rising_star

You'll probably be able to get unsubsidized Satfford loans without any real fuss from the school. I get offered them every year even though my stipend more than covers my living expenses.

Where whatever you want (within reason)! On my visits as an admitted student, I wore jeans and a nice-ish shirt, plus appropriate wear for the season (so coat, scarf, gloves, hat for places with snow/cold weather). No one ever commented negatively on it and it doesn't affect your admissions either way, just what your potentially future peers think of you.

I don't have one. I thought about it but, decided that it didn't add much to what I already have (smartphone, Kindle, netbook, laptop, and a recently acquired Kindle Fire). I dislike not having a physical keyboard on the phone and Kindles, so, if I did get an iPad, I'd also end up purchasing an external keyboard. And, at that point, it makes sense to just get a netbook with a SSD for fast bootup and better functionality. Or at least that's my logic. FWIW, I only have a Kindle Fire because it was a gift. It's the 7" model and I use it primarily to stream stuff while laying in bed since I don't have a TV in my room.

For the price of a Kindle/Nook, you could just buy a Brother laser printer...

Yes, it's possible. I took four courses per semester during the first year of my MA. It worked for me because I was able to quickly immerse myself in the literature of what was at teh time a new discipline to me. But, it also meant that I was insanely busy at the end of the semester writing four final papers.

Are they important? Yes. Visiting lets you know if what was a good fit on paper/internet is a good fit in reality. In my case, I was able to quickly eliminate PhD programs that seemed like a perfect fit for me by visiting them. In two cases, I knew by the time I went to bed my first night there, which was helpful for the overall decision-making process. As for what to wear, there are extensive threads under "Interviews and Visits" (subforum under Applications) about what to wear. In general, business casual by day and something decent at night, though jeans are acceptable. But, this varies based on the schedule of the visit and the activities they have planned.

Also, be prepared to be told no. My department doesn't match other offers because they believe that all incoming students should get the same package. So, no top ups, no summer guarantees, etc (unless you're on an RA and thus your funding is from the grant and not the dept). Also, don't ask people for additional funding before you're sure that it's a top choice. It's a real pain in the ass for them to cobble together a better package, only for you to turn it down flatly. Remember that these people are going to be your colleagues for the next 20+ years, so now is not a good time to start making enemies.

You should ask for what you need and can justify in an itemized budget that includes an explanation. If you need $15,000, then that's what you ask for. If you need less, you ask for less. I applied for and received a grant where the max amount was $10K and I asked for about 2/3rds of that.

Oh, you'll hear before April 15th. Probably in mid- to late March, based on my experience.

You should send a thank you email/card to everyone that interviewed you. And, in the card to that particular person, you could say something like "I've given additional thought to what you asked about X and here are my more extended thoughts" type of thing. This is done all the time when people interview for jobs.

You might want to look at some of the past and current threads on this topic. For example, there's an active thread right now over on the History forum. And, a search of the forum will reveal a lot of posts and advice about making the final decision. Good luck!

Fellowship news won't come until late March or early April because, in all likelihood, it's a university-wide competition to which departments nominate some applicants. That means that because of bureaucracy decisions take a while to come out.

I don't interpret what you said as your advisor hating you. That said, if you want to change advisors, you should. It's definitely not too late. Talk to your department's DGS about how to do this and identify some professors that you would want to work with AND that are willing to work with you. FWIW, I considered changing advisors during my MA and that was at the end of my second semester. I decided not to because I realized that for the work I wanted to do, the advisor I had was the best person. That isn't to say that we always got along or that she was always thrilled with my research and progress. But, she was willing to let me get what I wanted out of the degree and didn't force me to do things that didn't make sense for the kind of scholar I wanted to be. Okay, now that I've said all that. You really do need to try to arrange a sitdown conversation with your advisor. I know that a lot of people meet with their advisors weekly or every other week, but I've never had that kind of relationship with either my MA or PhD advisors. Basically, I meet with them when I want ro have time or because they want to. That's what works for me. If that isn't what works for you, that could be part of the reason you want to find a new advisor. If you do go that route, find out about that person's advising style *before* you commit. ETA: Whoo, my 2900th post here. Wow!

One person's safety school can be another person's reach. When I applied to PhD programs, I applied to some schools that people thought might be a safety school. I applied because they had two people I could see myself working with but, as it turned out when I visited, I probably should've viewed them as a safety school since I was more qualified than their usual applicants. Now, I have no idea how you'd identify this beforehand (since I clearly could not!) except by talking honestly and carefully with your advisors/mentors about your chances at various places.

You'll probably get a better answer to this over at VersatilePhD... I wouldn't leave off the administrative job because it shows people that you have nonacademic work experience. I would also find a way to highlight your grantwriting, since that is a skill that many employers are interested in.

imri, you could probably find information on tuition, fees, and health insurance on the university's webpages but, I guess you could ask the department. I wouldn't bother but that's only because a bit of googling for the information would take less than 5 minutes.

Yes, there are other variables. akacentimetro mentioned a lot of them. But you also need to consider that costs for electricity, food, and household items varies from one location to the next. For example, in Bloomington, you may be able to shop at Wal-Mart/Target fairly easily while in NYC that may not be the case. That could mean you pay $1 for every 4 rolls of toilet paper, which will add up. Also, consider differences in the cost and your use of electricity/heat. I know friends that moved to NYC from places like Pittsburgh and found that their monthly electric more than doubled. If you live in a place where it's cold and dark in the winter, you'll spend a lot of money in those months staying warm and lighting the interior of your abode. Compare that to a Southern/warmer place, where your electric/gas will be the highest in the summer, rather than in the winter. A good cost of living calculator (and there are some out there) will help you figure out these other costs by making adjustments in these areas for you. Anothe variable is travel. How far/often will you travel to see family/friends? Do you have access to a major airport? If not, how much are conference flights likely to cost you? Oh, and here are a few more that are growing in importance. Does your tuition waiver cover fees? If not, how much are fees each semester/year? For example, at my MA institution, grad students paid close to $500 a semester in fees. At my PhD institution, we pay ~$250/semester, though that number has increased every year I've been here (when I came, we paid ~$55/semester). Also, health insurance. What does it cover and how much are you going to pay for it, if at all? If you're female and considering children, you should see how that will be handled. If you have a family, you should investigate how much it will cost to cover them.

imri1986, impossible to answer since it all depends on the cost of living. As in, $15K in Bloomington is way better than $25K in NYC, though the NYC school is offering more on paper.

You'll want to read reviews and get quotes from all the available companies because prices can vary by $500 or more. Also, pay attention to their packing instructions. Almost everyone I know has had things break that they didn't think would.

I know that, at least for Fulbright, you can apply independently rather than through your undergrad institution... As Eigen said, you should talk to faculty that support you about what he said and get their opinion about what you should do.

DalPhD et al., there was an article on the opinion page of today's NY Times that addresses this topic to some degree. Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/relax-youll-be-more-productive.html Key points: - "In a study of nearly 400 employees, published last year, researchers found that sleeping too little — defined as less than six hours each night — was one of the best predictors of on-the-job burn-out." - "The difference is that during the day we move from a state of alertness progressively into physiological fatigue approximately every 90 minutes. Our bodies regularly tell us to take a break, but we often override these signals and instead stoke ourselves up with caffeine, sugar and our own emergency reserves — the stress hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol."

For presenting, you should go when you have some sort of preliminary results to present, at least in my field. But the right time to go really depends on your field and what the trends are within your discipline.

Lots of other factors to think about including, but not limited to: course offerings (who is teaching seminars and on what topics), availability of language training, summer funding, teaching opportunities (not just grading, but actually teaching), other people on campus you could work with (an area studies or thematic center, a faculty member in anthro that would be a good committee member, etc.), library quality (do they have holdings in your area and how extensive are these), speakers' series on campus, other activities on campus that you might want to participate in (whether that's sports or the grad student association or pursuing a certificate in college teaching), cost of living compared to the stipend amount, sense of community among the grads and/or faculty (though this depends on whether you want/expect to be friends with your colleagues or not)... FWIW, when I was deciding between two offers (I'd already narrowed it down at that point), I ultimately decided to go with the best advisor. This, in turn, necessitated changing the regional focus of my work to one that would be better supported at the institution I chose. That was an unintended and unforeseen consequence of my decision but, it ended up being okay because I had the language skills to work in either region.

This isn't even worth thinking about until you know for sure whether you've gotten into School #2 and what the funding situation at each institution is like.

Not in English/Lit/Rhet/Comp but I got a lot out of my MA. As everyone has said, you get out what you want and what you're willing to put in. In my case, I learned a lot more about and got a lot more comfortable with theory during my MA program. That matters and will be a huge help. I also had a piece of writing that I was proud of (my MA thesis) that I could excerpt from for writing samples for various things. I also got networked into the field, meeting people at conferences and presenting my research, which was nice. But, FWIW, I also took way more than six classes during my MA. I took 11 total in two years, plus thesis research hours. It gave me a good background in the field, helped me hone in on my particular area, etc. So, there's nothing wrong with doing a MA, especially if it's funded. I'd be wary of doing a one year MA, just because it doesn't really give you the time to cultivate new recommendations, gain experiences for them to write about, and show your intellectual growth to adcomms.