rlmcman

Hey, all. As much as I'd like to tell myself otherwise, funding prospects and living expenses are basically going to make a huge dent in where I apply to programs. Has anyone found any info on (or been the recipient of) BU's archaeology PhD stipend? Can anyone give me a rough dollar amount? Thanks!

Hi, guys. OP from last year, here. My experience with Penn can be found further up the thread but I'll recap. Penn's assistantship amounted to essentially graduate work study. Up to ten hours a week at I believe $10/hr. No stipend, no tuition remission, no research or teaching experience to put on a CV. Also, I only found this out from a quite condescending email sent from the program director to another applicant (we had both been trying to nail down specifics for weeks after our notification). I truly hope this has changed because Penn was my #1 choice until this funding fiasco. I decided that a true graduate assistantship (and being paid to go to grad school rather than wracking up $100k more in loans) was a better option for me.

Hi, all! Just wanted to send an update about my results and maybe help those of you looking to apply next year to get an idea of the kinds of problems I ran into after my applications were in. The first school to get back to me was UPenn, which I was THRILLED about! I got an email from the program director first, then later an official notification through their website. They offered me a merit scholarship (which later got increased after they received my FAFSA and found out how truly destitute I am lol) and a research assistantship. Unfortunately, it took almost a MONTH to get a hold of the program director, who was the only one who had the details about the research assistantship. Even to this day he has not responded to my calls or emails and blew off an appointment that HE made with me to discuss things. Another accepted student managed to track him down and he quite nonchalantly told her that the research assistantship was essentially a graduate work study program for up to 10 hours per week. This is not what either of us expected from a research assistantship, which we'd experienced from other schools as being tuition remission programs. UPenn's extremely high prices and the difficulty of getting in touch with a program director who claimed to want us drove us away. I don't say this to scare people off the program -- I STILL think that it's the best program for me and it's hard to choose another program when I got accepted to my "perfect one" but I can't justify the cost when I already have a significant amount of debt from undergrad. I know that people are more willing to take the debt than I am and if you're one of those then I urge you to give this program serious thought! The second school I heard back from was Tulane... but to this day I haven't received an official acceptance notification. They just started sending me oodles and oodles of information for accepted students, then eventually my log on to their system. I didn't get any aid offer at all from them thus far. That combined with the weird communication issues has put them out of the running, as well. Columbia notified me through an email that instructed me to check their online system. They offered me a merit scholarship but no need-based aid because I was an idiot and didn't send in the application with my program application. So if you want need-based aid from them, don't be an idiot like me! They're too expensive without that extra aid so it's a no-go for me. UVM's acceptance email (from the program director) was the most detailed and personal email that I got. They laid out three financial scenarios for me... I'd been nominated for a graduate school fellowship that had two different award levels, and they laid out what each level would mean for my expenses. Then, they said that they would offer me departmental aid in the form of a TA appointment for 2 of 3 semesters if the fellowship didn't come through. I'm still waiting to hear from the graduate school about the fellowship but it's nice to finally have a school give me all my financial possibilities up front and spelled out! UGA sent me three snail mail letters and hasn't done anything over email or an internet system. The first letter was the program recommending me to the graduate school... the second was the graduate school acceptance. The third was my financial letter. They spelled out a fellowship package for me nice and clearly. So that's the process of each school I applied to... some of you have mentioned these schools and some none of you may be interested in. But there it is! I still have a decision to make... any last thoughts from anyone about UGA or UVM?

Thanks for all of your input, ladygirltomboy. It's answered a lot of questions that I had thought I wouldn't get answered! I wish you the best in your future education and career As for me, I'm already leaning towards UPenn's conservation focus... The OH isn't too far away, so we'll see!

ladygirltomboy, I'm so sorry it wasn't what you wanted or needed I'm glad you posted, because you're the first person I've seen on gradcafe with such negative views of not only Columbia but HP in general! I am pursuing conservation, but I'm still taken aback by what you've said. It's hugely disappointing that an Ivy League school would have such a sub-par program! I am curious, though, what your specialization/focus is and what type of degree you plan on pursuing to "complete" your education.

halliejo, unfortunately the information on aid I've found is mixed. For example, nothing in the information Penn publishes says that they offer as much aid as they seem to in actuality (seeing as they've given at least two people merit scholarships AND research assistantships so far). I know that Columbia is the only school I've seen that has a merit-based financial aid application wrapped into the program application and they supposedly give large awards via that, but "large" is relative when the program costs $50k/yr! Besides those two, I know a few state schools have built-in tuition reductions for out-of-staters and such but I didn't apply to one so I can't remember which they were TA positions tend to be for second years or maybe those with a previous, related degree. Outside scholarships are usually for second years or to help defray the cost of research and travel. Sorry, that was kind of rambling! Hope it helped some...

That's great! Congrats on the acceptances. Are you waiting to hear from anyone else or is that it for you? I got into Penn with some aid, too! But even with a 1/4 tuition scholarship and a research assistantship, the cost is really terrifying me. Ugh, money... I think that the open houses are really the make-or-break time for schools. I've been talking extensively with a current student at Penn and when I asked her how she made her decision (hers was between Columbia and Penn, so a little different) she said that it was the open house that really decided things for her, not any other information or opinions. I'm afraid I don't have any insight beyond that since I didn't even apply to Cornell (no conservation). But hopefully I'll see you at the Penn open house in March lol! Penn was the first school to get back to me... It's also my DREAM program, but I'm still eager to hear back from the four others. Commence obsessive site checking... NOW!

@eafreder: I applied to UPenn, Columbia, Tulane, UGA, and U of Vermont. My absolute #1 pick is Penn and I'm having a hard time waiting. They have me a hard response deadline (March 14, maybe? I have it written down somewhere) so we still have a ways to go... @oldhousejunkie: I've heard a lot about experience vs. schooling, especially if you have a bachelors in HP. I don't, though, so unfortunately the masters is crucial to catch me up and, as you said, get the nuts and bolts, hands-on experience with conservation. Since I haven't taken chem since high school, I'm currently taking a college gen chem course online as a refresher. Does anyone know if I'll need more than this?

I ended up applying!! Plenty of panic to go around lol Where'd you apply?

I'm of the belief that an F with no other sort of discussion does nothing to help any student. If they're the type that aren't listening to you repeat over and over that uncited knowledge that didn't originate in your own head is plagiarism, they could be completely uninterested in finding out why they got the F and just complain about it. It might just be the shock they need to fix the problem, but they may be too apathetic or ashamed to initiate a conference with you. I'd also say that you have a much better understanding of these students than we do and should do what you think will work best (helpful, I know ). We're not very far into the semester, and I know these types of classes tend to be big, but still. If you're still undecided as to what sort of discussion should follow their F's, ask the professor for his or her opinion! They'll know what's worked in the past and what university norms or regulations are.

Hello, all! I'm a prospective student of historic preservation with lots of questions for anyone who's been through the process or is/was in the profession. First, I'm curious as to what outside fields people studied before they jumped over to HP. My BA was in Ancient Mediterranean Studies (essentially Classics plus lots of archaeology) and, while I can make a good case as to why I'm pursuing graduate studies in HP rather than Classics, I'm still worried I won't have an edge on other applicants because I'm from such a narrow field. Second: I've noticed that there are well-thought-of programs that offer MSc degrees, some which offer MA's, and some which don't specify. Does it make a difference? I'm interested in a conservation emphasis so it makes sense to me to go after the MSc... but does it really matter after school? Third: I am a resident of Georgia and so the cheapest programs for me are, of course, here in Georgia. Any thoughts on the UGA program? I know it's no Columbia or UPenn or Cornell, but there's a $90k difference due to in-state tuition! As I've seen on other posts, SCAD is absolutely out of the question and GSU doesn't seem impressive in the least. Fourth: Is anyone aware of programs particularly strong in or focused on adaptive reuse, or is that wrapped into most programs? And finally (for now! ), what have people's experiences with funding been like? I put myself through undergrad and have $40k in debt already. Attending a great program but adding another $50k in debt is not an option. That's not to say that I don't plan on taking out more loans, but I'd like to take out as few as possible. Thanks in advance to everyone!!!