vangogh08

I'm coming too. Anyone started looking for apartments yet? Yay for warm weather finally!

Most definitely. I just have to find a place to live!

I finally got funding for UNC. This is such a load off. Now, the fun part of trying to pack up and move. Congrats to everyone!

Congrats! I hope that happens for me. She said she's still looking, but I, too, have resigned myself to more loans for at least another year. Such a crazy game grad school is!

So it looks like I won't be funded at UNC next year. I'm very disappointed, but I've decided to accept anyway because I want to attend graduate school and I don't have any other options. I'm apparently on the alternate list for funding, whatever that means, and the professor I spoke with says that things sometimes come through at the last minute. If I get work study I will have a teaching assistantship. I'm just extremely disappointed that as PhD student with an MA already they can't fund me. It makes me feel inadequate as a graduate student. Very frustrating. Good luck to everyone else in your funding quest.

Thanks! I emailed her and told her that I wasn't sure if I should email her about it, but since I thought I'd most likely work with her I would. I just asked her if there had been any decisions and that I was excited to attend, but wanted to have some more information. I feel like I've gone about this all wrong. When I did my MA, they contacted me about funding and not the other way around. It seems like it's getting too late to even bother trying to contact them since I have to tell them in a week if I want to attend. One would think they'd have told me one way or the other by now. Frustrating!

Thanks! This is frustrating. I feel like I was supposed to contact Professor Sheriff, but I was hesitant to do so since I am unsure if she would be my advisor with the new Modernist they have hired. I really want to accept, but I'm afraid they won't fund me. And since I've yet to hear anything from anyone I'm really nervous.

So, I've only had one acceptance so far and have yet to hear about funding. I'm on the waiting list at Rutgers, but don't anticipate hearing back before April 15. And I have to tell UNC before April 15 that I want to go there. I really want to go, but am nervous accepting if I don't know about funding. They told me I would hear in 2 to 3 weeks and that was 3 weeks ago. I've talked with a former advisor who says that if it is between going without funding for a year but getting funding after then the loans might be worth it. Any thoughts? Anyone else thinking UNC? So frustrating!

I've lived in Amherst for about 3 years now. There is grad student housing right near campus. I think it is fairly difficult to get into though. For a family, rather than an apt. complex, you might try looking for one half of a duplex. The houses here are usually a bit cheaper and the landlords easier to deal with than the apt. landlords. As for apt. complexes. Any 2 bedroom is going to run you usually $800 or more. And most will have undergrads. You can't get away from them. Sorry. But, there are some that are less run over by them. Stay away from Puffton. It is really close to campus and grads do live there, but there are a lot of parties there during the year. In the summers, it is not so bad. Stay away from Hobart Lane. Also close to campus, but one of the biggest parties of the year is held there. Pretty much stay away from most of the apt. complexes within walking distance of the university. That's where the undergrads will be because they can walk to the bars too. Sugarloaf in Sunderland is not bad. But, it is a bit of a commute to campus. 15 minutes I'd say. But, there is a bus stop right at the complex. Mill Valley is also not bad. There is even a day care on site. South Amherst is relatively quiet. A lot of professors live there. I lived there in a house and prefer it to North Amherst where I am now. Even though North Amherst is closer to campus and has the majority of apt. complexes. South Amherst also doesn't have a lot of apt. complexes. But, I think it is the best part of Amherst to live. Aspen Chase is not bad either. It's relatively close to everything and on the bus line as well. Most of the apt. complexes are on the bus line. It can be pricey though. Northampton is arguably the nicer town, but has less in the way of apt. complexes, because the Smithies usually live on campus during the year or will live in houses throughout town. It is also more of a commute. There is a complex called Hathaway Farms in Noho. They used to offer subsidized housing for grad students, which meant you could get a 2 bedroom for between 600 and 800 a month usually. The 2 bedrooms are pretty nice. A lot of grad students and families. I can't recall how close it is to the bus. Easthampton and Belchertown are cheaper places to live, but again, skimpy on the complexes. And the bussing gets a little rougher. Also, check out Florence. It is the town past Noho and sometimes cheaper. More houses. Stay away from The Boulders. It is by far one of the worst apt. complexes in the area. Hmm, I recommend checking Craigslist too. Anything in Amherst, Florence, Belchertown, Easthampton, Northampton, South Deerfield, or Sunderland will be your best bet. This is a lot of information. I hope it helps a bit. If not, just ask me and I'll try to decipher it. Good luck!

smellie: Yes please, let me know what info you receive. It will probably be different for PhDs so I will probably email myself eventually. But, any information you receive that might be helpful is great. Are you considering going there? I've heard good things about it.

To the other UNC acceptee: do you think it would be acceptable for me to email about funding? My acceptance letter said that information would follow from the department, but I'm not sure if I'm expected to contact them. Or who I would even contact. The only contact I've had is the acceptance letter from the graduate school. Thanks!

Renaissance: I don't guess my response posted yesterday. I did check Rutgers website. A lot. Nothing yet. I did like Rutgers when I visited. I only applied to 4 programs because I wanted to make sure I chose places I would be able to live in for 4 or 5 years and where I knew I could have a good fit. Therefore, I didn't really have a first choice. I got into UNC and am just waiting to hear back about funding. Rutgers is the last place I have to hear from. I didn't apply to any other schools in the area, but from what I can tell when I visited it's a nice place. I liked the location and the campus. The people were great too. It's a fairly large program. To me anyway. There are about 18 faculty as you probably know, which is huge considering I come from an MA program with 7 or 8 professors with usually about 3 or 4 actually teaching. From what I've heard about places like Princeton, Yale, Harvard, or Columbia it has a better student to advisor relationship. Do you have a school you're leaning toward?

To the Rutgers acceptee: They told you via email? I'm still waiting to hear. They are the final school I need to hear from. I thought I had a really good chance of getting in since I've conversed with my potential advisor and our interests overlap nicely. But, since I have yet to hear anything I guess I am to assume that I got rejected. Oh well, I probably can't afford to continue living in New England anyway.