flyingwalrus

I suppose I should identify which school is making these offers. UNC: $14,700 per academic year. TAMU: $16,200 per year. Texas: $13,000 first year fellowship, something like $12,520 each academic year thereafter.

I have offers of $14,700 and $13,000 during the regular school year and $16,200 over 12 months.

WashU has the better placement record.

Wow! Your friend must have made quite an impression.

Assuming that (1) funding isn't an issue and (2) you want an R1-ish academic job in the US, I think I'd pick Indiana. Based on what they say on their website (which may not be representative; see if they'll send you a complete placement record), Indiana places better than Texas. I wouldn't worry about the number of required courses. It is what it is. Everyone else will be taking about as many as you. As for me, I'm leaning heavily towards UNC, but I have yet to visit UT and TAMU, so we'll see.

What's your field of interest?

Columbia is generally pretty cheap, but the prices are variable. The three bedroom townhouse I live in costs $780 a month plus about $120 for cable and internet, probably an average of about $50 for gas, and around $120 for other utilities. There are some fairly nice one bedrooms on Providence south of Nifong that cost, I think, $620 a month including utilities. Providence Court, or something. They also have two bedrooms. Their neighborhood is pretty quiet. Keep in mind that a lot of the apartment complexes are full of undergrads. I dunno if that's a problem for you or not. If it is, make sure you give the place a good looking over and ask other students in your program about it, if possible. Columbia is really easy to get around as long as you have a car. Parking isn't much of an issue; there are meters and garages downtown and plenty of parking on campus (just make sure you buy a parking pass). There are two first run theaters in town and one artsy one that shows a lot of independent and older films. I don't know what kind of music you like, but a lot of mid-level rock bands (Breaking Benjamin, Sevendust, Chevelle, etc.) play at the Blue Note. Kenny Chesney has a concert at the basketball arena seemingly every six months. Jesse Auditorium hosts a lot of speakers, comedians, musicians, and plays (the last two are generally aimed at the older crowd, though). Mizzou's football and baseball teams are very good if you're interested in watching sports. There's also other sports like basketball (they may be good again someday...), soccer, swimming, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling, etc. Columbia gets about 25 inches of snow a year. Despite this, the city is seemingly incapable of taking care of the roads during winter weather. If you get hit with six or more inches of snow overnight, expect to be stuck at your house for the day unless you live on a main road or within walking distance of campus. Driving can be tricky even when the city only gets 1 or 2 inches, too, just because no one knows how to handle it and the city doesn't help things. As for rain, my view is skewed because I used to live in Portland, OR. Virtually everywhere seems dry in comparison.

Congratulations!

You had great scores across the board. The verbal is most definitely not low. Percentiles are all that matter, not raw scores.

I live in Columbia. Rent here is pretty cheap and crime's not much of an issue so long as you stay out of the areas that are clearly pseudo slums. It's a university town, so there are undergrads everywhere. East campus can get pretty loud, so you might want to think twice about living there even if the house/apartment appeals to you. STAY AWAY FROM COPPER BEACH. Their apartments have all kinds of terrible structural and electrical problems. I would also suggest avoiding all Remi properties. Despite what the student population says, there is plenty of parking available on campus. Buy a parking pass and you'll be fine. There's also a free bus line that runs through campus, although you can easily walk. The city's bus system isn't, from what I understand, particularly good. Commuting is fairly easy in Columbia even during rush hour, but this will likely depend on where you're driving to/from. The paint the city uses on its roads isn't reflective, so it can make driving in the dark during rain a bit of a pain. The city is also incapable of handling winter weather, so prepared to face terrible road conditions whenever a light dusting of snow hits town. There are a number of good restaurants in Columbia: India's House, Bangkok Gardens, Shakespeare's Pizza, Boone Tavern, Addison's, Flatbranch, and the Heidelberg (I'm not a big fan of theirs, but practically everyone else is and it's right next to campus). Let me know if you have more specific questions.

I've received this very same advice from the faculty I know. I don't think realist means any offense by it. The only part of his/her argument that I think might be a little off is the list of top schools s/he posted, as I think a few of them really shouldn't be on there. That's a fairly minor quibble, though.

No. I got into three (and may eventually get into a fourth) top 25 programs and my department isn't even close to being in the same group. There are lots of others like me in this regard. Take a look at Berkeley's grad students; a lot of them came from schools ranked below the top 25. tidefan: WUSTL is a very good program that'll help you get a good job. They looked past your GPA and that's a huge plus for them in my eyes.

Easily WUSTL. They've got the scholars and the placement record. I don't know much about Arizona or UVA, but I imagine Washington University in St. Louis is significantly better than them too.

I'd take WUSTL over UIUC without a second thought. WUSTL's behavior faculty is significantly better than UIUC's in my mind and has also been placing Americanists at better schools. Chris Achen and Larry Bartels are both at Princeton, so that'd probably be a pretty damn good choice for you. Of the schools that you have been accepted by, that's probably the one I'd choose, although I'm not positive. I'd have to do some more digging. Talk to your professors. Princeton's got a lot of institutional cachet, but WUSTL is a great department that has been improving of late. Meet with as many potential advisors as possible. You're gonna have to work with this person for the next 4-7 years, so you need to be sure you get along.

I went to UNC this past weekend and am visiting TAMU at the end of the month.

I've heard that Texas has a fairly fractured faculty that forces its students to compete with one another. Doesn't sound like a healthy environment.

Excellent. Congratulations!

$14,700 with an additional $3,000 possible during the summer.

Congrats! Hope you have a good time at the recruitment weekend. Unfortunately, TAMU has their event on the same days and I already have tickets to go there. Maybe Texas will have another date.

I too am also focusing on behavior/opinion. Also elections, parties, and methods. I haven't visited anyone yet, but I think UNC is an easy choice for me.

In that case, I think I'd lean towards B as well.

Congrats on Stony Brook! They're great for behavior and have a pretty good placement record.

Thanks, all!

In at Texas with a fellowship!

Just got an e-mail. In with a fellowship!