Fit, fit, and more fit

[jujubea]

I should clarify that it's two hours "extra" to apply to, say, school #2 given that I already finished applying to school #1. The first application does take a really long time to finish, but the additional "cost" for another school is small! [...]

 

Although I don't have children, my spouse (not a student) had some of the same concerns as you did. Being Canadian, finding a school that will sponsor me for a J-1 exchange visa (instead of the standard F-1 student visa) was also important so that my spouse can be allowed to work in the US. Even so, for the two of us to fly out and visit each location, it would easily cost over $1000. I applied to 8 schools in total (one Canadian one that we already visited) so vetting each of these schools before applying would have cost $5000+ probably! 

 

[.....]

 

 

Ah of course - initial prep time is what I'm looking at right now. I can imagine a 2-3 hours per tailored app & SOP after that.

 

Yes indeed ... coming from Canada is its own set of unique requirements. I hope your J-1 application was painless, for both of you. And if I were in your shoes, no way would I have forked over that kind of dough for campus visits. I'm looking at a few hundred dollars total to visit three schools. UCSB was "free" because I was already going through on my road trip!

 

 

 

jujubea:

I applied to three out of the four schools that you are interested in.  A couple of quick notes on those schools:

Denver University is private with an annual tuition of around 50k.  They tend to only offer partial funding.  The area around the campus is nice, but it is definitely an urban campus.  There are two or three major streets that run through campus. The big bonus is the light rail.  There is a stop about a block from campus so it's pretty easy to get around.  Also, Denver is just a cool city. 

CU Boulder is amazing and beautiful!  I absolutely love the atmosphere.  However, it is ridiculously expensive to live in Boulder especially near the university.  Seeing as you have a family, I'm assuming you don't want to share a 5 bedroom house with 8 other people.  So you would have a bit of a commute to get to school.  I would advise that you look at places for rent on craigslist to get a feel for what rental properties are available.  Most people experience sticker shock when they see the rents for the first time. 

UNM...well, I want to start by saying that I'm biased as that's where I choose to go.  The campus is absolutely gorgeous with a adobe revival feel.  I really enjoy the city although it has its bad aspects just like most cities.  Also, they tend to guarantee full funding for four years through TAships.  You have the option of working through a RA if your adviser has funds or if you win grants. 

Feel free to PM me if you have questions about Albuquerque.  I spent waaaayyyy too much time reading forums before moving and waaaaayyyy too much time investigating job possibilities for my boyfriend who moved with me. 

 

Thank you for this great info. We essentially cannot afford a dime for grad school, so partial funding wouldn't cut it, not somewhere that pricey. I'll have to look more closely at my Department's offerings...

 

As for Boulder, we assumed I'd be commuting - where we live is likely going to be determined by the kids' needs in terms of schooling first, then affordability second, proximity to spouse's work next, and proximity to my work/school after that. As much as I cannot stand a commute, I do have ambitions and $$$ requirements, and if Boulder meets those needs then I will gladly suck it up and drive!

 

I'm really quite excited to see ABQ and UNM, and the faculty have been so responsive and insightful in their brief e-mails... and the MA Program Director, with the Department Chair, literally wrote the textbook on communication.

 

Between all four schools .... ah.. it's hard - they each have their stand-out strengths.  I'm hoping these visits will do me some good in judging livability and viability. 

 

I noticed you're looking at CSUMB - that's a really beautiful area, though depending on where you're from and what you're used to, the population is quite small. Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur are just unbeatable though, especially if you're an outdoorsy person. Then you have Laguna Seca events going on, Pebble Beach events, farmer's markets, and you have everyone from the super-rich-featured-in-magazines-rich, to the barely scraping by, and everyone in between. Santa Cruz is just up the road, and the whole Bay Area is only about an hour's drive away. If CSUMB had what I need, I'd be applying in a heartbeat.