I Will Be Attending [FILL IN THE BLANK]! (History)

[synthla]

Seems like the history conversation has dropped off recently, possibly because people are making decisions. I know a few history people have already announced where they'll be attending in other threads, but I thought it would be nice to have a thread dedicated to announcing decisions. So when you've made the big decision, post here!

[thepoorstockinger]

I will be attending:

Trent University (Canada) (Masters)

Urban/Modern US/Working Class History

[slawkenbergius]

I'll be attending Harvard for 18th century Russia/the Enlightenment.

[StrangeLight]

i'm going to the university of pittsburgh for latin american and caribbean history.

[curious]

not entirely sure, but maybe columbia or maybe ucla

[feisty]

Berkeley

[dludington]

I'll be attending George Mason for Early Modern European Visual Culture.

[indecisive]

To feisty: what do you think about the california economy situation? it's preventing me from committing to berkeley even though their program is the best fit for my interests, which are best served by a cultural history approach. their stipend seems to be well below the real cost of living in the area.

[reallywantcolumbia]

I will (almost certainly) be attending U of Michigan (Ann Arbor) for international/transnational history.

[feisty]

To feisty: what do you think about the california economy situation? it's preventing me from committing to berkeley even though their program is the best fit for my interests, which are best served by a cultural history approach. their stipend seems to be well below the real cost of living in the area.

I am not sure exactly what to think.

I agree, their stipend is low, esp given the area. People I met there seem to be surviving well, though, somehow. It's unclear how many of them have support from their parents/spouses, or have large savings from previous lives in the Real World, though--I won't have either. That being said, I met more than one person who showed up to Berkeley with like $200 to their names and are making it okay. I honestly have no idea how, yet I follow them into the abyss.

As for the economy: I think state Universities that can guarantee funding right now are in better shape than private ones. A lot of them can't offer funding at all, but if they can (and Berkeley only accepted those they could fund, I think), the money comes from taxpayers and not only from an endowment, which are more likely to be obliterated by bad investments.

The funding is guaranteed for 5 years, and I don't see it becoming un-guaranteed in that time. My only pressing concern is that after five years, when I have to re-apply, will there be anything left?

Even though I'm "on my own" and "broke", I'm fortunate not to have any debt, and almost no responsibilities (no children, partner, car, pets, illnesses etc). If I can scrape my own existence, then that's all I need. If I can't, or the University truly goes broke (as in shuts down), I am pretty good at finding jobs.

That being said, I've been actively looking for outside funding opportunities to apply to next year.

It'll be a whirl, for sure. But somehow people do it.

[reallywantcolumbia]

That being said, I've been actively looking for outside funding opportunities to apply to next year.

It'll be a whirl, for sure. But somehow people do it.

Something tells me NSF and other national funds are gonna come under a lot of strain over the next few years. Fun!Luckily it seems like Michigan made some very good investments and didn't lose a whole lot from their endowment.

[endangered]

I'll also be going to Berkeley!

As for the California economy -- it's a mess, but the Bay Area is beautiful and probably one of the best places in the world to live. I'd gladly trade being poor in exchange for having the opportunity to live there.

Also, from what I've heard, the faculty treat grad students very well. I doubt that we'll have our funding revoked.

[misterpat]

I wonder if the UC system would try to keep Berkeley in good shape before all of its other campuses, since it's such a big name.

[endangered]

Feisty,

From what I've heard, you're expected to find extramural sources of funding for years 5-7, 8, 9 etc. Other Berkeley students have told me that these types of funding are surprisingly easy to obtain.

I could be wrong, but dissertation stage tuition is significantly reduced. Teaching opportunities seem to be copious, as well.

[indecisive]

thanks for your response about berkeley, feisty- did you or anyone else attend the visiting day (I didn't)? did they say anything about the financial situation?

[feisty]

thanks for your response about berkeley, feisty- did you or anyone else attend the visiting day (I didn't)? did they say anything about the financial situation?

I did. They talked about it a bit.

Basically:

- The guaranteed funding for 5 years is a recent development. I think we are the 2nd or 3rd cohort to go in with funding guaranteed beyond the first year (before you had to reapply each year).

- They were adamant about the notion that as a state university, they can offer less, but what they can offer is solid, dependable, and guaranteed. Again, I am more worried about private universities that rely almost entirely on endowments.

- They do offer pretty substantial summer funding, for travel, language classes, etc.

I went to Berkeley pretty worried, but I got the impression that they're not about to pull the rug out from under any grad students. There's a sense camaraderie in the department, a lot of communication, and an extraordinarily competent support staff. I am mostly worried about budgeting on what they have guaranteed, not about the funding changing.

[endangered]

I did. They talked about it a bit.

Basically:

- The guaranteed funding for 5 years is a recent development. I think we are the 2nd or 3rd cohort to go in with funding guaranteed beyond the first year (before you had to reapply each year).

- They were adamant about the notion that as a state university, they can offer less, but what they can offer is solid, dependable, and guaranteed. Again, I am more worried about private universities that rely almost entirely on endowments.

- They do offer pretty substantial summer funding, for travel, language classes, etc.

I went to Berkeley pretty worried, but I got the impression that they're not about to pull the rug out from under any grad students. There's a sense camaraderie in the department, a lot of communication, and an extraordinarily competent support staff. I am mostly worried about budgeting on what they have guaranteed, not about the funding changing.

I also attended Berkeley's Visit Day and can affirm what feisty has just written. I should also add that the faculty emphasized very strongly the camaraderie within the department and the lack of in-fighting amongst graduate students -- which is, apparently, a big problem at other schools. The faculty people also noted that funding for school-related activities is very easy to obtain during the summer and will often "magically" appear should you need it. I also get the impression that under no circumstance will funding be revoked.

Here is a decent article about UC Berkeley's budget shortfall

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2009/03/09/daily29.html

[Auzzfest]

To feisty: what do you think about the california economy situation? it's preventing me from committing to berkeley even though their program is the best fit for my interests, which are best served by a cultural history approach. their stipend seems to be well below the real cost of living in the area.

hey do you guys mind sharing what the stipend looks like at Berkeley, just for comparison. I got a good offer at UCSB 21,000 1st and 5th years with no teaching and 2nd-4th guaranteed TA ships at 16,500. Not sure where the cost of living is higher, but would love to know how the different UC's compare.

[indecisive]

hey do you guys mind sharing what the stipend looks like at Berkeley, just for comparison. I got a good offer at UCSB 21,000 1st and 5th years with no teaching and 2nd-4th guaranteed TA ships at 16,500. Not sure where the cost of living is higher, but would love to know how the different UC's compare.

for Berkeley, I got seventeen thousand, working years two, three, and five as either ta or grading, no service in years one and four. I have no idea whether or not this is standard. Perhaps others got more?

[synthla]

This will probably not come as any surprise to those who have read many of my posts, but I've now officially accepted Indiana.

It was really the winner in almost every category except location (but the super low cost of housing pretty much offsets that - home ownership (and $8,000 tax credit), here I come), and my campus visit was fantastic, so I'm lucky enough to have had it make sense on both empirical and instinctual levels!

[timeout99]

I'm likely to accept at Columbia but am unsure. A lot of the history grad students seem to be not so enthusiastic and not so happy. This bothers me. Hrumph.

[synthla]

I'm likely to accept at Columbia but am unsure. A lot of the history grad students seem to be not so enthusiastic and not so happy. This bothers me. Hrumph.

I can't speak to the history program directly, but I did graduate from another graduate program at Columbia a few years ago, so I'd be happy to take a stab at giving you my impressions of life there if you have any questions by PM.

[reallywantcolumbia]

I'm likely to accept at Columbia but am unsure. A lot of the history grad students seem to be not so enthusiastic and not so happy. This bothers me. Hrumph.

ooooh!

[fortiesgirl]

I officially accepted an offer from the University of Delaware yesterday. I was really impressed with the cohort of students, faculty, and overall program when I visited the school a few weeks ago.

[sra08]

I haven't officially done the paperwork yet, but I've decided. (And I now have a sweatshirt from the university, which makes it semi-official.) I'm going to UCLA for U.S. history and am excited for the fall.