sais Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Hi all, Got into University X (way too much name dropping on this forum... it's a good school, let's leave it at that) but they said they can't offer me any funding. Anyone else in this position? I've started a pro/con list. It looks like this: CON: No longer a member of the Cash Money Millionaires Live in a cardboard house (with newspaper bed of course) Ramen 3 times a day PRO: Start school in the fall Be at a really good program Do what I love I'm leaning towards going. I can always reapply for funding next year and work part-time during the school year, right? Plus it's just money. Why should I postpone my dream for a lack of that? Anyone have another perspective? Someone talk me down from this ledge.
Dinali Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Not me. No funding=no go. The earning potential of a ling grad is too low to risk a debt load that will haunt your heirs.
sais Posted March 17, 2009 Author Posted March 17, 2009 Not me. No funding=no go. The earning potential of a ling grad is too low to risk a debt load that will haunt your heirs. Seriously? You make a good point about the earning potential, but wouldn't you rather be poor and happy than wealthy and miserable? If I spend the next year working and reapplying I feel like I'll be incredibly bitter and frustrated. The happiest people I know are doing what they've always wanted to do and not letting finances dictate their life. Is it irresponsible? Maybe. Right now I don't know... Besides, isn't taking on an enormous debt the American way? Shouldn't I embrace my cultural legacy?
anyli_t Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Have you asked University X about deferring for a year, to see if they'd be in a position to offer you some funding this time next year?
Dinali Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Seriously? You make a good point about the earning potential, but wouldn't you rather be poor and happy than wealthy and miserable? Wealthy is not in the cards for me. I've accepted that I do, however, someday want to be on the top side of my debt, which doesn't seem possible given the limited hard cash earning potential of a linguistics PhD. The costs of these programs without funding is too high for me to consider.
GoLinguistics Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Seriously? You make a good point about the earning potential, but wouldn't you rather be poor and happy than wealthy and miserable? If I spend the next year working and reapplying I feel like I'll be incredibly bitter and frustrated. The happiest people I know are doing what they've always wanted to do and not letting finances dictate their life. Is it irresponsible? Maybe. Right now I don't know... Besides, isn't taking on an enormous debt the American way? Shouldn't I embrace my cultural legacy? If you go, life would be hard! If you don't go, life would be bitter! But I totally agreed with you: Happiest is the most important things! There are a bunch of millionares and billionares, who have miserable life! If you want to success, life is always hard! But success doesn't always mean happiness!
psycho_compu Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 Maybe you can work in the department and get money off of a faculty's grant, or get an easy job on campus, or housing subsidization. Suffice to say I'm looking at the same prospect, but only have to worry about covering tuition.
ConceptualMetaphor Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 It looks like I'm in the same boat too. This is difficult for me, because my second choice is actually offering me a great funding package. But then I visited my first choice and it's definitely the better place for me - except that they're still trying to find funding for me. (According to the latest email, the situation is "fluid.") So unless they pull some money out of a hat it looks like they can't commit to funding, which leaves me three options: 1. Accept the second choice and probably play the "what if" game for the rest of my life 2. Accept the first choice anyway and go into extremely heavy debt (and yes, it's one of the most, if not *the* most expensive areas to live in the country) 3. See if I can defer a year from first choice if they can get funding for me next year Option 3 wouldn't seem so bad if it weren't for the fact that I have no real job right now (since I'm still in my undergrad I just have work-study positions) and few marketable skills, so I'd end up having to stay at home with my parents, in a very economically depressed part of the country (one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation! woo!) with no jobs available and no friends. And I'm already pretty depressed and anxious...this would not be ideal for my psyche. Also, I would have to start repaying my currently deferred undergrad loans since they're only deferred as long as I'm a student. Additionally, I'm only covered under my parents' insurance if I'm a student, and I have significant medical bills that would be impossible to pay for out of pocket. Option 2 would be more feasible if I didn't already have a significant chunk of debt from my undergrad loans, and if that area didn't have such a ridiculously high cost of living. Given that the post-PhD job market is so bad I'm already going into this knowing that years of poverty are ahead of me, but I also went into this told that I shouldn't have to pay for grad school, and I'm pretty set on that idea. Option 1 at this point feels like a horrible settle-for, especially after all my profs and friends and family were so excited for me when I got into first choice school. (Not to mention how happy it made me!) I'm a bit depressed just thinking about it. To have money be the deciding factor - rather than how well I fit at the school and whether or not I like the area and so forth - would be really lame. *sigh* There are no easy choices here...there's no 4th option I'm missing, is there?
chillofrito Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 This happened to me. I turned the offer down, and as a result, am going to wait another year and reapply.
ConceptualMetaphor Posted March 20, 2009 Posted March 20, 2009 Well, after that massive angst-ridden post of mine, it turns out that first choice school found funding for me after all. No substantial details just yet, but I'm still enormously relieved. I think that if your school hasn't straight up said "there is no funding at all" if you are politely persistent and make it clear you would *love* to go there, they will try to funnel whatever money they can come up with your way. Due to the economy, a lot of state schools' budgets are in serious flux right now, so some more money might pop up in the next week or two. (This is what happened in my case.) Demonstrating interest can't hurt, at least. Good luck, guys.
psycholinguist Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 One of the two schools I was the most enthusiastic about (UCSD) can't give me any funding, and so I'm not going. I just wouldn't be able to make it work. It's okay, though, because I was feeling so torn between their offer and another! Relieved to have had the decision essentially made for me!
fuzzylogician Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Sorry to hear that, and good luck with you other choice! Sounds like you're enthusiastic about going there (and will get funded to go there), and that's the most important thing. For what it's worth, I think it's the right decision not to get into debt for a linguistics PhD, especially if you have another funded offer.
psycholinguist Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Thanks! That's the University of Toronto; although I haven't completely committed to it, I'm close. I loved my visit there, and was kind of leaning towards it over UCSD anyway, though I was still dreading having to make the decision since both seemed like great fits for me and my interests. I'm slightly ashamed that it's a Ph.D. program in psychology, not linguistics...but the main reason I'm so excited about the U of T is that there's a psycholinguist there I really want to work with.* So hopefully I'll be able to maintain ties to both fields; I'm interested in a lot of areas of cognitive-science as well, but I don't want my undergraduate thesis to be the last research in linguistics on its own that I do. * Despite my name, it turns out that I'm not the only one in the world. * grins *
fuzzylogician Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 No reason to be ashamed..if that's the place that is best suited to allow you to do the kind of work you're interested in, then you should go there! I browsed the U of T's department of linguistics website and they have two psycholinguists cross-appointed with other departments, so it looks like it could be a great place to do that kind of research. * Despite my name, it turns out that I'm not the only one in the world. * grins * Did you see that U of T was looking to hire a new psycholinguist starting July 2009? Looks like you guys are multiplying
psycholinguist Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 No reason to be ashamed..if that's the place that is best suited to allow you to do the kind of work you're interested in, then you should go there! I browsed the U of T's department of linguistics website and they have two psycholinguists cross-appointed with other departments, so it looks like it could be a great place to do that kind of research. Thanks! It just feels so weird to be anticipating being part of a not-linguistics department. I've been (more or less) sure about wanting to go into linguistics for long enough that I even put it as my intended major on all of my undergraduate applications (completed by December 2004), never changing my mind afterwards. Did you see that U of T was looking to hire a new psycholinguist starting July 2009? Looks like you guys are multiplying * laughs * I was told back in February that they just hired one, but I have no idea whether he or she is the same person you heard about. Either way, though, it's encouraging! (It does nothing to help suppress those pesky aspirations of world-domination, but never mind. Heh.)
fuzzylogician Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 Thanks! It just feels so weird to be anticipating being part of a not-linguistics department. I've been (more or less) sure about wanting to go into linguistics for long enough that I even put it as my intended major on all of my undergraduate applications (completed by December 2004), never changing my mind afterwards. In that case, make sure that they'll allow you to do the kind of interdiscplinary work that you're interested in (I'm sure you've already done so..), otherwise you might get very disappointed, which certainly won't do your work any good. Assuming it's encouraged, or at least not discouraged, then choosing the funded program seems like the right move to me. * laughs * I was told back in February that they just hired one, but I have no idea whether he or she is the same person you heard about. Either way, though, it's encouraging! (It does nothing to help suppress those pesky aspirations of world-domination, but never mind. Heh.) I remember reading about it on the linguist list, no idea if it's the same person you were told about.
psycholinguist Posted March 22, 2009 Posted March 22, 2009 In that case, make sure that they'll allow you to do the kind of interdiscplinary work that you're interested in (I'm sure you've already done so..), otherwise you might get very disappointed, which certainly won't do your work any good. Assuming it's encouraged, or at least not discouraged, then choosing the funded program seems like the right move to me. It's not as possible as I'd prefer, but it's not impossible. There are lots of language-related research-groups on the campus, and students are encouraged to do all sorts of work that interests them. I wouldn't be able to do a formal project in just linguistics for the Ph.D., but I could probably work it in on the side. I'm hoping so, anyway. Although most of my research-ideas do involve psycholinguistics on some level or another, I don't want that proverbial door to be closed. That's probably my only real reservation about opting for the U of T, though. Everything else about the program really appealed to me, whereas I had more doubts about UCSD even though it was the better academic fit for me. I'm actually getting pretty excited! I mean, heck, the U of T linguistics-department said that they rejected me mostly because I didn't have enough background in theoretical linguistics, meaning that it was probably my own interest in taking lots of cognitive-science courses that led to my being perceived as more suitable for the psychology department. And yeah - the thought of not having to go into (even more) debt to attend the program there is an immensely attractive one. Heh.
psycholinguist Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 Never mind. Rejected. Looking as if I'm going to need to either go into considerable debt to visit UCSD or go with my safety-school, which I'm only mildly excited about. Well...I'll give it some thought.
Dinali Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 Never mind. Rejected. Looking as if I'm going to need to either go into considerable debt to visit UCSD or go with my safety-school, which I'm only mildly excited about. Well...I'll give it some thought. Dude, a decision like this had better be decided for a place you're wildly, not mildly, excited about. Can you swing UCSD for a year and get funding after that? Eventually, California will have money again (it's remarkably good - through practice - at bouncing back from recessions) and the UC system always has first dibs at education dollars.
psycholinguist Posted March 24, 2009 Posted March 24, 2009 Dude, a decision like this had better be decided for a place you're wildly, not mildly, excited about. Can you swing UCSD for a year and get funding after that? Eventually, California will have money again (it's remarkably good - through practice - at bouncing back from recessions) and the UC system always has first dibs at education dollars. It's a good suggestion (and one I appreciate!), but the main problem is that I'm an international student, and so they wouldn't be able to offer me either funding in the first place or the much lower in-state tuition later on after the first year of the Ph.D., when American students can claim California residency. However, I'm starting to think, now that the shock of the totally unforseen rejection has mostly passed, that I could warm up to Waterloo. The guy I said I wanted to work with there does have interests really similar to mine, and they do provide a lot of funding, and it is a campus I already know I love, and there is really good housing for grad-students there. The biggest issue is simply that I've been thinking of it as the safety-net, so now I need to give myself a firm kick in the rear-end and remind myself that it isn't second-rate. And while I'm working on figuring out how to accomplish the first part of that, I think I'm going to go out to visit Waterloo and see for myself whether I could love it; if not, I'll make backup-plans (getting some research-experience, etc.).
fuzzylogician Posted March 25, 2009 Posted March 25, 2009 Oh man, I'm sorry to hear about your rejection, that sucks! I totally agree that you shouldn't get into debt counting on the UC system to recover and pay your way in future years, it's a much too large a risk to take. I'm glad you're starting to see again the advantages in Waterloo that made you apply there in the first place; with a great research fit+generous funding+good location+housing, it sounds like it has a lot going for it. Definitely go there and see how you like it--one person's safety is another's first choice and you might find yourself becoming enthusiastic about it. Have you been in contact with the interested faculty there? Probably a lot will depend on how well you two connect.
psycholinguist Posted March 25, 2009 Posted March 25, 2009 Oh man, I'm sorry to hear about your rejection, that sucks! I totally agree that you shouldn't get into debt counting on the UC system to recover and pay your way in future years, it's a much too large a risk to take. I'm glad you're starting to see again the advantages in Waterloo that made you apply there in the first place; with a great research fit+generous funding+good location+housing, it sounds like it has a lot going for it. Definitely go there and see how you like it--one person's safety is another's first choice and you might find yourself becoming enthusiastic about it. Have you been in contact with the interested faculty there? Probably a lot will depend on how well you two connect. Thanks so much! It was a disappointment, obviously - heck, by Sunday evening I'd started looking for apartments in Toronto - but I think it's going to be okay. The U of T ended up expressing some really vague reservations about me that make me suspect that the problem lies more with them than anything else. I mean, I acted just the same way (as far as I know) around the UCSD faculty and they reportedly really liked me. So who knows? Or maybe the U of T just sensed my underlying plans for world-domination. Those can be hard to contain sometimes. Heh. I've only talked to my potential advisor at Waterloo briefly, but one of the reasons I want to visit is in order to see if we can get along and communicate well. So far, all I can tell is that he's very fond of his BlackBerry, which is no surprise since Research in Motion (which makes the things) is headquartered in the town of Waterloo. Heh. Worst-case scenario: if I don't get much out of Waterloo, I figure I could probably take away the MA in cognitive psychology partway through and begin pestering the U of T again with updated credentials. * mischeivous laugh *
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