GuitarSlayer

Kick it old school and make flashcards like you did in elementary school. Title of book on the "flash" side, then author, thesis, major source, and a major crit on the back.

New England Nat nailed it, but I'll throw my two cents in anyway. Fit is not only your qualifiers but whether the school feels that it can adequately support your topic. You can see what happened to me in my sig -- rejected from all North American schools, got into a top 5 world school AND a top 100 world school. WTF. Well, I do medieval death stuff. Americans honestly tend to feel icky discussing the nuts and bolts of death. That's a cultural issue; I'm a second generation American whose immediate forebears were grave diggers -- death is what it is, and it's not THAT scary. The US also doesn't have many medieval graves lying around; you can have museums full of reliquaries and stained glass and even farming implements, but graves -- unless they are fragments of the tombs -- aren't common. So fit, in part, is the school's ability to help you help yourself.

Sorry for the delayed response. The Direct Loan is limited to $20k a year, so I take out a PLUS loan to cover the rest -- don't go Sallie Mae. There is a $139k or so ceiling of Direct Loan debt you're allowed to accrue, but PLUS loans are unlimited, though you have to go through additional counseling if you've managed to hit the $139k cap on Direct. I was able to get a teaching studentship -- aka TF position for half tuition. York encourages PhDs to teach, actually, and makes opportunities for them to do so. It's a younger school so it may have a different perspective than the older schools. Your mileage may vary depending upon your school. Since you are married, you will have to consider that you need to rent a flat or a house privately -- fairly sure the wife doesn't want to live in a shared house with 18 of your schoolmates. Factor that in when you create your budget and judge how much you should take out for your loan. I underestimated my first year, and while liveable, I can foresee difficulties if I don't fix it! London and the surrounding area (including Oxford) is 50%-150% more expensive than other areas of the country. I got into Oxford, but I ultimately went York for my awesome supervisor and also for the fact I wasn't willing to take on double the debt for Oxford vs York (who just joined the Russell group and gives Oxbridge a run for their money in the tables in certain areas); a one-bedroom flat in a meh area within bussing distance of Oxford was 700 quid at minimum, while I was able to score a flat within busing distance of York for 495 in a great area. Americans rarely get full funding due to the education disparity (we have the best and the brightest, but we also have many, many students that are under-served and tank the standings); you never know what you're going to get until the student gets to the UK. Also, the AHRC funding tends to be limited to British citizens, but departments are willing to work with students and their needs based on the students' merits. The visa is no biggie, honestly; the one person I knew had a problem with bringing the wife over hired an immigration lawyer, and the problem was resolved in a matter of a couple weeks. The bigger challenge will be if your wife wants to work while in the country. That's a whole slew of hoops to jump through. I don't have any experience with that. If you have any super personal questions, drop me a PM.

I did my undergrad and masters in the US, and I'm in the UK currently. When you're doing your degree outside the US, keep in mind that you will have to get and live by a visa -- your ability to work outside school will be limited. If you have a Direct Loan, you will have to keep an eye on the exchange rate -- for example, the pound has gone up 8 cents since I got my loan organized last summer. I'll have to take out a larger one to continue studies -- not the end of the world, but! it's a drag. You're also going to need to be a self-starter who can write under pressure -- Euro/UK PhDs are done in 3-5 years (5 for medical duress) because you are literally dropped in to the writing phase, while the US typically requires you to take courses and then write, for a total of 5-7 years. If you have your act together already and have a strong direction for what you want to do with your PhD -- not to mention someone on the other side that is totally into it (and the two of you have a shared language!) -- then I would recommend it.

It's all about who you're studying under, not necessarily the university. I had a choice between a new guy at a higher ranked school or a man at the top of my field at a slightly lower ranked university in England. I chose the second -- name recognition, reputation, and connections within the community, plus he was right on the mark as far as my topic goes. When you do your resume, you can write PhD, Blah Blah University, under THIS HUGE NAME IN THE BIZ. Institute rep is important, but even more so is your supervisor.

I'm doing German via Tell Me More, which is more concerned with grammar and writing than with speaking. If money wasn't an issue, I'd recommend that. Berlitz and Pimsleur are old standbys, and they've survived for a reason.

I'm sorry I'm late to the party, but I am happy you made the decision. What i was GOING to said, you just said: Keep in mind that there is absolutely nothing keeping you from a post-grad fellowship in the UK or in the US that will net some teaching experience. Congratulations again!!!

Decision made. I considered the possibility of funding, my comfort level with the POI (who has been nothing but supportive and kind to me), the cost of living, and yes, the prestige factor. York is absolutely nothing to sneeze at, and what's not to say I won't have a fair chance at a post doc at Oxford down the road? I am so relieved this is all over. Defended my thesis Tuesday, submitted to the grad school Friday, paid grad fees Friday afternoon. It's over. It's all over. And now I play video games to make up for lost time since last summer XD

When I was contacting my POIs, I started in June/July. They've had a bit of time to unwind from the semester but they aren't on the beach yet. I applied to Oxford and got in, and they chose my POI for me -- I had no choice form or anything to work with. In contrast, I applied to York after contacting a person there and we seemed to synch up, and he was the one to give me the happy tidings. I had a similar situation where I was considering asking someone if I could study under her, but I realized she was waaay too young/untenured for it. So what I did was that I went to HER POI and supervisor from her PhD -- if he/she was supportive of this person's work, there is a good chance that he/she will like you too if you are in a similar vein. Worked out pretty well!!

One oddball way is to ask people outside of his/her field if they know of your POI. If they say "who?" it's not necessarily bad, but if they have a good/bad rep outside the field, it says a LOT about them. The google scholar thing is a nifty trick, but you also might want to read a few of these articles and consider whether you jive with this person's outlook. If he/she makes you tilt your head and go "wait, wut?" think before committing. You have to be with this person for 5+ years - it's like a marriage, and a divorce won't be pretty.

2 weeks, no more, no less. If you believe there is any chance they would try to shortchange you, you reduce that by half by making it the typical 2 weeker.

What I did was write a completely separate essay about one facet of my thesis. It eventually was integrated into said thesis as chapter 2. I made it 15-20 pages long and then filed it down for each school as needed. If they did not specify essay length, I sent the whole thing - they need to set word/page limits with me As to how effective that is, I'm not sure. As you can see, I got the boot from all my American unis and got into the Brit ones (Oxford was filed down to 15 pages, while York got the full 20, if I recall correctly). Granted, my topic is super Euro-centric, super creepy, and not really done.

"Going for" as in attending? Not sure yet, waiting on funding news from them and York. "Going for" as in applied? Yes, and I got my acceptance last week

Totally will. At least I know what country I need to smuggle the cats into XD

1. York - had just come back from Paris on a research trip and was staying over in London for two days. I got in the door and got my phone hooked up to Wifi and "beep." "What the-- OH GOD YORK ACCEPTED ME!!!" 2. Oxford -- sick for most of spring break, assumed that York was going to be it. Woke up at 11. Checked email. Incoherent for 3 hours thereafter.