rising_star

I guess I don't understand why people are saying to avoid "federally funded". That could mean money from NSF, NIH, NEH, etc, which comes in guaranteed amounts and for a guaranteed number of years. There's no chance that would be cut. FWIW, the program LJK describes sounds a lot like the NSF GK-12 program that specifically sends PhD students into public school partners to share their knowledge and training. That program, regardless of the university, pays student participants a stipend of $30K/year, in addition to covering tuition and fees.

At my past and current universities, emeritus faculty were basically retired faculty that the university stopped paying but that got to keep their title and, in some cases, their office. While they did meet with students informally (sometimes, and depending on the student and depending on the prof), they could not serve as dissertation chairs, were not active in the campus/academic community, etc.

Dude, you are one of 100s of applicants. If it's close to the deadline, they are likely still sorting through all of the materials they have received, placing them in each file, putting the list of what has been received into the online system, and then contacting applicants about incomplete materials. This takes time. Furthermore, if the office closes at 2:30pm, it means they don't have a full-time person working on this (similar to my department). And all of this is not to mention that the grad secretary has other work to do besides collating applications. BE PATIENT! I realize it's difficult but patience is key. And, next time, send your mail with tracking so you can confirm that the package with your materials was received.

There are other options you might want to pursue. Does your university offer financial assistance for childcare of any sort? Search around your university website to check because many do. Have you checked with the state to see if childcare, food, or other forms of assistance are available to you? Utility companies often have assistance programs for low-income customers that will reduce your bill. These things might be more helpful than a fellowship, particularly if there's a funding cap at your university.

You'll be able to take out the max amount of Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

For my MA apps: moving where you got in sending in the applications Preparing to apply - assuming you're including putting together school lists, GRE, SOP writing deciding where to go waiting for replies - this might be an anomaly as I heard from my top 2 in Dec. and Jan. Waiting is at the bottom because I found out in less than a month that I'd been admitted to my top two choices. For my PhD apps: moving where you got in deciding where to go Preparing to apply - assuming you're including putting together school lists, GRE, SOP writing sending in the applications waiting for replies - this might be an anomaly as I heard from my top 2 in Dec. and Jan. Moving across the country is hard. Deciding between two amazing programs that each have an amazing advisor and similar funding packages is also extremely difficult. Again, I had no problems with the waiting but that's because I already knew I'd be admitted to several of the departments I applied to.

waddle, does the website indicate whether those students were in their first or second year of a master's at those state schools? Because I'd imagine that many of them are applicants who are simultaneously applying to PhD programs...

In your application materials, you'll want to show how the skills (languages, analytical techniques, software packages, etc.) you use in your research relate to the position you are applying for.

I would make sure it arrives no later than December 1st. But, ask yourself whether the $10 is worth the peace of mind in case something goes wrong.

The university likely will not do so however individual professors may contact individual recommenders that they know or have worked with before.

You should submit an academic essay, even if it is not exactly on-topic.

Honestly, it would be a complete pain in the ass to hide one's partner from one's peers throughout several years of graduate school. My partner works a job that often requires working on Friday and Saturday nights. As such, when I mention him and people haven't met him, they often ask when they will, for more information on him, etc. And, because we are partners, he is invited to departmental events just like I am and attends them when his work schedule permits. Sure, people may gossip behind my back about our relationship and/or my partner. BUT, that doesn't mean that it would be easy to hide our relationship from everyone in my department. OP, if you end up trying to hide your relationship, you will have to constantly be on guard about what you say and do. It may require lying to your colleagues/friends/peers at times in order to maintain the mistruth that you are not in a relationship and/or that your boyfriend is not a professor. That's not an action to be taken lightly, considering that you'll have to do it for several years. And, if and when your colleagues/peers do find out, they will know that you have been lying to them and that will change your relationships with all of them. You have to consider whether or not that it is worth it.

Don't even mention it. It shouldn't be listed on your CV or mentioned in the SOP. The only exception to this would be if you gained skills in that job that are transferable to grad school and/or relate to what you intend to study in grad school.

Honestly, I think it gets easier once you get into the rhythm of grad school and figure out what is required, what is optional but that you should do anyway, and what you don't need to worry about doing. That can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years to figure out.

Why would you apply under physics with a bio-modeling project? That's pointless to me. What you should apply with is a description of the research you intend to undertake in graduate school.

My department is like that of eucalyptus: if you get external funding that is greater than the department's funding, then it replaces your dept funding. What usually happens is that someone wins an external fellowship that is 2 or 3 years. Our department funding is guaranteed for four years, but requires TAing. So, what most students do is take the fellowship money in their first year and final years (if two year) or first, third, and fourth (if it's 3 years), then use department funding for the other year. It frees up time from TAing during the busiest times of graduate school (which generally are the first year, comps, and when you're writing and on the job market). I don't know whether it's just not possible for people to take the fellowship and the internal money or whether people just don't because they'd rather have as many years of funding as possible.

See here:

If I were you, secret-name, I'd be more concerned about the potential implications on the job market than on what your peers think. Regardless of who you date, that person isn't going to magically get along with all of your peers (and, for that matter, neither will you!).

You might want to have one of your letter writer's mention it, rather than saying it yourself.

I'm sorry if I wasn't clear, kobie. You don't need to tell us what it is you are looking for. You need to make what you expect/want clear to potential advisors and then ask them if they are willing to meet those expectations. As an example, I would be beyond annoyed if my advisor required weekly updates on my progress. Complete updates on my research, coursework, and grant writing happen no more than twice a semester, which is good by me. What I'm saying is that I couldn't work with someone that required weekly individual meetings, and I made sure that none of the advisors I applied to work with did that. (And, btw, be open to the fact that your idea of what you want and how often you want to meet may change while you're in graduate school.) This is sooooo true. My MA advisor had two students and was no more available to meet than my current advisor, who has 9 or 10 students, is. Professors have lots of responsibilities besides mentoring graduate students.

First, let me say that I think I'm being blunt and that you're hoping for more coddling. You aren't going to get it from me but maybe someone else will come along and do that. So, there's more bluntness ahead. Skip it if you want. The thing is, graduate school isn't about someone else handing you structure. It's about figuring things out on your own. As for a thesis committee, you don't need to have people that do exactly what you want to do. You need to have people that either use similar theories, methodologies, or approaches who understand and respect what you're working on. There are soooo many ways for you to get your own foot in the door, aside from having a big name advisor. Go to conferences, both national and either regional or topical, and network with people. Honestly, my no-name MA advisor helped me meet more bigwigs than my big name PhD advisor has. When it comes to jobs/postdocs, do you think they pay more attention to the advisor's name on the CV/rec letter or to the candidate they've already met and had conversations with in the past? Honestly, seems to me like you are looking for reasons to leave your program and came here seeking justification for doing so. What you've gotten is a whole bunch of people telling you to seriously consider This seems like something you want to figure out. Read the graduate handbook (both from the department and from the university) at School C and figure it out. What they'll see at School C (and anywhere else you apply) is that you decided after less than a full semester that a program you'd visited and whose offer you accepted isn't for you. How is that not flaky? You've given your current school less than 3 months to make things work! And now you want some other school to offer you a 4-6 year funding package, which requires a leap of faith on their part to believe that you won't turn around and do the same thing to them. It is MUCH more common to leave a program with a master's and then transfer elsewhere, rather than just bailing after the first year. This has been pointed out to you by numerous people and, for whatever reason, you're still questioning it. Why? Then talk to some of the current grad students and see what they do for their summer funding. Then pursue similar opportunities for yourself. In my program, while there isn't a lot of summer RA money, there is a bunch of summer teaching money. Grad students teach a course for either a 3-week or a 5-week term in exchange for a few thousand bucks. (And, btw, please don't assume that other people on here don't come from working-class backgrounds or have family to support or have other circumstances that put a stress on their finances. Honestly, and this comes from being in the social sciences, I think you people in the sciences that make $18K+ *before* summer funding [including at my own university] need to quit your damn whining about your pay because there are plenty of people in the humanities and social sciences that would love to make that much and don't. It's all relative. How much do you really need to survive? Anything more than that is just a bonus so don't let it sway you.) Seriously, you can't just expect everything to be handed to. What it sounds like is that you want to go to School C so that people will hand you a dissertation topic and help you do it. And that you want people to just hand you money for existing, without actually doing anything to prove that you're worth getting that money.

Note: I'm not in the lab sciences so your mileage my vary. When I got to my program (social sciences), I was one of 14 of my advisor's students. Now (in my third year) that number is 9-10. We don't meet with him for an hour a week unless it's absolutely necessary, like for dissertation revisions. My advisor is very responsive to emails, which is how most of interact with him. We also have group meetings about twice a month for two hours where people talk about what they're working on and bounce ideas off of everyone else. I think the question of whether or not that is too many students really depends on how you, kobie, work. If you don't need lots of hands-on direction (which some might consider handholding), then the number of students probably doesn't matter. For reference, my advisor isn't the advisor for students that want someone to be really involved all the time in their project. Honestly, a lot of what we (his students) do is talk things out with one another. Many of us students are close friends with one another and we'll send each other relevant papers (granted, we all work broadly within the same subdiscipline but on completely different things), read grants and draft articles, and talk about research questions and directions. So, kobie, in addition to emailing students that currently like with that potential advisor, you need to think long and hard about what it is you are looking for in an advisor and in an advising relationship.

Fulbright acceptance rates vary by country/region. My understanding is that the Ford predoc has around a 10-15% acceptance rates. Obviously this is lower than some areas for Fulbright and much higher than for others. But, since you're getting evaluated for totally different things, I'm not sure what the point is in comparing the acceptance rates of the two. There are plenty of students out there (here and in other places) that find themselves getting into the more competitive program or receiving the more competitive award only to be turned down for the program/award that has a higher acceptance rate.

It might not be trivial but, if it doesn't make the difference between being homeless and not, then don't worry about. Especially don't worry about it since you can't fix summer 2011 money either way. Stop focusing on money. Money can't buy you happiness, and it sounds like you're using it as an excuse. Let me ask you a serious question. At School C, where you can integrate all these ideas and approaches, won't you be just as lost and taking just as much time to pull something together as you will be to finish a MS at School A? I mean this in all seriousness. From what you've posted, it seems like not only do yo have an unrealistic idea of how graduate school should work, but also that you have unrealistic expectations on how long people are going to let you sit around and read and learn from a lot of people without doing any research of your own. The debate comes up all the time about whether or not it matters that your advisor is well-known. My take has always been that having a big name advisor may get your foot in the door but that it won't matter if you and your research aren't good. You need to do the best research you can, regardless of who your advisor is. The advisor that in your eyes "is not well-known and does not have much expertise in that particular area" may be better connected and know more than you think. Have you asked? If not, sit down and have a meeting with that professor ASAP. And, never underestimate a prof's ability to network and help you network, which is way more helpful than having a big advisor that's mostly a figurehead. Good luck finding a PhD program, any PhD program, that will take all of the credits you've earned without having earned a prior graduate degree. In my program, students with a MA/MS can count 24 units of that towards the PhD. Those with previous graduate work can only count up to 9 units. That's a huge difference. Let me first say that I agree wholeheartedly with everything StrangeLight has said. But, I quoted this part in particular to reiterate its importance. Professors talk to one another. One guy will get your application in his hands and then call someone at your current or previous program (even if that person didn't write a rec letter) and ask if they know you, what kind of student you are, etc. You don't want the answer to be "this student is kind of a flake, who didn't know what he wanted out of grad school, and then apparently is filing transfer apps behind our backs." YES, YES, YES!! Talk to the grad director/chair/advisor for the department and see how to make the program you are in work for both you and them. They really don't want you to drop out. SOOOO true. Suck it up. As a post-doc or faculty member or a person in any job, you're going to be asked to do things that you may not want to do. But, you'll do them anyway so that you can earn a paycheck. So, find someone to work with for the summer and get your summer money if that's so effing important to you. It won't be the end of the world, I swear. This is also very, very true. Picking a topic early will enable you to complete a MS in a timely fashion. I picked my MA topic during my first semester and though, at times, I sort of wished I'd chosen something different, I was able to use the summer to do research and my second year to write. I was one of the first students in years to finish the MA in two years and I am damn proud of that. Then, if you want, you can use that MS to go somewhere else. And realize that people will be impressed that you did a MS in a timely fashion, rather than dragging it out. Seriously, AC, I think you need to get over the first semester jitters/frustration/worries and try to think objectively about your situation. Read some of the other posts on here about people wanting to transfer. Read posts from people that have transferred only to have the same problems in their second program as they had in their first.

Just to clarify, TAs may also teach their own courses. In my department, anyone with a MA can (and will) be asked to teach their own course. Also, some profs abuse students who are on fellowships by getting them to do extra work that they aren't required to do. I know people on fellowships that put in a lot of hours in order to stay in their lab, even though the fellowship terms explicitly state that such work not be required. And I'm not quite sure how a fellowship contributes more to getting a post-doc. A lot of it depends on what you do as a TA/RA and what you do as a fellow.