rising_star

http://www.latimes.com/travel/california/la-trb-amtrak-pets-allowed-20160202-story.html https://www.amtrak.com/carry-on-pets

I would also get in touch with current grad students to get their advice about the housing situation. You may find that they have landlords or management companies which they can either highly recommend or steer you away from. You might even be able to find someone willing to tour places for you, if you're lucky.

Most laptops that are lightweight and have long battery life will not come with a DVD drive. External DVD drives which are connected through the USB port is pretty common these days and easy to do. Everything else is really about preferences. I dislike the keyboard layout and feel of certain brands of laptops for example, so I don't have one of those. I suppose if you have the money, you could get a Surface or something similar.

If you want to decline the offer, then ask for a release. But, be prepared for people to be irritated or upset and to not have a favorable opinion of you. If it's just a case of cold feet or "the grass is always greener", then I would at least give the school a chance. After all, you spent 2.5 weeks (by the way, this is longer than you'll typically have on the job market if you're given an offer whether in or out of academia) to make a decision and decided that attending this school was the right decision. What has changed since then?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't count as income. It also increases your debt to income ratio, which will lower the total mortgage amount you can qualify for. If you're having trouble with the downpayment, then look into things like FHA loans and targeted first-time or low-income homebuyer programs, many of which offer downpayment assistance. Also, another thing to consider is that Stafford loan rates are higher than mortgage rates right now...

This is rather old but you should check it out because there's a lot of useful discussion:

There are a lot of pharmaceutical companies in the Philadelphia area (UPenn) and in the Pittsburgh area (CMU). I'm less familiar with the TAMU area because I've never lived or traveled near there. But, just having companies nearby doesn't guarantee that you'll have better opportunities.

@PoliSci2016, without knowing the amount of your stipend, it's impossible to say what your loan options would be. In general, you're capped at borrowing 3-4x of your annual income. If your stipend is $20K, that'd give you a max loan amount of probably $75K unless you have substantial savings. Building a home can be complicated in terms of loans and also because of the potential for overages. I would talk to loan officers at local banks and credit unions once you move to get a sense of what your options are. There may also be first time homebuyer programs locally which can offer better loan options, so that's something to Google around for and ask about. As far as I know, basically all graduate assistantships issue you a W-2, rather than a 1099. You're not self-employed. You're employed by the university where you're doing research or teaching. Good luck!

Getting a tenure-track job is a crapshoot in pretty much any field. Is BGSU highly ranked in your field? Are your advisors there doing well placing their students into tenure-track positions?

I have lots of experience traveling with my dog but only in the car. We've moved across the country and also done another move of about 1000 miles. The website petswelcome.com is a great resource for finding pet-friendly hotels as well as knowing if they charge a fee, require a deposit, etc. I typically end up at La Quintas though I've stayed in a range of other hotels including Motel 6 (always pet-friendly though quality varies widely), Days Inn, and Baymont Inn & Suites. I've driven home a few times with my dog for Christmas (8-11 hours depending on which place of mine we're talking about) and that was fine. I've also found people who weren't going home to watch her for shorter breaks (Thanksgiving or Spring Break). Often there are students around who aren't going home, especially international students. The dorms may also close so you could potentially really be helping someone out by letting them house/dog sit for you over break. You do have to pay them but undergrads are pretty cheap (I pay $15-20/day, depending on the time of year). I'll be honest and say that I've never flown my dog and probably never would, though she's maybe 25 lbs. Because of her height, she's too big to fit in the carriers that go under the seat (they have to be able to stand up AND turn around in those). To fly her as cargo would cost me ~$150 each way PLUS many airlines won't fly dogs as cargo when it's either too hot or too cold. Think of it this way. The baggage often sits out on the tarmac in all weather waiting to be loaded and your dog would be out there too, exposed to the heat or cold. For me, it's just not an option. Amtrak has recently changed its policies to allow dogs 20 lbs and under on all trains. I've never done this but it seems like a great option!

If you've already decided, then it doesn't really matter what anyone here tells you. The people you should consult are your mentors and advisors in your field.

I would defer and apply to other schools next year were I in your situation.

To get information on the job opportunities, tuition and fees, and assistantship scenarios, you really need to be in contact with the department itself. The current grad students or your prospective advisor should also be able to give you some insight into the assistantship scenario if you ask them. I doubt the higher cost of UPenn is worth it in the long run though it depends on what your career goals are.

I guess that did resolve the dilemma. Congratulations!

@Need Coffee in an IV and @Danger_Zone, have you seen this video of Eco giving advice to young writers? https://biblioklept.org/2016/02/19/advice-to-young-writers-from-umberto-eco-2/

I wouldn't take the risk, especially if funding isn't guaranteed. Try to boost your credentials you can get into the PhD programs you really want to.

Are the financial packages similar once you factor in cost of living? From what I've heard, New Haven is a lot more expensive than Ann Arbor. In terms of academics, they're both great programs with solid reputations so you can't really go wrong there. Would you take the more boring or core courses at Yale FES even though they aren't required or would you really specialize? I think it's good to get a broad base, especially in a master's program.

I suppose it does. How will you decide between B and C?

I would agree that it's expected. I wouldn't try to do it under the guise of friendship though. Be honest about why you're approaching them and what you're hoping to work on.

Not in your field, obviously, but funding wasn't the ultimate deciding factor for me. I turned down packages that offered significantly more money (30-40% more) and/or less teaching to work with the person I deemed the best advisor for my project. The offer I did take was sufficient to live on so I wasn't struggling financially by any means. In other words, it all worked out for me. YMMV obviously. But, for me at least, money wasn't the key deciding factor because I was more concerned with the professional development I'd receive in each program.

Actually, there are schools that do permit it because they would rather do that than turn down people on their waitlist only to have a spot open up later after you decide to ask for a release from your offer.

For me, this wouldn't bother me but I didn't care at all about the name of my MA advisor and it totally worked out for me when I applied for PhD programs. Maybe your field is super prestige oriented but often the MA is more about what you do (publications, presentations, research, etc.) and the skills you learn which will enable you to jump right into things in a PhD program. I would contact the original POI and inquire about the possibility that they might be willing to serve as an outside committee member for your MA thesis. It's not unheard of at most programs

This would depend on whether or not you're planning to work in that professor's lab or use their equipment to help you do your research. It's going to be impossible for anyone to help you gauge your chances because this is a bit of an unusual situation.

Plenty of people include their time at a community college on their CV. It shows that you have a different set of experiences. I know that in faculty searches at teaching focused institutions having community college experience on your CV can be an asset.

I do. It's not BJJ though. The key for me was finding a location convenient to home/campus, which wasn't hard where I was living.