breakfast

Are you planning on owning a car? If so, I can recommend some really great places in Central Phoenix. I was a commuter student, so I didn't spend a whole lot of time in Tempe, but I still know of a few veg. friendly food joints in the east valley. I should be able to get a nice list together in a few days. I have to finish up some work I'm doing in the next day or two, but after that I will have time to throw something together. It won't be any trouble - I love recommending locally owned places for people to check out. Oh, and Hairold is right. There are some really nice homes in the Maple Ash district. You still get a few large undergrad infested homes in the neighborhood, but the police are pretty good about shutting down any really loud parties. If you're looking for a more quiet atmosphere, I'd focus your search on that area.

I agree with the last two posts here. I was originally nervous about my abilities before starting courses, but after talking to a current grad student in the department I will be going to, I'm more relaxed about the whole thing. They told me that no matter how much reading I do ahead of time or no matter how much I think I can prepare myself, I am still going to feel overwhelmed, frightened, and under-prepared my first semester/year, so I might as well spend my summer doing my own thing and not think about school all that much.

I think it's mostly because Harvard and Berkeley don't have friends working in the same sub-field, they don't publish articles or books, and they can't write you great letters of recommendation. I've never heard of a hiring committee that didn't include at least one person who knows even a little about the sub-field being hired for, but then I only really know of the hiring committees at my large undergrad department.

I'm sure your adviser, depending on how close a role they intend to play in your course decisions, will have something to say about it. Also, if you have any TA or RAships, you might have to take a certain amount to meet requirements in the TA or RA contract. At the department I am going to, a full-time graduate student who has a tuition scholarship and/or a TAship has to take at least 12 graduate credits during the first year, and then at least 9 every year following. However, the courses at this department are 4 credits each. I'm not sure how many classes I will be taking, but when I spoke to my adviser on the phone a while ago it seemed like they were going to help me figure all of that out (by having me take courses that would be good for my development and with professors I should work with) when it is actually time for me to register.

Shepherd, I can only comment on the Quadrangles a little. I had a friend who lived there, and I briefly visited. I also heard a lot about it from students. From what I can tell, it is pretty popular with students, especially undergrads, so it might be a little noisy on weekends and at night. I visited during the day though, so I couldn't say that with certainty one way or the other. It looked like a clean enough apartment, especially for what seems like a mostly student-rented complex. I wouldn't rent sight-unseen, but it's worth a look when you come out to visit. Now onto food. Food is probably one of the things I will miss most when I leave the Phoenix-metro area. Check out Slices for sure if you like pizza. They have a lunch special (2 slices and a drink) for about 5 dollars. When they get the pizza right, it is so so good, but they can be a little inconsistent. If you're into Greek food, check out Munchies a few doors down from slices. The owner is really really friendly, especially to regulars. I'm a vegetarian, so I would mostly get the fresh pita bread and hummus, but you should definitely check it out if you like gyros and that sort of stuff. Off of Mill Ave., but not too far from it is a place called Oregano's. You have to go there. Not up for argument. When you go there, order the original waffle fries. They are my favorite french fries in the whole valley. Their pizza is so good - again, best in the valley (if you like Chicago style as much as I do). The Chicago thin is great, and so is the Chicago pan (be prepared to wait 30 to 45 for the pan to cook though). If you're into pasta I recommend the Big Rig, which is rigatoni pasta with this incredible chipotle/tomato sauce. They only have one dessert at Oregano's. It's called a pizooki, and it is this half-baked giant cookie covered with many scoops of ice cream. Bring friends. I will PM you a larger list of restaurants in the valley later today if you're interested.

If you're bringing a pet, make sure they are up-to-date on all of their shots. You get can proof of that from your vet I am sure.

I'd just follow his lead.

This is an absolute no-brainer. Go with the funding.

This was in Phoenix about three or four years ago. Now I'm having to deal with looking for an apartment in a new town across the country, figuring out when to go out to look, how long to stay, coming up with rent to get me through until I start getting my stipend, and all of the other fun parts of moving.

Depends on the landlord. When I was looking for my first apartment a few years ago, most of the landlords I talked to refused to rent out a place to me if I wasn't available to move in within at least 30 days. I would recommend you call landlords in whatever city you will be moving to, and maybe hold off the trip until later in the summer (June or July, maybe?) if you can. Not every landlord is going to be the same, and I have a feeling a lot of it depends on the rental market in your new city. If a landlord thinks they could easily rent out the apartment to someone else who could move in quicker, you're going to have a hard time convincing them to go along with your split-rent idea.

After reading my post again, I can see that I might have worded some of my thoughts a bit too strongly (a bad habit of mine online). I really hope that I alone didn't pressure you into making a decision one way or the other. Where you're going to spend the next few years doing research is a big decision, and I don't want any one person to influence that decision. I urge anyone considering the same sort of offers to get a wide range of opinions, especially from those already in academia (which is why I recommended the Chronicle forums). I know it's difficult to put aside the name and rankings of the institutions that accepted you. It also must be a pretty nice ego boost to get an acceptance at all from ivies and other top-ranked programs. I'm going to post some links to relevant topics over on the Chronicle forums. Link 1 - That one is pretty long, but it is full of great advice regarding debt and the humanities. Link 2 - Good thread on MA programs Good luck with whatever decision you do end up making!

Go with Zurich! If your dream is to get a German-speaking job in Switzerland, why wouldn't you go to a program in Switzerland? Don't let your family pressure you into anything else. This is your life, so live it. You could always find a job in America later (especially since you're an American), but I imagine it would be a lot harder to find a job in Switzerland later if you ended up going with the offer from GW.

I think everyone goes through the same thing you're feeling (or at least they should, if they're in the humanities). When I get nervous about what I'm doing/my future, I just remind myself of the following: -I hate hate hate where I live. I've been wanting to get out my whole life, and this is my chance. -I'm not going to have to spend any of my own money to do this and I don't have to take out any loans. If I can't find a job after my PhD, I will be in no worse shape than I am now - unemployed and unable to find a job. So I'm going to see where my life takes me, and hopefully stop worrying so much about the future.

I second the recommendation for a laser printer. Stay away from ink jets if you're going to be printing a lot. You're initially going to pay more for the laser printer, but over the long-term there is no comparison. I've had the same toner cartridge for an entire year and have printed thousands of pages. I can buy another toner replacement for no more than $30 if I go off-brand. Compare that to an ink jet, where you'll be buying new ink every other month at $20 each little cartridge of ink (more if you need color).

You mention you want to go into Public History. Are these public history programs you applied to, or just straight history? If you go take a look at the Chronicle of Higher Education forums and read about the humanities in graduate school, you will see one piece of advice given over and over again. Do not go into debt for a degree in the humanities. Do not accept an offer if it is not fully funded. What are you basing this "reputation" on? USNWR rankings? The name of the university? Forget it all. If the professors in the department are known and respected, that is all that matters. I don't know how many times I've said this, but if you asked your professors to write up a list of their top history programs in the US, it would probably differ greatly from the USNWR rankings. If I was in your situation, I would take number four (unless another fully funded offer came along, then I would have to weight the pros and cons of each program). If you go into an MA program unfunded, you are nothing more than a cash cow for the department. How do you think ivy-league and other top-tier programs can offer such attractive funding packages to their PhD students. Large endowments are one part, but MA students suckered into attending the program based on the "prestige" (usually nothing more than the name of the university, or super-star faculty you won't have any access to (after all, you are nothing more than an unfunded MA)) are another part of it. Before you seriously consider accepting an unfunded offer, head over to the Chronicle forums and ask those people. There are many professors and academics that post over there, many of them in history. I would be shocked if any of them suggested you attend any program that doesn't offer full funding. Read other topics from people in your situation (going into debt for a humanities degree).

I don't have any advice, but was wondering if you could link me to the other threads on this topic. I got into an MA/PhD program, and could potentially be living in the same town for 5 or 6 years. The cost of living is very low there, and we could find a house anywhere from 50k to 80k. If my girlfriend can find a job that pays well enough, we might end up buying (mortgage would likely be much cheaper than the usual rent on a 1 bedroom apartment).

You're making a common mistake I see a lot of people on these fora committing. It isn't all about rank. In fact, the first time I heard about the "rank" of universities being discussed at all, let alone as the single indicator for a good program, was here on grad cafe. Never in any of my talks with my professors and my LOR writers was rank mentioned as being important. Take my case, for instance. The undergrad institute I went to? A large state school that appears to be unranked in my field. However, the professors in my subfield? Very well known and respected. No matter who I talk to or where they are located, every time I mentioned I went to U of X, people always ask me if I worked with Professor Y and/or Professor Z. The same held true when talking about graduate school with these professors. At each school I mentioned, Prof. Z or Y would say something like, "Oh, doesn't Professor U work there?" Or they would say, "Professor W works there. They are young, but are becoming a star in the field", "Who?", or "I don't recall who works there." (I took these last two as a bad sign, even though the USNWR ranks these particular programs high in my sub-field). They never once said anything about the USNWR rankings of these programs. I hope you're seeing a pattern here. It's all about who you work with. If I was in your situation, I wouldn't even have to think about it. You have been accepted to a program that could very likely be known among academics (a much more important consideration than what USNWR thinks of your program) as the top program in your sub-field in a few years (if it isn't already). It is at least very clear that they are trying to position themselves as such. You have a top scholar in your sub-field, and several up and coming stars. It isn't absurd for you to consider this program; it is absurd for you not to.

I'm in the same situation you are. I've had my MacBook for a while now (four years), and it is starting to show. I'm beginning to have a lot of problems with it, and am considering replacing it. But like you, going back to Windows for my main computer would drive me nuts. Since I can't afford Apple hardware (I bought this laptop when I still lived at home), I'm probably going to build my own "hackintosh". If you know anything about putting computers together, take a look at maybe doing it too. Apple doesn't like people doing it (since they lose out on a ridiculously expensive hardware purchase), but it's my only choice besides going back to Windows, and I don't have the patience for running any Linux distro.

Recently accepted my offer from Binghamton (with full funding too!). I'm really excited, especially since the faculty, program, and fit are all great for me. I withdrew the rest of my pending applications.

Another reason funding is so important for PhD students is the teaching or research experience that comes with it. A stipend is in return for doing something - most often teaching. If you go through an entire PhD program without funding, you likely won't have any teaching experience, which makes finding a job even harder than it already is (especially for those in the humanities). I wouldn't have been able to go to graduate school without funding. I was very fortunate that I was offered a funded MA, which seems to be pretty rare in my field, especially in the last few years. Not only does the funding make it possible for me to go to graduate school, but it also makes me feel wanted and welcome in the department.

My girlfriend and I will be moving from Arizona to Upstate NY with two cats (that's going to be a fun move). Luckily we already have a friend where we'll be moving, so she can do some initial scouting for us, but we are planning a trip out there in June to find a place. CL is nice, but it's no match for seeing the place in person, talking to a landlord, and taking your own pictures. Ideally, we'd like to rent a place from our friends landlord, since he seems nice enough and allows pets (seems to be rare where we'll be moving), but the available studio he has now will almost certainly be rented out before we could get out there.

Are you kidding? Take a funded PhD. I know it may be shocking, but people that didn't go to a top-10 still manage to find a job after grad school. If either of the PhD programs you've been accepted to are a good fit for your research, go to one of them. Plus, if you're so concerned about the status or rank of the school you'll attend, one of your acceptances still comes from a "public ivy".

I did my undergrad at ASU (not in English though), so if you have any questions about the uni or the area, ask away.

I'm getting laid off in May, so I don't have to worry about putting in notice. It wouldn't be a problem if I had to though, since I also work for the government.

My guess is that some or most of them are trying to justify their overpriced ivy undergrad education by telling themselves that only PhD's from the top 10 have any chance at getting a job. Because, you know, I've never seen a prof. that didn't go to Columbia or Yale.