rising_star

If you want to really dive in, a two year program will give you time to take more classes, get more research experience, and just gain more exposure to the field. Is either program offering you funding?

Have you investigated other potential funding sources? You might be able to obtain other small grants ($500-$1500) through professional associations, on campus entities, etc. This is what I did during my PhD to fund summer research as the department had no summer research funding for grad students (regardless of MA or PhD status). However, to avoid having to hunt down so much money during my MA, I decided to do a more local project so that I could minimize my expenses. I also took on a summer TA position and used the "extra" money to support my research, rather than thinking of it as part of my annual budget. As @TakeruK has noted, sometimes sacrifices must be made and you have to financially invest in yourself to succeed.

What field?

@brainlass, PhD student.

Well, are you willing to make a sacrifice now in terms of location to likely have more choice about location post-PhD?

If you weren't impressed by BU, why would you go into a bigger pile of debt to go there? There's nothing wrong with deciding based on price tag. You are the one who will have to pay back those loans, not anyone else, so it makes sense that it should be a huge factor in your decision-making process.

If I were picking, I'd pick based on cost of living and fit with the students. From what you've said, that sounds like Baltimore.

I would do all the forms and really anything and everything you need to do so that there aren't any obstacles to deciding at the last moment. No idea about deposits because the programs I applied to didn't have one. I'm sure you can find out either online or by asking.

Could you go to one of the programs and leave with a master's if you decide it isn't the right fit for you?

@MandarinOtter, I would look again at placement if that's what you believe. Most people who want FT employment using their PhD find it. That may not be where you personally want to work, but it doesn't mean being unemployed by any means. It sounds to me like you've either been getting bad advice or haven't been taking full advantage of the resources out there. Think long and hard about doing the T14 law school route, especially about the debt. Are you prepared to be making $800-1000 a month student loan payments for 10 years in addition to likely being un(der)employed? Because that's the reality for law school grads these days. And, I don't mean to repeat myself, but asking your prospective advisor about industry isn't the right route. It isn't part of their job to know about this. If you want to get a sense of whether the program can prepare students for industry, talk to current students. But also be prepared to seek this out on your own. From these posts, it sounds like you're having bigger/broader doubts about doing a PhD in anthropology, which is totally ok. You may want to defer and spend a year or more thinking about your options and what it is you really want to be doing.

Actually, you never know. I lived with an undergrad senior the first year of my MA and our lifestyles were actually quite similar. They were doing student teaching so they essentially had a FT job and our needs were really quite compatible. That said, we did not live in a student apartment complex, but rather housing that was mostly young professionals. I'm the opposite of @juilletmercredi in that I didn't live in any big cities during grad school and was able to have a 20 minute or less commute by bike/bus in those cities. I valued the short commute. I was able to find neighborhoods which were plenty safe (I actually never looked at the crime stats but determined how safe I'd feel by walking/biking/driving around the area during the day and at night) and affordable. In grad school, I typically lived in small places owned by a private landlord. That did mean driving around to see "for rent" signs, rather than relying solely on the big internet sites, but it was worth it because it ultimately saved me money on rent. A lot of it is really going to depend on where you are and, since you haven't told us, that makes it more difficult for us to offer your advice. You may want to check out the "City Guide" to see if there are relevant posts for the place you're interested in. You may also want to talk to current grad students to get their sense of safe locations, what you should expect to pay, etc.

No problem! FWIW, I was deciding between two schools right up until the last minute and actually made my decision on April 15 and notified schools that afternoon.

There are never any guarantees about avoiding unemployment. Of course, some of that also depends on what type of employment you're seeking. Are you set on being a tenure-track professor at a R1 in the US and nothing else will do? If so, avoiding unemployment will be difficult no matter where you decide to go to school. They publish, network, get external funding, and build up a huge backlog of primary sources they can use in the first years on the job to keep churning out publications. They publish interesting work in understudied areas which makes people turn their head to the side and wonder why it hasn't been done before. And, um, even then, that doesn't mean you'll land a tenure-track job at a R1. I have a bunch of friends with history PhDs. One of them published a book based on his dissertation that won an award. What were they doing then? Working as a 3 year renewable lecturer. They now have a TT job at a R3 and that book doesn't count toward tenure. Another friend works at a R2 (master's granting department) and has published two academic books (both have gotten awards within the discipline) with a third in progress in their... 5th year on the tenure-track. That has not been enough to secure said friend a job at a more prestigious institution or to negotiate a TT line for their partner at the current institution. YMMV obviously but, even doing all the things may not be enough. These two points stood out to me in your description of the MA programs. First, I don't know anyone that finishes their MA project in the first semester of their second year. It usually takes a few months in the spring semester to finish, even for the most dedicated students. Of course, the easiest way to ensure that you're one of those who does finish that soon is to plan your project with that in mind. FWIW, I think you can have an easy transition from MA to PhD even while finishing your MA thesis in the fourth semester of your two year program. I submitted the first draft of my MA thesis to my advisor February 1. That gave me plenty of time to revise (I'd get a draft back after a week or so then have another week to revise it before giving it back to them) and time to visit PhD programs I was admitted to. I defended my thesis a little later than planned in order to maximize funding from my MA institution (they offered me a summer TA position that ran through June but required me to maintain student status). Also, FWIW, I was the first in my cohort to defend their MA thesis and not the only person who was continuing on to a PhD. So, I wouldn't necessarily limit yourself upfront to only doing something that you could finish a little over one year into your program (also, in doing so you're limiting the ability of your coursework to help/guide/influence you as you work on your thesis). There are never any guarantees about getting into a PhD program. Sure, you might not get in if you apply in the future. But, you also might not want to. Things change. Your application will be stronger if you do well and write a strong MA thesis. The question is really whether you think the MA is worth the investment in yourself.

Both are near the coast and have great craft beer scenes so, at least from my perspective, you can't go wrong with either option. Which program has the faculty you're most interested in working with? Which has the best placement record? Where do you think you'll fit in best culturally?

Definitely keep waiting. It's not even April yet!

@janaca, if they didn't think you should continue in your program, they wouldn't have passed you. Your job for the rest of your time in the program is to prove the naysayers in your program wrong. That's it. You can quit if you want but that's not what anyone here or on your committee is telling you to do.

This is something no one online can answer for you honestly. It's a question that you have to ask yourself. Moving and relocating is expensive (in terms of actual costs and then also in terms of time/effort/stress). Doing it twice in a couple of years would be overwhelming to me but, i you've never done it, then it might be worth it to you. What are your goals for the master's? How will each program help you get there?

You definitely want renter's insurance! I would get quotes from multiple companies (easy to do online). Some companies also offer discounts if you're a good student so that may be something to look into.

I'd pick NC State but that's because I hate cold weather. In reality, you should pick based on funding and fit.

I would talk to current students in both programs to get a sense of what the educational environment is like in each program.

It's hard to say. You've provided the aid figures but that doesn't help us understand what the cost to you would be. I would probably go for the lowest overall cost of attendance.

If you don't have to decide yet, I would wait.

I would visit if you can. If you know you're going, you can use it as a chance to scope out housing and other aspects of the area you might be interested in.

@MandarinOtter, why is it R1 or corporate for you? Is there really nothing in between? Lots of people teach and do research at R2s and SLACs and have successful careers. Is there any particular reason why you've decided that isn't for you? Have you ever looked into what a career outside of a R1 would be like or talked to anyone in TT/tenured jobs in those places? I wouldn't expect prospective faculty advisors to know much or anything about how to prepare for the nonacademic job market since that isn't there area of expertise. (It's the equivalent of walking into the supermarket and asking the first employee you see how to tile your kitchen floor.) Instead, look into the career center at those institutions and see what, if anything, they do to support graduate students seeking positions outside academia. See if they are institutional members of resources like VersatilePhD. Ask current graduate students if they have the ability to do things like a summer internship to gain work experience. Ask about taking courses outside the department (e.g., programming, statistics) which could help prepare you for additional career possibilities. Finally, I would take a serious look at what's been going on with the legal job market for the past ten years. Even graduates of T14 law schools are having trouble finding jobs, which is especially troubling when you consider the student loan debt involved. The funding situation at law schools is far worse than it is for PhD programs so you could be looking at $100K+ in debt and still have dim job prospects.

Based on what you've said, I guess I'm not sure why you're considering doing the MA rather than the funded PhD...