ghijklmn Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 If they are equal in prestige and especially in faculty/program fit, then I would go with the school that has a better placement record. But if you really can't make ends meet on the stipend, then the choice is obvious, isn't it? Have you considered negotiating for more money? The generous funding at one school can give you leverage at another. Thanks for this. Thing is, I think I could live on that money. It just wouldn't be comfortable. I have tried to see if there is more funding, and one of my POIs has taken it upon herself to negotiate on my behalf -- so we'll see if anything comes of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Thunderpaws Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 D&B--yeah, I walked around for a few days until I found my landlady. I was staying with my sweet old grad students who also lived in Hyde Park so it was pretty easy to get out and just wander. As for whoever was considering getting a car because they're a terrible biker, it's really easy to bus it pretty much everywhere if you're on a north/south route! And while rent is going up in Austin, whoever said entertainment is cheap is absolutely right. You can easily go out to places and drop tons of money to have fun, but there are so many cheap things to do, it's ridiculous. +1 for weather. Snow sucks. I don't miss it at all. cicada123 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too. ProfLorax, marlowe, Sursie and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigadierpudding Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too. Yes, I was sitting next to you at lunch! So your apartment search was successful? Details! I would like to add: well done, UT Austin. Well done. GuateAmfeminist and Fiona Thunderpaws 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghijklmn Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too. I keep hearing this! I visited too, but although I liked the city and campus, I didn't fall in love like I had expected. But I'm glad you did! I don't really love any of my schools. I like them all about equally and for different reasons. SO HARD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Thunderpaws Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 HELL YES!!! I was hoping you would come, you are an awesome person! Let me know if you want those apartment searcher details, though it sounds like your housing mission was successful! Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too. As for the rest of you all, thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoyed your trip whether or not you decide to come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Espressos Posted March 30, 2013 Share Posted March 30, 2013 (edited) Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too. So exciting! UT-Austin seems like a fantastic program, and the Austin grad students on here all seem friendly and awesome. Congrats! Edited March 30, 2013 by Two Espressos GuateAmfeminist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlowe Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Well, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I've been converted to the Austin way of life! I had tons of fun, you guys are awesome, and I think I found a great place to live. All in all, not a bad two days. I know I met Sursie (I wish we had the chance to talk more!), but I don't know if I met brigadierpudding, although I might have a guess (I think I might have been sitting next to you at lunch). ghijklmn, I don't know if this means much to you, but I'm turning down awesome money for Austin; if you love it, you should too. Yes, I was sitting next to you at lunch! So your apartment search was successful? Details! I would like to add: well done, UT Austin. Well done. Glad to hear the both of y'all had a blast. Sorry if I wasn't able to hang out with each of you individually, but I met the most of everyone at the Thursday night dinner/drinks. Hope to see you all in August. GuateAmfeminist 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuateAmfeminist Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 It was great meeting the few of you I did. Buena suerte in making final decisions, though I do hope to see you all in Austin :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Seven hours later, and I'm finally back home! Fiona, it was great to meet you! And can I just say, if the real fiona is as fabulous as your picture, I will have to meet her too. marlowe, it's too bad we didn't get to meet, but I think I might have glimpsed you from across the room. And Guate, I'm 99% certain we spoke at length, but you may correct me if I'm wrong. Great times all around! Yes, I was sitting next to you at lunch! So your apartment search was successful? Details! I would like to add: well done, UT Austin. Well done. Yes, my search was successful! I used apartment finders service; if you use them, ask for Melodie, because she was great. I was amazed that I found two great places to choose from; right now it's between a bigger place in Far West or a teeny place in Hyde Park. I didn't think I'd like the tiny place, but I think I could really make it work in a place like Austin where I'd be much better able to get out and about instead of being holed up in my apartment warding off the cold. The bigger place was really nice, right on the shuttle route, across the street from the HEB and they had two one bedroom plans; 481 sq feet for $635 and 611 sq ft. for $685. Considering the crazy numbers I was hearing before I got there, those are not bad. I think I might go with the small place though, just because I have very little stuff; It's in Hyde Park, as I said, and it's only 390 sq. ft., but the rent is $585! Pretty darn fantastic. I'm really in money saving mode right now, so I was very excited. She did warn me that things are moving very fast, so it's best to get in there as early as possible if you don't want to be paying through the nose. Then again, it sounds like Fiona's method really worked out for her, so you could try that too. Have you decided to attend yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigadierpudding Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Seven hours later, and I'm finally back home! Fiona, it was great to meet you! And can I just say, if the real fiona is as fabulous as your picture, I will have to meet her too. marlowe, it's too bad we didn't get to meet, but I think I might have glimpsed you from across the room. And Guate, I'm 99% certain we spoke at length, but you may correct me if I'm wrong. Great times all around! Yes, my search was successful! I used apartment finders service; if you use them, ask for Melodie, because she was great. I was amazed that I found two great places to choose from; right now it's between a bigger place in Far West or a teeny place in Hyde Park. I didn't think I'd like the tiny place, but I think I could really make it work in a place like Austin where I'd be much better able to get out and about instead of being holed up in my apartment warding off the cold. The bigger place was really nice, right on the shuttle route, across the street from the HEB and they had two one bedroom plans; 481 sq feet for $635 and 611 sq ft. for $685. Considering the crazy numbers I was hearing before I got there, those are not bad. I think I might go with the small place though, just because I have very little stuff; It's in Hyde Park, as I said, and it's only 390 sq. ft., but the rent is $585! Pretty darn fantastic. I'm really in money saving mode right now, so I was very excited. She did warn me that things are moving very fast, so it's best to get in there as early as possible if you don't want to be paying through the nose. Then again, it sounds like Fiona's method really worked out for her, so you could try that too. Have you decided to attend yet? That sounds really great. Congrats on finding some places! After talking to the grad students, and now hearing your success story with finding an apartment, I'm not as worried about the money/living situation. That said, I can't possibly make a decision until I get a chance to talk to the Shakespeareans, who were out of town for a major conference. Even then, I'll need some time to weigh my options, consult my advisers, rend my garments, etc. Glad to hear the both of y'all had a blast. Sorry if I wasn't able to hang out with each of you individually, but I met the most of everyone at the Thursday night dinner/drinks. Hope to see you all in August. I'm almost 100% certain we met. It was nice to chat with you and all the other UT students. You seems like a cool bunch! Glad to see everyone's happy at UT. And of course, great to meet all the other recruits, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghijklmn Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Seven hours later, and I'm finally back home! Fiona, it was great to meet you! And can I just say, if the real fiona is as fabulous as your picture, I will have to meet her too. marlowe, it's too bad we didn't get to meet, but I think I might have glimpsed you from across the room. And Guate, I'm 99% certain we spoke at length, but you may correct me if I'm wrong. Great times all around! Yes, my search was successful! I used apartment finders service; if you use them, ask for Melodie, because she was great. I was amazed that I found two great places to choose from; right now it's between a bigger place in Far West or a teeny place in Hyde Park. I didn't think I'd like the tiny place, but I think I could really make it work in a place like Austin where I'd be much better able to get out and about instead of being holed up in my apartment warding off the cold. The bigger place was really nice, right on the shuttle route, across the street from the HEB and they had two one bedroom plans; 481 sq feet for $635 and 611 sq ft. for $685. Considering the crazy numbers I was hearing before I got there, those are not bad. I think I might go with the small place though, just because I have very little stuff; It's in Hyde Park, as I said, and it's only 390 sq. ft., but the rent is $585! Pretty darn fantastic. I'm really in money saving mode right now, so I was very excited. She did warn me that things are moving very fast, so it's best to get in there as early as possible if you don't want to be paying through the nose. Then again, it sounds like Fiona's method really worked out for her, so you could try that too. Have you decided to attend yet? I lived in a 225ft2 apartment for a year, so to me 390 is pretty darn good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I lived in a 225ft2 apartment for a year, so to me 390 is pretty darn good! Wow! That doesn't even sound like an apartment; I think I've lived in dorm rooms bigger than that! That's amazing and I am super impressed right now. Yeah, I feel really lucky to have found that place; I emailed the apartment finder this morning and hopefully it hasn't been leased out in the last 24 hours. Fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 By the way, I know a bunch of people were talking about starting an email chain for roommate finding; if that does (or doesn't) materialize, I saw a place in Far West that had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It was 991 sq. ft. and the rent was $991. Not a bad deal! I don't have the papers with the info in front of me now, but if you guys are interested let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marlowe Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I'm almost 100% certain we met. It was nice to chat with you and all the other UT students. You seems like a cool bunch! Glad to see everyone's happy at UT. And of course, great to meet all the other recruits, too. Ah, you were the renaissance bro? I spent probably half of the weekend drunkenly harassing you. You were, however, able to chat at length with the first year's resident Early Modernist, though it is a shame the Shakespeareans are consistently out of town on visit weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigadierpudding Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Ah, you were the renaissance bro? I spent probably half of the weekend drunkenly harassing you. You were, however, able to chat at length with the first year's resident Early Modernist, though it is a shame the Shakespeareans are consistently out of town on visit weekend. Haha, yeah, that was me! I was out of it half the time because of exhaustion, but I had a blast. It was helpful talking to the early modernist students, and I've set up times to talk to a couple of the Shakespeareans. The next couple weeks of deciding are going to be rough, but it's a good problem to have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Fall classes are out! Holy crap there are so many amazing options, I don't think I can just choose three. marlowe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swagato Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Tiptoed here to see what it's like. You fortunate sods with your three courses ¬_¬ (Four courses/semester x 2 years for me.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghijklmn Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Tiptoed here to see what it's like. You fortunate sods with your three courses ¬_¬ (Four courses/semester x 2 years for me.) Yes but they have to teach immediately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Wow, four courses! I can't even imagine the stress. Yes but they have to teach immediately! I don't really think if it as teaching though, since it's really leading discussion sections. There are programs that make you teach your own classes right out of the gate! I saw on the other thread that you've decided to go to Northwestern; it's too bad they couldn't convert you too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sursie Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hey, y'all. I accepted Austin today. Hollaaaaa. dazedandbemused, ErnestPWorrell, marlowe and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swagato Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Yes but they have to teach immediately! Aha..balance is restored. Wow, four courses! I can't even imagine the stress. I don't really think if it as teaching though, since it's really leading discussion sections. There are programs that make you teach your own classes right out of the gate! I saw on the other thread that you've decided to go to Northwestern; it's too bad they couldn't convert you too Partly my fault since I'm the sucker who accepted a joint PhD offer. I don't actually know what people pursuing a single program (i.e., English) do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazedandbemused Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hey, y'all. I accepted Austin today. Hollaaaaa. Awesome!! I wish more people from our cohort were on gradcafe, but I know that at least 3 others have accepted as well, plus the people who had already accepted before the visit. Seriously, we are an awesome group of peeps. Sursie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghijklmn Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Awesome!! I wish more people from our cohort were on gradcafe, but I know that at least 3 others have accepted as well, plus the people who had already accepted before the visit. Seriously, we are an awesome group of peeps. Jealous. I have to say, when I'm buckling down for those cold Chicago winters I'll be cursing myself for not choosing UT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyface Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Sent in my UT confirmation a few days ago, and have been giddy ever since. Looking forward to getting to know y'all on here and in the fall! marlowe and Sursie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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