engguy

You have plenty of time to do some research on this yourself, which is best done by contacting the admissions office of the programs you're interested in and asking them directly what typical funding packages look like -- some will be reluctant to give too many details, but all should provide a general outline. Usually the impact is not so much on how much schools are giving, but how many spots they're giving funding to. That means, obviously, competition for those spots is keen -- even at state schools. It might also affect how many years of funding are offered. You might also look at smaller, private programs which tend to offer an excellent education and generous funding. Try to find a range of privates, state schools, and upper-tier programs to cover all your bases. I wouldn't rule out state programs just because of the economy; it's been suggested they might wind up better off in the long run, since they are publicly funded, bring in research dollars, and are not reliant on endowments as much. (As you yourself note, NYU is sort of known for being stingy...) best of luck.

Wait a minute -- if you're unfunded, what exactly are you worried about? Either you're funded or you're not. As the previous poster said, guaranteed funding is just that. Granted, things could change -- there's always that clause about "availability of funds" in most contracts -- but things would have to get pretty dire indeed for schools to renege on them completely. Again though, if you're not funded, I don't see what you're asking here. SUNY is a state school -- all state schools are in trouble right now, some more than others (see: California). There are about six SUNY schools -- which are you talking about? If you're already at one, you will get far better and more accurate information asking around your dept. than looking for answers here.

the best thing for all you cold-feeters to do is suck it up, take a deep breath, log off the computer (at least gradcafe) for a good week or two, and just deal with it. the feelings of remorse over your decision may never go away entirely, but they will lessen over time. soon enough, you'll be so busy that you won't have time to think about it. and for liszt specifically -- i've sort of followed your decision process here and am familiar with your reasons -- you've got to let it go, man. first off, osu is not such a far cut below nu that it's really going to make a difference in the long run; certainly not in your field. you went for the security and the choice for your whole family and while one might argue with the long vs. short-term benefits of that, it is what it is. move on. if it's any consolation, i chose a lesser-ranked prog. last year for similar reasons and have been absolutely wracked with doubt ever since in many ways -- went through all the stages everyone here is talking about. wished i'd had more time, wished i'd thought about it more, wished i could go back and do it over again. but as spring draws to a close, there are many things i'm doing here, now, that i know i wouldn't have been able to do at the other program. also, after many hardships and trials, my SO actually did manage to get into a nearby program, which would never have been possible if we'd stayed where we were. so it seems to have all worked out. trust me, once you stop torturing yourself, you'll feel the same.

And then you can look like a total idiot when someone who has read lacan asks you what the hell you mean. Sorry, just wanted to finish that thought. Anyway, all this is good advice, the only thing I would add is that you should try to be productive, but don't try to do too much. you will only get frustrated and never get to it all, and summers and breaks are really your only chance to relax and recharge a bit to avoid getting burned out. you'll be at this a long time, so that's essential. counting my masters time, this will be my fourth summer of grad school, and i've yet to really strike the right balance. i'm hoping to do some language study, but otherwise i'm not promising to read 20 books or write half my dissertation... i will relax and enjoy.

sorry if i offended you. lack of capitalization is an expediency, lack of subject-verb agreement and missing plurals is a sign of someone with weak grammar skills. there's a difference. i asked if the OP was international because those students often have a very difficult time with the verbal section of the GRE -- obviously this is not meant as a statement on the person's intelligence. if such is the case, an entirely different tutorial track might be necessary and the expectations on the part of the reviewing committee might differ as well.

your verbal score on GRE is awful and, judging by the writing in your post, your english skills don't appear terribly polished. are you an international student? at any rate, the combined score falls below 1200 and that may be holding you back. ordinarily i wouldn't recommend retaking the GRE, but in your case, i might. and i might also try some tutoring at your current program's writing center to get those english and writing skills on track. while you appear to be headed towards the sciences, those skills are still essential, and regardless of your GPA and other credentials, a PhD program will expect you to have them.

wow... I came across this thread on a bored and procrastinating sunday afternoon and felt compelled to comment. First, the idea that one subpar letter -- which you haven't even actually seen -- could make or break your chances strikes me as one of those all-too-familiar rationalizations that keep cropping up for why someone hasn't gotten in. The bottom line is your app. wasn't good enough, but you need to look around and blame anyone but yourself (and there may be a reason someone wrote you a less-than-stellar rec letter!). Letters are important, sure, but not the most important thing in your package -- and I would venture to guess that any adcom knows that you are likely to have at least one writer who is not as enthusiastic / knowledgeable about you as a scholar among the three. Logic dictates that this will be the case -- in the course of your career as an undergrad or even MA student, you are unlikely to find three mentors who are all highly enthusiastic about you and so on top of it that they put tons of effort into dotting all the i's in their letters of rec. Second, and more importantly, there's this thing called trust. When I was applying to MA programs after a looong time out of the game, I had only one potential writer remaining from my undergrad days. Aside from that, I was lucky to find three or four others in the field willing to write for me, but ended up deciding whom to choose based on trust. Who did I trust to write me an unabashedly enthusiastic letter? I ended up going with some who were lesser known than others because of this, but it worked out fine. One of them, incidentally, insisted that I not read her letter, for precisely the reasons others have raised above. She'd had too many students who wound up not getting accepted come back and complain to her about her letters. Obviously, this trust goes both ways -- they trust you to not read their letters and not blame them for why you didn't get in, and you need to trust that the person will write you a reasonably strong letter. If there's any doubt about this, don't ask. Look, the process is painful and degrading enough as it is. Don't make it sleazy as well.

Definitely expand. Go for fit over rankings. For what it's worth, I turned down a top-20 offer last year for a lesser-ranked prog. -- for fit. Will I have a hard time finding a job? Who knows? Not worth worrying about for now. Not necessarily. Didn't make a single contact at any of my schools and went 5/8. This is not to say you shouldn't be as familiar as possible with faculty you might want to work with. This raises a red flag to me. Theory is catnip to adcoms (see the judith butler thread!). I would try to read a few books and/or take another course and work some into your samples. Another flag... Sample and SOP are absolutely paramount, I believe. I would be as specific as possible without narrowing your focus so much that it sounds too narrow. Popular, sure, but every field is tremendously competitive. Certainly wouldn't keep you out. Sure it's a plus -- but most incoming Phds don't have teaching experience. Not a big deal. All your GRE stuff looks fine. I did 5.0 on the writing. I would think unless you really bomb the writing part, it's meaningless, as they have your sample; your verbal is well above whatever cut-off they might have. Good luck!

i want to remind everyone, if no one has already, to save all your receipts if you're moving a considerable distance for school and you have a TA position (in other words, you are "moving for work). i got reamed last summer by outrageous gas prices for my rental truck, managed to claim it all on this year's taxes and saved a bundle. it's a simple form and does not count as an itemized deduction.

I nominate: Any city in which the program has offered you a great funding package and really seems to want you. Trust me, you will learn to love it there. And I agree with the above: anyone who disses the Midwest is a shallow individual who gets "bored" with real people, seasons, apple orchards, rivers, and great architecture from the turn of the century. And probably drowns kittens to boot. (Thus ends my Bull Durham-like speech.)

couldn't hurt to tell them. might help to put some meat on the bones of your query. but only if they ask.

I would agree with the jabberwocky on this one. It's remarkable to me that, in this economic climate, people are seriously considering unfunded MA offers over funded PhD spots -- especially in the humanities! I suppose I could see it if you had an offer from an ivy and your phd offer was from a really subpar program, but come on! I don't know a whole lot about Dartmouth, but in my mind there's not a lot of difference btwn these programs in terms of reputation. I had a professor who went to Brown as an undergrad and did his PhD in complit at Purdue -- turned out fine. To me this is kind of a no-brainer.

grow a spine, stand up to your boss, tell school B you've made a mistake and accept at school a. don't look back. i don't know what your field is, but i've yet to hear of one where one person holds the sole power over whether or not you'll ever find work in that field. it may seem that way now, but unless we're talking about dr. frankenstein here and you're in geneva circa 1812, you will find a way to make a path for yourself. this is a choice that goes beyond the next four years -- it seems to have to do with standing up for yourself and grabbing what you really want. in other words, it's about character. so go for it, i say.

Well, to put things in a different light, think about how you will feel down the road if you allow what you perceive to be your SO's / parents' wishes to influence your decision. Will you be resentful? Will you be consumed with wondering what might have been had you chosen based on your own instincts and desires? Your SO and, to an even greater extent, your parents, are not going to be with you in the classroom or later when you move towards your dissertation and job search. Therefore, as much as you can, it's important to set all that aside and go with what works for you. Obviously, those relationships and logistics must factor in as well, but not out of guilt or fear. Good luck!

Well, obviously the first thing is to get all the facts and figures in front of you. Make a list that doesn't take into account the added weight of your SO and compare the two. Last year, I had a chance to stay closer to home, where my SO had a great job; my SO told me to make the decision as if it were mine alone, since it was ultimately my degree we were talking about, and we would make it work somehow. We ended up moving across country, and it's been terribly difficult -- giving up a good job and local connections in this economy is certainly not ideal, especially if you don't have to. That doesn't mean I regret my decision -- it's just been, as I say, very hard, moreso at times when I think back on what could have been. I think it's especially important that you try your best to make this decision without letting the fact of your SO make it for you -- you've moved once for this person, after all.