UNC-CH assistantship?

[DarkNeutron]

I just got accepted to the M.A. program in Computer science at UNC-CH (yay!), but I am a little confused about the whole TA/RA situation.

(At least, I think I was accepted. The email actually said that they they "recommended [me] for admission to the UNC-CH graduate school". Is there a difference?)

When I was researching graduate schools, one thing that appealed to me about UNC-CH was that they seemed to offer TA/RA positions to masters students, not just PhD students (I liked the MA+PhD path, rather then a direct PhD program). I got most of the financial information from the CS department website. It also says that most assistantships are given out right before the semester begins, not when you are admitted.

On the other hand, the email I just received said the following:

The number of assistantships we have available this year is limited and we regret that we cannot offer you financial support this fall. However, should you enroll; you will be able to earn credit for work with faculty on research projects, in addition to your course work. Research assistantships may become available in the future, or we may be able to offer a teaching assistantship. In any case, you can work towards a degree with a concentration in the research area of your choice.

Does this mean that the assistantship positions are already filled for the fall, or only that they can't guarantee anything? Could this be an effect of the budget situation among the states right now?

UNC-CH is my first choice school and I really want to be able to go there, but I am a bit concerned because the out-of-state tuition for the first year (before I can establish residency) will cost more then my entire Bachelor's degree. I am still going to look for outside funding, but it seems like it will take a lot to match a tuition waver.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[husky]

They are all filled. They state that they cannot offer you funding. But, sometimes, professors get grants and a position opens up. They are basically saying there isn't anything for you now, but IF something comes available at a later time MAYBE you can be offered support. If funding is an issue for you, you will certainly want to keep other university options open.