hj2012

Congratulations on your acceptances! I'm having a tough time with my decision, too. Mind if I ask which two are your top choices as of now? Edit: Also, you did your undergrad at Michigan! How did you like the American Culture dept there?

Funding chances are low at Columbia. They state as much explicitly on the website. Funding is also dismal at Cambridge for international students. Not sure about the Canadian universities, though. If your ultimate goal is to do a PhD, though, I don't really think you should concern yourself so much about the "name brand" of the school, especially if money is a problem. Search "funded master's programs" on this site and you'll get a list of places.

Eruthos, you can definitely live in Copeley and choose the option for random roommates. Because of Copeley's proximity to the law and business school, lots of law / business students live there. I also second the recommendation for brac.org -- great resource for finding apartments. If you're in engineering, you might be happier living off JPA because it'll definitely be a closer walk to campus. Since you're interested in roommates, you might also consider using http://offgroundshousing.student.virginia.edu/roommate/search (if you don't know about it already!). However, you might have better luck in about a month or so, after people finish making their decisions and begin to commit. Since most undergraduates sign leases in the fall/winter, the lost time shouldn't hurt you significantly. Best of luck with your search!

Just saw your edit. I would highly recommend that you stay away from Grand Marc. It is full of undergrads and can get very, very loud on weekends. What is your budget? Are you looking for studios or one bedroom apartments or would you prefer roommates?

Hey! Glad to hear you're considering UVA. I did my undergrad there, and Charlottesville is a lovely college town. You shouldn't have any serious problems with noise in Copeley. North Grounds are usually pretty quiet and removed from the Corner, which is where you'll usually find problems regarding noise. The housing quality isn't bad, either. However, there isn't a whole lot to do there, and you might find getting to restaurants or bars a bit of a pain. If you're considering off-grounds housing there are some nice complexes further down on 14th (away from the Corner and Rugby Rd). If distance isn't a problem, you might look at places closer to Downtown or on Jefferson Park Ave extended. Good luck!

Hi everyone, Thanks for all the helpful information on this thread so far. For me, application season is winding down and I'm very strongly considering a PhD offer from UC Berkeley. Unfortunately, I won't be able to visit (I'm living abroad and can't get the time off), so it's difficult for me to get a sense of Berkeley culture. The thing that worries me the most about Berkeley is the high cost of living. I don't mind living with other people, but I strongly prefer having my own room and bathroom in a safe area that's relatively close to campus. Is this possible for less than $1,000 (including monthly rent and utilities)? Also, I won't be heading back to the States until the end of July. Do you think it would be possible to find an apartment during August? Thanks in advance.

Thank you! It really is a tough decision, especially since I won't be able to visit any of the schools. I'm relying heavily on email, haha. Good luck to you, too -- you have some really awesome acceptances so I expect your decision will be difficult as well!

Agreed with IRToni. If you're simply looking for name brand recognition, GW will arguably go further. If you're afraid that no one has heard of University of Essex, I'm afraid that same logic will likely apply to KCL, at least in the States. Back in the day, when I was considering I.R. master's programs, I was told point-blank by employers and academic advisers that there were only a few schools that really mattered for industry connections (Harvard Kennedy, SAIS, Georgetown, Princeton WWS, etc). Regardless, if you do go for a PhD I'd assume it would be a program geared toward working professionals like the one at SAIS or Tufts Fletcher. These programs usually require prospective applicants to already have M.A. degrees.

Congratulations to everyone on this thread! I also have my official Berkeley acceptance and funding information in hand. Feels good!

I'll PM you.

No, I haven't received a response from Yale yet. I'll post here if I do.

There's always a chance, so I'd just wait it out. However, if you don't get the results you want this round and want to think of reapplying, the GRE is a highly learnable test. Boosting your score a few points will definitely help you.

For those interested -- I emailed UT-Austin and found out that I'm at the top of their waitlist, and should expect an acceptance within the next few weeks. I also ended up emailing NYU (hey, might as well!). Their first round of acceptances went out, but there is still a possibility of a waitlist and they hope to notify candidates in the next week or two.

Villanova, CUNY, Northeastern, some CSU schools -- and probably many more.

I think the biggest factor should be cost. No doubt Oxford routinely sends students to top PhD programs, but so does UVA's terminal MA. I'm also a UVA grad (wahoowa!), and I'd say that all the MAs I knew that were interested in PhD programs eventually matriculated to top, competitive PhD programs. I don't know if a distinction needs to be made, though, since most of the MAs I knew did the BA/MA option (that is, getting an MA "added" to your BA during a fifth year). Regardless, both are great choices. My instinct is that you should follow the money.

I'm not an MFA applicant, but I've been living abroad in Korea for the past few years and I really enjoy it. And...even if you don't, you'll likely amass some interesting life experiences to write about. ^^

Another thing to consider -- insurance companies often charge different deductibles for in-network / out-of-network doctors, so your stepmother's health insurance may not be as affordable as the one your school offers. In some cases, you may find it incredibly difficult to find a doctor that accepts your insurance in your school's town or city. Speaking from experience, this was a major pain when I was an undergraduate.

Err, I don't think that there's anything in Gr8pumpkin's that you need to take offense at -- he/she was actually supporting your post by saying that they took it at face value and they also understood what it was like to be struggling with issues of mental health and medication. Maybe worded a bit flippantly, but that might have been in response to posts other than yours. Anyway -- I've also been in a similar position, and I can totally understand the reluctance to medicate, especially considering the side effects. For me, I found a lot of relief in meditation and mindfulness exercises. This is much more mainstream in the Asian country where I live, but it may be possible for you to find a class in your hometown as well. If not, this sampler from a Harvard med school professor might give you an idea as to whether or not meditation is a possible solution for you. http://www.mindfulness-solution.com/DownloadMeditations.html Best of luck to you.

No worries -- glad it was helpful.

Check the results survey. http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

1) Which program offers the best research "fit"? 2) Which program has the strongest placement rates for the kind of work you'd eventually want to do? 3) Are the stipends comparable at each institution in relation to the cost of living? [boston will be much more expensive than Gainesville.] Is health care included? Is summer funding guaranteed? 4) What are the required teaching loads? A fellowship (non-teaching) offer from one of the schools might tip the balance? If, after answering all these questions, you're still torn -- I'd say choose the location where you want to live the most.

I'm actually really torn right now!! Michigan has a really strong program and has been very responsive and welcoming. I also bit the bullet and emailed UT Austin and Yale about my admissions status. I'll let you guys know what I find out.

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who got into W&M -- some very excellent faculty there, especially for Early American. Unfortunately, I was part of the Brown bloodbath on the results search. I believe that I'm going to be shut out of most Ivy-type schools, and am now facing the difficult, difficult decision of actually deciding where I'd like to go.

Lcydubloon is spot-on here. Other than generics (have stellar LoRs, polished writing sample, cohesive SoP) I'm afraid that I'm not very familiar with the process of applying for a PhD in political science. Best of luck to you, and you may find better guidance in the Political Science section of the website.

If you're primarily interested in Latin American Lit, you might consider Hispanic Studies or Spanish Lang/Lit programs as well. This would be especially prudent if you don't have other languages under your belt; if I recall correctly, most comparative lit programs require you to do work in a minimum of three languages (excluding English.) With the additional caveat that rankings are nearly meaningless in the comparative literature context, the NRC rankings might be a good place for you to start your research. I'd cross-analyze with Spanish to get a sense of the overlap (likely many faculty members will hold dual appointments in both departments.) http://m.chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124718/