sparrow1

So, I'm going to post because this is a very relevant topic for me at the moment. I notice that most of these replies seem to be concerned with getting a dog while in grad school. I'm in a slightly different situation as I already have a dog, and am trying to decide whether I should bring them with me to grad school. Actually, I technically have two, but I'll explain. My older dog, "I" adopted in 2006, she is now 8 years old. I say "I" because I was the one who pushed it forward, but I was only 15 and so my dad is actually her legal adopter. My younger dog I adopted in 2009, she is now 5, and since I was 18 she is legally mine. They are really family dogs but because of the circumstances of getting them, anyone in my family will say they are "my" dogs, and so the decision-making here is ultimately up to me. I started my undergrad in 2011, and left them at my dad's since I knew it would be very hard to handle being a dog owner and school at the time. I realized going through school that it actually would have been possible to have a dog, but it would have made things a lot more difficult as it is nearly impossible to find an apartment allowing two 50 & 80lb dogs in my undergrad college town. It would have been very nice for sure, since I know that during my school years my clinical depression got a lot worse, and no doubt a lot of that has been helped by my dogs over the years--they are much better than any Prozac, that's for sure! Now that I'm graduating, and starting grad school in Los Angeles in the fall, I am seriously considering bringing one of my two dogs, and I'm wondering if people can offer any insight to that. Asking my family hasn't been much help because they just say to do whatever I want and they kind of suck at being objective about it. I know that I can't bring both dogs, because I am from Michigan and moving to California. I 100% refuse to ship any animal, let alone my dog, in cargo on a plane, and both dogs simply will not fit in the car for the drive (I am driving anyway). Bringing just one will also make it easier to find a dog-friendly apartment (which are much more common in L.A. than my undergrad college town). My grad school is also dog-friendly, which is great because she will be able to come with me while I'm working at school (just not during class), but they have a policy that one student cannot supervise more than one dog in the building at any time. The other dog would stay with my dad and his cat, and my younger brother still lives at home so she will still have company and care. The dog I bring will only be alone during classes (max 6 hours/day twice a week, most days only 4 hours), and will be able to come with me pretty much everywhere else. I am a much more involved pet owner than my family members, and I spend a lot more of my free time playing or walking the dogs when I am home, so even though she'd be completely alone for that time (something she's not really used to because my other dog has always been there) she would get a lot more exercise that she hasn't gotten regularly since I went away to school. There are a bunch of dog parks in the area where we could walk to in L.A., and one literally across the street from my school building--so we could hop over there like if I had readings to do or whatever, it's so close the wi-fi works there too so I could even bring my laptop! Those all seem like positives to me, but the negatives are there as well. Obviously, the dogs will be split up. I am considering bringing the younger dog, since that seems to be the most logical way to do it (given that legally I am responsible for her). I love both dogs equally, so there's no simply picking my favorite one, but the younger one is also more friendly/accepting of strangers, which will make taking her to school much more pleasant. With the older one I'd have to be concerned about her growling at people if they approach in a way she doesn't like, which is less than ideal. Obviously, my family will miss whoever I take, and I will miss whoever I leave, but I've already been missing them both for the last 3 years, and it seems like a better option for both of us to have someone to love! Being split up is a negative though since they are definitely buddies, and they do play when the older one actually feels like it. However, as I said my dad has a cat, and they both hang with the cat sometimes too, so whoever stays will still have that companionship. My sister is going away to her undergrad this year, but my brother will most likely be living at home for at least 2 more years, up to 3-4 (and my degree is a 2 year degree). It's incredibly sad and bleak to think about, but at that point the older dog will be 10+, and she's larger sized (border collie/lab) so it's possible she might be near the end of her lifespan at that point. I only say that because it's possible we will not have to worry about what to do with her once my brother moves out (my dad works long hours so if she's still around and healthy, I'll probably end up bringing her to wherever I'm living at that point). Basically, either I leave both dogs, or bring one--it will really be impossible to take both. :/ Anyway, that ended up being really long so thanks to anyone that actually reads it. If you have any thoughts that might help me decide what to do I would really appreciate it!

I did my undergrad (B.S. Arch) at Taubman and was just accepted to their M.Arch II program. If I had done my undergrad anywhere else, there is no question I would here for grad school. They are a fantastic school, I just feel that I have learned so much here that I would like to get some more perspective from another school. Their facilities are almost unrivaled (especially by Columbia), and they have a great Urban Planning department as well. Forget the Ivy League crap. We are not business majors, and an Ivy education does not mean nearly as much as it would if we were. What matters is design faculty and fabrication/research facilities. While I'm sure both schools have great faculty, Columbia does not even come close to Taubman's fabrication/research capabilities. I would choose Taubman. Especially if they're giving you money. While you're right, it is nothing like NYC, but Ann Arbor is a great place to live as well.