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When I accepted admission to the program I'm now enrolled in, I was awarded a small scholarship and at least $5200 towards a teaching/research assistantship position ("at least" was their exact words). At the beginning of August, I received my welcome package, which stated that I should check the school's website for jobs on a regular basis. Confused (after all, the letter stated I was awarded a position, not that I had to go through a job pool of any sort), I Emailed my advisor asking what exactly was the process for matching students with positions. I was told my CV was forwarded to the undergrad office in my line of work and that once they had a position for me, I would be contacted and asked to apply online. I was reassured I would be guaranteed something. Well, school starts in less than two weeks and I haven't received any notices to apply online for a position, nor have I even seen a posted position for which I qualify (there was one I really wanted to apply to, but they asked for a 4th year undergrad). Not only do I feel lost, but I'm starting to feel cheated out of funding I was promised. [Note: I'm an international student and with my permit regulations, I can't work off campus until I've worked at the school for six months, which means that I might not be able to get a job during the summer if I'm not hired at least by Winter term. Plus, if I'm not hired at all this first year, that's $5000 that has to appear out of thin air because I was told it would be covered.] I've already contacted my advisor once over the whole job issue, but would it be impolite to contact the advisor again and ask for further assistance? I don't want to come off as pushy or obnoxious before I even meet them in person, but at the same time I'm really frustrated with the situation. I understand they're advisors and that's part of the job, but at the same time I'm a graduate student and feel I should be able to find these answers and take care of it myself. Any advice is immensely appreciated. It's already been a long process moving to a foreign country and dealing with everything that entails, so kind, reassuring words are welcomed.

I did as you recommended and received a very short Email with no real answer to who to contact or whether I'll be contacted once it's processed. Nevertheless, it was signed for this morning and the amount they were to receive through the wire transfer is now reflected in my account. Looks like all that stress was for nothing, ha. Oh, to think this is just the beginning of the stress that's yet to come. ;-) Anyway, best of luck to you and your future goals. Thanks again!

There are two parts to my story. I'll try to be brief. I needed to pay my tuition deposit to reserve my place within the program. The school is in Canada, I am in the US, and naturally the deposit needs to be in their currency. I was given three options: international bank draft (recommended by school to use Travelex), money order, or personal check. Starting Monday, I visited my bank and was told that they couldn't do a money order/cashiers check in foreign currency, nor did they know what an international bank draft was. Obviously, I can't write a personal check in a foreign currency. Tuesday I went to the post office and was told their location stopped doing international money orders; four post office locations later, I still had no money order and was finally told that they couldn't make a money order in foreign currency, like the bank, despite what I was reading online. Wednesday, and at a different bank location with Travelex transaction information in hand, I tried to start the Bank to Bank wire, but the teller couldn't figure it out. After E-mailing Western Union (Travelex's partner) directly, I learned what the teller needed to do, so I returned, to the same teller, and got the wire to go through ... or so I hope. The bank that the money is first wired to has an address in Nebraska, but the only address the teller could pull up (due to location, she said) was in Minnesota. She reassured me that this would not be a problem because it's a wire (i.e. electronic) transfer, but after the week I've had, I have little confidence it will work. The same day as I paid the deposit, I tried to overnight my acceptance letter/receipt of deposit via UPS. With only my luck, they had already closed their registers for the evening and was only taking cash. I was reassured, again, that my letter would get to Canada by Friday at the same price if I returned the next day, so I left. When I returned in the morning, the arrival date had changed to Monday (the date it's due) with the price I was quoted; if I wanted to get it there by Friday, I had to pay an extra $70, but since the letter has to go through customs, they cannot guarantee a delivery date, even if I paid the extra money. With some regret, both in wishing I was more assertive and that money wasn't an issue, I decided not to pay the extra money just to risk the letter getting held up at customs and still not arriving until after Monday anyway. The advice I need is whether I should contact the admissions department directly and tell them my situation. It's not that I need an extension, it's that I'm nervous things aren't going to work out, either the wire or the arrival of the acceptance letter (which is, literally, a checked box noting I'm attending and that I've enclosed the deposit). I'm afraid I'll come off as irresponsible though and I'd make a total fool of myself. In fact, I'm afraid I'd look like a basket case, as I'm sure I do here. But hey, less judgement, right?. Anyway, the reason I waited so long to get this done was that I hadn't heard about general acceptance from one program and my other top program hadn't (and still hasn't) given me any information on funding. I would be devastated not only to know that I could have done more to make sure I kept my place in this program, but also knowing that waiting to learn that I lost my place after all would also make me lose my place with the other top program (they have the same due dates). Thoughts, anyone? I really appreciate any advice (and yes, I will graciously take any comments such as, "why did you wait so long?!" or "calm down, missy.").

I finally gave in and Emailed the grad coordinator; she said it could come as late as the first week of April. :-/ But on the brighter side, she said I'd still be eligible for federal funding, despite their website saying FAFSA consideration was due 3/15. Nevertheless, I'm not too happy because while I'd like to pretend money's not an issue, it is, especially with other offers to consider. Someone wrote that they received their letter of funding via snailmail a few weeks after receiving an acceptance Email; I'm giving Austin til 4/1 to decide whether they want to share funding information with me, otherwise I'm choosing another program that fits just as well. Best of luck with funding! PS: I'm from Oregon too, I moved to Chicago for my undergrad. It sucks there aren't any good programs out that way (unless you're trying to leave). ;-)

Yes! It looks like a few people (besides myself) have received responses: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=UT+Austin+information&t=a&o=&pp=25

 However, I'm still clueless about funding. Do I assume I didn't receive any if they didn't mention it in the Email? Or do I pester the grad coordinator, like many other students from the program have? I know this is none of your concern, but if you do receive an answer soon at least you're informed that some people are still waiting to hear about funding. 
Best of luck and I hope you get the answer you're looking for!