echoism

Sorry this is a little late, but I'm currently a Second Language Studies (basically Applied Linguistics) student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Funding is very competitive here and not very abundant because of statewide financial problems. I was lucky enough to get some funding from another department, which is always an option. I also applied to UPenn's MA TESOL (not exactly what you're looking for, but similar) and received funding there, but it was a more expensive private school and funding didn't quite cover a lot of costs. I would also say, MA students tend to get less funding than PhD students, unfortunately.

I would say University of Hawaii @ Manoa over Hawaii Pacific, but both are good. (I applied to both) I also looked at UPenn, York, Penn State University, University of Pittsburgh, Portland State University, Columbia, Albany, and Utah.

The longest media mail has taken for me is maybe 2 weeks, but it's usually faster. Same for parcel post. Media mail is strictly for media - books, CDs, DVDs, etc. If you put anything else in there it would be considered parcel post (which would almost double the price).

Books you can ship by media mail. Takes a bit longer but it's really cheap. I'm moving Pennsylvania to Hawaii and shipping parcel post is still only about $1 per pound. Again, slow, but cheap. It might be cheaper for a shorter distance.

I don't know of too many pet-friendly apartment complexes. I only know of one off the top of my head. If you live in a townhouse/house, you're usually pretty free to have whatever pets you want, though.

Utilities depend on the apartment complex. Some are included, some only include some, and some are separate. For houses it's generally separate. Utilities are pretty cheap here, though. There's no place that's really bad enough that I'd say to avoid, it just depends on how much noise or how long of a commute you can tolerate. As far as I know, grad students are mixed up with the undergrads unless they have families, then they tend to live in some of the newer, bigger apartments farther away from campus. Graduate students here tend to live in studio apartments more, though. I'd say try Facebook, kentwired.com (the school paper's classified), kentapartments.com (management company) and Craigslist for listings.

Kent is basically a small college town, so there's lots of housing available. You can get apartments through the school but they're a little expensive. There's a wide variety of houses and apartments available within walking distance of campus, and many more outside. They're generally very cheap. My rent is currently $375/month. Studios will probably cost you ~$600, with a roommate ~$300 - $400, and with a house share, you can get as low as $200/month. I'm finishing my undergrad at Kent this semester, feel free to ask anything.

Hi, first post.. I was accepted to the Second Language Studies program, but without a lot of funding: $3500/semester tuition scholarship. GA-ships aren't typically given to first semester students so I'm kinda of really hoping I can get one. Is it fairly easy to find part-time jobs in the area that would at least cover the cost of rent while I go to school part-time until I get some more substantial funding? Taking out loans isn't a huge issue for me, but I'd like to keep the amount fairly low..