coursework by the end of this semester to replace and Incomplete grade. -
Honestly, the argument about putting GPAs on resumes is an old one. I remember it being a hot topic when I was an undergrad in the mid to late 90s. I find it interesting that many university/college career centers are still telling students to do it (if it's a "good" GPA). Having worked in industry for 10 years and having colleagues in a variety of industries, some of which are in Human Resources/hiring for major corporations, I can say that we don't usually care. When I hired my last few employees before leaving my agency, GPA wasn't a question I asked. Even if you're fresh out of school, I expect to see and hear about relevant work experience, be they paid/unpaid internships or part time and hobby work. I don't want to see or hear about grades.
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Note that there is difference between financial aid and funding. Depending upon the school, more funding notices become available in April/May as budgets are finalized. As for financial aid, schools all differ. If you've submitted a FAFSA and indicated your school, they may make a preliminary offer within a few weeks of receiving the FAFSA. Some don't (UGA did, IU didn't -- when I was in the middle of applying for schools last year). Some just wait until June/July to notify you of the exact federal and school loans and grants that have been awarded to you.
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From the day I submitted my applications (Oct-Jan), my husband started checking the different areas for jobs. When I received my admissions offers and narrowed my choice, he started seriously looking in that area (Mar-Apr). When we went to visit in June to scout a place to live, he had interviews lined up. We moved in July and he accepted an offer to start work within a week of our arrival.
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When I first visited my program, I was midway through a meeting with two faculty members when they suddenly decided I needed to meet another. That other faculty member would later become my advisor, but more importantly is the department head. I was a scared little church mouse walking down the hallway. Even after having met him, I was still intimidated going into the Fall semester. I did take some time in between my first meeting and my acceptance to try and figure out why he intimidated me. Was it his reputation as a researcher? Was it his position as department head? Was it a fear of expectations upon me as one of his students? In the end, I could only conclude that it was a combination of factors, but I chose to move forward based on the feedback from other students. He is very well loved and even now I'm quick to admit that behind his back, we call him Papa Bear. I made the right choice to study with him. So, list out what it is that intimidates you. Consider that against the feedback from other students. Maybe even talk to a student who has worked with this faculty member. In the end, only you can decide.
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Check with your school. It's usually due within a week or two of the first day of classes for the term. Every school is different. The Bursar/Financial Officer's Office website and/or Financial Aid website usually posts these "important dates," to include when aid is disbursed. Check with your school. They ALL handle this one differently. When I was an undergrad and Master's student at Texas A&M, registration was usually the last month of the semester. That meant November for Spring and late April for Summer/Fall. Here at UGA, I registered for the Spring in October and just registered last week for this Summer/Fall. The other thing different here is that I have to be cleared by my advisor to register. That means he has to notify an Admin Assistant that we've met regarding registration and she can click the box in the system that lets me register. At A&M, I had complete autonomy to register. As an incoming student last year, I had to wait until the first week of August to register for my Fall classes because of this requirement. Check with your proposed advisor/major professor. Different programs have different cultures and can be picky about outside contact.
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When I put my house in Texas on the market last spring, more than a few of the prospective buyers were individuals or couples who were moving to town to go to grad school. It's certainly not unheard of. If your budget (and credit score) can handle it, do it.
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My stipend nets about $1200/month after taxes. Combined with my husband, we're making about $2200/month after taxes. All of his paycheck goes to his outstanding credit card bills we had before we met and his car payment. I have a scooter and ride the bus. The way the budget is laid out, we spend roughly $350/month on groceries and household items. As a splurge, we do both have iPhones and that runs $160/month. Utilities account for $275/month (that's electricity, gas, water, and garbage. As you can see, that doesn't leave much for rent. That's where loans have come into play. Rent is the main budget item that is supported by loans. At the end of the month, we have about $200 for eating out or drinks (I do have $100/month built in so that my husband can feed his coffee addiction and it doesn't interfere with other budget items). When it comes to entertainment, the internet bill is $50/month. I used our tax refund this year to buy a MacMini. It's hooked up to the TV and we stream Hulu, Netflix, and networks, getting me the most for that money. Some months are easier than others. Sometimes it's hard to say no to going out or ordering pizza/chinese. We try to build in periodic splurges that take advantage of budget surpluses without getting us in a bind (easier said than done) like going to sushi or taking a weekend trip in driving distance. I'm fortunate that my assistantship runs through the summer, uninterrupted. I have many classmates who are starting the hunt for summer work.
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I got accepted to all 3 PhD programs I applied to last season (I'm at the end of my first year). None of them were able to guarantee me funding. Times are tough and this year seems to be worse than last. I can't advise you what to do, but I can tell you what I did. I moved 900 miles and prepared to start the fall without funding. My goal, of course, was to seek it out when I got here. I spent the weeks before my move cold-contacting potential groups on campus and was very disappointed when those leads got me nowhere. About a week before classes started I got lucky and was offered to interview for an assistantsip with the Graduate School. About two weeks into the semester, I started work and my waiver and stipend all kicked in. Provided I keep my grades up (no problem), work hard (no problem), and the funding is still available (iffy with the state budget, but as of right now it's still there), I will be renewed for next year. That should buy me a little time to cast a net for grants and see if I can't fund myself for my last year and a half of research.
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When I was job hunting at the end of my Master's studies nearly a decade ago, I did not. Having since taught a Business Comm class that included a chapter over resume writing, I taught my students not to include GPA for Bachelor's or Master's. The large majority of jobs that require a degree will also require a copy of your transcript (in some cases at the time of application). If you really want to boast about that 4.0, do it in your cover letter, but I'd hesitate to even mention it there.
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Sounds like you'd really have to talk to someone in the department (perhaps one of the Admin Assts) to get a better understanding of how that department funds students and what limitations are attached.
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It's been said. Consider all the factors and err on the conservative side. For instance, my major requirement is that my assistantship requires 12 hours of credit/semester. Am I actually taking 12 hours of coursework? Of course not. Only 6 of those hours are actual courses with letter grades. Another 1 hour is our required program seminar for all first and second year doc students (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory). Another 2 of those hours are directed readings/internship with my advisor. To fulfill that, I participate in a team-based research study under his direction and it requires reading, collaboration with his other doc students, and occasional meetings (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory). The remaining 3 hours are filler to reach the assistantship requirement. I go to work for 16 hours/week, I do my job (manage the graduate school website), I get a Satisfactory grade. I have classmates who fill those last 3 hours with another class. I've watched them struggle this year to meet all of the deadlines and still work on personal research interests. Don't get me wrong, I still stress and have my share of headaches, but I've always been one to err on the conservative side (I was a 12 hrs/semester undergrad). Looking at the long term plan, my classmates that have done the 9 hours of coursework/semester are realizing that they'll be out of classes by mid second year and will then HAVE to shift to all research hours and dissertation work for lack of anything else.
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FWIW, my tuition waiver gets factored in, but not my stipend.
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Your answer will depend upon to whom you make the payments and the school you'll be attending. My consolidation loan from B.S./M.S. is through AES. They participate in the clearinghouse program and receive an electronic notification every month of currently enrolled students from participating universities. UGA participates in the program. Therefore, there was no form or letter I could request in advance. I had to wait until I was registered for classes (and therefore enrolled at UGA), which didn't happen until early August, for my name to appear on the list. That meant I had to make my monthly payments up through August (even though classes started Aug 17). Effective that September, however, my loan went into deferment automatically. So, check with your loan provider to find out their requirements for deferment (do they participate in the clearinghouse or have other forms of accepted notification) and then check with your school to find out how they prefer to provide enrollment status. At the very least, most do not consider you an enrolled student until you have registered for classes for a specific term.
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Don't give up hope on an assistantship and do your own digging. I started school this past fall without an assistantship. I wound up finding out about an opening the first week of classes and was able to submit a CV for it and got it. I went the first two weeks of classes without one. So, it felt like hitting the jackpot. Scout your Grad School's website. Look at support programs in the university, including places you might not normally think of (housing, teaching outreach centers, dining, etc.).
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It is unlikely that you will see a federal aid offer from your school before you make your decision to attend. UGA does provide a "preliminary" offer within a few weeks of receiving the FAFSA, but the wording does caution that actual aid offers will not be available until June. I submitted my FAFSA for 09-10 around mid-March last year. I had a preliminary offer in my school email account by late April. My final offer was almost identical. I just filled out my FAFSA for 10-11 earlier this past week and just got my preliminary offer on Thursday. It's fairly close to the same offer I got last year.
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Can't speak for Classics specifically, but since the state budget is still up in the area and some rather drastic cuts were proposed by President Adams to the legislature, much of the University is still in limbo waiting for the final word.
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Every school is different in how they handle this. Some schools require you to report it so that any benefits (including tuition waivers) can be considered and some don't. You should be able to call or email the Financial Aid office and ask.
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Immediately north of campus is downtown. Just beyond that, there are some rough areas. My husband was a paramedic when we first moved here and he would pick up no less than 1 male undergrad a week who would get mugged/beat up while walking back towards downtown after dark (they would try to be the gallant southern gentleman and walk home their dates from games/events and you walk right past one of those mini-ghettos I mentioned). The city is revamping and industry is remodeling parts of that area, but it's still iffy. I did have the pleasure of hanging out in one of the Family/Grad Housing apartments just south of campus last night. It's a 1-1 with a study and VERY nice on the inside with all modern appliances and fixtures. I was impressed. The downside there is no pets (if you have or want to have one). Good luck in your decisions/searches!