Decisions! v.2

[danil]

By now, I'm sure everyone must be in the middle of making decisions and quite busy and hectic with it!

The posts here helped incredibly, and while I know you all must be busy... I wondered if I could ask for your tuppence on my decision..

I do realize the final decision is up to me, but boy is it hard.

Of the 8 applications I put in, I was lucky enough to get admission from the top 2 I'd wanted to go to.

1. SLS program at UH-Manoa

2. Applied Linguistics program at UCLA.

I visited the UHM last week, and while I was happy with the people and the program, I also understood what others meant by saying it's not a huge mass of land there! (and I was only there for 4 days..). But as mentioned, I loved the program and my potential advisor... and had almost made up my mind when UCLA offered me admission as well.

I'm really, honestly STUCK.

Both programs seem to have equal number of pros and cons.

I have a SO who will accompany me which also affects the decision I guess.

To be entirely honest, I'm thinking the UHM program would fit me a tee wee bit better.... as UCLA doesn't concentrate much on the education aspect..

but then again...... (this has been my thought process the past few days..)

I wish you ALL the best of luck in making your decisions and would appreciate any sort of help/thoughts on my issue.

Thanks!

[liszt85]

If you, like me, have no savings to speak of and have to rely solely on your stipend to support your SO and yourself, I guess the amount of financial support becomes of utmost importance. (I am seriously stumped on whether to go to McMaster (or OSU) Psychology instead of Northwestern Linguistics because of this factor though I believe I would enjoy the work at Northwestern a tiny bit more than the other two).

If you do not have the above concern like I do, the only question that remains is the research fit. Before that, I would ask my SO about her preference too (based on what kind of lifestyle she'd enjoy more). So that's my $0.02

You might also want to consider job prospects. Would UCLA be a bigger name in your field? UCLA is a big name in almost all fields.. so you may want to consider that as well.

[Dinali]

Hi danil,

I think we've already talked a bit about living in Hawaii. If I had that choice, I'd go with UHM, but that's because I have lived there before and know I'm suited to it. I guess, without actually going over there for a month or two to try it out, the second best thing would be to think over your last five years (have your SO do the same). How often did you drive somewhere more than 30 miles away? How often did you visit friends or family from another city, or have them visit you? How often did you buy stuff online? (Most places won't ship to Hawaii, or if so it's at an increased cost.) Can you acclimate your diet away from milk, beef, temperate-climate produce and focus on fish and tropical fruits? If you can't wean yourself of mainland food, your grocery bills will be exhorbinant, but if you adapt, it's quite reasonable.

Can you handle sunbathing on a pristine beach when the rest of the world is covered with snow? (okay, so that one's easy!) Are you an early riser? (I don't know about school life, but in the work world, most offices start very early, 6-7am, so that more of the day overlaps with the mainland, and everyone quits at 3 and goes to the beach). Do you like to dress up? My first job interview in Honolulu I wore a shirt and tie, and my interviewer actually told me it was the first time he'd ever seen anyone wear a tie in Hawaii (got the job though!). How do you handle traffic? That one goes for both places you're considering. Honolulu's traffic is probably worse than LA's during the rush hour peaks, but LA's is worse at any other time of day.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. On its face, Hono is a pretty typical big city (not with the population of a place like LA, but the density makes up for it). The differences really show in the long term.

[danil]

Hi, liszt85, and hi dinali~

Thank you both for your replies!

As for the financial issue, yes that is a big issue for me... and the reason I didn't list that factor above is that the conditions in that aspect is similar from both schools. UHM, a bit more maybe. (Yes, I seem to be leaning a bit..)

And Dinali,

your input has helped a lot! And it has helped me put things in perspective.. thanks.

Maybe I'll put off my decision for a while and just enjoy the fact I have somewhere to go in the Fall..

Thanks and good luck to you all!

p.s. further advise is still very much welcome!