savay

Joining in the fits and starts over here as well -- it's been a teeth-grinding email checking life punctuated with absolute apathy about anything else these past two weeks. To those of you also in the throes, I'm sending good vibes. @WendyWonderland you get like a ton of extra brownie points for all those apps, I can not even imagine. I hope you got some of those fees waived. My field is so tiny, I only have three apps out there in the world -- I've been accepted to U Wisconsin - Madison and will be visiting at the end of the month; been rejected from U Minnesota, which was anticipated, I just really like Minneapolis; and...am still waiting to hear back from my first choice, U Washington and am in denial about the fact that I probably won't hear from them until mid-March. I'm not sure how I'll make it that long.

@nathank22 Thanks for all the input! And yes, the fact that I'll be behind the game in renting this far in advance is pretty intense. But, it's reassuring to know that I'll find something in my budget. Depending on how things shake out I may do the graduate housing in Eagle Heights my first year -- I may be travelling a lot all summer with my things in storage, so getting a furnished place with little stress might be ideal. I'm coming from Chicago, so I'm used to longer treks for groceries and entertainment -- though of course, convenience and proximity are nice, especially in the winter. I've read that being too close to the capital is also not ideal, is the James Madison Park area too close in that regard? I feel like I'll have a much better sense of neighborhoods after I visit at the end of the month - and hopefully other people in my program can advise on where they've found places. Best of luck on all your applications! If you end up considering Chicago I'm happy to offer what I know.

I got an office job at a University after I graduated, something to pay my bills while I sought fulfillment elsewhere. The plan was not always grad school, but it's definitely a job you transition out of in a year or two. My immediate co-workers know and a few others in my building do as well. I didn't keep it a secret but I didn't exactly broadcast it either. My boss knows that I plan to attend grad school in the fall, they knew when I took a day off to take the GRE in August, and they know I'm visiting a campus for a recruitment visit next month. They don't know however that I plan to quit at the end of May and spend my summer elsewhere. I'm waiting for that discussion until I officially accept an offer and put in my notice - which will probably be a month, or month and a half. I know this seems like a long time, but having had my job for almost 3 years I know how long it can take to get a competent temp and train them. I'm now the person on my team with the most institutional knowledge and frankly it's a little scary. I want them to be in good hands when I leave, but mostly to assuage a strange guilt I have at leaving - - though I owe them nothing. I think the reason I felt comfortable being mostly transparent about grad school is that my position is entry-level and sort of designed as a stepping stone, the field I work in is one I very obviously have no special interest in, and my team is very small and informal.

Thanks @pterosaur and @rising_star. I already live a relatively frugal lifestyle and I worked all through undergrad and supported myself, so I know I've done it before. I think I just got a bit "sticker shocked" so to speak when I fully realized what a normal TAship in the Humanities would look like. I think actually making a budget and tracking my finances, rather than the "don't spend money" mantra I rely on now, will be helpful.

I would like to bump this post. I've just received an offer from UW for the fall term and will be visiting campus for a recruitment event at the end of the month. I know housing can be very hard to find based on this thread, and while I'm still waiting to hear back from my first choice school -- I figure it doesn't hurt to start planning this stuff now. I would love to continue living by myself, but with my stipend offer I'll probably only be able to afford $700 - $900 a month on rent -- can you find a studio/1 bedroom close to transit for this much in Madison? Is campus housing a good idea? Anything I need to check out while I'm there? I'm excited to visit, I've only been to Madison once and it was for a night.

For everyone who's getting/already living off of stipends and tuition waivers -- any tips? I too am in the boat that I'm not going unless I get funded. I've just received my first offer and it's decent for the field and the area, but it is significantly less money than I make currently working full time. How has that transition been, to living on a graduate student budget?