[Question about taxes]

Very helpful, thanks!

[Question about taxes]

No this sounds right! Taxes are supposed to be paid according to how much you make, and no disrespect, but $19,000 is not that much to live on, so the government better be taxing you less!

 

Don't forget that if you keep receipts for mandatory educational expenses (e.g. textbooks) then you can also claim them as deductions too.

 

 

 

Sorry to hear that I'm a Canadian citizen and a US non-resident, so I pay American taxes only on US income but Canadian taxes on all my worldwide income. However, graduate student income is not taxable in Canada (TA and RA ships are considered employment, not student income so they are taxable; however, since I get that letter from my school saying no services are performed, all of my US income is non-taxable in Canada!)

So if I receive part of my funding as TA in California, I would be taxed on that in both the US and Canada?

[declining an offer reaction]

It sounds to me like he's a jerk and you did nothing wrong, and probably dodged a bullet as atlremix said. Don't sweat it.

[A Rock and a Hard Place]

I think everyone here is in agreement that it would be best to stay at your undergrad institution. One of the most interesting pieces of advice that I ever received was to go with the institution that can offer you the best financial aid package. Anything that you can do to avoid student loan debt, in my opinion, is the best thing that you can do. 

 

If you also have the opportunity to assist in the initial development of the research center, then that will be an incredibly beneficial addition to your future applications and maybe even a great learning experience. Previous posters have given some excellent advice. Good luck!

I agree with the second point, but not the first. I think financial aid should be a minimum requirement check box: if it's enough to live on (to whatever standard you are comfortable with), that should be enough. Beyond that I don't think it should be the deciding factor.

[Funded master's in math/stats?]

I didn't look into Masters programs in the US, so I don't know much about it, sorry. I know some people do get funding, but it's not the norm, and I don't think there's many schools that guarantee it for Masters programs.

[Short term happiness vs. long term career]

This is a very personal decision. It depends on how much you don't want to live in Davis. Why are you against spending your 20s there? Would you be seriously unhappy there, or maybe just a little bored?

 

I really think UC Davis looks better if you want an academic job. If nearly everyone gets TT, that's huge! But if you are going to be horribly miserable in Davis, your work will suffer and perhaps you wouldn't finish, so you have to consider that.

[Funded master's in math/stats?]

Are you willing to go outside the US? (I'm just assuming that's where you are.) Most research based Masters programs in Canada (which includes all math and stats programs I believe) offer funding, although it is not always guaranteed for everyone. In practice, I think most people get funded.

[Negotiating Funding Without Other Offers as Leverage]

Even without other offers, funding can still be the difference between attending or not. If this is honestly the case, I would explain it to them. Don't lie that you have other offers, but if you can truthfully say that you can't attend without better funding, it is appropriate to discuss this. Good luck!

[Pressure to decide?]

I far as I know, you are allowed to wait until April 15 to give your final decision. It is natural that institutions pressure candidates to decide (I am on the same boat), but I do not believe is legal to revoke the terms of an acceptance to pressure a decision prior to the legal date. 

I don't think there's any question of legality here... they can do what they want. The program may not have even signed on to the April 15 resolution.

 

This is a hard situation. I suggest being honest about the situation with your PI so he doesn't have false hopes or anything like that. But don't burn bridges either, as you may not get that waitlist offer.

[A Rock and a Hard Place]

I think you should stay and do the Masters at your current institution. It sounds like it would really bolster your application and you would learn a lot that is relevant to your interests. It doesn't seem worth taking on tons of debt just because you don't feel like applying for PhD programs again! I get that feeling, but in this case I don't think it's a good reason.

 

I am not convinced that a mediocre school really holds you back in PhD applications, either. I think my school is ranked below 200 in my field (in international rankings, it is not a US institution. It's one of the better schools in my country, but nowhere near the best.), and I got accepted with funding to 3/5 of the PhD programs I applied to, all ranked top 30 internationally. If you have research experiences, good preparation and numbers (GPA and subject GRE if applicable), good SOP, and good LORs, I think you can stand out more than somebody who went to a top school without such things. If you get several publications, that would definitely stand out. I can't see how you'd be in a worse situation for your second round of PhD applications, and you'd be debt free still!

[Rejecting Offers?]

I think you should just tell them you will not be accepting their offer. If they want more information they'll ask. Don't say bad things about their program/offer unprompted!

[Still haven't heard anything from any of the 4 schools I applied to..]

I would send a brief inquiry to all of them. I hope you get good news.

[CGS-M 2015-2016]

I have nothing new on my NSERC page. But the April 1 release date is uniform, so we'll all hear then.

[Academic Amnesty-vs-Transferring during undergrad: how does each affect graduate school admission?]

I don't think online programs are viewed well for grad school applications.

 

If you did transfer, you would have to submit all transcripts (in most cases), so they would see your old grades. I think, given that it's long enough ago, they probably wouldn't care that much provided you do well this time around.

[Application Fees]

Many schools have application fee waiver programs. Have you looked into whether or not you qualify?

[exploring options]

What's your undergrad major? What areas interest you? What countries are you willing to study in? You seriously have to narrow this down.

[Question to PhD students: grants/scholarships during PhD?]

Yes, there are external funding options you can likely apply for, depending on your citizenship status (and even if you are international, there may be some in your home country that you can take to another country). Whether or not you get to keep it on top of an RA or TA depends on your program. I think it usually is in place of a TA/RA, or the department tops it up, as TakeruK described.

 

There are also fellowships and internal scholarships available in many departments. You should look into/ask about that, and whether it tops up an RA/TA or replaces it. You could also ask students at the program you're considering how they make a bit of extra money, if necessary.

 

People get funding besides TA/RA all the time. Internal fellowships are not uncommon, and there's also external funding.

[Question to PhD students: grants/scholarships during PhD?]

I've not started yet, but one program I'm considering actually lets you have both the TA income and the external funding. Most people would instead choose to reduce their TA load, though.

 

Whether it'll get you more money or not, it's a good idea to apply. It will help you in your job search if you can show that you have these awards.

[lesser-known, highly ranked school or nearly-ivy league, unranked school?]

Definitely go with the program higher ranked in your field. Your parents probably just think the other school is better based on the name, which is not a good reason to choose a program. My parents were similarly telling me to choose the Ivy school I got into until I explained to them why it was not the best choice.

[From Undergrad to Graduate School-What are your reasons?]

I love mathematical research, and there's no way I could do anything like it without continuing further. Taking time off to work or something like that would have no benefits for what I want to do, so there was no reason to wait.

[Decent Paid PhD vs. Awesome Unpaid Masters ? ? ?]

Sorry for the mix up. I don't think $100k+ of debt is a good idea when the job prospects are so risky. But, I think going to OU will not get you the career you want. If it were me, I would probably take a year off, improve my application, and apply again next year. If you do want to do a Masters, I would consider looking at Canadian schools where you might be able to get funded.

[Receive an offer if you were on the waitlist?]

You shouldn't think of it as not being wanted - there are many many more applicants than there are spots. Even being waitlisted means you are on the top of the pile - they want you, they just don't have space. Yes, you are not their absolute first pick, but they still want you.

[Decent Paid PhD vs. Awesome Unpaid Masters ? ? ?]

What is your career goal? I don't think $100k+ debt is a good idea, but whether or not even accepting the OSU offer is better than reapplying next year depends on what you want to do.

[Strategic LoR Planning]

You have to be careful about how you go about this. Some people may take offense if you tell them what to write about, especially if you phrase it wrong. If you try fishing by asking what they intend to talk about, some might get offended because a LoR is meant to be confidential and not viewed by you. It depends on your recommenders and your relationship with them. I don't think anyone would take it badly if you say something like "I'm worried about <flaw in application>, do you think you could address that?" But saying "I need you to write that my GRE is not indicative of my capabilities." might be too assertive.

 

Regarding SoPs, all my recommenders asked for a copy so that they could complement what was there. I have no idea to what extent my letters overlapped in content, though. I think three entirely different letters could be bad, e.g. if only one person mentions your aptitude in some area, they might not take it as seriously as if all three say you are great at that. You also don't know how each of your professors would be viewed by the people on the committee - there may be a personal connection so that person's letter may resonate more. Ultimately, I don't think there is too much strategizing necessary, because you can't know how the committee will view these things. Pick the right professors, provide them with your application packet, and trust them. There's exceptions for unusual circumstances (e.g. switching fields) or if you have a major flaw in your application that you'd like them to address, though.

[Top 10 school w/o funding vs. top 20 w/ funding]

This is actually a situation where it seems to me that it might be better to take the unfunded offer. It's a difference of about $30k, right? If you can actually afford it, and if American will give you significantly better job prospects (I can only assume this, I don't know your field), then it seems like it would balance out pretty quickly. The cost of living would also be higher than Syracuse, though.