rising_star

Usually, there's fine print with such an offer that leaves them ability to change awards either for more money or less. Also, there's usually fine print that says something like "contingent on satisfactory academic progress and the availability of funds". So in a nutshell, yes, they can change the terms, unless you sign a five-year contract on your first day. Here at my university, we sign contracts for each semester so they can always change the terms (my department doesn't but other departments have dramatically changed things between last year and this one). Well, I can't say for sure that I would privilege private schools. They are having their own difficulties, since their endowments are down and often there are restrictions on how they can spend the money that's left. They are by no means immune and, some of them also benefited from stimulus money I think. Public schools have previously used state revenues to fund part of their expenses, which they may not be able to do any longer given the financial constraints that states are facing. Honestly, I would still privilege getting the best education possible because that's going to stick with you longer than having to pay to print or whatever.

I moved across the country a couple years ago. Here's what I did. I mailed about 7 boxes of stuff, mostly books, to myself. I drove out with a car filled with stuff and my mom came out to help me move with two suitcases of stuff I'd packed. Then, I bought furniture (mattress, dresser, etc) once I got here. I didn't go to IKEA, I actually went to various furniture stores and furniture outlets in town because they have good sales and several were offering free delivery as well.

oldlady's suggestion is a good one, especially since now is the time to be looking. Summer camps, Upward Bound, and summer programs at colleges for high schoolers all are doing their hiring now and would be an option. You won't make great money but you will make some money, plus not to have to worry about food or lodging expenses.

I just made a really long post about this elsewhere but I'd pay careful attention to your department's financial situation and how secure that is, rather than worrying about the university as a whole.

I was going to post this on the thread about the but decided to expand it and post it here so it wouldn't get lost. ------------- You know, I've given this a lot of thought in the past few days. Instead of thinking about the UCs as a whole, think about your (prospective) department. What is its financial situation and outlook? Because the common theme of the last 18 months has been differential--rather than across the board--cuts, which means some departments lose 2% and others lose 10%. Obviously, it matters which of those categories your potential program is in. I would call your prospective advisor and the DGS and ask them to speak with you frankly and candidly about the budget situation and the outlook for the next five years. Then, talk to a few current graduate students and see how they feel about the department's situation. If your prospective dept is anything like mine, everyone you talk with will be honest with you because they don't want to screw you over. What the UCs and other state schools are doing is smart. In all likelihood, it will be at least a decade before the state is in a position to fund the universities at the FY 2005 levels (which actually for many schools were not as good as pre-2001 recession levels). And this isn't just in California, but also in NY, FL, AZ, GA, etc. So, the universities, in a way, are playing the hand they've been dealt. They need revenue and, if you can't get it from the state, you have limited options: raise tuition, raise fees, or find some really wealthy donors and fast. Most universities can't do the latter so they're doing a combination of the first two. The neoliberal university model is being rammed down their throats and not everyone is happy about it. Public universities in particular are in a perilous situation since many of them are using federal stimulus funds to plug gaps in the budget. If you're talking about a large state university, there's probably ~$30 million in the operating budget that came from stimulus funds and would otherwise have to be cut. The elephant in the room is what is going to happen once those funds are no longer available (FY2012 for most schools). Universities are leveraging tuition, fees, and enrollment to try and put themselves in the best financial situation they can both now and in the long term. The alternative is the Florida State University approach of using stimulus funds to pay for the union-required 1 year buyout of tenured faculty whose departments/positions are being eliminated. Their university president has said they are doing this specifically so they will be in a stronger financial position once stimulus funds run out. Only time will tell if their decision is right but, in the short-term, it means that respected departments with low undergraduate enrollment are being shuttered and top-notch faculty are losing their jobs. There was an article in Science magazine about that in either December or January. Now, if I were a prospective student, I would pay attention to what the student fees are projected to be for next year, what they are for this year, and what they were for last year. If the trend is massive increases, then it's likely that you will see increases while you are there. Why pay attention to fees? Because tuition waivers/remission only cover tuition. At almost every university, graduate students are responsible for covering the student fees associated with tuition. These can range from $100 to $900 a semester, or more possibly. I personally consider fee increases a pay cut since my only income is my TA stipend. So, unless you plan to take out loans, you need to consider what the student fees are and then adjust the annual stipend amount according. That is, if your department offers you a stipend of $15,000 and the university's fees are $400/semester, then your pre-tax income is only going to be $14,200. While the fees for next year may not be available, there are probably some press releases out there about proposed increases. Current grad students, the grad program secretary, and/or the DGS may be aware of these and can let you know what the proposals are. Some of them are scary. At my university, the proposal is to raise student fees from ~$400/year to ~$1400/year, which means that, if they pass, I will be making $1000 less next year. To say that that doesn't worry me would be to lie. The other thing you should ask about is whether they anticipate being able to keep TA stipends the same or if they may decrease. Decrease? Yes! This is happening on my campus right now as departments try to keep their promises. You can't have your budget cut and fund the same number of students without paying them all a little bit less. It sucks but that's what it is. So ask. Don't expect a cost-of-living, or any other, increase these days. Your goal is to have your paychecks have the same amount each month and each year that you're there. (And yes, I do realize that you make less each year due to inflation. That's the way it is right now, folks.) I hope this helps someone!

It depends on the department. In some departments, 1/3 time is standard and, since all students are funded equally, you wouldn't be able to get bumped to 1/2 time (unless of course they bumped everyone else, which is unlikely in today's economic climate). You can ask for an increase, but don't be surprised if you don't get. You would want to ask the Director of Graduate Studies for the department. As for what is typical for a PhD position, there's some threads of stipend amounts elsewhere in "The Bank". The answer is that what's typical varies based on the cost of living, whether the university is public or private, and the area of study. In general, at public universities, humanities PhD students make less than those in the sciences. To find out what's typical at the university you're interested in, do some digging on department websites and on the website of the Graduate School.

Okay, I agree that you have to handle the situation professionally. If the lecturer agreed with the way you graded, s/he should not have changed the student's grade and you should tell him/her that explicitly. Say that you felt your authority was undermined and are now worried about how it will affect your ability to manage your classroom. As far as what to do with the student, ask the student if s/he wants to come in for a meeting to discuss his/her grade. Then, explain all of the criteria and the student's shortcomings on the assignment. Don't just criticize but also offer suggestions for how it could be improved in the future. Above all, do not ignore the student if/when s/he returns to class! That makes you look unprofessional. Also, I want to stress this point: it is never acceptable for a student to be rude to an instructor, lecturer, TA, etc. I tell students that when they start to raise their voice with me. I remind them that, though I may look their age, I am in a position of authority and they must treat me with respect if they want me to listen to their complaints about their grades and/or help them with the course material. If they are yelling, tell them to take a deep breath, count to 10, and then start again politely. Or suggest they take a walk around the hall for a minute until they calm down. And yes, we all complain about our undergrads. We do it all the time in my department, in part because we are an afterthought major for undergrads that don't get into their first choice. While it's great for enrollment and keeping TAs employed, it also means we don't have the brightest students. But they are fun to tell stories about.

gsams, you just need to make sure your internet provider offers espn360.com. Then, you'll be able to stream the games live on your computer. This is how I watch SEC and ACC football in the fall.

You'll be eligible for subsidized and unsubsidized Federal loans, definitely Stafford and possibly Perkins. FWIW, Perkins loans have more favorable terms (lower interest rate, longer grade period) so take out the max in those. If you're talking about things like Pell Grants, no, you aren't eligible for those at the graduate level.

I'm going to ignore the linguistic/semantics debate just to say this one thing. Isn't it problematic that facebook only offers two choices? My understanding is that less than 99.99% of the population identifies with one sex or the other... Don't worry, I find it problematic that we only have two options under gender but I'm not sure if bgk is actually able to change that or if it comes with the software. You can now return to your regularly scheduled linguistic debate. Thanks!

I would go with where you think you will be the happiest, which sounds like WashU. Your lists didn't include anything about how you got along with the other students or potential PIs, two things I would definitely factor in. Happiness while in graduate school is everything since it can be hard to find. To whoever said that the brand-name of the school matters more outside the academy, you're probably right. Within the academy, who you worked with and the strength of the subfield/subdiscipline/lab at that school seem to matter more than just the name of the university. At least, that's been my experience... P.S. jacib, there's no way I posted an article about chemistry departments. Not sure who did either. I imagine it's the 1500 posts that makes people think of me.

Generally, you have to register for something for each semester that you receive a GRA. That said, fees are often lower in the summer.

Money isn't everything. You have to make a decision about what will be best for you both in graduate school and professionally. Personally, I turned down more money at one school and a fellowship at another to attend my current school. Sometimes, when I look at my bank balance, I have regrets. But, I also know that I'll be way better off six years from now for being here and, to be honest, it has paid off already. Why? Because I have the most well-known person in my subfield as my advisor.

I would visit before making this decision. The lists for each school will probably be different after you visit.

Going to a well-known school will not hurt your application. If your school is known for challenging academics, that will bode well for you as it will show to the adcom that you are willing and able to take on and meet academic challenges. This is probably even more important if you're switching fields/disciplines to one that you have less of a background in.

Given the professional nature of your field, I wouldn't worry too much about attending your undergrad.

Maybe this varies from one school to the next but this wouldn't be a problem in my discipline, primarily because you have to have a MA to get into a PhD program and because lots of people do their MA at one school and their PhD at another. Furthermore, when I applied to MA programs, one school admitted me to the PhD program because it was the only way they could give me funding. In a phone conversation, they explained the funding thing and said I was more than welcome to leave after getting the MA if that's what I wanted, or I could stay for the PhD. In hindsight, I sort of wish I'd taken that offer as it would've been 5-6 years total, as opposed to the 7 years I'm currently spending.

I always took the really honest approach, telling them the names of the other schools I was considering. Why? All of the people I wanted to work with are friends with one another so they weren't surprised at all by my list of schools (with the exception of two departments, which were a good fit for me research-wise but aren't places people normally consider due to their low rankings). Here's my way of thinking: these people are going to be your colleagues for the rest of your life. They already know you've applied to other programs and they really all want you to make the decision that is best for you.

In a nutshell, most likely not. Email and set up phone conversations with people you think might be able to offer you RA positions.

Yes. Department happy hour starting at 5pm on Fridays, followed by dinner with friends.

I would have extra memory cards, in case your camera gets stolen, and a cheap netbook to back things up. I definitely think you should try to get into contact with people at either a local university or NGO, as they will be able to provide you with information on where to stay, what to avoid, etc. Oh, and insurance. Make sure you have insurance that covers flights out of the country if necessary, and renter's insurance should cover your property if it's stolen while you're in Central America. That way, while you may lose things, you may also be able to replace them. The "wedding ring" thing is a good idea. My sister used to do that when she did research in sub-Saharan Africa and said it worked well. Sadly, at my research site, that would make things more complicated so I don't do it.

Personally, yea, I think you're missing something. You need to at least be friendly with these people because they are the ones that can throw you a softball first question at a conference, informally introduce you to big names in the field, and who will be your professional colleagues for the rest of your career. Also, they are the people you will commiserate with about comps, who will provide you with their reading lists and share their notes, etc. So next time, sacrifice some of the schoolwork (grades don't matter in grad school anyway) and do the social events and service obligations. That's what I've done for the past 3.5 years and it's worked out well for me.

I would say that you cannot make a decision without having financial information in hand.

Honestly, as someone that got a bunch of early acceptances before anyone else had heard, I think you're unclear about how/when departments make decisions. Often the deadlines to nominate incoming students for university-wide awards are in February and require that a student has already been admitted. So... no, I wasn't lying when I posted my acceptance notifications even though I heard in January for Jan 1 deadlines. It's not my fault if no one else has heard yet.

I realize you have to make a joint decision, but you might as well get all the info on the department now. What's the point of waiting?