macrotomicro

Hi all. I'm completely torn between two programs, UW-Madison and Northwestern. Very different programs in very different towns (with VERY different funding packages.) I'm a "qualitative person" who does social movements, theory, politics, and culture. Both programs are very strong in all of these, yet I'm torn. Choose the so-called #1 program, but live on a really snug funding package for the next X number of years, or go the #10 school and live considerably more comfortably (even considering cost of living differences) with a much smaller cohort. Thoughts?? Thank you!

Is anyone else here nervous about funding? I didn't receive a fellowship in addition to the guaranteed 5 years, but the number I saw in the acceptance letter seemed a bit low. (It's possible I'm spoiled as the offer from Northwestern was very, very generous.) Wisconsin is my choice over NU, but the funding might sway me the other direction. Thoughts? PS. Looking forward to meeting you all in a few weeks!

The funding package really is killer. Last fall I went to NU for a brief visit and met with faculty and grad students. The students couldn't stop talking about how nice the funding is (not to mention the attention and support from faculty), and the faculty seemed to genuinely be interested in their students (which I've seen is not always the case at other top programs). I was accepted to both NU and Wisconsin, two programs that could not be more different in many ways. The NU funding destroys Madison though....tough decisions await!

Hello everyone, I've recently been accepted to the sociology PhD program at Northwestern and will be visiting the university early next month. I'm trying to get a feel on cost of living and areas to live. I've heard its too expensive in Evanston, but that the Roger's Park area is nice. Any other suggestions for places north of downtown but south of Evanston, preferably near the trains? Thanks so much!