Vene

This thread makes me so ridiculously glad to live in a different state than the rest of my family. There are some real jerks out there.

This thread makes me so ridiculously glad to live in a different state than the rest of my family. There are some real jerks out there.

Branch out to Pitt. If UMN is your home institution, it's going to look better on a CV to have a PhD from a different school. It also does sound like you legitimately like that program more. As long as the fellowship doesn't give you a completely different standard of living, I'm really thinking Pitt is the way to go.

"What are you doing that for? Academia sucks."  Because the private sector is a highly remunerative blast.  A family friend/lawyer.
 
"Both of youse, all that education was just sh-- down the shorts" From my Grandmother, referring to my sister and me.  
 
"You can't run away from your feelings."  Another Grandma comment. Because studying overseas was purely an escapist fantasy.  Nevermind the hard work to network, keep a 4.0 GPA (equivalent), and do independent research.  Getting away from the stiflingly parochial and homophobic family was a bonus.  
 
Grandma: "What are you doing?" 
Me: "I am still waiting on my PhD application results..."  I applied to Oxford and Cambridge....a gargantuan gamble having only applied to those two, but I have the marks/recs/research to give me a fighting chance.  
"How long will that (the PhD) take?"
"Approximately three years."
"More school?! Sh--, I am going to hang up before I say anything else." Thanks Grandma
 
I should really get around to telling her that I am "queer" (read: bi or gay, depending on my mood) and have a tattoo.   That would really give her something to complain about. 

This thread makes me glad I already had my BA completed before applying.

Your credentials look quite good to me, I don't think they will get in the way at all. The biggest challenge I could see is the maturity factor. There really is a big difference between the attitude of somebody right out of undergrad versus somebody who has worked full time for a year or two. You'd also be surprised at how many employers are ok with a technician heading off to further their education, especially if your supervisor has an advanced degree, just don't bring it up in an interview. But, if you think are have enough maturity, by all means apply to different programs of interest.

No, it's not fine.  Libertarian philosophy, an outgrowth of Ayn Rand's adherents, arguably was responsible for the economic collapse of 2008.  But what the hell.
 
I loathe Ayn Rand with the passion of a thousand burning suns.  "Wait, you got it wrong, selfishness is actually good!  Altruism is actually bad!"  Brilliant.

Yeah, libertarians always holler "you can't go and simplify our [simplistic] philosophy!" like that.  "We're just so complex!  We're just so brilliant!  You mere mortals cannot comprehend our eminence!"  It's a "philosophy" that makes isolated, socially awkward teenage boys feel special (so that's why no one likes me!  I'm just too good!  I'm just too pure!  I'm just too superior!) and then turns them into entitled assholes in their twenties, something they never seem to outgrow so they have to hold conventions with themselves in hotel ballrooms as seen on CSPAN-6.  Now, isn't there a city council that's going to put flouride in the water supply that you should be protesting somewhere?

Even if you thought you were 100% certain about that professor, I'd still think a rotation is worth doing. You never know if there will be some form of personality conflict when actually working together. You can include that professor in your rotations if you so desire, but it is always good to fully explore your options.

I doubt a computer science program cares much about verbal GRE scores in the first place. You're above average and a non-native speaker, I don't see any cause for concern.

I'm admittedly in a different field than you, but my inclination was actually the opposite where if you want to work with a terminal masters it's best to go for prestige in order to stand out on the job market. But, if you're good enough now to study at [top university], your work during the funded MA will still be of top quality and enable you to apply to a very good PhD program. Another thought is that when doing a PhD application you can say that you were in a funded program, I imagine that's going to look a hell of a lot better than an unfunded degree.
But, again, I'm in a different field where it's actually the norm to go from BS to PhD instead of BA to MA to PhD and where an unfunded offer is a very strong red flag.

Even if you thought you were 100% certain about that professor, I'd still think a rotation is worth doing. You never know if there will be some form of personality conflict when actually working together. You can include that professor in your rotations if you so desire, but it is always good to fully explore your options.

Even if you thought you were 100% certain about that professor, I'd still think a rotation is worth doing. You never know if there will be some form of personality conflict when actually working together. You can include that professor in your rotations if you so desire, but it is always good to fully explore your options.

For a program that rejected me (by email) their website still says "Awaiting Program Decision." Lies! There are lies on the internet.

Uh, what? So basically somehow, out of EVERY UNIVERSITY IN THE COUTRY, only the ivies have faculty retiring and spots to fill? I've said it before and I'll say it again: If people expand their job market to include less well-known universities or liberal arts schools, the job market suddenly becomes less horrendous.
Also, there's a classist undertone here. $30k a year is the minimum stipend for "not wasting your life," but somehow working part time at Starbucks (and probably only making $10k a year) is better than going to a lower ranked school. Yet someone living on $15 a year "baffles" you. Maybe for a lot of people, making $15-20 a year sounds like a lot of money. I work THREE part time jobs and make under 15 a year. Sorry, "reading for fun" at these jobs is not an enjoyable alternative to having things like health insurance or the security that I'd be making a steady wage instead of an hourly one. This argument smacks of someone who hasn't ever had to work at starbucks outside of maybe a summer job. But somehow I should turn down or dismiss my midlevel acceptance offering 21 and medical/dental in a cheap area because it isn't an ivy an won't get me into an ivy...even though it has an 80% placement rate overall, better than what Harvard reports. And let's not go into the fact that you more essentially telling people if they can't get into a top tier school, they should work at Starbucks (the academic equivalent of "do you want to end up working a McDonald's" it seems)--a tragic message especially for people coming out of underprivileged backgrounds who want to go into academia.

You also seem to forget that some places are significantly cheaper than others to live in. Take UNC chapel hill- top 20, doesn't offer much of a stipend because NC is so cheap to live in. Guess someone should turn it downfor the $29 offered by NYU, even though 29 is still hardly enough to get you by in the city if you don't have a spouse!

This thread makes me glad I already had my BA completed before applying.

Accepted an offer from UVM. I didn't hear from SUNY-Buffalo or from UMN. No interview offer, no contact of any sort. Even if by some freak chance they do accept me, I don't care at this point. I like what I saw at UVM.

I interviewed at one program where they said that absolutely every single one of their graduate students was guaranteed funding by the department as a part of being admitted so you really do have to look at more than just what a single professor has for funding.

If I was in your shoes I'd go with UW. My understanding is that it's considered to be a good school and the emotional support from your wife (and you to her) will be extremely valuable for success.

This thread makes me glad I already had my BA completed before applying.

If I was in your shoes I'd go with UW. My understanding is that it's considered to be a good school and the emotional support from your wife (and you to her) will be extremely valuable for success.

I think if you are going to go by cost of living then OP should go with the University of Michigan. I've also only heard good things about Ann Arbor.