kaputzing

I have little of worth to add to what's already been said. You do have a space, but you'll have to carve it for yourself, and you'll (probably) have to be extraordinarily careful with what you say/write. Though it gets just as irritating from the other side as well. If you're female/LGBTQ and you're interested in gender studies or -- to come up with a slightly more innocent example -- you're Asian-American and you're interested in East Asian politics, sometimes you end up being pegged as someone who has a stake in the outcome, and that carries with it its own problems and assumptions about your research (i.e. you're not "objective" enough, as if objectivity is something to strive for in all cases).

The two main places to buy fresh produce in Hyde Park are located to the northeast of the university. One is Hyde Park Produce (located on 53rd and Woodlawn in Kimbark Plaza), and the other is Treasure Island (along 55th and South Lake Park). I've never looked for fresh kale in HPP, but it would not surprise me if they don't have it. Treasure Island might, however, as they have a better selection. A bike is enough to get to either of these places. You can do it by foot too via public transit. I think there's a farmer's market that sometimes sets up a little south of 60th street. I went there three years ago and promptly forgot its location ... selection was all right, but it wasn't all that great.

I can't speak about grad housing, though I have heard generally good things about it, and the prices are competitive with the surrounding properties. The further west you go, the cheaper the housing will be and the more you will get for your buck, especially if you're not adverse to living with roommates. There are some really great places going for as cheap as $450 a month northwest of campus, which includes A/C, heat, in-unit laundry, electricity, gas, hot water, and internet. The problem is, of course, the further west you go, the farther you will be to almost everything. You won't be close to the school (~15-20 minute walk which is not terrible, but you'll hate it in the winter), and you won't be all that close to groceries, though you will be moderately close to the bus stop depending on where you live (but some of the bus routes go in loops, so it can still be inconvenient, either getting to campus or back). If you are looking at specific streets, I can probably say more about how convenient it is to live there by location. South of 60th street, prices also get lower, because that area is generally considered to be less safe. I haven't lived down there, so I can't say for certain how dangerous it is. Location-wise, it's not terribly convenient either. There are basically no grocery stores south of 57th street, unless you want to consider University-owned convenience stores "grocery stores." (The two main ones in Hyde Park are located on 55th and 53rd, so if you want to buy groceries, you will probably end up having to take the bus.) The further east you go towards the lake, the pricier the apartments will become, as East Hyde Park is where most of the stores and shops are located. Woodlawn and Kimbark are known as the "ghetto" areas. By "ghetto," I simply mean that lots of undergrads tend to live there, so the units are typically in poorer condition, and it might get loud in the buildings due to parties, etc. You will have more access to the 6 bus (which goes downtown) if you live close to S. Hyde Park Blvd., and if you live on 55th, you'll also pretty much get direct access to the 171 and 55, both of which take you right to campus (and back as well). Lots of restaurants, shops, cafes, etc. to the east, and the groceries are close by. North ... it can get inconvenient unless you live near a 172 bus stop and along the evening shuttle route. I wouldn't go north of 51st, personally, and there are a few crimes as well (though mostly petty crimes), since some streets can get pretty deserted. I've heard decent things about Mayfair, but I've also heard that their management has gotten pretty bad recently. Mac always gets terrible reviews (which is unfortunate, since they own most of the property in the area). There's also Kass Management Company, which likewise has gotten less than stellar reviews (but they are not absolutely terrible if you're willing to be firm with them, I've heard), and they seem to own some pretty nice properties/locations east of the university if you're willing to put up with them ... Also, there's always Regents, if you're willing to shell out a little more money and if you're willing to basically take the bus all the time to get to and from campus.

I was also discouraged from applying to UK programs, since they are purportedly not as rigorous for my field; while they churn out many PhDs due to the shorter time frame, I've been told that they also churn out many horrible dissertations for the same reasons, which may hurt someone on the job market. (Note: I can't say whether or not this is true! I was told this by scholars who got their degrees both in the US and in Germany, and I was encouraged to focus on US applications and to think about the UK options later if my options in the US were not good enough.) But my field requires a solid basis in language work, and my languages are not to the level that I'd feel comfortable having my supervisor showing me to the library and then saying, "See you in three years!" ... yes, that might be a good way to look at it. OP, how would you feel if you were just dropped off at the library and told to hand in your dissertation in three years? If you're confident, go. If not, then I'd recommend against it. You may be able to still study at Cambridge for a time even while attending CUNY depending on where your research takes you.

Two of my roommates (one male, one female) have gotten mugged around Greenwood and 52nd in the middle of the afternoon for no good reason except for the fact that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. These were two separate incidents, and they weren't flashing their iPhones or what-not around either. Random attacks, basically. Don't let it scare you off, but please exercise caution. Whenever streets look empty (whether in daylight or during the night), I'd advise you to take the busier streets even if it'll add 3-5 minutes to the walk; minimize the amount of time you have to spend on empty streets, basically.

I've spoken to some professors about it. The responses (paraphrased): - "No serious hiring committee will discount an applicant for that reason. If you don't get hired, it's not because your CV says BA/MA/PhD [university]." -- Prof at my university. - "Normally, it matters, and I have seen applications thrown into the trash purely because they got their degrees from one school, but if your field is very small and the school is highly regarded, then you can note it in your cover letter: 'Due to the small size of my field and the high ranking of my alma mater, I decided to complete all three degrees at [university].' You can try to temper it with research summers or a year spent at another school." -- Outside prof - "I don't know. It does mean you can't do your post-doc here." -- Prof at my university - "You shouldn't worry about that. [Prof X] and [Prof Y] are retiring, and we are getting new faculty, so you will be exposed to new ideas." -- Prof at my university - "Is that a thing? We're hiring new people ..." -- Prof at my university - "That was one of my concerns when we were discussing your application, and I normally like to think of grad school like an apprenticeship program ... you go one place, you go another, get exposed to new ideas ... but because there are so many people retiring, we agreed that it wouldn't harm your intellectual development." -- Prof at my university - "Oh, it's nice to get out and get exposed to new ideas." -- Prof at a university I was accepted to. It's difficult to judge, because everyone is so biased. Every school (alma mater, X, Y) I am considering has significant cons, e.g. funding (X), fit (X), lack of tenured and established profs to oversee research (Y), lack of resources (Y), inbreeding (alma mater), etc.

Every moment I settle on one of my choices, I end up somehow talking (or rather, thinking) myself back into indecision. @ wtncffts: I did get into other excellent places (and actually did not get rejected anywhere, though I did get a few waitlists), but I have to admit, I have always felt like a fraud. I do agree that sometimes applicants have a easier way "in" -- not because they are of lesser quality than the other applicants (I doubt anyone on the committee wants to lower the quality of their program!), but because the people vouching for them know they can hypothetically do the work, and it is often the case that it's better to take the low-risk student (will they drop out? will they take the offer?) vs. an outside applicant ... But then the students have a difficult time transitioning from undergrad --> grad, and it shows. Some more detail on my situation: My alma mater typically does not accept its own students in my particular subfield. However, the department is going through a turnover, so none of my letter writers will be active faculty next year. Of the two remaining professors there, I've never even met one of them in person, while I've only taken intro classes from the other. My field is also tiny. There are less than ten schools in the USA that have what I consider to be "full-fledged" programs, and typically, there are only two or three tenured or tenure-track faculty per school (and each of those usually work in different areas). This year's particularly difficult to judge, since many programs are restructuring.

Getting your BA/MA/PhD at one institution is often frowned down upon and will cause your application to be thrown into the trash. Search committee members will worry that you are restricted provincially, that you only have experience of that one type of academic culture and thinking, and that you'd be poorly prepared to adapt to other schools/areas. However, as always, there are exceptions to this. We all know that one person in the field who's gotten all their degrees at Yale, right? (And god, some people stay on at Yale afterwards!) So at what point does academic prestige (Top 2, Top 5, Top 10?) outweigh concerns of academic inbreeding? (Mods: If placed in wrong subforum, please move.)

Depends on what you mean by "minimum." I'm not sure how much this will help, but in Hyde Park: My current expenses (off-campus, sharing an apartment unit 20 minutes walk from campus with four other roommates, & I'm rounding up the numbers): $30 a week for groceries (x 52 weeks = $1560) + $500 rent (x 12 = $6000) + additional expenses (books, eating out, coffee, dentist, doctor, etc. = .... I don't know, but feel free to insert an exorbitantly high price for however much you wish to estimate, this part depends in part on you) = $7560 + [insert your own additional expenses].

Interesting phenomenon in my field: The two schools who beat all the rest in terms of job placement are (coincidentally) the two schools known for the unhappiest, stressed students. Wondering if this is because the students who go to these schools are just hard-core (and therefore are willing to take on a load of stress for the prestige/job boost) or if the schools do actually contribute a large amount to helping the students get a leg up over their competition ...

I'm suffering from some major indecision right now too. I think what it will come down to is which school I would regret turning down more. Whichever school that is, I'll probably take it, because I don't want to think, "Oh, but what if I'd only gone to School X?"

Hmm, I think digital humanities is, as you say, inevitable. But I don't think it's only useful for the teaching aspect. I can think of plenty of applications of digital humanities towards CRM, for instance, and I think it will encourage more scholarship on difficult-to-access primary sources.

Insecure funding (or a very small stipend that basically means you'll have to live paycheck to paycheck) can easily be just as stressful as a toxic department or a lack of research fit.

I knew the number was low, but not as low as two for the entire department. I assume they didn't take any Egyptologists this round, though, so I guess it's one spot for Assyriology and one for Greco-Arabic studies?

My impression: You're thinking of the other schools as if you had gotten in and were forced to decline their admissions to go to your current school. You are feeling bad, because you feel as if you've missed out on certain opportunities and "settled" for a lesser school. But you weren't accepted at the other schools; you didn't make the cut, no matter how close you were to the cut. So basically, you're just being silly. Buck up and be grateful. It's stupid and pointless to think "what if?" Now that the harsh words are out of the way, how closely does current research actually fit with the research you want to do? If it's completely different, then maybe think about transferring and mention this to your advisor. Keep in mind that your transfer applications may not be successful and that you may still wind up stuck at your program in a potentially awkward situation, where your cohort and profs know you want out but didn't succeed in getting out.