Dear all,
This week, I received an admission letter for one of my top three programs, in anthropology. Included in the admission letter was a TA fellowship offer, which entails waived tuition costs for three years, health care, and a yearly stipend of 16k. This is a competitive program at a public institution, in a small town known for a comparatively cheap cost of living.
I'm of course happy to receive the admission and funding as well, but I have trouble estimating the quality of this offer. The offer is only for three years, meaning that after I complete my coursework and comprehensive exams, I'm on my own. Also, judging by some of the responses in the results survey, I gather that 16k is decent but also not a whole lot (although many of these are in different fields). I understand that this is a public institution and I am grateful that I'm getting funding to begin with, but I would like to arrive at a better sense for how competitive of an offer this is. Any thoughts, observations, or tips?
Thanks in advance for your time!