shakespearebro

Standard advice is you will never make back that debt, at least not for decades. Yes, you should take higher ranked programs when the funding is close, but in your case they are completely opposed. Go with the funding.

I don't think you can go wrong either way here. You've already done the right thing by heading out to do your year-abroad masters so you've satisfied the basic requirement to add to your network and expand your exposure by studying in other departments. If all other things are exactly equal, yes you should go someplace new, but for your situation it sounds as though they are equal, but you've already satisfied the diversity requirement. To my mind the choice is really up to you. Either one is perfectly okay.

Definitely go with the funding, but I am confused. Is the second option a Masters program and the first a PhD?

I disagree with the earlier posters. There are TONS of other posts from people in your situation. The oft-repeated advice is to go to the better program. Girlfriends and such can come or go, and if they decide to stay they'll stick with you through the separation. Go with the better program and the better funding.

Seems like there are a few operating principles here. As long as you try to honor all of them, you're on the right track. By all means, take the time you need. You shouldn't feel guilty waiting until April 15. That's the time allotted to you. All of us on waitlists just have to live with that. The balancing principle, though, is to try to keep only one offer at a time. Each time you get an offer, re-evaluate and let one of them go. It's only fair to the waitlisters and to the departments trying to match people up with their funding. Now the complexity comes in when you get a "half-offer". You are admitted, but are waiting on funding. Or you have funding, but only partial, etc. In those situations just do the best you can. As for the visits and incorporating them into your multiple offers, well, I think the principle should be (but isn't necessarily) that the in-person visit is really just a tie-breaker. You've already done enough research to know you'd be WILLING to go there and that it would be a good fit. If you're struggling between two essentially similar offers, then the in-person visit is the tie breaker. Well, that's my decision matrix anyway.

Yes, it sounds as though your fate is in limbo until the professor you spoke to can speak to the department chair and DGS and head of the grad admissions committee, etc. If he/she can rally them, then you MIGHT get in. It also sounds as though you would be on your own for funding next year, and the year after that, etc, so you'd have to plan for when the first year money ran out.

I think UVa is clearly your choice hear. My only suggestion is that you spend a tiny amount of effort leveraging their offer, if you want to. Choose one or two of the other programs, one you really want to go to and contact them to tell them how much you'd love to go there, but you have this other offer that would allow you to concentrate on your studies with no financial issues at all. If there is any way they could re-examine your funding sources and suggest some alternatives, you'd love to commit to their program instead as it is your first choice, etc. You never know, they might come through with something. If they don't UVa sounds like a great option. Go with it. Or just go with it anyway.

If I understand your situation, it boils down to a less than perfect "fit" but fully funded school versus better matched schools with uncertain financing. I'll repeat my standard advice and the conventional wisdom--don't pay for graduate school. If the financing straightens itself out or becomes more definite, then definitely choose the best fit. If not, then follow the money.

I am in much the same boat as you are and will probably do something very similar. I particularly like the nod to the early accepters. Like you, I am waiting for some higher-ranked waitlists to clear, but I have to give some credit to those lower-ranked schools that asked me first. Even though I want to see all my options, I am feeling a little bit of loyalty to the date that brought me to the dance and will definitely keep that in mind as I decide. I'm also not willing to wait forever for the higher-ranked waitlists. As time marches on, I find myself increasingly impatient and disgruntled about them and more kind-hearted and nostalgic for my early accepters.

Why not just ask, over the phone, to have them update your status by email?

I'm confused about Option 3, though. Most Teaching Assistantships come with tuition remission, so I don't understand what you mean by the school offering no scholarships. That point aside, it sounds like none of your options is funded, so I'd say either choose (in this order) A - none of the above. (Don't go to grad school unless you are funded.), B - Option 5 if they fund you, or C - Option 2 since all other things (i.e. funding or lack thereof) being equal, you seem to have the most passion for that option.

Well, it happened to me. I only found out I was waitlisted at one university because I saw all the acceptances and rejections on the results forum. Since I had heard neither an acceptance nor a rejection, I emailed the DGS and he told me I was on the waitlist.

This sounds like a good plan for being admitted to a kung fu school.

I emailed the admissions head at a school where I am waitlisted and he sent back a fair, but non-committal assessment of where I stood on the waitlist and a qualitative assessment of how many people would have to turn them down to open a slot for me. Politely worded, there's no harm in asking how things stand.

I just followed my interests. My degrees only enhanced my career after the fact. What I mean is, I was able to drift into doing other things with my masters, but I did not need them for what I was doing at the time, nor did I really know what I wanted to DO in those other areas.

It sort of depends on the university. I went to one research university where there was almost no distinction between the MA's and the PhD's. That said, though, there was a difference in funding and teaching opportunities. The PhD students had much better TAships and got more of the travel grants and conference and publication support than the MA students. Other than that, though, the support from the professors was all the same and the interaction between the PhD's and MA's was all one big happy family. I've heard, though, this is NOT the case at many other places, where your fears might be well-founded. As for the research of other PhD students, I've never cared much what they are doing. I'm VERY interested in the research the professors are doing, but as for my fellow students, half the time we can't explain to each other what we're working on. I would weigh interpersonal compatibility and department dynamics heavily, though. You don't want to go to a department full of cutthroats or a lot of cliques. That said, though, if a huge chunk of people in your department are all into x, but you and few others are into y, that might weigh on your decision as well. Sorry I'm not more help.

Wel, right off the bat I'd say you might want to discount location. This is a terminal Masters, so you're there for a year or two, three at the most. For a PhD where you have to live there for 5-7 years, I could see weighing location a little more heavily. I have three masters degrees from three different kinds of schools all over the country. Believe me, you're gone before all the professors even know your name. As to area of research interest, again, it's a Masters not a PhD. I don't think this is as important a consideration either. It's not as though you really need to have that good-fit dissertation advisor with whom you'll be sweating for years and years. This is a chance to make some god connections, get some great LOR's from three or four profs working in your field and move on up in your career. Classes as nearby public university is less of an issue. Everyone always lists that as an asset, but no one I know ever takes advantage of the consortiums and cross-listings between universities. Most grad students are too busy in their home departments to really get a lot out of a nearby university. So I'd discount that advantage for Option B. Your specialization is likely to change as you dig into interesting classes and professors. Since you don;t sound deeply committed to a particular field, I'd say, again, let that roll as well. All that said, then, funding is equal so not an issue. You'd work with the mentor of the year in Option A or get the goosebumps you've always wanted from Option B. It sounds to me as though you want to choose Option B.

I think PhD or nothing. First, always go with the funding, so that is a clear choice in my book for the PhD program over a pile of debt for a Masters degree. Second, though, I also hear what some of the earlier posters are saying about your ambivalence. Maybe you shouldn't dive into a PhD program only half-heartedly. So my advice would be don;t go to Yale. Either go to the PhD program or take a breath and reconsider what you want to do with your life.

I agree with Phyl Why not use your acceptance into grad school as an entry point to get your employer to commit to a full-time permanent position? As in, Gee boss I really love it here and would love to stay. I have to give Berkeley an answer by xxx date, though. What do you think? It might spur them to make that offer into something real.

I think I would split my advice. On the one hand, I think you should listen very carefully to the voice that is questioning your resolve. If you're not feeling pretty comfortable about this school and this career path, I'd take a deep breath and maybe even a career pause. It takes tremendous resolve and dedication to finish this path, even for people with enormous confidence in their choices and direction. Starting out with such serious concerns tells me maybe you should step back and think about next year. On the other hand, I do think that the boyfriend/LDR issue should probably get less attention. The hallways of lower-level career options are full of women who sacrificed their careers for a man/boyfriend/relationship only to be left alone in the end. I wouldn't put too much stock in the consequences to the relationship. Make your choice based on your own abilities, goals, interests, personal fulfillment. If the relationship is a good fit for everyone, it will adapt to those choices--for both of you. Spoken as a jaded, older grad student divorced during his third masters degree.

I agree, go where you need to go.

I wouldn't let the weather influence your decision. You'll get used to the weather wherever you go. Place your emphasis on the professor, program, and funding, which to me sounds like option 1 from your descriptions.

Being able to take courses in a department won;t help your career much. Sure, you might gain some knowledge and wisdom, but in terms of applications to PhD programs down the road or resume builders, what matters is the department where your degree comes from. I agree with the previous poster, the courses don;t matter too much. Oh, one exception, though, if you could take courses from a superstar prof in linguistics and impress him or her and get glowing letters for your next round of aplications, then it might be a consideration. Otherwise, I'd go with your current offer and sleep.

Sorry, I'm betraying my status as an "older" grad student. I wouldn't take either offer. The previous posters are right to caution against the New School's tremendous debt load. You have no hope of making that back in less than several decades of work. The opportunity costs alone should warn you away from that option. As for the other option, paying tuition to study sociology is problematic enough, but the $3600 stipend is paltry. Most "fully-funded" offers should cover all your tuition and pay $14-20K either as an assistantship or fellowship, enough to live on if you are frugal. ANything less than this to my mind means do something else or reapply next year. Sorry, I know that must sound harsh and overly practical in terms of studying your dream subject and all, but if they really want you they'll pay you. Any chance of negotiating a slightly better deal from your partially funded school?