nahis Posted March 24, 2015 Posted March 24, 2015 has anyone heard from Toronto or U Mass Amherst? I'd like to get all of my rejections before accepting an offer! I emailed the DGS of Toronto a couple of weeks ago and learned I was waitlisted. "......because we are a public university dependent on government funding, there are severe limits to how many non-Canadian students we are allowed to admit."
iwontbelyeveit Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) Hi friends!!! I'm looking for some input from you very wise fellow future grads... I received an acceptance early on to University of Alberta's Comp Lit program—and I was (until yesterday) planning to accept. I loved the department's strong Slavic focus (especially in Ukrainian), and although the funding issue wasn't great (guaranteed funding only for 2 years and I'd have to pay tuition), I was willing to take the leap because it was such a good departmental fit. Yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I received an acceptance at U Mass Amherst. I was ready for them to reject me because it's almost mid-April! But they are giving me a much better offer: full funding for 5 years (tuition included), medical, I get to teach comp lit, and it's an amazing school with a great reputation, not to mention it would save me the headache of moving to another country. The reluctance I have is that I know my work and focus will change, as Amherst does not have as strong of a Slavic component. I'm not opposed to this, but I'm sad to lose the Slavic community that Alberta has. I'm leaning strongly towards Amherst because, let's face it, stability and financial support is important in this field. I want to be somewhere where my funding is guaranteed, and where I am given a livable wage. And I know it's a great program, and my MA mentor's have also mentioned a PhD from the U.S. is more secure. But I'm still interested in hearing what some of you have to say! Any feedback is welcome Edited April 12, 2015 by iwontbelyeveit
__________________________ Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) Hi friends!!! I'm looking for some input from you very wise fellow future grads... I received an acceptance early on to University of Alberta's Comp Lit program—and I was (until yesterday) planning to accept. I loved the department's strong Slavic focus (especially in Ukrainian), and although the funding issue wasn't great (guaranteed funding only for 2 years and I'd have to pay tuition), I was willing to take the leap because it was such a good departmental fit. Yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I received an acceptance at U Mass Amherst. I was ready for them to reject me because it's almost mid-April! But they are giving me a much better offer: full funding for 5 years (tuition included), medical, I get to teach comp lit, and it's an amazing school with a great reputation, not to mention it would save me the headache of moving to another country. The reluctance I have is that I know my work and focus will change, as Amherst does not have as strong of a Slavic component. I'm not opposed to this, but I'm sad to lose the Slavic community that Alberta has. I'm leaning strongly towards Amherst because, let's face it, stability and financial support is important in this field. I want to be somewhere where my funding is guaranteed, and where I am given a livable wage. And I know it's a great program, and my MA mentor's have also mentioned a PhD from the U.S. is more secure. But I'm still interested in hearing what some of you have to say! Any feedback is welcome If you REALLY like the program at Alberta better, maybe explain the situation to the DGS or someone else of relevance to see if they can't muster up some more funding for you. Because the package they offered you sounds terrible, to be honest. If they can't, I'd follow the money. Guaranteed funding and a liveable income are extremely important. Edited April 12, 2015 by mollifiedmolloy iwontbelyeveit 1
1Q84 Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 Hi friends!!! I'm looking for some input from you very wise fellow future grads... I received an acceptance early on to University of Alberta's Comp Lit program—and I was (until yesterday) planning to accept. I loved the department's strong Slavic focus (especially in Ukrainian), and although the funding issue wasn't great (guaranteed funding only for 2 years and I'd have to pay tuition), I was willing to take the leap because it was such a good departmental fit. Yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I received an acceptance at U Mass Amherst. I was ready for them to reject me because it's almost mid-April! But they are giving me a much better offer: full funding for 5 years (tuition included), medical, I get to teach comp lit, and it's an amazing school with a great reputation, not to mention it would save me the headache of moving to another country. The reluctance I have is that I know my work and focus will change, as Amherst does not have as strong of a Slavic component. I'm not opposed to this, but I'm sad to lose the Slavic community that Alberta has. I'm leaning strongly towards Amherst because, let's face it, stability and financial support is important in this field. I want to be somewhere where my funding is guaranteed, and where I am given a livable wage. And I know it's a great program, and my MA mentor's have also mentioned a PhD from the U.S. is more secure. But I'm still interested in hearing what some of you have to say! Any feedback is welcome I would absolutely go with Amherst. Some people look down on "following the money" but it's not about being greedy... it's about having enough money to not have to worry about taking on other work and thus being able to concentrate on your research! Is there a chance Alberta could make a counter offer? Worth a shot if you're still really attached to their department, otherwise I'd let them know. I don't think departments can feel particularly bad losing you to a fully funded program (as opposed to if you were choosing between two FF programs and you chose the one with the higher stipend). Tough choice! Good luck! Ramus and iwontbelyeveit 2
kurayamino Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 Hi friends!!! I'm looking for some input from you very wise fellow future grads... I received an acceptance early on to University of Alberta's Comp Lit program—and I was (until yesterday) planning to accept. I loved the department's strong Slavic focus (especially in Ukrainian), and although the funding issue wasn't great (guaranteed funding only for 2 years and I'd have to pay tuition), I was willing to take the leap because it was such a good departmental fit. Yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I received an acceptance at U Mass Amherst. I was ready for them to reject me because it's almost mid-April! But they are giving me a much better offer: full funding for 5 years (tuition included), medical, I get to teach comp lit, and it's an amazing school with a great reputation, not to mention it would save me the headache of moving to another country. The reluctance I have is that I know my work and focus will change, as Amherst does not have as strong of a Slavic component. I'm not opposed to this, but I'm sad to lose the Slavic community that Alberta has. I'm leaning strongly towards Amherst because, let's face it, stability and financial support is important in this field. I want to be somewhere where my funding is guaranteed, and where I am given a livable wage. And I know it's a great program, and my MA mentor's have also mentioned a PhD from the U.S. is more secure. But I'm still interested in hearing what some of you have to say! Any feedback is welcome I second what others have said... Amherst seems like the best option, despite it's lack of a Slavic focus. Even if your research interests change because of the way the program is structured at least you won't have to worry about coming up with money for tuition! iwontbelyeveit 1
Katla Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) Hi friends!!! I'm looking for some input from you very wise fellow future grads... I received an acceptance early on to University of Alberta's Comp Lit program—and I was (until yesterday) planning to accept. I loved the department's strong Slavic focus (especially in Ukrainian), and although the funding issue wasn't great (guaranteed funding only for 2 years and I'd have to pay tuition), I was willing to take the leap because it was such a good departmental fit. Yesterday morning, to my great surprise, I received an acceptance at U Mass Amherst. I was ready for them to reject me because it's almost mid-April! But they are giving me a much better offer: full funding for 5 years (tuition included), medical, I get to teach comp lit, and it's an amazing school with a great reputation, not to mention it would save me the headache of moving to another country. The reluctance I have is that I know my work and focus will change, as Amherst does not have as strong of a Slavic component. I'm not opposed to this, but I'm sad to lose the Slavic community that Alberta has. I'm leaning strongly towards Amherst because, let's face it, stability and financial support is important in this field. I want to be somewhere where my funding is guaranteed, and where I am given a livable wage. And I know it's a great program, and my MA mentor's have also mentioned a PhD from the U.S. is more secure. But I'm still interested in hearing what some of you have to say! Any feedback is welcome I second what everybody else is saying. I can totally understand that you're worried about losing the Slaving aspect of your work, but when the difference in money is so great I think it's a sacrifice worth making. Also, there may be unexpected ways to still incorporate it into your research even if it won't take up as great a part as you'd hoped. Also, I assume that you knew that Amherst wasn't as big in Slavic when you applied and you still wanted to go there, while money may be the deciding factor now it's not like you're going a place completely at random. You provably still have loads you'd want to do there! Also, huge congratulations!!! Edited April 12, 2015 by Katla iwontbelyeveit 1
lyonessrampant Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 Definitely seconding everyone on UMass. Also, look into Foreign Language Area Studies fellowships once you're at UMass (if you go there). They are funded by the DoE and cover language study for less commonly taught languages. You could use them to go spend summers in Slavic countries focusing on language study and squeeze in some research, too. I did 7 weeks last summer and 6 the summer before in Italy. This is a great way to develop/maintain language focus, and you can probably still incorporate Slavic studies into your dissertation; you'll just have to be the language expert and do your research on scholarship knowing that your committee can give you intelligent feedback on your ideas but won't know the field well. iwontbelyeveit and tacitmonument 2
iwontbelyeveit Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Thanks so much, friends. This is really encouraging and affirming. After 2 rounds of PhD applications, I feel really fortunate. To have stable, adequate funding for my entire PhD is just...too wonderful to pass up. Bah! I'm still so stunned!! What a good weekend... Katla, quena, __________________________ and 1 other 4
iwontbelyeveit Posted April 15, 2015 Posted April 15, 2015 I turned down the offer at Alberta! Although I knew it was the right decision, it hurt my heart so much! It took me like an hour to hit "send"! Has anyone else felt that way?Last season I applied, I would have dreamed to have to have an offer down, but in reality, it's not so easy! They were even extraordinarily gracious in their response. I'm grateful for that! To UMass-Amherst I will go! Thanks for everyone's support!!! This was....grueling.
Katla Posted April 16, 2015 Posted April 16, 2015 I turned down the offer at Alberta! Although I knew it was the right decision, it hurt my heart so much! It took me like an hour to hit "send"! Has anyone else felt that way?Last season I applied, I would have dreamed to have to have an offer down, but in reality, it's not so easy! I totally get that. I actually cried when I sent my email to Madison, it felt so wrong. But I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time in Amherst! iwontbelyeveit 1
iwontbelyeveit Posted April 16, 2015 Posted April 16, 2015 I totally get that. I actually cried when I sent my email to Madison, it felt so wrong. But I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time in Amherst! THANK YOU! So glad you understand, Katla! These things are hard! And they're huge decisions!!! Good luck in Seattle! Maybe our Comp Lit paths will cross someday? Who knows!
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