rising_star

I don't think these "cash cow" MAs are that helpful to most people, especially because of the debt you will take on. There are threads about other MA programs of this type, like MAPSS at Chicago, so maybe looking at those will help you?

Hmmm... what about the internship opportunities at each place? Or the research opportunities? It seems like thinking about those might help you make a decision, depending on what you plan to do after graduating. Also, what, if any, information has IU given you about the possibility of having a GA beyond the first year?

I'd go with George Mason because you'll take on less debt and social work isn't a high-paying field.

It really depends on what the classes are. I took "extra" classes (well, I didn't know they were extra at the time) that were relevant to my research and helped me develop the background needed to understand some of the articles in my highly interdisciplinary research area. Could I have learned it all by reading the textbook on my own? Sure, I guess. But, I took the courses instead and got to learn a lot more than what was in the book. The other area where classes are useful is when they are language courses. Languages, especially the speaking and comprehension part, can be difficult to learn on your own.

This is absolutely true. People say they're busy all the time, but then you see them surfing facebook, watching random tv, etc., even as they keep complaining about not having enough time to do everything. I'm trying to get away from saying I'm busy all the time because I'm not. I take time every day to walk my dog, take her to the dog park, etc. And, if I have time for that, then I have time to call a friend and catch up, get my work done, go to the gym, etc. It's just about minimizing the ways you waste time more than anything else. For some people, that means scheduling. For me, early on in grad school, that meant NOT working 60+ hours a week and working with others to fight the assumption that we should be working that much or more.

You might consider renting through a private owner because they might not care as much about your credit score.

Well you said you didn't have any funding and a MA in Latin American Studies isn't exactly a highly valued degree on the market. Which you go to depends on what you plan to do afterward. If you want to work in the DC, then go to Georgetown. If you prefer NYC, go to Columbia. I'd take a good look at what courses they'll be offering, who you might be able to do research with, and what internships they have available for students.

I did what TakeruK did. In my case, I see a lot of those people on a regular basis. Not just the PIs but also the grad students I met while visiting. I still catch up with some of those grad students at our annual meeting each year and it's nice to have that broader network.

I moved across the country for my PhD. My cohort was about twice the size of what yours would be but, of those, only 4 (out of 15) of us weren't in long-term relationships at the start. (No, that's not a typo!) So, I get what you're suggesting. I made friends with some of those people (and, now at the end of our degrees, we're still close), joined some activities for stuff I'm interested in and met people that way, and also made friends with people that weren't in my cohort. My (limited) experience with school psychology suggests that you should carefully consider where your internships/placements will be and where you want to work after graduation. A lot of people that I've known work in/near the area where they did their degree, so you'll want to consider that when choosing. But also, you'll probably want to consider that school psychologists working in public school systems don't make a lot of money.

Go with the funding and guaranteed acceptance. You can always ask for them to let you back out of it if you somehow get into BU with funding later.

Actually, it doesn't even make sense for law anymore given the unemployment rate for lawyers these days. Go with your second or third choice, or whichever will leave you with the least amount of debt!

I was in a similar situation way back when and I took the fellowship. Why? Because it's nice to be able to take extra courses early on and use the freedom of not having to teach to get yourself acclimated academically and socially to your program.

Go with the one that gives you better professional options: NEU.

You wouldn't be "switching". You'd be applying for admission to PhD programs just like everyone else that wants into those programs.

Read something related to your research at least 5 days a week, even if it's just one journal article a day. Schedule time to hang out with your friends. Do something you love (outside of your research) at least once a week. Make it a point to save some money for travel and/or the summer. I set that aside weekly because it's easiest.

Could you defer your acceptance for a year to try and secure more funding?

I wouldn't pay for either.

Both matter. Whether the prestige matters more really depends on your post-PhD career plans.

maelia8, I guess I'm what you'd consider a "bad" dog owner because I do leave my dog in her crate for more than two hours. When she's in her crate while I'm gone, she's chill. If I leave her out, she gets stressed out and chews something (shoes, blanket, pillow, anything she can find), which tends to make her sick. So, it's actually for her safety more than anything else. If she were to swallow a piece of blanket while I'm gone and choke, I would never, ever be able to forgive myself. In her crate, I can control that and keep her much, much safer than I could in my apartment. Also, dogs sleep like 18+ hours a day. Mine sleeps in her crate while I'm gone. As for exercise, I live in an apartment. I'm not usually gone more than six hours at a time and, as previously mentioned, my dog is definitely in a crate while I'm gone. I walk her ~1 mile every morning, take her out again when I get home, and for another 1-2 walks in the evening. In addition, we go to the dog park 4-6 times a week for 1-2 hours. And, she gets regular playtime with my neighbors' dog who is about her size and activity level. Now that it's getting warmer and it's light out later, she gets more activity, including longer afternoon/evening walks and more time at the dog park. And I do all of this alone (it's me and the dog). So, I just want to be clear to maelia8 and everyone else, that using a crate and living in an apartment don't automatically mean that your dog is suffering. Yes, you have to consider it carefully. Yes, there are tradeoffs to spending part of my early evening at the dog park almost every day, but I have a happy, healthy dog who spends several hours a day in her appropriately-sized crate and gets excited about going in there when I leave because she knows it's playtime when I get back. Crates by themselves are not cruel.

It really depends. In my MA program (which was joint MA/PhD), the standard was to take 10 credit hours per semester (3 seminars plus 1 credit for colloquium). In my PhD program, 6 hours of courses (so 2 seminars/classes) is all you need to be full-time and that's all some people take. I continued to take 9 credit hours because that's what I was used to.

I'm closing this one because you've made this post in two other places. You only need to post once to get comments. People can go to the thread in "The Bank" () if they want to reply.

I'm with fuzzy on this one. I wouldn't do it. I broke up with someone to move across the country to do my PhD. I don't regret it. If we were meant to be together, we would be. My current SO is someone I dated years ago and have gotten back together with more recently. KindaHardWorker is right in that if you're meant to be together, it will work itself out.

Your advisor may not be able to change your pay because of a grant budget, for example. You should definitely be upfront about your concerns.

That depends on where you live. I currently live in an apartment complex that accepts credit cards for rent payment. My best friend's apartment company does but they charge a 3% convenience fee for the transaction. When I rented from private owners, they only accepted checks for rent. So, it really depends on where you live.

They're equally financially secure, assuming you like the advisors. The bigger question is which research interests you more. The fellowship + TA option has the advantage of giving you the freedom to switch labs/advisors if you don't like your initial placement since, as you put it, you're free to the advisor. The downside is that being a TA takes away from the time you'll be able to spend on your research.