nugget

I am not in your field so I cannot comment on the career benefits of each program. But from a financial point of view, if you do not want to use your own savings or take out a loan to pay for food and rent, UofT and Queens are the only options that give you enough to live off of on a decent student budget. Vancouver is one of the most expensive places to live in Canada and $13,000 is quite tight. Oxford will put you into a lot of debt, but that goes without saying. Based on all the info you've shared here, I would be inclined to lean towards UofT (assuming you did not do your bachelors at UofT, since planning to get a bachelor's, master's and PhD all from the same school university isn't advisable, unless your field is different). Good luck with your choice!

Consider getting an electric bike. If your placement is further way than you'd like, at least it will cut back on the travel time and they're relatively affordable.

Congrats on making your decision! While I don't know either of these locations, I am also not keen on living in towns so I understand your hesitation. If you can get out to San Francisco every second weekend or even once a month, I would highly recommend it. It can make a huge difference to get away from time to time. As well, chances are you will be so busy working in the lab and doing research you wouldn't have a lot free time to explore your new home anyway, even if you did live in a place like Chicago instead. Good luck to you!

Consider getting a murphy bed and other kinds of portable furniture to make the best of living in a small space. Take a look at this video to see what I mean. I bet there are lots of stores that sell this stuff in New York since apartments tend to be small. http://resourcefurniture.com/get-inspired/watch-video/

The answer to this question will come down to personal preferences, as you've already alluded to. Will any of these options cause you to get into debt? If the answer is yes, I suggest doing the math for both places and figuring out how much debt exactly. If you do not feel comfortable with the numbers, eliminate one school based on the numbers. If debt is not an issue or if the debt load will end up being the same when you account for cost of living and funding amounts, then it really comes down to personal taste. It sounds like the excitement of New York is alluring to you, therefore I think this option is worth considering if it's financially viable. If it isn't, then you may do just fine at option 1. I'd recommend living close to a popular bus route with frequent buses and living walking distance to school, if at all possible, as transportation seems to be a concern.

Congrats on your acceptances! Your post mentions that your top choice is unknown, but what I am wondering is who does not know about this program? If it is ranked number 2, this would suggest that it is well known by people in your field and that is what matters the most. If your family and friends do not recognize the significance of this offer, I'd suggest educating them about it or not caring so much about what they think about your educational plans. If this program is highly regarded in your field and it will open the career doors you seek in the future, it sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Hi LP3, I did a quick google search and found the fees on table 47: http://www.fees.utoronto.ca/Assets/Student+Accounts+Digital+Assets/14+15+Schedules/14+15+SGS+dom.pdf Deadlines are here: http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/prospectivestudents/Pages/Programs/Social-Work.aspx Since the current application season isn't over yet, next year's dates haven't been posted yet. But at most universities they typically stay the same (or there might be slight adjustments due to the new calendar year). There's some program info here under the social work section (p480) in terms of program requirements: http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/Documents/2014-2015+SGS+Calendar.pdf Some university search engines aren't as user friendly as others (this is not a commentary on UofT's as I generally don't use it). I find that google.com can be useful in those times - just type in the name of the uni, MSW, and some key search words (ie: fees, etc). Hope that helps. Good luck.

Yes, but if someone is on an unranked waitlist this means the ranking hasn't been done yet and they have simply been put on a waitlist. If they need to give offers to people on the waitlist, then they will presumably rank the best candidates on the waitlist for the next round of offers.

This doesn't seem to be an easy decision. The limited duration of McGill's funding is concerning; however, I'm not sure how far living off of $23,000 in NYC will get you. The financial gap between both offers might not be as great as you think as NYU is very expensive, however you are guaranteed 4 years funding at NYU and only 2yrs at McGill. Perhaps someone else can comment on living costs in NYC as a means of comparison. As for Montreal, you could live on $1,000/mth if you're on a tight budget. Ex: renting a room in a shared apartment = $400-600/mth, a private bachelor apartment (called a 1 1/2) = $500-700/mth, public transportation approx $80/mth or cheaper if under 25yrs of age (or free if you live walking distance to campus), groceries (depends on what you eat, maybe $50-70/wk). Restaurants are cheap in Montreal. You can get dinner in a casual restaurant for $9-12 (ex: most asian restaurants, mexican, middle eastern - shawarma, rotisserie chicken restaurants, etc.) Perhaps someone else here can provide a similar comparison for NYC. Also keep in mind health insurance costs in both countries. Of course, you will need more money for emergencies, travel, trips back home for holidays, entertainment, etc. This outline was merely meant give you an idea of your basic living costs.

Ranked means everyone on the waitlist has been put on the list in order of priority. The first person on the waitlist will be contacted first when a position opens up, etc. Unranked means the people on the waitlist have not been ranked yet. When positions become available, the admissions committee will decide who will be contacted first, based on the number of positions available.

Are you from the US or another country? If you are an international student, find out if additional funding is available from your country that can be used at U of Hawaii. Congrats on your offer! (I wish my dream school was located in a warm, tropical setting).

Can you ask some profs or recruiters in the field from your country what they think? They may be able to provide further insight. Congrats on your offers!

Perhaps you have a hard time believing this, but some people actually do not want to move to the US. Canada and the US may have many similarities but there are also many differences. For instance, racial tension and problems between blacks and whites in the US, expensive healthcare (compared to free in Canada), no paid parental leave in the US, vastly different gun laws and practices, a vocal and politically powerful Biblebelt in the US (the influence of Christianity on politics), discrimination against homosexuals (such as not being allowed to marry in some states), etc.... These are just a few differences that have nothing to do with economics that can impact one's quality of life and decision to not want to live in the US. I do not know how many Canadians do not want to relocate to the US, but this group of people will definitely have an impact on the numbers to a degree.

Have you considered that not all Canadians are interested in living in the US? This could partially account for low numbers. Some people don't make all of their life decisions based on money and prestige and may favour others things like quality of life, free healthcare, and proximity to family and friends over status and $$$.

Ideally, what kind of job would you like to get? What are your main intersts and career goals? This is a really great book I'd highly recommend. It can help you identify your strengths and different ways to tap into the job market. I'm sure you could find it in most public libraries. http://www.randomhouse.com/book/226865/what-color-is-your-parachute-2015-by-richard-n-bolles

You bring up an excellent point that should be considered by the OP in this decision.

You didn't mention what you mean by high salary, so unless it's a salary that's well into the 6 figures, I'd go for option B. Not only would option A cost you $100,000 but you would need to factor in loss of 2 years of salary to determine the true cost of attending this program. Unless you are really young and don't plan on having a family (anytime soon), or unless this school is on your bucket list and you would regret it for years to come, then I personally think it's not worth the cost.

I would go with school A. School B is just too low ranked in case you decide to work in academia later on. Have you researched what jobs former grads have been getting from this department? This is a very important piece of information to have, I think. There is no point in dedicating a few years of your life to a program that is not likely to offer you the career prospects you want afterwards. School C doesn't sound too promising because you hate the location and the adviser does not respond to your emails in a timely manner. Unless some extenuating circumstances have occurred, like hospitalization for instance, I would rule this one out too. School A often comes out in second place out of your three options in terms of ranking, funding (sounds nearly guaranteed based on what you read on the school website), and the location. Not to mention, the adviser responds to your emails, he is approachable, passionate about his work and has published in some very good journals. It sounds like a good middle ground considering your options, IMO.

I know someone who did this and it was a fantastic experience. https://pip-psp.org/en/apply/how-to-apply Getting an internship could give you the experience and practical skills that you need. Otherwise, consider a graduate level diploma or a master's program in your area of interest (preferably one that includes an internship). Some of them are as short as one year.

I think they never want to be in the position of having to reverse a rejection to an acceptance - that would look very unprofessional and unorganized -and they wouldn't want to have spots unfilled. So they put far more people than they'll ever need on the waitlist to ensure that this will not happen.

Are you currently working at a job that you would hate to give up to go back to school? Based on what you wrote so far, it seems that the only risk or issue in question is moving away from your husband for 3-5 years. What about giving it a try for a semester or two? If you can make it work, then complete the program. If you are unhappy and miserable, then apply to other programs next year and try again. It seems like you have little to lose by trying it out for a while and have much to gain if it works out.

Considering that school B is brand new and does not have a track record, why are you confident that you will have many opportunities to publish at that school? Are you making this assumption because faculty are young and (perhaps) eager to publish a lot to eventually get tenure? It is unfortunate that you will need to make this decision without the benefit of knowing how graduates fare but there is nothing you can do about that. Best of luck and congrats on your offers!

Here you go: A tough choice, but on the bright side if the choice is so tough that probably means they're equally good options so either way you go you'll end up making a good choice. Good luck and congrats on your offers!

I agree with the others. I think it's important to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your application compared to other successful candidates and then decide what to do. If your GPA is not competitive, if you have little research experience or the references just weren't strong enough, come up with a plan to help offset these setbacks. Try to seek feedback from some of your schools to get a critical opinion of your problem areas, if you can. One year may not have been enough time to strengthen your application. You might need a few years of preparation to stand out as a strong candidate, if you are willing to put in this amount of time and effort. If lack of teaching experience is indeed what is holding you back, there are many options for you if you wish to work abroad. Dubai or certain places in Asia (Korea, Japan, or sometimes China) can offer great opportunities with the incentive of a strong salary and very low living costs (in some cases, housing, health insurance and airfare costs are free). I also know of a college in Quebec that sometimes has difficulty finding people qualified to teach various subjects in the English language. You do have some options on how to proceed and I think getting an objective opinion on your strengths and weaknesses will be a good start to working towards your goals.

You mention the location of A is expensive. Will your funding cover all of your costs or will you need to take out a loan or use some of your own money to make ends meet? If school doesn't give you enough money and school B does, I'd lean towards school B. If funding for school A is sufficient, I'd lean towards B. It really is a close call though. A lot will depend on where your priorities lie. I saw someone on the forum resolve this problem by creating a score sheet for each school. He attributed a value for each category based on how important it was to him and graded each school on its pros and cons. His decision was made by counting up the points and picking the winning school. If you really cannot decide, perhaps you would find this system helpful too.