karamazov

Hillary Chute is at Northeastern!

Popping back on this site just to congratulate you on this absolutely hilarious article and also to give you an extra high five since based on your Google Scholar page you're attending my alma mater woooo go state schools

North Carolina State, UT-Knoxville, and UNC-Wilmington offer funding packages to some students! @cruel optimism also shared this list of MAs with info on their funding packages a while back: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XZ7ejtJETaRH7ufh2O1S21HOeTTy9EYgi7Z5vUHCRLI/edit#gid=0 Edit: This information was accurate as of last app cycle, but I'm not sure how COVID-19 will impact funding for future MA students. I'd definitely check with the departments that interest you to see if funding is still available for the upcoming cycle.

Now that we've had a minute to process our decisions, anyone else getting hit with that good ole' impostor syndrome?

THIS IS THE BEST NEWS OMG CONGRATS! I had been silently crossing my fingers for you for a while now so I am really so delighted to hear you made it! Yay you!

@WildeThing @vvolgate Thanks for the input! I'll take another look at the course listings and see if it'll really be worth it or if there's another class I'm just as interested in.

Anyone know if taking two 3 hour long graduate seminars back-to-back on the same day is a death wish?

I'm heading to UNC in the fall! My decision was tough but after talking to a number of students and faculty members at my two top programs, I really believe this is the best choice for me. Super excited!

Declined Penn State today. That was tough.

Thank you for sharing! I will definitely take all of this into consideration.

Thanks for the affirmation, y'all. Also, @hamnet in tights, to your point about program A compensating for something: a couple of my undergrad profs have actually explicitly stated that the program likely has to offer especially competitive stipends to lure prospective grad student out to that middle-of-nowhere location. So, it does seem that they're pretty clearly compensating for their less than ideal spot on the map (though I'm sure the program itself is strong and the scholars who have reached out to me have all been lovely).

Like you said, figuring out what exactly will be best for me mentally is really hard to predict. While I do think I'd prefer to live in program B's location, the peace of mind that the money from program A would give me might end up being better for my mental health than nice surroundings. The difference is pretty major. Program A is located three hours from, basically, anything (I was about to say "from a major city," but there aren't even really any notable small or mid-sized cities closer than three hours). It's basically a tiny college town in the middle of nowhere. I think I might find it quaint and nice for a shorter period of time, but committing to (in my case) at least 6 years in that spot seems... questionable. Program B isn't in a huge city, but it's a larger town located within 20-30 minutes of a number of mid-sized cities. There would also be a much greater chance that my partner would be able to find fulfilling, lucrative employment in the area around program B. We'd also be about six and a half hours closer to family (5 hours away vs. 11.5). In addition to the reasons I've listed above for why program B's location appeals to me more than program A's (program B's location is a larger town near a couple cities; my partner would have better luck finding a job; we'd be closer to family), I also just in general get a better vibe from the location of program B?? I dunno. There's a cool music venue in the town, there's more racial diversity in the surrounding areas, the population leans more blue than the population in the location of program A, there's a lot of history in the town (I grew up in a historic city so I tend to be drawn to other cities with buildings that date to the 18th-19th centuries, and I honestly get a weird shivery-feeling when everything around me was built in, like, the latter half of the 20th century). There's also a major international airport about 20 minutes away, which is nice to have. And I'd be sticking around in the region where I, as well as my partner, have lived most of our lives (which also helps make the move easier for my partner to swallow).

So I'm in the final phase of decision-making, and I'm torn between two programs. The programs seem more or less comparable in a number of ways, but one (program A) is offering me substantially more money than the other (program B)-- like, to the tune of $45,000 over the course of 6 years. The cost of living in the areas around both schools is more or less equivalent, but I think I'd really much prefer to live in the area around program B. While I'd certainly be more comfortable financially with the $$ offered by program A, I could still support myself on the $$ offered by program B. The programs are pretty much comparable in almost every other aspect, but I will say there are a few perks beside location (fellowship during the first year, fewer years of coursework, slightly more hands-on job placement process, etc.) that draw me to program B. I'm just concerned that I'd be making a poor choice by giving up the extra money when I'm excited about both programs. I'm definitely leaning toward program B right now, so please someone tell me if taking the lower financial offer is inadvisable/unwise/dumb.

I just declined my offer from Tufts. I hope this helps someone!

I'm so glad you're in, too! That is great! Maybe we'll be cohort mates in the fall*?! *That is, if my head doesn't explode while trying to decide between my two top picks.