rising_star

Yes, it's possible you're getting anxious over nothing. They'll contact you when they make a decision. In the meantime, if you really want to go to U of Iowa, you may want to see if either the French or Spanish departments hire MA students as TAs. If they do, perhaps you can apply there as a backup in case you don't get funding from the linguistics department.

Honestly? If the travel is already booked, I'd go ahead and take the trip. Sleep as much as you can, bring cough drops or throat lozenges, and do the best you can.

I think given your circumstances it makes sense to be in communication with the program later this spring and over the summer to see about visiting or at least speaking with faculty on the phone or via Skype. I'd make sure you explain to the DGS the circumstances you've mentioned here when you initiate the conversation. I'd also maybe wait until early April so that the students starting in fall 2017 are situated already.

I just want to third what fuzzylogician and TakeruK said about visiting. After visiting, I found that a program that was my top choice was no longer a top choice, that some programs that seemed great on paper would've been a bad choice for me personally, and that a place I thought I wouldn't like I actually really did. I actually planned the completion of my MA thesis and its defense around being able to do program visits, which ultimately meant that I was traveling a bunch while finishing revisions on my thesis. If you can find a way to swing a visit, definitely do it.

It means you have to find a way to pay for the degree yourself. That could be savings, loans, or grants/fellowships from outside the department that you apply for. It also means that they aren't going to offer you a paid TA or RA position.

It's not cheating. Most programs expect that a professor will have seen and looked over your writing sample before you submit it.

A gap year is never a bad idea. It gives you a chance to taste life outside of academia and rejuvenate for the major grind that grad school is. Most funded master's programs have deadlines at the same time as PhD programs so it's probably too late to try that for this cycle. Applying to both MA and PhD programs next time is a great idea though.

I think you need to read existing studies investigating either corruption or "institutional capacity", focusing specifically on their research questions, hypotheses, and methods. Keep track of these so you can compare the work being done and the methods being used to do it by various scholars. Only after doing an extensive review of the methodologies others are using would I decide on a methodology for my own project.

I have questions before I can provide answers. 1) Have you visited all the schools? Have you had a chance to actually sit down with the PI and grad students at Case and UAB to discuss the research they're doing and that you might be doing? An in-depth conversation might be helpful here. 2) Have you talked to grad students at UAB about what life in Birmingham is like, whether they like it, what there is to do, etc.? Seems like an essential step prior to making a decision. 3) How is the funding at each place? I'd be comparing packages based on the cost of living in each place, in addition to comparing years of funding, number of years of fellowship, summer funding, etc. What's the broader research support like in terms of writing grants? In terms of publishing? You've got time to decide so I encourage you to do a lot more research and (re)visit the schools to get a better sense of your fit in each place.

The drawbacks are that you may find that you're in a position where accepting that school's offer makes sense but you're hesitant because you've never seen the campus, met the people, etc. If they're covering most or all of your expenses, you should definitely visit.

That it all works out, regardless of where you go. It would've made deciding easier and let me be more at peace with my decision more quickly. Also, advisor first and foremost.

It wouldn't be a graduate student conference if it didn't feature papers where the data collection didn't go as planned, people wrote their papers/presentations the night before or day of, and/or people say that they are only going to talk about maybe two sentences of what was in their abstract. S%^t happens, particularly at grad student conferences. It'll be fine. Follow your advisor's advice but don't back out of the conference. It's a good experience that you shouldn't miss out on.

Three things come to mind immediately, though as GreenEyedTrombonist has said, there's more information that would be helpful. 1) The cost of living in Seattle is likely higher than that of the Twin Cities. In that sense, $20K may go a lot further and you may be able to live more comfortably. I have several friends who live in the Twin Cities and they all love it. There's a lot to do, the area is quite diverse, and it's an airline hub. It's worth considering whether you'll be able to survive on the funding. 2) It's also worth thinking about summer funding. Does either package include summer funding? Are there options to get summer research grants or TA in the summer? Are you able to get a summer internship with the ACT, SAT, etc. or would your RA require you to be putting in 40 hours/week in the summer? All questions I'd want answers to before choosing. 3) When I was in your shoes of deciding between staying at my MA institution or going elsewhere, basically every single faculty member in my MA program told me that they admitted me with funding because they wanted me to stay but that they also thought that I should go elsewhere. I did go elsewhere and I don't regret it academically or professionally. You'll still be able to connect and collaborate with folks at your MA institution but, going to another school dramatically expands your network and gives you new opportunities you may not have even known of. So if I were you, I'd take the funding and leave UW.

Have you tried asking around to other professors to see if they have funding? Have you asked anyone why they want you to have a RA lined up?

I would say the main thing to be aware of is proper clothing for whatever climate you'll be in.

I don't have much time right now but I'll be honest and say that neither I nor bgk are the real reason this site was started. It began with the results survey, which initially involved people emailing (I think, I really can't remember) their results in and then manually updating a spreadsheet that was posted online. That method of even having a place where people could find results came from a LiveJournal community called applyingtograd. Then came the idea of having a place for discussion, which was originally broken down into broad areas, like "City Guide", "Social Sciences", "Humanities", etc. I think @bgk took it over within a year or two of it getting started and made lots and lots of changes in terms of forum software, hosting, etc. due to his computer science skills. Oh, and this all dates back to spring 2006, I think. If there are specific things you're interested in, ask and I'll try to remember.

Yes.

Everything in graduate school is emotionally hard. I recommend studying something you're passionate about, whatever that may be, because it's one of the only ways to get through all the tough times grad school presents. Good luck!

There are a few places on here where this discussion is happening, though none specific to philosophy. Maybe this will help?

Go find a reference/research librarian at your institution and get some help.

Nah, I don't think it's crazy. It's only crazy if you do it at the application stage when you're on the academic job market, lol (and even then only because it's likely to be like 75+ places you'd have to look into).

Unless you're getting a PhD in French, you're unlikely to be able to write your master's thesis or doctoral dissertation in French anywhere outside of a French-speaking university. That requirement typically isn't flexible at all because it would require your entire committee to be fluent in French so they could read your thesis/dissertation. For the record, there really aren't big grammar problems with this post. In fact, I often see far more issues with grammar when grading undergraduate work of students whose native language is English. So don't undersell yourself or your own abilities. If you're really concerned about the grammar, you could find a writing tutor to work with throughout your graduate studies and hire and editor/proofreader to read through your thesis before you submit it. Both of those are common for non-native English speakers.

If you haven't actually ever studied Area A then it's a bad idea to take a qualifying exam in that area. Go with area B.

No. Did I ever say that anywhere? I'm saying that it's unfair to offer one student special assistance and not make that offer to the class as a whole. But, to be quite honest, I very rarely offer assistance outside of what the disability office at my school recommends. For example, if they were to say the student should have 1.5 the usual amount of time on exams, I'll grant them that but not also decide they can use their notes on the test if that option isn't available to the rest of the class too.

@Asperfemme, I totally get what you're saying. However, typically university regulations prohibit instructors from offering anything which could be perceived as an advantage to one student over others. Asking the student what they need and not extending that same offer to all other students could be (mis)perceived this way by others in the class, potentially leading to a formal complaint against the instructor. I could give any number of examples but I doubt they'd be helpful overall. Let's just say it's similar to planning a field trip which involves walking a mile and asking the entire class whether anyone will need assistance (whether that's a golf cart, car, alternate assignment, etc.), rather than only offering such accommodations to the person who is obviously in a wheelchair. There could be any number of other students who would have an issue walking a mile for all sorts of invisible reasons. If the instructor only offers alternate arrangements to the person in the wheelchair, then they're discriminating against everyone else in the class (even if this happens unwittingly). This is why I don't recommend singling out one student for extra assistance. If the OP wants to make a statement about accommodating disabilities, they should make it to everyone, ideally earlier in the semester, and invite any and all students to let them know of issues/problems and assistance they might need. If I were in the OP's shoes, I'd ask the student and their assistant if any they've spoken with the university's disability office and, if so, to let me know what accommodations were recommended by them. There should be paperwork on file. At the same time, I wouldn't assume the student wants any additional assistance or special treatment because I've taught a number of autistic students who would've been offended by the suggestions or question. Again, this is why I recommended working with the university disability office. They exist for a reason and have personnel trained in these matters. They'll also be able to give the OP more specific advice about teaching a student with autism and may even have specific advice for working with this student based on past experiences.