scarvesandcardigans

To scarvesandcardigan: thanks for the compliment about my ramblings. And, that was a good contribution. Conferences and the like, from what I have seen, are paid after the fact and only cover part of the costs. But it is part of the equation indeed. By the way, how is it going at Pennsylvania State? I hear it is a good place; the program has an excellent reputation/ranking, better than most. I considered it too, but I ended up not including it on my list for some reason. 

check out NC State's Masters-- fully funded (unlike many others) and great opportunities to work with big names in Socio like Walt Wolfram. (don't be dissuaded that it says MA in English, it's actually Linguistics) https://linguistics.chass.ncsu.edu/degrees/grad.php#maenglish

That's a major relief. Quiet and slightly outdated is the tagline of my life, so this seems to be perfect.
Thanks for the detailed response

And FHG as well... 
This varies a lot among graduate programs and universities. I checked that stuff earlier to see how much because I am aware that there are the "little surprises" that I have been mentioning here before. I was not aware of them until the fall. They include enormous differences in rent for apartments or student residences, taxes. And in one university they even take out Social Security taxes from one's stipend! So you guys have to figure out several things. Some state universities can come up with very different packages. In one PhD program/university, I was going to get almost $34,000. But I turned down their invitation. (It is not about money for me.) I got two offers as a Master's student: teaching one introductory language class (one section) per semester and $21,400 or so, plus the usual: tuition (but NO fees paid). Another offered me $17,000 or so to teach three sections of the intro course in the two semesters, plus a summer fellowship of $6,000, in both places as a Master's student. The fees not covered by the funding were about $700. One of the universities takes out Social Security and taxes from your stipend in every check or payment. The latter was unaceptable to me since I am an American and the law (IRS or "Hacienda federal) says https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/student-exception-to-fica-tax
Anyway, I ended up accepting the University of Colorado at Boulder which as always been my top choice. My second year as a Master's student they are nominating for a Graduate School fellowship additional to the teaching assistantship, they told me. After I finish the MA, there will be a very different funding package, I read in their literature. Yet, the fees not covered by the stipend are about $1,700. Taxes are applicable, but not the Social Security payments. I do not know about you guys since chances are that you are not Americans and the rules are different for you if so. You should call the International Students' Office and they can clarify details about your status and how it affects your actual, real stipend every month. Oh, and fellowships and teaching assistantships or research assistantships have different rules for taxes in most schools too. But do not forget those taxes (federal and state), about $3-4,000. 
After this subject, I need a drink! ?
 
 

Executive House is nice. Someone in my program lives there, and I've visited a number of times. The living space is pretty large and well laid-out. The person that I know has a deluxe (larger) 1BR and he has a large couch, chair, large television and coffee table in one part, and his L-shaped desk and bookshelf in another. The kitchen space is enough room for a dining table. The kitchen in his unit is somewhat outdated, as is the bathroom. Old tiling, older cabinets, etc, but the appliances seem new and they work well. There is a balcony and sliding door which is also a bonus. The hallways can be a little confusing to navigate and some of the stairwells are narrow, so keep that in mind when moving furniture in. There are elevators as well. It seems to be pretty quiet and is mostly rented by graduate and professionals, and all of the apartments on Waupelani are similar, so it's not a high-noise area. The CATA bus comes often and seems to be reliable. You can get a RidePass for $15/mo for unlimited rides based on the distance that Executive House is located from campus. It's a nice place for sure, electric is reasonable since it's only plugins (~$25 average/mo). You should be more than able to live comfortably with your lease and $30k.

OMG! 

This week has changed things...I'll be recommended for admission at Texas Tech and Urbana-Champaign...getting in off their wait list! 

Hola @senorbrightside, lo siento por los rechazos recientes...es una situación difícil pero parece que tu sueño por un programa (pos)graduado no se morirá tan fácilmente.
Quizás puedes solicitar todavía a University at Albany (aka SUNY Albany) en Nueva York. Completé mi BA/MA allá el semestre pasado y fui aceptada a Duke, entre otros programas doctorados, este ciclo. Aunque es bastante fácil ganar admisión al programa, las clases son rigurosas y los profesores trabajadores preparan muy bien a los estudiantes en el campo de literatura. La fecha límite para las solicitudes de MA/PhD (para ser considerado por un TAship) fue el 1 de marzo de 2018, pero conozco a la DGS, la Dra. Ilka Kressner, que es una persona amable. Siempre está buscando a más estudiantes de PhD, y si le mandas un correo a ella pronto, tal vez pudieras solicitar para ser considerado por un TAship. Perdona que llegué tarde a este forum y sólo te aviso ahorita, pero ¡todavía hay tiempo!
Generalmente, mis compañeros de clase de PhD en UA reciben un TAship de aproximadamente $15,000. Enseñan como dos clases por semestre. Aquí están los enlaces a los requisitos de la solicitud: https://www.albany.edu/graduate/spanish-phd-degree.php
https://www.albany.edu/graduatebulletin/spanish_phd_degree.htm
Como se ve, la fecha límite general es el 1 de agosto. Dado que todavía estamos en marzo, tal vez hay esperanza.
¡Muchísima suerte con todo!
 

I found this when I was looking into Rutgers' stipend info last year: https://uhr.rutgers.edu/policies-resources/salary-schedules/aaup-aft-faculty-salary-schedules/full-time-ta-and-ga-starting 
It's a bit outdated, but my offer was something close to $26,000 before taxes with annual increase across four years. I had the academic year appointment which was 9 months, I believe. When I asked the current students they said that they were earning something around $2,500 per month after taxes.

Although this has been mentioned in another thread, it was buried pretty deeply.  If you need a laugh, I present you: Lego Grad Student.  https://legogradstudent.tumblr.com/

 

I looked a little bit on craigslist, but (at least in my experience) a lot of it was people looking to sublet. I know that the State College website has its own listing service with a lot of apartment info from around town. If you want, PM me and I'll see if there's anything that I've looked into that might fit what you're looking for! (Note: I worked in real estate and just went through a search for my next apartment in State College so all of the information is pretty fresh ) 
About the buses, if you live outside of a 3/4 mile radius from one of the downtown bus stops, then you can get a discount pass from the university for $15/mo. The PSU ridepass webpage has a widget that determines if any address qualifies for the discount. Otherwise it's pretty expensive, like $80/mo. or $2 per ride (one way) if you don't have a pass. There are two campus shuttle services (Loop and Link) that are free for students to use to get around campus, but they don't go much outside of the campus area. Most times that I've ridden on the CATA, it has been fairly empty. There is an app that you can use to track its whereabouts, and the few times that I used it, it was fairly reliable. Hope that helps! 

I looked a little bit on craigslist, but (at least in my experience) a lot of it was people looking to sublet. I know that the State College website has its own listing service with a lot of apartment info from around town. If you want, PM me and I'll see if there's anything that I've looked into that might fit what you're looking for! (Note: I worked in real estate and just went through a search for my next apartment in State College so all of the information is pretty fresh ) 
About the buses, if you live outside of a 3/4 mile radius from one of the downtown bus stops, then you can get a discount pass from the university for $15/mo. The PSU ridepass webpage has a widget that determines if any address qualifies for the discount. Otherwise it's pretty expensive, like $80/mo. or $2 per ride (one way) if you don't have a pass. There are two campus shuttle services (Loop and Link) that are free for students to use to get around campus, but they don't go much outside of the campus area. Most times that I've ridden on the CATA, it has been fairly empty. There is an app that you can use to track its whereabouts, and the few times that I used it, it was fairly reliable. Hope that helps! 

A friend of mine is in this situation in her PhD, she took out a loan to cover some fees and then asked the department about applying for funding in the second year. Until then she is doing work outside of the degree program. It's totally doable, if that sheds a small bit of light on that scenario! Sending good thoughts your way.

Perfect! Thanks again

I think that this is a good amount to be able to live with in Raleigh. For more info on saving, I would be sure to ask if your program pays your university fees for you. They were around $1,100 per semester and I was required to pay them myself when I was there. These fees are used to pay for facilities that you can use for free (and incentive to use those things) such as the gym, Wolfline, etc. 

Don’t know if anyone has said this, but something that was extrememly helpful for me was a open relationship with the professor who I was a TA for. During my MA, the Professor made sure we were okay before anything. If we needed to get research done or had a major assignment to do, he knew about it and gave support when necessary. We still did our responsibilities for his class, but knowing his support was a major help in the process. 
 

Assuming both programs are equal (i.e. you think you could be happy and get a good education in both places), I would take the funded offer. Balancing full time work with the program would really put you at a disadvantage if you're going to apply to PhD programs after the MA. You wouldn't have anywhere near as much time to read or write. If you're not planning on pursuing the PhD, then I suppose that's not an issue. Even if the stipend is on the lower end, it frees you from having to work. Your time will 100% be your own to focus on your academic career.

My partner and I have both been accepted at two of the schools we applied to together! Which means now we will be able to make a decision rather than just going to wherever we were both accepted. Also at one of our schools we've each received higher paying fellowships! Now here's to hoping our visits will help us in our decision process.

Lots of good programs here! I did my MA in Hispanic Linguistics at NC State. And the program at Indiana is really great as well! 
And a quick word of encouragement for everyone - keep hanging in there! Sending good thoughts to everyone applying!

I agree with all of these except Maluma, but only because I haven't listened enough to have a good opinion, but like, everything else is spot on for me

@Everyone  Well, apparently my Penn State interview didn't go terribly after all. They just offered me admission with full funding. Am I dreaming?

Just got an email telling me that my first paper is officially published-ahead-of-print on the journal's website!!!! 

Hi friends! My partner has decided to move to State College in the fall and I am sticking my feelers out there for any potential leads for jobs. I can talk more privately about his skills but essentially he has multiple years of experience in home repair and construction, primarily, among other things. He's also looking to enroll again in school so anything part time or with flexible hours as well. Maybe not the best place to look but I'm putting it out there just in case. If anyone has any info please let me know! 

You're welcome! Unfortunately I don't know too much about Lion's Gate and I don't think I have any friends who live/have lived there. I can say that Vairo Village, from what I've heard from students who lived there, is pretty nice, and it is certainly a pretty popular place to live for graduate students or people who just want to live farther away from campus and the chaos of downtown. It's accessible via the Cata bus service as well if you don't have a car/would prefer not to drive every day.
The apartment I lived in for 2 years was originally managed by the Apartment Store but transferred to management under ARPM halfway through my first year living there. I was not a big fan of ARPM because I felt the previous property managers were much nicer and MUCH more prompt when it came to maintenance issues. However, ARPM was certainly not terrible, and I actually lived next door to their main office in Beaver Terrace, so when I really needed something I just walked over and asked and they would handle it very quickly. Also, they have a more convenient process of handling security deposits, etc., which can make things much easier if you have roommates and/or if your roommates change year to year.

Hey Everyone,
I just finished undergrad at Penn State and know State College extremely well, and had friends that lived all over the area, and I myself lived downtown 2 out of my 4 years there. If any of you have specific questions about anywhere you're considering checking out or just about what PSU life is like in general, feel free to ask on here or message me!
Just as a general comment: most of the graduate students I am friends with at Penn State live farther off campus and have a car, or just take the bus in during the week. The farther off campus you go, the nicer the apartment, generally speaking. To be honest, I would suggest that you avoid living right down town near campus, as that is where all of the undergraduate students live, and Beaver Ave. and College Ave. tend to be fairly crazy places most nights of the week, and are basically insane on weekends (i.e. if you are not interested in hearing people screaming all night Thurs.-Sun. in your building and in the streets and finding half-eaten slices of pizza and other gross things in your stairwells and hallways, avoid the close to campus living options).
The absolute nicest off campus living area in my experience is The Retreat, but it's also more expensive than other options--the apartments there resemble town houses, most allow pets, you'll likely get your own room, there's a pool, little backyards, and things that you just would not otherwise have closer to campus. Park Forest is also a really nice area with townhouse-like apartments.
Another apartment option that is slightly closer and likely more affordable would be University Terrace. It's pretty far east from campus, but if you don't mind the walk it's not terrible, and you can certainly take a bus if you need to. A lot of undergraduates live out there, but I think it's at least slightly more tame than living in the middle of downtown. There are lots of houses on West College Ave., and if you can find a solid group of roommates to live with, that could be a decent option too. White Course Apartments is Penn State's "graduate and family housing" option, but I don't know much about it and never went there.

Well, I was pretty set on choosing between MA programs but I just an acceptance from UVA!