Tritonetelephone

I made a spreadsheet to answer this question for my schools, using the COL index from http://realestate.yahoo.com/neighborhoods. A value of 100 for the COL index is the national average, and 110 would be 10% more expensive, etc. I used the following formula: [Total Funding Offer] * 100 / [COL index]. So, for example, Stony Brook has a COL index of 147. So $29,000*100/147 = $19,727.89 Champaign, IL has a COL of 87. $18,000*100/87 = $20,689.65 The COL is going to vary depending on where you actually live, but those are pretty close to equal. It's also important to consider how much you'll be responsible for in fees and insurance, etc. I subtracted that from the funding offer before calculating that formula for my spreadsheet. The problem with a COL index, though, is that its heavily influenced by mortgage rates and house prices and things that aren't going to affect a grad student. So, I also looked at the average apt and energy costs in the area from bankrate's COL calculator, as well as what I thought I might actually end up paying for housing based on what current grad students pay. I then divided the funding offer by 12 and subtracted those potential housing figures to understand how much I would make in-pocket each month. These aren't perfect figures but it should give you an idea of the kind of differences you're looking for.

I work for a grad department's budget office, and travel takes a looong time to process. I don't think it would be unfair to ask them for a timeline of when your reimbursement might be processed, but do your best to acknowledge that its a lengthy, bureaucratic process. Once the department does its paperwork, there is nothing they can do to speed it up.

I would contact Maryland and ask when they would expect you to register if you accept their offer. They can't ask you to make a decision before April 15th, so I definitely wouldn't register until you know where you're going. My guess is that registration begins 3/31 but ends after the 15th. Alot of schools also have different periods for early registration, regular registration, and late registration.

The letter said they weren't able to offer it to anybody. I haven't contacted them yet, I'm not sure what I'll say... I really wanted to go there too but there's just no way w/o funding. My understanding is A) they over-enrolled last year and had to give more funding than they expected (everyone that was accepted said yes), and the state of NY is doing terrible things to school budgets. What I don't understand is: why shrink their incoming cohort size if they weren't going to offer anyone funding anyway??

pro: they might be more motivated to improve their department and tailor it to grads' needs. con: since faculty haven't yet finished their own goals, may be more likely to use grads as peons for their own research or to advance their own career.

I had an idea to rank which factors we each consider most important when choosing where to go. I'll try get the ball rolling, but I haven't done much research on this stuff yet and still have no idea where I want to go... Funding (relative to COL) Supportive Environment Rank (field and subfield) Current faculty/dept research projects Attitude of current grads General "impression" during visit Publishing Opportunities Weather/Location Teaching Opportunities Qualifying Exams (how many, structure, etc.) Time to graduate Courses offered Department/University Size How about you guys? Be sure to include any I may have forgotten!

One of my prospective schools does annual evaluations of their grad students, which the student gets to read with their advisor. I think that's a really good system - much more meaningful feedback than a letter grade (which they also do). (And no, I've never heard of a graduate program that curves the grades.)

I don't know about UC specifically, but it sounds reasonable that they would have trouble paying out of state waivers. I learned that a lot of schools push you to become a resident ASAP so that you'll be cheaper to fund. But the one person I know who got into a UC school was from out of state.

I have no idea, as of right now. I'll let them know as soon as I make a decision... but it might come down to the wire. UMass's visiting day isn't for another 2 weeks or so. I might need to ask you guys (gradcafe-ers) for help once I have more info and still can't make up my mind.

I don't have an opinion, but I did want to say that you should take your time to decide. It's really considerate of you to want to let waitlisted people in ASAP (makes me feel bad that I might not be giving you the same courtesy ), but you have every right to gather as much information as possible and be absolutely sure about your decision before declaring it. If that happens to be before April 15th, all the better.

I haven't asked yet, but I sincerely doubt it. I was thinking of stopping by on my way home from UMass, if I go. My dad might cover the cost.

Does anyone think it would be worthwhile to visit SBU (just to see the place and meet Kimmel), even if it's extraordinarily unlikely that I'll enroll w/o funding?

If that were the case, then I would seriously want my money back. :evil: I emailed them on Thursday to ask about my status and they haven't emailed back yet. Still no letter at Mom's, either.

Dude, you need an option for "I would never do it."

I would check back with the school. Everything you described is very common, except that there is almost always a coursework prerequisite to taking the qual's. In one soc department I visited, for example, you have to pass two qualifying exams. Before taking each, you need to take 3 courses in a particular concentration. That school also gives you a committee of three faculty members to help you prepare for the quals (which I think is less common), and each exam is 3 "essay" questions with a time limit of 6 hours total. These are good things to find out about when you visit!

I know this has been talked about in further detail on another thread (maybe in the "applications" forum), but I filled it out hoping that they would notice that I had researched my schools enough where they would probably predict the same schools as a match to my interests. I wouldn't mind if they also noticed that I had picked a wide range of rankings, too. My only worry was that the amount of schools I applied to (10) might make them think that I'll probably be OK if they don't make me an offer. The field space was so small, I had to be creative with my abbreviations.

Thank you for sharing, social psych! I guess I hadn't thought of that - I didn't really apply to any "School X"s, I guess. I, too, have been asked about where else I've applied/been accepted by a lot of people at my visits (my original hesitation for this thread had to do with it being in an email instead). My routine has become to start by saying that I only applied to schools that I would seriously consider attending (true) and that I do not have a top choice (true) and that my final decision will likely come down to who can offer me the best financial package (...kind of true). But that I really like this and this about their school, blah blah blah...

I'm visiting there in April, but you might want to check out the City Guide forum: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=330

Update: I just got an email from USC, asking if I'm still interested. Said they might be able to make an offer by April 1st or so. Is anyone here admitted? I said that I would be, as long as I could visit before April 15th, and they said they would fund the travel. Meanwhile, UCSD still sucks for not giving me any word. Waitlist for sure.

Right! I remember thinking that XYU probably wouldn't do the same. So just the fact that he was honest like that and wanting me to do what was best for me is what made them better than XYU in my eyes.

Yeah, I think you're right. At the end of one of my visits, a prof told us to call him and he'd "tell you why all the other schools that accepted you suck." Another prof perked up when I mentioned that I'd applied to XYU and said, "XYU?? That place is amazing!" and went on a long rant about why that place might be better for my career. That was a fun visit.

They've probably just been getting emails from a lot of impatient applicants, asking when decisions will be made. They're just throwing you guys a bone. I would appreciate it if my schools did the same.

Thanks, all. I sent them an email with the info this morning.

I see. I would just keep in mind that your experiences so far have been very limited to the administrative side of the school. The academic people who you'll be working with everyday are in a totally different world.

I wouldn't have applied to a school that might do that in the first place. I would hold out. Keep in mind though that in my discipline, there are plenty of programs that fund all admitted students.