anxious_aspirant

This thread is inspired by the recent post to petition for tax exempt status - and because, now that things are getting down to the wire for decisions, many of us will (potentially) be mapping out our (bleak?) finances for the next few years. Those of us who aren't yet enrolled have much less experience with this sort of thing, so I'm hoping that you grad school veterans can help us out as we consider all those options. (Don't know about the rest of you, but the moment someone says "finances," I think my blood pressure skyrockets. Any info to alleviate the finance-induced anxiety attacks is welcome! ) First of all, to echo the earlier post, does anyone know the rate the stipends are taxed - or, perhaps more helpfully, what the take-home really is in contrast to its original amount? (Hopefully I'd be living somewhere cheaper than I do now, but many stipends in full would be eaten up by rent alone. A gal has to eat!) Does anyone here hold a second job during the school year? If so, how does it work out for you in combination with teaching and classes of your own? Conversely, is it just common practice to get part-time work during the summer to offset the school year, and if so, what kids of jobs do you go for? Perhaps too nitpicky to be planning at this point, but how do you all fare with your university health plans - especially average costs of things like prescriptions and routine office visits? These questions, at least from my perspective, are geared toward those of you for whom the stipend is the be all and end all - those who are unmarried/unattached and therefore have no second income (or whatever other source of money you might have from family/parents, etc.) Also, perhaps younguns like myself with less in savings than our older/wiser counterparts. I know there is a social taboo about talking/asking about how much money we make, so I'm hoping this won't come off as offensive - and that our relative anonymity makes it more comfortable to discuss. Even if it's not an answer to my specific questions, any advice or unforeseen financial conflicts that you could share might be helpful to us newbies. We'd appreciate your wisdom! Thanks!

I have similar questions about my MA acceptance. Their letter said "please respond in writing," but no specific forms were provided. Do I fashion my own letter? Does it have to be through snail-mail? Should it say something specific, or just short and sweet, saying "Sure thing, see you in the fall"? I'd ask them, but I fear it sounds like a dumb question...

I think I'm getting more pessimistic as time wears on. I had a burst of positivity after receiving another very kind response from the DGS at my wait list school, but the waiting is pretty grueling...and I think that knowing I was "so close" this year without making it kind of makes it feel worse. To echo Germaine, I too can't imagine myself in another profession, and both giving up and failing seem like terrible options. Also that I will have to reapply in for fall 2014 rather than 13, because I'll be doing a 1-year MA. That means going back to high school teaching for a year...which is kind of heartbreaking. I love teaching in principle, but the nonstop work, hours of it every night, lack of any other life - it's a lot to do when I'm not advancing myself in any way, have no venue in which to do any writing or research, etc. I'm preparing for the worst-case scenario. I'm putting in for leave at my job, with my return scheduled for the next year. I'll do the MA, get a nice pay boost on my return (though no time of my own in which to spend the money or go out with friends, of course), reapply, and have something like 10 to 1 odds that I'll be able to start my "real" career (albeit wayyy later in life than I had planned). And, wow, that sounds awful. Anyone just wish they had some other option? Like you're overeducated in the worst possible way, because being able to thoughtfully analyze text gets you just about zilch in the job market? (I once asked my students what they'd do if they never had to worry about money, and right away, a kid bursts out with "Be a great thinker!" And I was all like, yeah. Join the club, sir.)

Anecdotally - I don't know anything about this, really - I was just researching an article about a novel published in a journal called Religion & LIterature. The journal itself is published by Notre Dame - they might have some related program worth looking into.

I just got an email from Banana Republic with "An appointment you won't want to miss" in the subject line. Warning: don't read the subject lines of your emails first. I saw the word "appointment" and almost died on the spot.

"The Ides of April"...?

(In reality, congrats, folks. Anyone else feel like rejection will eventually make you regress to tantrums - and unattractively so?)

Blerggg. I want to be hired! [insert self-pitying whine]

Enzian - I think it's really odd that the MA program doesn't abide by the standard deadline. The reality of waitlisting, I'd imagine, makes that deadline gospel. The MA program where I was accepted told me to let them know by the end of April - I'd think an MA especially would either respect or extend the deadline, since most people apply to both MAs and MA/PhDs. The MA/PhD offer is too good to pass up, no matter how great of a school offers you an MA. This doesn't help you at all, I know; but have you considered talking with their department? I'd hope the school wouldn't be offended that you were considering a PhD - it's totally understandable. I suppose if it comes down to it, you could accept their offer and back out later, even if it makes you look bad - the PhD school is going to be the one whose opinion you care about - but I understand not wanting to do that. I'd be wary, too.

Same! Apparently my last school plans to notify March 23rd....that's right, March 23rd! We'll see if I'm still sane come then...

Ha! I had a dream last night that I attended my wait-list school and my arch-nemesis decided to attend, too. (Not that I really have many nemeses, but ya know, we all have those people who make life more difficult.) Apparently I have a subconscious fear of the "rollercoaster" effect continuing to dominate my life.

I listed academic-type things, not extracurriculars - much that was "extracurricular" for me was employment-based anyway, so it showed elsewhere on the CV. I put things like scholarships, honors societies, various titles my school bestowed for whatever reason, but all are related to academics. Though I wasn't too worried about leadership as someone with teaching experience and a grad degree in education - so if you want to show leadership in anticipation of TA funding, I'd imagine it would help to include some info - esp. tutoring or being an undergrad TA. Though I'd say to tailor it down to what's relevant to your school/program/app. Jeremiah - sounds like your grad accomplishments cover those bases.

Hear hear on "spending all this money." At least I won't have to shell out the GRE fees again if I reapply next year, but really...App fees, plus GREs (got to love that the subject test doubles that amount), the cost for all those extra GRE reports if you apply to more than 4, transcript fees. (Plus maybe a lifetime of therapy, in which I work out my feelings of inadequacy...?) I'd like to say that I knew that this was a long shot going into it (I did), but the application process is designed to get hopes up...researching schools, developing semi-creepy intellectual crushes based on faculty profiles, crossing fingers that you'll be able to reap the benefits of those intellects...then the "long shot" realism turns into a super let-down...

Thank god. Because my "last hope" school, from whom I haven't heard yet, read a nice SOP typo in my application. I've been beating myself up about it...boo. However, the same typo occurred in both SOPs to schools I've had more positive feedback from (the acceptance and the waitlist), and yet WASN'T in my SOPs to the schools from which I was rejected. Go figure!

Thanks, all, for the feedback and the info you've shared. You've given me more to think about!

I guess the question then remains: Should I even do the one-year MA? I have tuition remission, but also the financial burden of leaving my job and having no other income that year. And depending on my job, I might have to defer admission a year to get a leave approved. Then I'm putting myself out by 3 more years until I can even apply to a PhD. Bahh. My MA school is NOT going to look kindly on me anymore...

Also extra-stressed because I sent a long email (earlier this week) with all sorts of questions to the professor who helped me out the most with apps/recs/undergrad English, and he never responded. I was all, "WHY am I being abandoned?!?" Then I realized it's spring break. The man is probably in the Bahamas or something. *All aboard!*

I've been back-and-forth about this in my head - very catch-22 and such. I sent a follow-up email this week to my waitlist school - I waited a few weeks from my initial communication, until I had a couple other questions so I wouldn't have to send separate emails and thereby bog them down. All my earlier emails from them were kind and encouraging. This time...no response. I have the "good angel" on one shoulder saying: "They're just busy people! They still love you! Maybe they're even waiting to get back to you because they think they can offer you a spot soon!" Cue the shoulder-devil: "You've really done yourself in by annoying them. You've been moved to the bottom of the list! Or there was something terribly miscommunicated in your tone. They think you're rude, uncouth, and overeager." Then again, if I didn't try to keep contact, I'd be kicking myself, thinking I wasn't showing enough enthusiasm and was thereby doing myself in. Too bad it would be weird to send another email saying, "Don't worry, guys. I'm not this annoying in real life. And I love you all JUST the right amount." I totally intended my username to sound like the enthusiastic kind of anxious, and the irony now is that it's clearly the other kind...At least we're all on the express train to Stressville together, right?

lpbuck - I applied to both MAs and MA/PhDs so that I'd have options, especially since PhDs are so selective and the numbers really are intimidating. I will definitely reapply to PhD programs after completing the MA, if that's the way I go. My previous MA (actually an MAT) is in English education (high school), so it's not unrelated. I completed it right out of undergrad because I was able to do it tuition-free, and it was an intensive urban ed. program - prepares you for all eventualities, and it's career-oriented so that I'd be work-ready. At the time, it was a no-brainer (considering it was free), though I planned on further study "at some point" in the future. If the MA/PhD option doesn't work out, I was thinking of the MA as a way to strengthen future apps. I think most of us (?) hope for the MA/PhD option to work out, because it provides more security. But I will say that the MAT was a reputable program that allowed me to get a full time job right out of school. I don't think I'd be able to do the MA/PhD on a TA stipend for the next five years if I hadn't been able to work full time and save like crazy these past two years, either. Not sure if this answers things for you - I think my case is atypical.

I get what you mean about getting BAs and MAs at the same school, and I wondered about it myself. It's because a lot of institutions guarantee grad admission for their students, right? This particular MA usually only allows 1 former student into the program per year, so it actually makes it a bit more competitive - but there's no way to really acknowledge that in an application (maybe I can get a recommender to hint at it?). Anyone else have insight on this potential-double-MA-death-sentence for PhD apps?? I haven't had any professors mention it, but then again, they haven't been through the app process for a while - and they have pride in their program, so I understand why they'd encourage me to do it regardless.

Thanks for the feedback, yank. Maybe to get some more specific stuff, though, a few questions - -Do you know why the double MA is a problem for PhD apps? I know it is for teaching public school, because it makes you more "expensive" to hire, but I didn't think of it as a problem for PhD apps - just kind of a non-issue, because the credit won't carry over anyway. Plus it's in education, which I thought would help if I need to compete for TA positions...Any clarification might help me out! -The MA is at my previous undergrad/grad institution - so the professors who wrote my letters and proofread my SOP this year will be the same ones I have come the fall, more or less. I don't know if this would alleviate the reputation problems you point out? I also was granted tuition remission, so it's a bit less of a financial burden - though doesn't cover living expenses. Being only one year, I can hopefully get leave from my teaching position and return the year after, with a nice pay raise, if PhD apps don't work out. But then again, based on your earlier comments, I don't want to preclude myself from the PhD option...Bah! And I love my undergrad school and its English department! Unfortunately I'm turning this into an agonizing debate with myself! I don't want to let my love of being a student / reading / writing lead me to make a potentially limiting decision in the long run.

As someone who might potentially enroll in an MA program this fall, I thought I'd ask if any of you have also completed one-year MA programs and still applied for PhD programs for the next fall. I wonder how well this was received - since many deadlines are December-January, and I'd really have no final grades or partial MA transcript to send to these schools. They'd have to rely on my undergraduate record and my other MA, which is in a different field. I wonder if simply being enrolled in the one-year MA is going to give me any more of leg up than I had this year, seeing as all the statistical data on my new apps will be the same - or if I'll end up having to wait another application cycle to see the MA in English pay off. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!

I just graded a prompt about Frankenstein, in which a student said Victor's mother died of "ammonia." And aside from the malapropism, she really died from scarlet fever.

My acceptance is only for an MA - though I love the school to death, I'm waiting on the PhD. If I had a couple admits, like lyoness did, I would probably decline the ones I was sure I wasn't going to take...but having only two makes my decision for me. I'd love to be able to give my MA school the heads up earlier, since it's just easier for them, but I'm in a position where I need to keep the options open (assuming the one I'm still waiting on is a rejection). Now I wish I had applied to more so I might have more options, but alas, my schedule didn't allow for it last fall. I barely got the apps out that I did, among all my other work! I almost feel like round 2 will be the real round, having had sufficient revision (re-envisioning?) time, though if I'm in a full-time, one-year MA program, who knows how I'll pull that off.

My mom CANNOT spell because her Mass. accent is so thick. She once wrote, "Dana Faba Cancer Society." And I think she only got "cancer" right because she's a nurse and probably sees it written down fairly often.