Nerd_For_Life

Do you have a supervisor? I would talk to them about applying for positions. Most won't be posted until July/August when they start finalizing what the fall courses are going to look like. Also if there is a grad supervisor for the department that you are in they would also be a good person to talk to about RA/TA positions. Further, if there are any profs that you know are researching something that you are interested in, you could contact them.

As for passing the time...........yup. Slow it does go.

I vote for the first option. Research fit is important and in addition (from what I've been told by prof's) it looks a lot better academically if you go to different universities throughout your academic career. It shows that's you're getting different view points, can work and succeed in different environments, etc. Plus going to the UK will help you build a lot of new connections and allow you to network in ways that staying at your home university will not. Plus. the travel

Me: "So I got into Cambridge, but there's no offer of funding. If I get into UofT for my MA though I'll be getting a SSHRC worth $17,500 plus a potential entry scholarship from UofT. My partner can work and by the time I'm done my MA we should be able to afford a down-payment on a house."

Boss at my retail job that currently pays the bills and who continually asks about my grad school status so he knows when I will be quitting: "You should go to Cambridge no matter what. Man, I'll slap you silly if you turn down Cambridge. I mean, it's Cambridge."

Me: "Yes but I have a better research fit with UofT and will have a better supervisor, won't have to live away from my partner for a year, can buy a house, and will be funded vs. gaining $70,000 in debt to do one year in Cambridge where there is no one doing the research I want to do."

Boss: "I don't think you understand what it means to go to Cambridge."

Me: "Have you been there? I wasn't aware that you had done any post-secondary schooling."

Boss: "I haven't but you don't need to be a genius to know that you should go to Cambridge."

*sigh*

Me: "So I got into Cambridge, but there's no offer of funding. If I get into UofT for my MA though I'll be getting a SSHRC worth $17,500 plus a potential entry scholarship from UofT. My partner can work and by the time I'm done my MA we should be able to afford a down-payment on a house."

Boss at my retail job that currently pays the bills and who continually asks about my grad school status so he knows when I will be quitting: "You should go to Cambridge no matter what. Man, I'll slap you silly if you turn down Cambridge. I mean, it's Cambridge."

Me: "Yes but I have a better research fit with UofT and will have a better supervisor, won't have to live away from my partner for a year, can buy a house, and will be funded vs. gaining $70,000 in debt to do one year in Cambridge where there is no one doing the research I want to do."

Boss: "I don't think you understand what it means to go to Cambridge."

Me: "Have you been there? I wasn't aware that you had done any post-secondary schooling."

Boss: "I haven't but you don't need to be a genius to know that you should go to Cambridge."

*sigh*