rising_star

Here's an idea. Instead of enrolling right away in a brand-new graduate program, use your 6 credits of tuition (IF you get the job) to take courses that you can later count to the degree. That way, you'd get to know the faculty in that program and could potentially get your recommendation letters from them, rather than from your English professors.

I lived with a college senior during the first year of my MA and we got along fabulously. In fact, we're still friends and talk on FB once a month or so. What you're looking for is maturity and responsibility. Do they pay rent on time? Are they a crazy partier or more of the studious type? Do they work late at night, early in the morning, or during the day? Do they watch TV all the time or listen to music without headphones constantly? In other words, most of the same questions you'd want to ask any potential roommate. At the schools I went to, living with someone that was in the class you TA'd for or taught wasn't a huge deal. The main requirement was that you not do any grading or write any tests where the roommate would have access that wouldn't be available to others in the course.

Michigan State. You like the environment better, which is key. A degree in kinesiology may be somewhat limiting but, with solid work experience, you can overcome that.

You're definitely not stupid for considering School B. (That said, I was chuckling when you referred to Memphis as a big city.) You should rescind your acceptance to School A and send your acceptance to School B ASAP if you want to change.

If you're leaning toward School A, then go to School A.

Congratulations, Shivantor!

The cost of living is probably lower in Tallahassee. Finding an internship may not be easier just because there are fewer opportunities (smaller town) and there are lots of students competing for those. If you're in New Brunswick, you'd be able to consider internships in the NYC metro area. That said, it sounds like you're looking at taking out loans for either program, which isn't really a great idea.

You want to write to the Director of Graduate Studies for that department to ask for a fellowship.

Yes, there are positions, usually labeled as "Graduate Assistantships." For the specific availability of those at ASU, you'll need to contact the relevant departments/offices on campus.

Nestle's position is, unfortunately, not new for bottled water companies. In fact, Dasani did something similar in Georgia during the drought there 8ish years ago. Food waste and water consumption link: "We found that around one quarter of the produced food supply (614 kcal/cap/day) is lost within the food supply chain (FSC). The production of these lost and wasted food crops accounts for 24% of total freshwater resources used in food crop production (27 m3/cap/yr), 23% of total global cropland area (31 × 10− 3 ha/cap/yr), and 23% of total global fertiliser use (4.3 kg/cap/yr)." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969712011862

I would do what's best for my career, which may increase your ability to live near a city/metro area in the future. In other words, I'd go to Purdue.

Nah, the thesis defense is meant to be the easy part. Don't worry about it and enjoy!

Okay, I have to say that there's more you can do than watch how much water you use and vote. Other things to consider include what you eat (meat vs. vegetables but also which vegetables), how much food you waste (if any), what you do with excess water (like from waiting for shower water to get hot, or from the rinse cycle of the washer), and your electricity consumption. There's more, obviously, but all of those affect how much water is being used. Food waste is actually a huge water waster (I can link to studies if people doubt this) and power generation requires a lot of water generally speaking. That said, I'm not saying any of this to stop someone from accepting an offer in California. There are environmental problems everywhere that, as a country, we will be forced to tackle in the next decade or two. Perhaps living in these places even temporarily can make people more willing to identify solutions that require sacrifice from everyone, not just a select few.

Whether or not collecting data is a key part of the PhD really depends on your field. In my field, collecting primary data is expected but I know of other fields where there is not that expectation. You should consult with your advisor(s) and read previous dissertations to see what the expectations in your program are regarding primary vs. secondary data.

Actually, that's not entirely true, Vene. The agreement says that you must ask and receive a written release from the first school (School X here) that you committed to before you can accept the offer at another school (School Y in this example).

Neither. Don't go to a PhD program without funding.

You need to defer your acceptances or just turn them down if you're really not feeling it. There are moments in grad school where you aren't feeling it but, if you want to succeed and come out with the degree in the end, you have to make sure that either those don't last too long or that you find a way through it. If you're already not feeling it and don't really want to do the work of getting a PhD, don't go.

scarvesandcardigans, honestly having a 4bd/4ba with just 2 people living in it could be kinda awesome. You can each have your own office (one of your 2 bedrooms) and a bedroom. Or, you could set up one of the bedrooms as a second living room. That way there would be plenty of space to have a boyfriend/girlfriend over. For your second year, you either move or find another roommate. A lot of grad students deal with moving or having to find other roommates. It's really common. I moved almost every single year of grad school for various reasons. At any rate, you never know if your roommate will start dating someone while you're living together. My first year in grad school, I was single and so was my roommate. By the end of that year, neither of us was single and neither of us saw it coming when we agreed to live together. Knowing what you're getting into might be easier, to be honest.

Personally, I would take it. It's usually easier to find funding once you're already on campus and you'll have a year to line up something. You may be able to get an assistantship in student affairs (residence life, student union, etc.) or find a TA position in another department. You might also be able to find a RA position for your second year.

Ah. You may want to rent for the first year until you get a better feel for the local real estate market and where you want to live.

Did they offer you enough funding for you to live semi-decently? Relocating is logistically complicated but totally doable, especially since you'd have about 3 months before you really need to move. Check out all the threads in "Officially Grads" on long distance moves if you're looking for ideas/suggestions on how to do it.

I would go to UNCG.

Here's what you do: you thank them both for wanting to attend and tell them you look forward to seeing them at the party. This is totally not a big deal.

I would minimize your debt, which means either American or BU. If BU is offering you the most funding, go there.

I'd wait until April 15th and hope you hear about funding. If you don't, accept the offer in Mississippi. If by some miracle you do get funding at MSU, you can always ask Ole Miss to allow you to withdraw and accept another offer.