rising_star

In my field, TA-ships are common for MA students. They either lead discussion sections or grade papers for an advanced PhD student or professor.

You can find a mattress store like MattressFirm almost anywhere. I'm really picky about mattresses so I have to try before I buy. It's where you'll spend 1/4-1/3 of your time, so it's worth it to get a good one. I bought a simple frame and boxspring as well. The frame is literally just metal rails that keep the boxspring off the ground and it was like $25. The other thing worth investing in, imo, is a good home office setup (so desk and chair). Again, you'll spend a lot of time there so it's worth getting ones where you're comfortable. The desk you can get off Craig's List. For the chair, I recommend using coupons at your standard office supply stores to make a good chair affordable (mine was like $140 after using a 30% off coupon and it is sooooo worth it). You might also check with other grad students to see if they're getting rid of anything.

I did a master's at one university and my PhD at another, with no time off in between. I'm not in psychology but a different social science field, if that helps. There were several big differences, some administrative, some in terms of coursework, and some that were program-specific. (For reference, my MA and PhD cohorts were about the same size.) Administratively, I had to get used to how things were done differently. The biggest difference was the number of credit hours required to be full time, which was lower in my PhD program than it had been in my master's program. Because I didn't realize this, I took way more graduate seminars than I needed to graduate. So definitely pay attention to specific requirements. In my case, I could've easily shaved a year, if not a bit more, off my program had I realized what would transfer and what I needed to take. At the same time, my focus area shifted so it might've been a good thing that I took extra courses in my new areas. There were also major differences in how TA assignments were given out. I spent the first several years of my PhD program wishing it were done the way it was in my MA program but, that was not to be. In my PhD program, the grad secretary gave the best assignments to her favorite students. If you weren't on her good side and/or you didn't lobby for yourself, you were guaranteed to get stuck with a crappy assignment. In terms of coursework: I was in the same field so the basic general "Intro to Field" course was really easy the second time around. Other people were struggling or complaining but, it wasn't a battle for me. I also found that the grad seminars I took as a PhD student were often easier (assigning less reading, allowing you to write grant proposals, book reviews, or practice comp essays in lieu of final papers that would be a dead end), but this could have been because I was already really used to doing graduate work. Personally, I had a harder time making friends as a PhD student, at least at first. Some of that was because there was a much wider age range and most (more than 3/4ths) of the students in my cohort had already lived in that city and/or been a student in the department before we started. They already had friends and a network so it was hard to break into that. In the end, I didn't and those of us who moved there ended up bonding as a separate group (we got accused of being a clique but that really wasn't what it was). I hope this helps, dragonage.

Based on everything you've said, this is definitely the kind of situation where you ask for a change in your TA assignment.

Which school is higher ranked in your field? Which department has a better placement record? Which advisor(s) are a better fit for your research interests? Which program has more resources (money, library/archives, faculty in your areas of interest)? Whichever school has those things is the one you should go to.

Definitely call the department and ask about funding opportunities before paying a deposit.

It might be worth taking another look at your other choices, just to see if you could do what you want to do there.

It's perfectly acceptable to ask for a deferral for health reasons. If you do so, I wouldn't mention that you're thinking about the other school. (Side note: I wouldn't attend School A without funding, especially since there's no guarantee that you would be admitted to their Ph.D. program.)

You totally left out "job applications"!! The biggest time suck for me in grad school was probably job applications.

If you're asking the same people, they probably still have a copy of your old letter, so I'm not sure why it would be weaker now than it was then.

Multi-country fellowship or another one of their programs?

That's awesome, grindian! Congratulations!

It is probably too late to apply for most scholarships or grants. You could try to get an assistantship on campus, either through your department or through about unit like Student Affairs or Residence Life. That said, taking out a lot of loan for a master's degree may not be the best idea at this point in time. If I were you, I would defer and apply again next year. In the next round of applications, focus on programs that offer funding (tuition scholarships, assistantships) to master's students so that you don't have to go into debt to get your graduate degree. Good luck!

shini, you had my eyeballing a Surface 3 today. It is definitely tempting since you can get it with the type cover for $599 from Costco. That said, I'm leaning toward getting an ultrabook for my next computer. I've been trying out a Chromebook but, I'm frustrated by some of its limitations and will probably be returning it soon.

You need a new advisor! That to me seems like the first step, not just quitting altogether. Another option would be to take a medical leave of absence from your program, which would give you time to get your mental health where you need it to be as well as find another advisor and committee before continuing in the program.

This is a total toss-up. Flip a coin. Heads is School A, tails is School B. Then, wait 15 minutes. If you find yourself wanting to do another flip or second guessing the decision, then you have your answer. But really, I don't think you can go wrong here.

If you've mostly done posters, then do a talk. It's a good experience!

California's problems are also related to the incredibly bad Colorado River Compact, aren't they? (For anyone that doesn't know, the gist is that the compact was made using water data that ended up being some of the wettest years on record. There isn't enough water in the Colorado for everyone to get their allotted share, especially downstream states like CA and AZ.)

It really is okay to turn down more money to go to the program where you will be happier and more productive in terms of research. For you, that means staying at your current institution. Honestly, when reading your pros/cons for each school, School A was a clear winner. Stay where you are, be awesome, and get those internships you want.

I've heard of people doing a master's and then going elsewhere for a Ph.D. but not in chemistry.

I'll add some caveats to Eigen's advice. I actually considered switching master's programs after my first year. The new program was related and they were willing to count basically all of the courses I'd already taken toward the new degree. In other words, I wouldn't have really lost any time had I switched (and now I periodically wish I had for various reasons). My partner is in the sciences and switched between one department and another within a broader umbrella department and didn't have to redo any coursework. So it is possible but you have to negotiate the specifics on a case-by-case basis.

Cornell. Go somewhere new.

CBYX for sure. You can't do it ever again, whereas you could apply for a Fulbright ETA again. Plus, if you want to go to law school and do policy research, having policy research experience already will be an asset when you apply to grad school.

It's generally pretty straightforward.

More publications can't necessarily outweigh going to a higher-ranked program, unless you're going to be first author on significantly more publications. Take a look at the placement record of each lab and each department as a whole. Use that to guide you.