rising_star

Because some people make that, depending on where they work? I'm not in government and I don't really care what salaries you all want to do the math on. You're all making guesses without knowing where exactly the OP wants to work after finishing the degree. So, in that sense, what difference does it make if one person uses a $60K salary and someone else uses $100K?

You can live in a nicer place near campus for the same amount of money or less.

The problem is that they don't have money for TAs or tuition waivers. There are a bunch of grants that NSF hasn't decided on that, if they get funded, will provide RA positions but none in my area. Honestly, I'm not willing to take out as much in loans each year as I will make in salary when I'm done. It would be foolish. It's not enough of a dream to condemn myself to a life of poverty for the next 20 years. In any event, the phone call news gives me a small glimmer (however faint) of hope.

You'd have to look up the state taxes for OH and whether Columbus has any city/county income tax. Often those do not have a minimum income threshold...

In the past, the department has been able to fund everyone. Right now, assuming no one quits and we have the same budget for 09-10 as we do for 08-09 (which is not going to happen, it'll be less), the department is a handful of students overcommitted. Consequently, the only way to guarantee one's future is to secure external funding on a RA or through a fellowship. This was my only shot as I'm not eligible for NSF, NDSEG, or NIH.

Ummm... my concern is more that without the Ford, I may not have any funding (budget cutbacks are not fun!) and will be quitting after the first year of my PhD because I don't want to take out $30K in loans per year to finish. Congrats to those who did get it.

I don't think vannik's English had much to do with it. I understood what s/he was saying the first go-around. It really is a matter of doing math accurately, something this thread had been sorely lacking.

Oh well. It was worth a shot I guess.

I really hope people post when they get it. That way I can know to start working on a course syllabus for the fall. After re-reading my application materials in January, I don't think I have a chance. When the rejection comes, I'll definitely post it here.

One school had a Jan 15 deadline and didn't come out with first round acceptances until March 28 last year...

No. Not unless you are willing to send me a PM with a link to every single one of the posts, organized by how off-topic it is. Look, we know you all are anxious to hear from NSF and annoyed that they seem to be taking longer each year. But just try to keep the posts NSF related and, if they aren't, post them under The Lobby. Thanks! And good luck to you all!

Your flip-flop could offend people that you may want collaborate or work with in the future. Why not just wait until the 15th to decide?

smt, this is why I always advise prospective students not to visit until after they've been accepted to a program. That said, my advisor and dept chair get a huge kick out of the fact that they are the only program that I did not visit last year and I still decided to enroll. (I had met both of them beforehand and had extensive email and phone conversations with my advisor's students before committing.) Visiting isn't all it's cracked up to be, though I did have a great time on all my visits because the programs were paying (I had already been admitted with funding). I actually hate NJ but Rutgers isn't a bad place. One of my advisor's former students works there now and you're a train ride from NYC, which is never a bad thing. Hope to see you at AAG in DC since apparently I didn't see you in Vegas (or didn't know if I did).

I just read the CGS resolution earlier today. It says, "Acceptance of an offer of financial support (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor." Based on that, I would assume it applies to MA and PhD programs because they are both programs in which a graduate student would enroll and be offered financial support. I've asked this question in various places here and on other sites and no one can seem to find justification within the CGS resolution itself for saying it only applies to PhD programs.

Federal subsidized loans are the best. Perkins is better than Stafford (lower interest rate). Subsidized means the government pays the interest while you are at least a part-time student and for several months after graduation (9 months after for Perkins, 6 months after for Stafford). I haven't checked lately but a year ago the interest rates were 5.0% on Perkins loans and 6.8% on Stafford. So, from a repayment perspective, Perkins wins over Stafford. Apparently finding a lender can be tricky but my university just had a list with a bunch of options and students pick one off the list (which gave info on the fees and whatnot you have to pay for loan origination, which they really just take out of what they give you). If you haven't been working full-time in 08, you're probably eligible for at least the subsidized Stafford loans. Next would be federal unsubsidized loans. The federal unsubsidized Stafford loans have the same interest rate as the other Stafford loans but the interest is not paid by the government. Instead, it's capitalized (whatever that means). Basically, it means that to stay on top of it, you need to be paying the interest portion while you're in school. I think there's the same six month grace period on repayment of principal after your studies cease. The worst option, imo, is the private loan market. You'll have to shop around for the best interest rate. Lenders can be sleazy, so keep that in mind. If you're looking at $10K, you'll be eligible at least for some combo of Stafford loans. Take out the max in subsidized and then whatever else you need in unsubsidized.

I haven't read the CGS resolution in a while but I always thought that you could back out of an offer and accept another before April 15th without having to ask for a written offer of release from the school you're backing out of. Now, I could be completely wrong about this but it's what I've always thought. You'll definitely want to read the resolution and make sure.

Yea, but if we're talking federal student loans, they aren't going to be disbursed until either the first day of class or the end of drop/add. So, that money isn't really available to help you move. That said, you could charge all moving expenses (though it'd be hard to charge a security deposit and first month's rent since most landlords don't accept credit cards, unless you use one of those checks they mail you which come with an awful interest rate) and then use the loan money, once you get it, to pay off the cards. You may end up paying a month or more of credit card interest in that case.

Personally, I don't recommend it. I think a lot of people take out small loans in the first year to make sure they have enough money to cover all their expenses (plus, there can be a long gap between when you start and your first paycheck, depending on the program). I guess the amount really depends on the cost of living where you are but $10K where I live now and where I did my MA would almost double my total annual rent and utilities.

I went to A University for undergrad and University of B for my master's. When I was thinking about maybe staying at U of B for my PhD, one of the professors said that if I had the chance to go elsewhere, learn from additional faculty, and be funded while doing it, that I should do it.

smt, my advisor always says that sometimes prospective students help their cause by visiting before decisions are out and sometimes they sink their own chances. Not saying this is what happened but, sometimes on a visit, people realize that the research fit isn't there... Congrats on Rutgers. It's a fantastic program.

No. They could notify you on the anytime up to and including April 15. Often these happen by phone or email so I wouldn't worry about the post not reaching you. While April 10 and 13 are bank holidays, many (non-religious) universities are open then. Yes. You can send a signed copy by email and then mail the official one after the 15th. I emailed the program I was accepting on the evening of April 15 (yes, after business hours) last year and said in the email that the hard copy acceptance would be forthcoming via post. (I was at the national conference at the time and actually told my now-advisor that I'd picked his program the next night at a party.) Oh, and once they know, there's no need to spend a bunch of money to make sure it reaches them quickly. Just accept via email/online (do whatever the graduate school needs and send a note to the department), then mail the hard copy. No, you wouldn't need a formal release but it could potentially reflect negatively on you. I would just wait until the 15th to notify everyone (via email, obviously) and then mail things later. Often accept/decline is handled by the department's Director of Graduate Studies... I wouldn't chance it personally.

You probably don't want to hear this, but would you consider trying to get your life international insurance based in your home country for your wife? I'm not sure if it's a possibility but I know that I can buy insurance in the US to use abroad. Because I'm thinking that could be cheaper... Alternately, would you consider possibly forgoing insurance on your wife? Assuming she has no chronic conditions and doesn't get pregnant, it's unlikely she will have $4500 in medical expenses in one year. And, if something catastrophic did happen, you could go to an emergency room and get the bill reduced because of your income. Just a thought.

You can definitely email/fax and then have the official thing come later. I think as long as you let them know on April 15 and the response is post-marked soon thereafter, you're fine.

I wouldn't necessarily expect them to do a search to fill that position this year. The economic downturn has led to many hiring freezes...

I wonder if you guys set a record for most posts in one topic in a day... I swear this was on pg 14 or so last night and now it's 35!