Completely unsure about which offer to accept: UBC, UVic or USask?

[Tianmeihua]

Hello,

First of all, I apologize for any mistakes. English is not my mother tongue.

I graduated two years ago from a Canadian University, and gained some work experience in the meantime (research and paralegal). I tried applying last year to different masters in my field, but did not get accepted anywhere. I persevered, and this year I actually got accepted to every school where I applied. However, I really have no idea of which school I should attend. 

I also made somewhat of a stupid move: I did not wait to have all my offers in hand to accept an offer. USask offered me 48 000$ in scholarships over the course of two years for an MA in History. I never thought I would get so much funding, and I had to accept within a tight deadline, so I jumped on the occasion and accepted this amazing funding. There is a fieldwork course I could do in BC, in addition to my research, which will most likely be taking place in BC as well. 

However, three weeks after, I got accepted at UVic (no funding), and UBC Vancouver, with a 5000 dollars scholarship for an MA in Anthropology. Both supervisors from USask and UBC are well-known experts in my field, and offered me to work on projects that fit perfectly with my research interests.

I feel extremely happy to have been accepted everywhere; yet at this point, I have no idea what to do and I feel very conflicted. I made pros and cons for both UBC and USask and both choices are equal in my mind (in terms of interest, research projects etc). I know UBC is more prestigious overall, but Vancouver is also a really expensive city to live in and coming from a poor background, I don't want to make any financially unwise decision. Should I defer my admission at UBC for one year and try to do my MA at USask in one year? I should note that I got permission from my current employer to keep working from a long distance during my studies and return to her firm once I graduate. I only have until March 10 to decide. 

Thank you everyone for your insight  

[MathCat]

I don't know your field at all, but that seems like excellent funding for a masters in history. Considering that you've already accepted that offer (rescinding your acceptance is very poor form) and UBC and UVic did not offer enough funding to live on, I think it is clear that you should attend USask, unless there are some major factors you have not mentioned.

[TakeruK]

I agree with MathCat, $24,000/year is a good amount of funding, especially for Saskatchewan. $0 and $5000 for Victoria and Vancouver are not enough to live on and to me, an unfunded or basically unfunded (as in the case of UBC) offer is the same as a rejection, especially in Canadian schools where it's normal to fund MA students.

Note that you will also have to pay tuition from your offers in Canada. So, the $0 offer from Victoria means you will have to use your savings (or get a loan) to pay tuition and also pay for a place to live, food to eat, etc. At UBC, the $5000 is just enough to cover most of the tuition, but you will have to find your own way to pay for rent and food and Vancouver is extremely expensive. 

So, given that you say USask is the only school offering reasonable funding, and that your advisor there is an expert and that there is a great project waiting for you that fits all of your needs, I don't see why you would take any other offer. The USask one sounds perfect!

[Tianmeihua]

Thank you for the answers! I decided to go with the Saskatchewan offer.

[litzzie]

On 6 March 2016 at 0:03 AM, Tianmeihua said:

Hello,

First of all, I apologize for any mistakes. English is not my mother tongue.

I graduated two years ago from a Canadian University, and gained some work experience in the meantime (research and paralegal). I tried applying last year to different masters in my field, but did not get accepted anywhere. I persevered, and this year I actually got accepted to every school where I applied. However, I really have no idea of which school I should attend. 

I also made somewhat of a stupid move: I did not wait to have all my offers in hand to accept an offer. USask offered me 48 000$ in scholarships over the course of two years for an MA in History. I never thought I would get so much funding, and I had to accept within a tight deadline, so I jumped on the occasion and accepted this amazing funding. There is a fieldwork course I could do in BC, in addition to my research, which will most likely be taking place in BC as well. 

However, three weeks after, I got accepted at UVic (no funding), and UBC Vancouver, with a 5000 dollars scholarship for an MA in Anthropology. Both supervisors from USask and UBC are well-known experts in my field, and offered me to work on projects that fit perfectly with my research interests.

I feel extremely happy to have been accepted everywhere; yet at this point, I have no idea what to do and I feel very conflicted. I made pros and cons for both UBC and USask and both choices are equal in my mind (in terms of interest, research projects etc). I know UBC is more prestigious overall, but Vancouver is also a really expensive city to live in and coming from a poor background, I don't want to make any financially unwise decision. Should I defer my admission at UBC for one year and try to do my MA at USask in one year? I should note that I got permission from my current employer to keep working from a long distance during my studies and return to her firm once I graduate. I only have until March 10 to decide. 

Thank you everyone for your insight  

Hi Tianmeihua, when you said UVic didn't offer funding, do you mean they didn't offer funding with the initial offer letter? Did you ask if it means no funding at all, or funding info to follow? I just got my offer and there was no mention of funding...just wondering what I should make of it. 

Thanks!