Russian Studies

[pietjekanarie]

Litvak, it seems that Columbia is not very generous when it comes to funding masters degrees. I think I remember that their online application stated something like "the GSAS freestanding Masters degrees are not considered for funding". I'm not 100% sure, maybe it was only applicable to international students. However, I'm counting on them giving me nothing (if they accept me). If you have a great offer from IU, it makes no sense to wait on Columbia since the chance of funding is small and the chance that the funding will cover your expenses in NYC is even smaller. I'm also not really sure how long this waiting is going to take. Their website says the following: "The notification of M.A. decisions varies by department and application deadlines. Although some M.A. decisions are sent out in early Spring, decisions may be rendered as late as July." It's not that they give you the slightest idea when the decisions will come out like this... It can be early spring, or it can be JULY.. I think it will take a while, since the deadline was only March 1 if I remember correctly (although NYU's deadline was April 1 and I have an acceptance already).

I will probably wait on Columbia for now, since Oxford is giving me a lot of time. I'll hear about a very generous external scholarship in a few weeks. If I don't get this scholarship, my decision will be Oxford or maybe U of T (I received an email that my application is considered for funding there) regardless of Columbia's decision. I'm not going to take out a 100,000 USD loan to live in NYC for 2 years although I would love to live and study there.

[ruatipoki]

Greetings all

I was wondering if anyone can give more information.

I have seen stipend figures of 11k, 15k and 18k

apologies if this is a stupid question but living on this

for example - I was living in DC back in 05 - 07 and rent was almost 1k a month...

What other options are there to buff this up a bit?

Much apprecated

[Russophile]

Greetings all

I was wondering if anyone can give more information.

I have seen stipend figures of 11k, 15k and 18k

apologies if this is a stupid question but living on this

for example - I was living in DC back in 05 - 07 and rent was almost 1k a month...

What other options are there to buff this up a bit?

Much apprecated

As far as I can tell, the smaller stipends are decent for areas such as Bloomington, where the cost of living is low. Funding at schools like Harvard and Columbia seem to be less generous given the area, and I suspect that most people who choose those schools either end up sharing an apartment with several other students or taking out significant loans to make up the difference.

[JustChill]

Are you talking about a specific city? Yeah, in DC it would be hard to swing it on 14k per year, but that's always part of one's reasoning when choosing a grad program. You have to crunch numbers and see where the cost of living is something you can afford, and where you cannot. Places like LA, NYC, and Chicago are always going to cost over a thousand a month for rent, but the best schools/programs aren't necessarily in those cities. I just got an apartment in the town where I'm going to grad school for $400 per month with all utilities included.