c3honey84

Just wanted to update on here as well. Those who said I could be offered a TA in August were right! First week in August I was offered a full TA including giving me the out-of-state tuition as well as a $14,500 stipend. Now I'm in the midst of running around trying to plan things, and of course I had to leave my full-time job which was hard. I'm very excited but also very nervous. Thanks for everyone's help!

I definitely will speak with him in advance next semester. Unfortunately, I was only offered this TA two weeks ago so I am still trying to figure out the correct procedure I would also like to mention that the director accommodated for other students whose courses overlapped with the TA schedule, but he has not offered to do that for me...

Can someone please explain to me if all schools are like this? I was given a TA schedule teaching labs on monday and tuesday which was great since I am an out of state commuter. I arranged for overnight housing on monday night. Two days later I got an email that the schedule changed and now I am on monday and wednesday. I was frustrated but I arranged for housing on monday and tuesday night now. I can barely afford it but it is going to work. A week went by and now all of a sudden the schedule changed again! And now I'm on monday, Wednesday, and thursday! Is this normal that they are still changing the GTA schedule 2 weeks before classes start? They have changed it a total of 4 times so far. Now my arrangement doesn't work and I don't think I will be able to afford the housing. Plus the new schedule conflicts with a course that I am registered for. I told this to my GTA director and he told me that i would have to email all of the TAs to find someone to switch with. Shouldn't the class that I am registered for take priority on his GTA schedule? It seems that he expects me to drop the class. It's very last minute to be dropping or adding courses.

Thanks for the advice. Actually my potential advisor is a world renowned marine mammal expert. The degree is Environmental Science and Policy but the focus is marine conservation. As I said earlier, I have only had a lack of luck with TA/RA's because there aren't any. They are all filled with students from last year. I am not sure how it is with other programs, but in marine science you have to request a professor to accept you into their lab before being accepted. The professors I contacted at the three other schools that I applied to told me that they would love to work with me if they were given funding for a new grad student. That did not happen, so they did not accept any new grad students at all. It had nothing to do with my application. I have a high GPA plus I have research in the field, and full-time employment in the field. The only thing I do not have are publications. And I have no way of remedying that unfortunately. PS-I have every intention of doing something outstanding!

I actually do work full time in the marine mammal field and have for 3 years. I am just in an entry level job where there is nowhere to move up position-wise or salary-wise. I am looking for a higher level position in the field, and no one will even look at you without at least an MS. I have also applied to the NSFGRFP every year! Update-I FINALLY heard from my advisor and he told me that my situation happens all the time when a student with a GTA is supposed to graduate but doesn't...and apparently they let them continue the GTA? I thought they were limited to 2 years in an MS program. Anyways, he said there is a student leaving after Christmas for a fellowship and that I could possibly take their GTA position. So I can either defer my enrollment until Spring or pay for one semester myself. This is great news, but again all of this is hypothetical which I hate. I want to know if I am going to get this position or not....and not be waiting and wondering for another 6 months.

It is nice to speak with someone who understands! Yes it is very hard to get into an MS in this field. I also have geographical constraints. I plan to remain in the Northeast, which consists of a total of approximately 5 universities that offer a marine mammal research program. So, I was very happy to hear that I was accepted to one of them. I just could not understand why they would accept me knowing that all GTAs were filled by current students. The main reason why I applied to schools that were not taking students is because I was initially told that they "might" have an opening for a grad student. I get that answer a lot. It's always "we MAY have an opening for a student next year." Perfect example, the school I was accepted to gave me that answer so I applied just in case, and I got in. Another school told me that they were looking for another student, and I was rejected because it turned out that they did not have the funding for a new student. I have not applied to a PhD program directly because most of the programs I researched prefer students who already have an MS. They will occasionally accept students without an MS, but give priority to undergrads who have already been published (which I have not). Thanks again for help. I emailed my potential advisor again so we'll see what he replies with.

It's an MS position not an MA. And what I mean to say is that in previous years I have been told I was not accepted because there was no funding at all for new grad students. So those schools were not taking grad students at all. Not just me.

It's not that I haven't been competitive for the past 3 years, it's just that the field I want to be in is nearly impossible to get into. I study marine mammals, and anyone in that field knows that there are maybe a handful of grad positions available in the entire country per year with an advisor who focuses on that area. And funding is almost nonexistent. Most of the students and professors that I know applied for several years before finally getting in. So being accepted to a school with a top professor in the field as my advisor is nothing short of a miracle. Which is why I am seriously considering the loans... On another note, I will mention that this school seems extremely disorganized. I have been having such difficulty getting a straight answer regarding a GTA. When I received my acceptance, it was just a one page letter saying congratulations and here's how you register. When I called asking about GTA positions in the Enviro program, they old me that they were all still filled with students from previous years but there are "potentially lots of opportunities" in the BIO department and that they would keep my GTA application file. I was surprised that they would even offer admission knowing that all GTA's are filled with students from last year. I was emailed to schedule an interview to be a GTA for a course that I have never even taken as an undergraduate (human anatomy and physiology), and the professor of the course changed her mind and my interview was cancelled when she saw that I had not taken it. I completely understand that, but I have heard nothing since. I emailed my advisor a month ago, with no response. I asked the GTA coordinator if it makes sense to keep waiting and all he told me was that there was nothing open at this time. His assistant told me that they still offer GTA's during the summer months. Meanwhile the graduate office wants to know if I am going to the school because I have still not accepted admission pending the answer on the GTAship (there is no acceptance deadline at this school). It is such a emotional rollercoaster. Sorry to vent!!

So what should I do if I am not offered a GTA at all? I know the the GTA would be great experience, especially since I intend on continuing on to my PhD and becoming a professor. But don't forget, I still have not been offered a GTA, and there is a good chance that I might never be offered one. So my choices might be to accept the debt in loans or don't go to grad school. I have been trying for 3 years, and I have finally been accepted with an advisor so I would hate to turn it down and just try again next year.

I am still waiting to hear if I am being offered an assistantship or not, and that has gotten me thinking about other options. GMU requires all GTA's to teach three labs per semester (which is more than other schools from what I have heard) and the stipend is only $15,000 or $1250 per month. My rent is $1000 per month...so how am I supposed to live on $250 per month! I'm married, so a roommate is not an option and my husband's salary barely pays all of his bills so living off his salary is not an option. However, if I do not accept a GTA position and use student loans to pay for my Master's, I would have extra time to work a real job AND go to school, and hopefully make a lot more than what I would be making from the GTA. I would avoid the struggle of balancing my time between courses, research, and teaching the labs. And obviously I would not have to pay back the loans until after I graduate. What do you guys think?

Thank you for your responses. It is now June 8th and I still have not heard anything definite. First I was told by the GTA coordinator that there are potentially lots of GTA opportunities. I contacted him when I did not hear anything for 2 months and he was on vacation for a month. While he was away, I contacted his office and a woman told me that they still review GTA applications in June and July. Now, the graduate coordinator emailed me yesterday and told me that there were currently no opportunities. In addition to all of that, I cannot even get my potential advisor to respond to emails! I am starting to get the feeling that things are a bit disorganized over there.

The school will completely understand if you cannot afford to go. When is their deadline to let them know? I would email both your advisor and the graduate admissions department for your major and tell them that you cannot attend without funding. Sometimes they will make an effort to help you acquire funding.

I got an unofficial acceptance email and about 2 weeks later got an official acceptance letter

My application status for the Rutgers Oceanography MS program still says no decision. When I called I was told that my application is still being reviewed! It's April 20th! Does that mean I am most likely on a waitlist?

I was accepted to George Mason University MS program in Environmental Science and Policy back in March. However, their acceptance letter was just a simple letter stating that I was accepted with my advisor's name. No deadline was given, and no offer of funding. I spoke to my advisor who put me in touch with the contact person for TAs. He tentatively scheduled me for an interview with the professor of Human Anatomy and Physiology. Then he emailed me again and told me that the professor did not want me to TA that course since I have never taken it (which I completely understand). My contact then told me that there were "potentially lots of openings" for TAs in other courses. I did not hear anything for a week, so I sent over another email, and his response was "I will keep your application on file for any openings that come up." So, I went from having an interview to having nothing. This is such an emotional roller coaster. Luckily, there is no deadline to accept or reject admission, but the Graduate Office told me they want to know ASAP. I told them the TA situation, and the office told me to just wait for my TA application to be reviewed and that it's the end of the semester so the professors are very busy. I understand that too, but I am going crazy knowing that I have absolutely no clue what my plans are going to be in September (If I get a TA I will be attending, and hence have to quit my full time job, make plans to move, etc). What are the odds that I would actually be offered a TA once the semester I over? How long am I supposed to wait? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.