Princeton French vs. UC Berkeley CMPL

[Desdansa]

Both seem great, though highly different, options. At times, I find myself considering the schools through a Head/Heart dichotomy, where: Heart = Berkeley; Head = Princeton. This may be foolishness, but there it is.

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Princeton Pros: Better stipend, less teaching, cheaper cost of living, proximate to New York and Philly, more funding for archival research, language study, and conference travel.

Princeton Cons: (Allegedly) more traditional and hierarchical, not exactly a vibrant town, smaller [possibly a pro], more self-enclosed, less pleasant weather/environment overall. 

AND

Berkeley Pros: Beautiful area, lovely weather, more diversity (of people, ideas, environment), larger [could also be a con], more vibrant grad. student life and community, more life outside of campus, (allegedly) less hierarchical. 

Berkeley Cons: Worse stipend, higher cost of living, more teaching, environmentally precarious area (earthquakes, droughts, wildfires, hyper-development), less funding for archival research, language study, travel.

***

Any help, advice, anecdotes, are appreciated tremendously!

Thank you. 

 

[Volodine1]

congrats, this is a good choice to have to make! I would go with your "heart" over your "head"; question: where did you see about the funding for research and language and travel? 

[Desdansa]

Thank you! I'm trying to remind myself that it's a good position to be in: their atmospheres and environments are just very different, so it's hard to see the decision clearly. 

I don't think it's wildly difficult to get summer funding at Berkeley, but, starting my third summer there, I would need to apply for funding each summer. Summer funding is included in the Princeton stipend. I also think it's a bit easier to get conference funding at Princeton, but that's to be expected from a well endowed private uni. Where the funding opportunities at Princeton were emphasized during my visit, the funding difficulties at Berkeley were stressed. 

I'm most concerned about the cost of living in the Bay Area, and the fact that my Berkeley funding actually goes down each year, whereas the Princeton stipend stays constant (and is about $9k higher than the Berkeley stipend for years 3 & 4). I wouldn't normally be so preoccupied with finances, but I'm trying to temper some of my impulsiveness here and remain conscientious of the fact that a ~$26k salary in the Bay Area might be stressful to live on. 

 

 

[Volodine1]

Maybe you could get a sense of how likely it is to get that funding you have to apply for. If funding is the same for years one and two, keep in mind things might change by the time you get to year three. You also might put yourself in position to win funding. 
 

knowing the Princeton area relatively well, i can tell you it’s not cheap either. 
 

which program has faculty you would be most excited to work with?

 

which one has an atmosphere in which you see yourself being most comfortable?