rising_star

Check out the "Interviews and Visits" subforum, which has numerous posts on questions to ask while visiting.

You can't coax anyone to do anything, especially if they're planning to retire. What you can (and should) do is ask Professor B if they're willing to be involved in your continued progress toward the PhD and, if so, to what extent. Let them decide what they're willing to do.

I don't understand the question. Although, to be honest, if I forget a paper at work, I just wait until I go back to work to read it.

1) Why is it so important for you to graduate with your cohort? 2) Are all of those courses offered on a regular basis? I ask because there are typically many more courses in the academic catalog than are offered during the course of a two year degree. In all honesty, I don't think you should be choosing a degree based on whether or not you get to take one additional elective. 3) You should be thinking about outcomes, that is what your career will look like with each degree.

Don't do an unfunded master's. Especially not in a field you already have a degree in.

You should be able to get this information by asking the DGS or your POIs. Or Google-stalking people based on recently filed dissertations. In your case, the overall program placement does NOT matter. You need the placement in Russian/Eastern European history, not other fields like Atlantic World, American, Latin American, etc.

Did I say that my income was so bad that I could only spend $100/month on food? No. I actually budgeted for more than that but, after adding up my monthly bills, I realized I was spending $90-115/month on groceries except when shopping for special holiday meals.

@svent, you and I are clearly different people. No one asked about the diet for a 220 lb bodybuilder, so I assumed we were talking about people eating an average diet. You keep saying that the only way to survive on a $100/month grocery budget is to eat unhealthy food and I'm point out that that isn't the case. I did it for a couple of years so I do know that it's possible. I'm also not 220 lbs or a bodybuilder, so there's no way I need 200+ grams of protein a day. That said, I'm not saying that anyone has to limit themselves to $100/month, just pointing out that it is possible to do so and eat healthily at the same time. I'm not really sure why you're so adamant that this is not the case. Even now that I'm working full time, I spend less than $400/month on food, eating out, and drinks with friends.

Have you looked at the specific placements for those in Russian history at each place? I know there aren't many jobs in Russian history these days so seeing where the graduates end up could be enlightening or at least helpful. Have you visited both places?

Would you rather attend Bocconi or SFU? If the answer is SFU, then you should decline the offer to go to Bocconi. You don't have to accept SFU yet, you can keep waiting.

Where in Mexico? Depending on where you were thinking of going the Alaskan bush might be safer, which isn't something to take lightly... Oaxaca is nice though. You could also consider Nicaragua or Panama to learn Spanish if you really want to. Or, teach English in China/Japan/South Korea and make the big bucks!

I didn't ignore the part about protein! I said I bought and used a lot of dried and canned beans, which are a huge source of protein. I'm mostly vegetarian so buying meat isn't a big part of my budget or lifestyle. Even so, $3.49/lb is the price of organic chicken on sale, which isn't what I'd label cheap chicken. Where I live, chicken leg quarters (so drumstick and thigh) regularly go on sale for $0.79/lb. If you were to buy a package of those with 3-4 leg quarters, you'd have enough meat for at least 6 meals for about $3.50.

I'm having trouble understanding why you want to do a summer school somewhere, especially since you're currently applying to grad programs. If you get accepted, a lot of your summer will be spent preparing for, dealing with, and actually undertaking a move to wherever your grad program is. It would be better to work on research you actually plan to work on in grad school rather than finding a random research project to work on for 1.5 months, if you really want to do something. Most people don't want to take on someone for such a short period of time because there aren't really any benefits for them.

I would look at job ads in both fields to see which qualification employers are looking for.

@fencergirl, I have a Chromebook (11", I think) as a second computer. I love it for its portability, surfing the web at home, etc. It's definitely not a laptop replacement, though it would be more useful to me at times if it had a bigger screen. It's so easy to just throw in my bag though, which is why I bought it. With a 15", I'd be a bit concerned about the weight.

How much better are the student outcomes at School A? I don't mean in general, I mean in terms of getting into students into the type of job you want to do after graduation?

I wouldn't spend 20 hours a week for 8 weeks working on a project unpaid and with no future funding guaranteed. It sounds like this professor needs a RA but doesn't have the money to pay one, so they're asking you to do the work instead. Don't fall for the trap. Instead, take @TakeruK's advice about contacting the department head. If not the department head, then the Director of Graduate Studies.

Once I drove with someone and three times I didn't (unless you count the dog I had for two of those trips). I didn't bring my stuff in at night. Even when I go on road trips now (I do a 15+ hour trip each summer), the only things I bring in at night are my laptop bag, duffel bag with clothes, and any craft beer I've bought along the way (for temperature reasons, not because I'm worried it will get stolen). I always make sure that things which look valuable are in the trunk but I had plenty of stuff in the backseat that was visible if you'd looked in. Then again, I also have tinted windows, which can make seeing in more difficult. I stayed in reputable-ish hotels, though that varied some when traveling with the dog. Pre-dog, I stayed at: Fairfield Inn & Suites, Courtyard by Marriott, and Hampton Inn. Post-dog, there's a lot more La Quintas. Maybe I've just been lucky but, the biggest problems I've had have been related to a switch going bad inside my car in the midst of a trip.

You need to talk to the Director of Graduate Studies about what your options are if you get fired from your current RA position.

Don't go without funding. It's hard to say whether they could find you funding without knowing more about the program and the department.

Why are you having second thoughts about the Masters International program? You don't really say what your concerns are about the program. Also, what are the 3 additional electives you could/would take if you did the master's all at once?

No, I wouldn't. But I also never got anything other than an A in my graduate courses because I put in the work that was expected of me.

@trossier, have you taken a look at current or recent job ads in the area of political communication? Often job ads specify what fields they expect the applicant's degree to be in. For most disciplines, they're expecting a PhD in that discipline (so communications departments will expect a PhD in comm). Have you thought about why it is that you are so drawn to staying in the discipline of political science? Have you thought about whether you might be interested in working on political communication from within a communications department?

I don't think that's a fair characterization. When I lived in a place with good access to fresh produce, $10 would get me an entire reusable grocery bag full of fresh fruits and vegetables (often more than I could eat in a week). By shopping at Costco and the bulk foods section of stores, I was able to supplement with healthy grains (quinoa, whole wheat pasta) and canned and dried beans. In the winter, I'd often buy more frozen vegetables (store brand goes on sale for $1/lb regularly). I ate well by cooking for myself (making my own breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the help of the slow cooker, lots of varieties of soups for lunch, and a lot of oatmeal and eggs for breakfast), not buying meat very often (only when on sale as a loss leader!), and being willing to eat the same thing with slight variations on a regular basis. I could count on two hands the number of times I went out for "dollar menu items" in grad school. It just wasn't a thing. If I wanted a quick meal, I always kept some Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice frozen dinners on hand, just as a back up.

This is the "gold standard" for think about what anthropologists wear in professional settings, like conferences: http://savageminds.org/2013/11/20/conference-chic-or-how-to-dress-like-an-anthropologist/