UW or Syracuse. Please help!

[brandyalexander]

UW is a guaranteed MA/PhD five years of funding, SU is a two year MA with a good track record of getting their students into "better" PhD programs.

UW's cohort is huge while SU has a lot of personal attention (like a lot a lot).

More people in UW working on my interests (history of the novel and philosophy and literature)

Seattle has a much higher cost of living and their stipend is not quite as much as SU's.

Also moving all the way to the west coast feels terrifying but staying on the easy feels boring.

What should I do?! Spazzing out to the extreme.

[Galoup11]

If you believe you can go to a school significantly "better" than Washington for your Ph.D by going to Syracuse first, I suppose I would go with Syracuse. If you're at all unsure, I wouldn't pass up UW if it's a good fit and you'd be happy getting your doctorate from there. Take this with grain of salt, though.

[Rabbitry]

I don't know that there is a "wrong" choice here. Both offers look great! You might want to try and speak to a graduate student at each campus to get a feel for the culture of the program.

[UMontanaGrad]

UW is offering you a direct route to your end goal..... a PhD with funding. It's a great school; Seattle is a great place; I always suggest that everyone live in Northwest U.S. at least one time in their lives. Not to detract from Syracuse, but if you go for just an M.A., then you are repeating this application process all over again in just a year and a 1/2.

just a thought.

[brandyalexander]

Thanks everyone, this is all really good advice.

I think my biggest concern is that UW's program is huge--I'm worried that support for the students will be a little stilted.

[hiphopanonymous]

I think my biggest concern is that UW's program is huge--I'm worried that support for the students will be a little stilted.

You should canvas some of the current students and see how they feel about this issue, which is an important one. Individual responses will vary, of course, but I imagine you'll be able to get a sense for how the program works to support its own--if it does. It's probably a good idea to ask respectfully and be aware that people can be touchy about things you might not anticipate, but I imagine most students will be happy to speak candidly to your concerns.

If you haven't been contacted by any current students yet, try asking the DGS to put you in touch with a few. If no one will put you in touch with current students, I'd consider that a bad sign.

[impending]

Thanks everyone, this is all really good advice.

I think my biggest concern is that UW's program is huge--I'm worried that support for the students will be a little stilted.

That's one of my major concerns for my own decision right now as well. I was advised to ask POIs how many dissertation committees they're currently serving on to get a sense of how much individual attention to really expect. And definitely ask some current students about their experiences with mentoring and the size of the program, as well as how they've fared financially on the stipend and extra opportunities for funding. And personally I'd see if I could set up phone calls with grad students rather than emailing. It seems like it might be easier to get some straight less-than-glowing opinions via an actual conversation.

Edited April 11, 2012 by impending

[brandyalexander]

You should canvas some of the current students and see how they feel about this issue, which is an important one. Individual responses will vary, of course, but I imagine you'll be able to get a sense for how the program works to support its own--if it does. It's probably a good idea to ask respectfully and be aware that people can be touchy about things you might not anticipate, but I imagine most students will be happy to speak candidly to your concerns.

If you haven't been contacted by any current students yet, try asking the DGS to put you in touch with a few. If no one will put you in touch with current students, I'd consider that a bad sign.

Thanks! Just emailed the department and got two contacts to question! Heres hoping they respond quickly. April 15th is coming up crazy fast.

[marlowe]

The drink or the Feist?

[brandyalexander]

Thanks all, officially going to UW. Now I can sleep, breathe, and eat again =[.