punctilious
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Posts posted by punctilious
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Husband is grieving the loss of library access while writing his final papers for his classes. There have been multiple rare books that we’ve had to go through rather odd processes to try to get scans of or information on (including finding initial quotes or references in online literary magazines, blog posts, or other books available on Google Books, then messaging users on Bookogs who may own the books and even messaging the authors themselves in order to get an accurate citation...). As a self-proclaimed expert at Googling, I’ve gotten to help out a lot with his research, which has been a fun challenge for me as someone who is VERY MUCH not a student of literature.
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14 hours ago, Rani13 said:
Rehashing this conversation from a while ago. I'm trying to figure out what taxes* will look like on a fellowship during non-service years. I know that the university does not deduct taxes in those years. I was also told by a graduate student in the department that taxes do not apply for non-service fellowship years (aka there's no need to report said fellowship as income). I know there's conflicting advice on this, but wondering what the insight is on GC?
*I'm terrible at taxes/numbers.
Quoting Personal Finance for PhDs: “I’ll clarify right up front that you do need to incorporate your fellowship income into the gross income you report on your tax return, and you almost certainly will end up paying tax on it (unless your total income is very low or you have lots of other deductions/credits).” (http://pfforphds.com/weird-tax-situations-fellowship-recipients/)
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1 hour ago, Puurple said:
I have more or less a full ride offer from Toledo. It is my only fully funded offer at the moment.
I am so nervous about moving to the city, though--everything I've read indicates it is high in crime, violence, and poverty. Anyone here familiar with this area of Ohio? What would you say if I was considering rejecting the offer because the city is really rough? Please help. I wish it didn't look so negative at first glance but everything I've read suggests this to be the case.
I think people have a tendency to be dramatic when it comes to crime. When I was heading to study in Russia, everyone was going on about terrorism. When I was moving to DC, everyone was going on about crime. I say perhaps talk to real people who live there. I have an aunt, uncle, and three cousins who have lived in Toledo forever, and a good friend from college from Toledo. They're all fine. I went a few times as a kid and I lived, haha. I hear Toledo has a great art museum.
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On 3/17/2020 at 2:00 PM, meghan_sparkle said:
admins reaching out, admins requesting additional documentation (for the THIRD TIME) for reimbursement for a nonrefundable flight for a cancelled visit (which I'm starting to think I'm unlikely to ever see, which means I'm out $400)
If you purchased with a credit card, can you dispute the charge? That's what my husband and I have been doing for hotel and airline costs that the travel companies are being difficult about refunding. It's a public health crisis, a national emergency, these companies need to refund people, and my bank (hopefully) has more sway and can get the job done.
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I would imagine that, since there are so few jobs, there may not even be enough data to determine the success of some schools over others. I'm not sure that being strategic about where you go is super effective in this climate because it's a total crapshoot and the economy isn't getting any better. We're holding out hope that Harvard's name recognition and elite status will help him get a job in Europe, since I'm an EU citizen and we want to live over there when he's done. It's probably likely that, if EU university hiring committees know any US institutions, likely they know (and hopefully respect) Harvard. Otherwise, I think you should go where you want to go.
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I think it's a tough situation. I do think it's wrong of Harvard to kick people out of the dorms so quickly, though I hope they will be lenient in allowing those folks who have nowhere to go to stay, but at the same time, Massachusetts is seeing a pretty rapid outbreak, and what better place for the virus to spread than at a university where people are in close proximity all the time (in lecture halls, dining halls, dorms, etc)? It could be a real danger to the immunocompromised and older folks (hello professors) if we allowed this virus to spread through campus. We have a duty to protect each other, especially since our government will not protect us by providing medicare for all, required paid time off, etc. The United States is in a precarious situation--most other wealthy countries are substantially more prepared than we are for this kind of outbreak. It sucks--my husband is not excited about all of his classes going online,not getting to present at conferences and colloquiums, potentially having limited to no access to the library or other resources, but I understand why they made this decision.
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11 hours ago, ecogoth said:
there couldn't be a more timely reason to join the fight for universal healthcare in the united states!
SNAPS! Please go vote y'all!
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If any Harvard admits have any questions, feel free to message me, considering the coronavirus-fueled cancellation of official visit days.
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@surplus_value - My husband and I were in this process two years ago, so I get how incredibly hard and stressful this can be. But you have to recognize in yourself what you can handle when it comes to seeing other folks' success. Listen to yourself and see whether being in this community is helpful or hurtful to your mental health. You do not have to be here. For some people, the camaraderie is joyful, for others it is stressful. I think it is unfair to expect other people to cater to you, and not express their frustration at this process. This should be a safe space to vent about the process, not a place to tear down one another. @meghan_sparkle and every person here should feel comfortable engaging in this community, whether their applications have been accepted or not.
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On 2/10/2020 at 11:03 AM, ArcaMajora said:
Did this measure actually pass?Edit: in my panic seeing these proposed changes again I blanked on reading the last part lol.I'm doing my taxes right now and I'm getting conflicting information as to whether or not I should count my two quarters' worth of remission as income or if I should just input just the stipends I've gotten. All tax projections I've done (with tuition remission + stipend) do show that my liability shouldn't be too huge (though CA tax is another question). I am eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit, so that's one tax credit down.
I can't help but wonder if the above did pass as there was some IRS online tool that did say that I would have to count remission as income due to the way my fellowship is situated(I'm not teaching and I don't have a research fellowship either. Though a part of me wonders if entering fellowships for first/second years have always had tuition remission as taxable income...)If there's one thing I've learned throughout trying to decode our tax code as grad students, use any and all tax credits to your advantage. Sites like Personal Finance for PhDs can really help demystify the process.
It is very confusing, but no, as far as I am aware you just need to count your stipend as income, not the tuition remission. That measure did not pass. Unfortunately even tax professionals often do not understand how this works.
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4 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:
Ugh, this is all such a nightmare--it's already so little money, and then it's carved up even more. I honestly don't mind paying my taxes at all right now when I'm working a regular full-time office job--I'm glad to pay for my neighbors' kids to go to school and my neighbors who are less fortunate than me to have health insurance! I like driving on well-paved roads and going to the public library!--but when I'm receiving what's expressly a "living stipend" because calculated hourly it would be below the minimum wage? I think I'm gonna be a bit salty!
I completely agree with you. Which is why it's also essential that everyone here goes out to vote in this primary to support students and our unions.
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26 minutes ago, WallaceShawn said:
This is sometimes even more complicated. Anything you're getting paid for as labor, being a GA, TA, PA, etc. will almost certainly be taxed. It's just down in the university as a regular job. Anything you receive as a fellowship may or may not be, but probably won't, so you'll have to pay estimated taxes.
Correct, teaching fellowships and such will make you an employee of the institution, so you will presumably have taxes taken out, but for stipends (where you aren't working, often the first year or two of your program), they will more than likely not take any taxes and may not even provide you any sort of tax document. The stipends without "employment" are what I am referring to, as people often think they don't need to pay taxes on those, but they do!
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2 minutes ago, meghan_sparkle said:
It seems contrary to what I've read on gradcafe, stipends are taxed as income, even if they're not teaching fellowships ... looking at the chart here: https://gsas.yale.edu/resources-students/finances-fellowships/tax-information
After federal, FICA and state taxes, that brings Chicago's fellowship from $31k down to $25,145 take home, and Yale's from $32.7k gross to $27,097 take-home, estimated according to the calculator ... which, given cost of living in both Chicago and New Haven, is ... definitely an important consideration!
Yes, everyone should hear this loud and clear: your stipends are taxable income (not just teaching fellowships!). You have to report them as such and pay taxes on them, which is why it's a really good idea to pay quarterly estimated taxes so you don't die when you see what you owe in taxes at the end of the year.
Cost of living as absolutely an important consideration. Many top universities are in super expensive cities (especially the Bay Area, followed by New York and Boston, those are probably the worst cost of living in the US) so make sure to factor that in when making your decisions. I believe @Warelin's spreadsheet has a cost of living column.
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2 minutes ago, caffeinated applicant said:
That fellowships are taxable came as a surprise to me, but I'm recalling now a large dust-up about graduate student taxes in the debate on the 2018 tax reform bill. Is this only a recent change from that tax reform measure? Perhaps grad students who entered prior to 2017 may be able to comment...?
(This, for me, goes in the bucket with discussions about health insurance premiums labelled "difficult to keep the discussion off American politics," but I'm doing my very best...)
So that was a whole debacle around proposed changes that would not only tax graduate students on their stipends/fellowships, but also on tuition remission. The proposal would have meant that your income wouldn't just be the $35,000 stipend you're getting from Harvard, but also the $47,000 in Harvard tuition. These together would be considered your income, so you'd be taxed on the $82,000 rather than the $35,000. Thank goodness that didn't get through because it's absolutely insane/ridiculous.
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31 minutes ago, meghan_sparkle said:
I've finally made a big pro/con spreadsheet and one of the first categories is figuring out what my annual stipend is after taxes and university fees. However, trying to figure out federal and state taxes on any of these fellowships (which so far are all in different states) is proving near impossible, even when places like Yale have extensive GSAS tax information webpages, because I am stupid. I haven't taken a math course—haven't taken anything but English literature courses, actually—since the age of 17. In the UK my wages are automatically taxed and I don't really have to do anything, and I just have to fill out an IRS form for my US taxes saying that I live in the UK with income already taxed there and make way under the threshold of taxable income.
Is there an easier way of going about this? Like a two or three-step addition and subtraction-type deal...? Like really breaking it down, Taxes-For-Dummies style. Just for my Excel spreadsheet.
This income tax calculator should make things easier for you. Personal Finance for PhDs also has a lot of great resources on this subject. Remember folks, your schools will most likely not take taxes out of your stipends, but you will owe income tax on them! You will want to pay quarterly estimated taxes to the IRS. I recommend also setting up a savings account just for taxes, and putting funds away each stipend to pay your quarterly estimated taxes.
- killerbunny, Cryss, Narrative Nancy and 6 others
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The spreadsheet I created has already been linked above, but I've been doing a lot of projects in Airtable lately. I highly recommend it, and will probably rebuild my spreadsheet and other resources in there. It's a lot prettier and more flexible than Google Sheets or Excel.
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40 minutes ago, NowMoreSerious said:
Is this at Harvard? If so, I see their reputation continues to be well earned. At Harvard, (like many ivies) you just have to get through the program in ANY WAY possible, and hope the name carries you.
Yup. And we are hoping to end up with Europe, so thank you @Warelin for that follow up question. So yes, we are hoping the name carries us!
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On 11/5/2019 at 2:51 AM, NowMoreSerious said:
1. Big name professor who matches your research interests, but a bad advisor.
2. Smaller name professor who doesn't quite match your research interests, but shows interest in advising your dissertation if you slightly switch fields.
Thank you so much for your advice. Unfortunately, we are hitting a bit of a spot where the professors most invested have been denied tenure or are still tenure-track, which is not ideal. And the others are inaccessible/flighty despite their similar research interests but tenured, or big names and somewhat helpful/accessible with similar interests but less invested. It's not easy!
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What has the timeline looked like for you for conference presentations? And publishing articles? Also, when and how did you choose your dissertation committee? These are the questions are are coming up against now that husband is in his second year and looking to publish an article and present at a conference.
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I think it is a good idea to ideally mention 2+ professors, and ideally they would be a mix of assistant/associate or tenured professors. I say this because it seems to me that assistant/associate professors may often be serving on an admissions committee and get to look at applications. I'm theorizing, but pretty sure that the likes of Bill Brown at UChicago or Henry Louis Gates Jr. at Harvard are not reading through applications. If you're lucky enough to have one of your POIs on the admissions committee and they see that you want to work with them, then they would probably vouch for your application if they like it, especially if they're trying to get tenure. This could be wrong, but I'm 82% sure it worked that way for husband's Harvard admission.
That being said, do not put all your eggs in one basket. If you can only see yourself working with one professor, that will probably not go well for you for numerous reasons. 1) That professor may not receive tenure. 2) That professor may retire. 3) That professor may move to a different institution. 4) That professor may have a working style or method that conflicts with yours. 5) Your interests may change. Not to mention they may not be on the admissions committee in the first place or the school may be looking for students in a particular period/field, etc.
So, my advice is to identify at least two, ideally three professors who are not all assistant/associate and also not all heavy-hitters and who you could see yourself working with, then directly reference them in your SOP.
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Your professors are being honest, which is good. The job market is that bad. So you have to acknowledge and confront that fact head-on. If you understand that and still want to spend the next 5+ years in an English PhD program, despite the low wages and minimal job opportunities, you are ultimately the only person who can decide what you want to do with your life. I don't recommend going into it if you aren't totally sure it is what you want. It's not a decision to be taken lightly. It's a massive undertaking for very possibly little gain in terms of career. If you would be happy outside of academia, I recommend exploring those options.
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I think you should include it. Husband included his publication in our university's undergrad history journal and I'm sure that's not peer reviewed.
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On 9/29/2019 at 11:24 PM, Plurabelle said:
Any other applicants coming out of public school? What about modernists? What about people having a hard time coming up with a list of schools that doesn't seem relatively impossible to actually get into???
My husband (and I, but that's not really relevant) went to a public school. Don't let that affect your application process or limit you!
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We are happy to share via PM.
Boston & Cambridge, MA
in City Guide
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I don't know that it exists here. The folks in my husband's cohort live all over: Harvard Square, North Cambridge, Inman Square, Allston, Somerville, etc. We are right between Inman, Kendall, East Cambridge, and Central--I believe this area is known as The Port. It seems like there are a lot of young people/graduate students in this area, since we are also decently close to MIT. But I don't think there is one place for Harvard graduate students like there may be in other cities.