rising_star

Since your program is a professional one, they assume students will enroll either way. You may want to check with other units on campus to see if they'll have a TA/RA position available.

Both of my graduate programs (MA in the past; PhD now) do annual reviews of all enrolled graduate students.

I know for sure that Georgia and Arizona both require it.

I eliminated schools one by one, often after visiting. That got me from 7 to 4. Then I took one off to make it three, one off to make it 2, then decided between those two at the last minute.

There's already this thread on undergrad stats here: viewtopic.php?f=48&t=13193, so is this more than a duplication?

You may want to read this post: viewtopic.php?f=67&t=15020

There have been entire discussions on this elsewhere.

The answer is to do what you want. And to ask the faculty that are shopping themselves if they would take you with them if they got another job. In the social sciences, this is definitely done (my advisor did it when he took his current job). If the answer is yes, then there's no need to panic just yet about University #2. I think you should also think about your career goals. You didn't mention anything about job placement here but that's definitely something I would keep in mind.

A lot of states require that.

The answers to both of these questions vary from one school to the next. You may also want to look at this post: viewtopic.php?f=67&t=15546&start=0

Having lived in two college towns where pre-leasing is common, I can honestly say that most of the places that did pre-leasing catered towards undergrads and were not places I wanted to live as a grad student. I've never found a place to live more than a month in advance and it hasn't been an issue. The complexes, houses, duplexes, etc. that are more desirable are always "For Rent" immediately, so if you went out beforehand (which I actually did last summer and didn't sign a lease for this reason), you have to start paying rent immediately. EDIT: You should definitely email some current grad students and ask when the best time for househunting is. Also, if your new department has a listserve, you'll definitely want to join that so you can find out if anyone is looking for a roommate, is leaving their place, etc.

Most of the TA and RA positions in my department are for 20 hours a week, which makes them a part-time job. You have to manage your time well but it leaves time for classes, your research, and relaxation, I've found. EDIT: I should add that these are 20 hours a week on paper. Some people have a TA/RA combo that totals 20 hours, others have a fellowship that buys out part of their time, etc. My current TA is 10 hours a week and I usually don't put that many hours in, unless there's an assignment I need to grade.

You don't need a book. You need to talk to professors in your MA program (and even more so if that department has a PhD program) because they will be in the best position to tell you what you need to do. As far as choosing an advisor, you want someone that you can work with, that will support your work, and that won't force you to just do what they want you to do. When you sit down with prospective advisors, remember that you're interviewing them just as they are interviewing you. Take classes that further your interests and goals.

A train commute is good, especially if you can do reading or work on a laptop while traveling. Driving is much, much worse.

Would you rather make money (HS English teaching) or go into debt (St. Bonaventure MA)?

It greatly improves your admissions chances if you apply knowing that a professor is or isn't accepting students. Also, you can email and ask that question without knowing or suspecting a professor may be leaving. Sometimes your recommenders and others may not know that someone is planning on taking a different job, so you would have little reason to suspect s/he might be leaving. Asking outright really clears that up.

This is such a cool idea. I wish NIH would actually do it. http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/guest-column-research-for-america/

Honestly, most of the grad students I know don't live in the big complexes. They live in casitas, guesthouse, duplexes, etc. The area I mentioned before would put you within a couple of miles of grocery stores, regardless of where you live, so you could get around pretty easily on a bike.

Many schools have late spring/early summer deadlines for enrollment. But, if you apply to meet those deadlines, you will not be eligible for funding.

Re #1: This is field dependent. In some disciplines, funded master's ARE the norm. Re #2: What do you mean by "more consistent"? At both graduate schools I've been at, funding in the sciences has varied by program, whether you have a MS, and how much the PI wrote into the grant. alison, I would wait until you have the funding offer in hand to accept.

Precepting isn't like teaching, to be clear. You aren't making a syllabus or devising assignments, just leading a 50 minute discussion and doing grading.

I'm trying to decide if I want to do a bracket...

wickedcurves, would you consider doing a cut & paste and posting all the info about Pullman for everyone now and in the future? Thanks, rising_star

There's certainly no harm in asking, unless you don't do it tactfully. Given the tough economic times, schools may not have any room to negotiate.

Oh, I remember that pain! It'll be worth it. You have to keep the faith. P.S. Marine science is totally one of my interests. Where did you apply?