rising_star

Honestly, it's common. Why? Because the school can use that funding to assist another promising candidate. Don't be selfish/greedy.

just make sure to spend time with grad students when faculty members aren't around

Honestly, the state school probably can't go any higher than that. And, having never made $19K in one year while a grad student, I second the idea that you're possibly being greedy. Look at the cost of living in each place. Are they comparable? Is the state school in Gainesville while the private is in NYC? The 19K fellowship is likely their top-dollar offer and, given the state funding situation, they probably don't have the money to offer you something better, even if they wanted to.

Yea, I did it multiple times and it was always great. Be gracious to your hosts. Send them a thank you note and maybe a small gift. Pick their brains about the minutia while you can. P.S. Don't be cranky when doing back to back visits.

I never got offered a funding package that included summer. Why? Because departments don't know what their teaching/TA situation for summer will be until the spring beforehand. Some departments on my campus that plan on teaching summer classes have posted the classes online (to see how many students enroll) but haven't assigned instructors/TAs yet. Not to mention there's an expectation that, depending on your research, you'll be engaged in pre-dissertation and dissertation research during the summers, for which you should be actively seeking funding.

Dude, they want you to get an IGERT because it pays you $30K for two years and usually the Grad School has already agreed to cover the tuition, health insurance, fees or whatever that they cover for other funded grad students. Likely $30K is more than what your department could pay you. Plus, you know, it doesn't come out of anyone's grants or the department's TA budget. And, honestly, it's a sweet deal if you get it because it's a fellowship with no work requirements.

There are times I put in a lot of work, learned a lot, and still got a B-. Why? Because I didn't master the material in the course. Sometimes you can do all the attending and effort stuff and still not do well. In my case, it was because the class presumed a lot of background knowledge I didn't have. So just to understand the 200 pgs of reading, I had to do another 200 or so. Lots of effort and not a great grade. Of course I also never complained about it to the prof...

There's a thread somewhere on here, maybe in Officially Grads, about buying a house in grad school.

Yes. The reason for the delay is that fellowships are university-wide. Of course being nominated by the dept isn't a guarantee that you will get one but it does happen.

Aw man, you guys should've had my advisor. I wrote my entire MA thesis in 10 days in December plus the month of January. So all I had to do in Feb was revisions... Alas, just sit down and type for 3 hours a day. It totally works.

Just to clarify, we're not saying you can't be a resident. Just that you can't be a resident for in-state tuition purposes. Does that make sense?

Given the budget cuts going around, I wouldn't expect state universities to be able to fully reimburse you for everything. I had schools that offered a set amount for the visit (ranging from $250 to $400*) and it was up to arrange the details. Now if they can't help with costs, ask if you can stay with a grad student. That will save you money plus give you a chance to talk candidly with them about their program and their experiences. *The school that offered $250 put me up with grad students. A school gave me $300 for flights and put me up with grad students. Neither of those covered the whole cost of the flight but I went anyway because it's a decision about the next 4+ years of your life and it's worth spending $100-200 out of pocket, to me.

Most of the time, you get out-of-state tuition remission with a fellowship, TA, or RA position so it's really not a big deal. I can never qualify for in-state where I'm doing my PhD but I don't worry about it because my TA position comes with full tuition remission.

Not all fellowships can be deferred and you can't always TA while on a fellowship. I think to answer the question you need to ask yourself what kind of college/university you want to work out and how they look at their applicants. If you want to be at a SLAC, you'll need to get teaching experience, for example.

The person suggesting that you make sure they include health insurance is being a bit silly. Not all schools cover health insurance for graduate students and the department isn't going to cover it for just you and no one else. If it's not included, just calculate it in with the rest of the fees. Though honestly, at some point, it's worth it to make a little less and be in a place where you'll be happy and able to thrive academically than it is to make $2-3K more and be some place where you're miserable.

This thread is really useful. I'm going to suggest that someone take some initiative and post the links under either "Applications" or "Decisions, Decisions" so everyone can benefit. Cheers!

You could try asking over the phone. You aren't going to find the information on the web.

I would go with the opportunity that will give you the best training, opportunities for research you're interested in, and solid professional opportunities. The goal is to professionalize yourself in the field and make yourself an extremely attractive PhD program applicant. Go to whichever school will allow for and assist you with all of that. Good luck!

It varies with master programs insofar as some of the schools could possibly not be a member of CGS, but that's unlikely.

Genghis, Glad to hear it! You worried a lot of folks on this board. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help.

You don't have to tell them where else you applied. I was referring to saying where you got accepted. Schools know you applied to other schools and they don't much care whether you got in or didn't.

I know my department is trying it's best to be able to renew assistantships in spite of the budget situation. One thing to consider is the budget situation of the state and the university. Things aren't good in the Sunbelt and some other places (NY, FL, AZ, and CA come to mind). Honestly though, there's really no way to know. I live in one of those bad budget states and everything is up on the air. But you know what? I'm at a fantastic program, surrounded by fabulous grad students and faculty, and we'll make it through.

If your research interests are pretty specific, they probably already know where else you've applied. I was really honest with programs when visiting about where else I was looking, in part because people knew.

Deferring is a program-specific thing. Some schools won't let you do it at all. Some will not guarantee funding. It really varies and you have to subtle in how you ask.

Honestly, I would visit. Sometimes a place that seems perfect on paper and from email communication isn't so perfect once you visit.