emilyf413

Hey Madison residents! Moving over the summer for grad school. What bank do y'all use?

@3dender @ExponentialDecay @rising_star Thank you all! I have in fact decided to take the full ride.

Hi everyone! I'm having a really tough time with my grad school decision. Basically, I got a full ride + stipend at UW Madison's La Follette school. I would have no debt whatsoever from grad school including living expenses - they're basically paying me to go to school, and it's apparently very easy to find work so I'd be living pretty well too. My long-term partner is waiting to see whether a full fellowship comes through for him at the same school (different field). He's from Wisconsin so he already has a network there. If he gets it and chooses to go, moving to Wisconsin for grad school would be easy and economical (and I could stay with my partner, which is not a small consideration, although he would also like to live in a big city again at some point). In addition, La Follette has an Institute for Research on Poverty that looks like a great place for me and my policy interests. I went to admitted students' day and really enjoyed talking with all the prospective students and professors I met. Basically, sounds perfect? Except that I don't really know if I want to live in Wisconsin long-term. I'm a New Yorker and very happy in large cities. In response to my concerns, the Wisconsin folks kept emphasizing that there is a strong network of La Follette grads in DC. I also already have my NYC nonprofit network. NYU gave me a 50% scholarship, which is helpful but obviously not a full ride + stipend. I would probably have to go part-time so I can continue working, which sounds like a much more stressful life. Because it just sounds so much easier to take the Wisconsin money, I'm inclined to that and make my life much less stressful. I'm just concerned that I'll be missing out on opportunities by leaving New York. Alternatively, I got accepted to Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, which would be a blast but I have no idea how to obtain a loan for the purpose of living in another country... and as someone who speaks mediocre German, it'll be hard to find work... so that is a third option that would entail a lot of inconvenience for the sake of living in a large city/having a great international adventure. tl;dr: money/ease of life vs. big city/opportunities Thoughts/experiences regarding these issues? Thank you!

@coffeewalk TBH I'm leaning towards Madison because I would have health insurance and rent paid automatically (and that's before finding an assistantship!). Also, my partner is seriously considering Madison for a different program. And Madison just seems a lot more livable than LA. Although I'm coming from NYC, which is a hard place to live in its own way, I really don't know how I'd get around in a city that's not walkable or has great public transport and basically looks like a maze of superhighways. I've heard that you can make do in LA without a car, but it just seems very intimidating. Then again, I've never been... Also, Madison has a special research center for poverty issues, which is my main focus for grad school. But I'm still not 100% -- Price is more prestigious and I really like their program as well... Finally, I went to an admitted students' event for Price in New York, and I got a weird vibe. When I talked to some Madison alums about finding jobs outside of the Midwest, they said that it wouldn't be the easiest thing but that it was definitely doable. But when I talked to some Price students, they basically said that if I went to Price I'd have great job prospects on the West Coast but would never find anything outside the coast. Very weird.. I emailed Goldman about funding, but I've decided I'm not going to consider a school unless I get at least 50% tuition. What have been your thoughts so far?

Thanks CakeTea! Out of curiosity, what are your interests? The narrow focus is a big concern for me :/

Hey @jph093, I'm almost 24, have less experience than you (I've worked at the same nonprofit for almost 2 years), and I studied sociology in undergrad (arguably less useful for policy schools than econ). Otherwise, I have pretty similar stats to yours, except that the last time I took calculus or anything heavily quantitative was in high school lol. I got in everywhere I applied except HKS (waitlist). That includes Price, La Follette, Wagner, Goldman, Heller, and Trachtenberg. I got a full ride to Price and La Follette (UW Madison), half tuition at Heller, and I'm negotiating with the other schools so I'll likely still get something from at least one of them. I've also heard that it's not too hard to get a graduate student assistant position at Goldman, which covers either 25% or 50% of tuition. So don't underestimate yourself

Hi everyone! I've been admitted to Hertie, but haven't gotten any financial aid information yet. I spent a semester in Berlin in college and would really love to come back. Also very interested in comparing EU and US. However, my concern is that they won't have enough professors focused on poverty and welfare (my main topic of interest). What do y'all think?

Does anyone know when this is gonna happen? Harvard is the only school I haven't heard from :/

I got in! I called and they said they would post financial aid info in about an hour waiting on tenterhooks.

I don't know much about CUNY but I've lived in New York for several years. Your best bet for reasonably affordable housing is to live either outside of Manhattan or in one of the less expensive areas in Manhattan, i.e. Washington Heights (though living in Manhattan is generally too busy/crowded for me). I'd recommend researching neighborhoods within your price range because crime stats are not necessarily the most reliable way to determine how safe a neighborhood is (i.e. Times Square has a high crime rate just because it's full of people/tourists)... but NYC is a pretty safe city. Look at what train(s) you'd be taking to class to see what neighborhoods might be good for you. You can definitely find plenty of apartments online through StreetEasy, Naked Apartments, PadMapper, Listings Project, etc. Parking in NYC is mad expensive in Manhattan but I know people who use their cars to drive around the outer boroughs. Best of luck

In with no funding... lol, guess I'm not going to Berkeley

@unitstructures You should check the immigration status requirements for each housing program - there are a few programs out there including Section 8, mixed-income buildings, and public housing. I believe you can get any of those with a green card, but I'm not sure about student visa sort of things. Here's a good page to check out: http://www.newdestinyhousing.org/get-help/common-obstacles And I mean, if you're going to be here awhile, and you find that you're eligible, why not? Best of luck!

@impatientlywaiting26 nope, that was it

I actually spoke to someone on the phone last week and they said they'd hopefully be sending out decisions a couple days early

Hi @unitstructures, my client base at work is folks in poverty and I can say from experience that it is VERY difficult to get subsidized housing. Even New Yorkers are on housing lotteries for years. If you're moving to the city from elsewhere, I honestly would not recommend that as an avenue because you almost definitely won't find housing in time. This goes for public housing (social housing to you Berliners) as well as rent voucher programs.