So confused...

[TheMole]

So here's what I have so far:

UCLA, PhD. History - Accepted, nominated for an $18K/year diversity fellowship, the UCLA reputation and top-notch Europeanists. This is a job, I think.

UC, Irvine Ph.D. History - Accepted, Chancellor's Fellowship, $18K 1st and 5th years, $15K 2-4th years, and I can TA my last few, guaranteed housing, and they have a great Spanish Historian. Less name across the board though.

UCSD - Accepted, $18K 1st year, $15K 2-4th, $8K dissertation fellowship, possibility for future addtl funds., good Spanish Historian, no guaranteed housing, bigger name than Irvine, I think.

Arizona - Accepted, no word on funding (though I did get some).

Rutgers - Accepted, $18K for four years, 1st two are fellowship, would only take about 4-5 years to finish the Ph.D. since I'd get advanced credit for the M.A. I will have in May, and could use current thesis in place of my minor field exam. Big name, person who does Spanish History but is not a specialist.

York University (Canada) - Accepted, C$22K 1st year, $19.4K 2-4th yrs, $18K 5th year, int'l student tuition schlrship $4k. Great spanish Historian, good health care. Know nothing about the school's rep.

So what should I do???????

[Highlife]

Concerning the Canadian university. You should keep in mind that if you are coming back to the US or desire to do so, you might run into some problems, if the Canadian PhDs are not considered to be of equal value to the US ones. (I am European, so no general US bias from my side!).

[FreakingOut]

I'd say UCLA or Rutgers. The area around Rutgers isn't great (I'm from NJ), but it's close to both Philly and NYC.

[Minnesotan]

I'm at York right now. If you have any questions, let me know. It's a good school, respected in the states, and there are a ton of grad students (as well as undergrads - nearly 60k people total) here.

The rep is comparable to a major research/large land grant university in the states. It's not quite canadian Ivy, but you have access to U of Toronto's library and facilities. It also has the same potential for a very good learning experience, as there are some famous profs here (and then, there are plenty of obsure ones, too), and some rigorous programs.

I can't speak to Spanish history, but the Ancient History program here is very good (joint program with U of Toronto).

Not quite as warm as the UC choices, I'd bet, but it's balmy compared to Minnesota.