TheWalkingGrad

Of course you have to take money into account, after all grad school is like a job and it's hard to focus on things when you're having a hard time making ends meet. On the other hand, it's awful to end up in a place where the research fit is horrible or the department sucks just because they offered more money. I'd say go to the visiting days in all the places if you can (even the ones you might now be thinking you'll never go), see the department, talk to the students and professors. Then research cost of living in each city, and calculate how far the money each school offered can go in each place. And finally, negotiate with the university you chose if you feel they can give you more (this may change from field to field, so I'd suggest talking to other grad students in the department you're interested in). I was divided between two places, place A was offering 29k a year and place B was offering 20k, but place A was around 30% more expensive than place B. I met with my POI at place A and realized the fit was shitty, and the department seemed off to me, but the extra money they were offering was too tempting. I went to visiting day in city B and LOVED everything about the campus, the professors, the department. I was so torn about the money issue, but talked to a few of the grad students there, and they told me to negotiate, so I did. I told my POI that they were my first choice and I'd love to go, but I had this other offer. They upped the offer to 27k a year, and I accepted on the spot. PS: you weren't "lucky" to be accepted, you are a competent candidate who worked hard, deserves these opportunities and has a lot to add to your field, and the department you choose will be lucky to have you. It helps to remember this when you negotiate.

You'll be fine with "University of Texas", but you might want to do the full name the first time you mention it.

I'm sorry you had this experience and I completely agree with you about erring on the side of caution. By no means I meant to imply that shitty things only happened with drunk people or in strange places, much less that it is our fault if something does happen! - us women should be able to be alone wherever and in any condition we choose without having men bothering us. I just meant to share my personal experience that, compared to other places I've been by myself, France and Western Europe in general were pretty safe by my own personal standards.

Hi, During my undergrad I lived in France for a year and got to travel around a bit both in France and around Europe. As a female traveling by myself, I can honestly say I never really felt threatened. I mostly stayed in cheap hostels with a bunch of strangers in the same room and took the cheapest mode of transportation available. Some times I did have to stand up for myself a bit more emphatically (it was an issue in a night train going from Austria to Croatia, but nothing serious). I watch out for the obvious hazards, such as getting super drunk, watching your drink if you do go out, and avoid unknown places after dark. Full disclosure: I was born and raised in what could be considered a 3rd world country, so it takes some effort to faze me. I feel pretty safe walking 2 miles home after a night out in Austin, for example. Enjoy your trip and good luck with your presentation!

I'm under the impression that if you're not feeling overwhelmed in grad school you're doing something wrong (I laugh but I'm worried)

Congrats on being accepted to your dream program! So, I haven't done this, so take it with a grain of salt. I would say it doesn't hurt to try, depending on how you word it. I would go with something along the lines of "Is there any funding available to help international students settling in?". One of the schools that accepted me offered USD 2,000 to help me move. You could also look into starting a GoFundMe or something like that if the answer is negative. Good luck!

Hello fellow Brazilian! I was in a similar situation last year: I got rejected by the 9 programs I applied to. This cycle I changed a few things and got 5 offers so far. I'll try to address each of your points: 1) I agree it's harder to get in a US program with a Latin American degree, but it's definitely not impossible. I did my undergrad and Masters in Brazil and I don't think this was the issue last year. 2) I've seen people in their 30s in the visiting days I attended, so I don't think that's a decisive factor. 3) I don't think most programs expect you to have ties with research centers, but they do expect you to have research experience. I don't know where you work(ed), but if it was with policy formulation or something like that, you can frame it this way maybe. 4) This is something that I've encountered as well. I think apart from USP (not my alma mater), most universities here in Brazil focus way more on qualitative than quantitative. In my SoP I briefly described my research subject but didn't go into detail about methodology. Maybe try to emphasize you are interested in methodology training (or even try to take a few online classes before next cycle). What subfield are you applying? I agree with the people telling you to go for Public Policy given your career as a public servant, and there are some programs that have a more interdisciplinary approach and you can do pretty much anything inside the subfield.

Hi! I didn't apply to Public Policy directly so I don't know about many programs, but I got accepted at UT Austin for the Public Policy subfield. I went to visit day and it was great, Bryan Jones is the main POI in the field but I got a sense they are very interdisciplinary. I think it's a good option for you, but I would work on improving your GRE first. I got in with 166V and 162Q. I would also try to explain your low undergrad GPA in your SoP (I understand that international GPAs don't translate well to the US and that a 3.35 in Bangladesh might be a 4.0 in the US, but sometimes when committees are reading 300+ applications people tend to be reduced to numbers). Try to get strong rec letters that also address this issue and emphasize you were at the top of your class. Good luck!

I know they've sent some acceptances, but visiting day is late March if I'm not mistaken, so they might send out late acceptances maybe?

Yep, just presented my paper today! How about you?

Anyone going? Where are you staying? Are you presenting?

Lol I admit it was a last minute application in what was a very intense and tiring cycle.

Thanks! I had no previous contact with anyone there, it was pretty out of the blue. To be completely honest, I'm not sure. I kinda changed it around depending on the application and I've been on mobile all day so I can't check, but if I had to guess it would be something like comparative/international relations.

I'm claiming a JHU acceptance! Got an informal email from a POI, but no info on funding or any specifics yet.

So, I got three offers for my PhD, and the one I'm leaning more towards is in Austin. The stipend plus fellowship amounts to about USD 20,000 a year, with the possibility of earning more if I can work during summer. I have no idea how American taxes work and whether I can live with this amount in Austin, especially after taxes. Help?

Congrats! At Syracuse I applied for IR/Comparative, how about you?

Claiming a Syracuse admission!

Family and friends, mainly. I think the main thing keeping me from staying in the US is just that, I really don't want to. But I'm guessing if the visa officer asks I can't just say "just trust me, I'm coming back home".

I'm waiting for the same ones! I feel ya. Pitt has already sent out offers, but I'm not sure if all of them. I got an email saying I was on the waitlist on Monday. Good luck to us!

Hi @jujubea, thanks for answering all these questions. So, I'll be applying for a F1 in the next couple of months, but I'm a little worried about proving I have no intent no immigrate. I'm not sure how I can prove that. I'm single and haven't had a real job (you know, non TA or RA) for years. On paper, there's not really anything keeping me here I guess. What do you think?

So how did it turn out? I had this problem last cycle, I grew so desperate after my reference missed a couple of important deadlines that I might have been a bit rude. He finally did submit the letters, but I have no idea of what he wrote after all that bugging. Suffice to say, last cycle didn't work out so well for me. Good luck, I hated being in this position.

Not yet, but I will!

Last cycle I didn't contact anyone and wasn't very successful. This cycle I changed almost everything (except GRE and TOEFLS), and so far have been accepted in a top 20 and have been waitlisted in a top 40. I did contact 2 people beforehand at the program I was accepted, but one of them told me he liked my research but he was retiring soon, and the other one I think I might have offended (I told him I watched a few youtube videos of a book tour he was doing, and he told me I should maybe buy the book lol). My take is that if you have something relevant to say, and would contact the person regarding research interests even if you weren't applying to their department (if you were writing a paper and maybe wanted the professor to take a look on the abstract, for example), I would contact them. If not, I'd do what others said (and did myself) and look faculty up on the department website, and mention them in the SoP if you're interested in working with them. Good luck!

So, I'm facing a dilema. I'm not American and I'm currently living in my home country. I've applied to PhD programs both in my country and in the US, but since in my country is in the southern hemisphere our school calendar is different: we start the year in March, have winter break in July, and finish classes in December. Because of that the acceptance notifications also come earlier, and in December I was accepted in a great program here in my country (it is the best university here, and the program has a grade 5 out of 7 in the national ranking, which is not exactly the best, but it is really well renowned). The catch is that the funding would take a couple of months to start, and I need to move states. Last week I got an acceptance notification from a program in the US, and I believe it's a very good program with a pretty competitive funding package. Since my end goal is to teach somewhere other than my home country, it makes sense to do my PhD in the US, since the universities are more "prestigious". I decided to accept the offer in the US, and classes start in the fall. The issue: I had already enrolled in the program in my country because I wasn't really optimistic about my chances in the US. Classes start in March and go on until the end of June. Should I take the first semester here before going to the US? Pros of taking the first semester here: 1) I'll be taking a couple of methodology courses, which is great because my undergrad and Masters didn't really cover that, and I'm pretty sure I'll be needing it in the US; 2) Last year I went through a break up and had to move back home with my parents, and I've been dying to move out; 3) The move would be to a huge metropolis, about 10x bigger than my already big city, so it would be a pretty interesting experience. 4) I'm afraid my brain will turn to mush and I'll be too out of rhythm if I take a semester off. Cons: The courseload is pretty intense here, so I'll be working like crazy, and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to transfer the credits; 2) I haven't had a vacation in forever, and could catch up on some fiction books and videogames, learn to knit, maybe take a road trip; 3) It would be cheaper to stay at home (but my parents said that since I was fully funded for all my undergrad and Masters, they would give me money to stay these 4 months in this other state); 4) I have 2 cats that won't be moving with me to either place, so I'll miss them dearly, so an extra semester with them sounds great (it sounds dumb, I know). Most people tell me to start university here, but I'm still torn. Help?

Easy there, man. In my home university transcripts it shows the classes I took in France as complementary credits towards graduation, and every mandatory class I took towards my major there I passed AND took it again in my home university, so it's not as if I'm not qualified and haven't earned my degree. I do agree with you that I should sent it, and I have even gotten my transcripts translated already, but a colleague who is in the same situation is doing his application to some of the same places and he was pretty adamant that we wouldn't have to send it. Since we're not from the US I figured I'd ask you guys, there's no need to be so aggressive about it.