Can I live on 10k a year in San Diego? vs Oregon State?

[geologyninja13]

I got into San Diego State and Oregon State University to study the geography of groundwater for my Masters degree! I have a dilemma, though

• San Diego offered me a $9,900 stipend (only guaranteed for one year) to be a R.A. and would cover my tuition. Two professors are doing significant work on groundwater modelling for agriculture that isn't being done anywhere else. My potential advisor is an early career professor who just started at the university and I would be her first grad student ever.
• Oregon State offered me a $21,000 stipend to be a T.A., and would also cover tuition. Guaranteed for both years! The department is bigger, but they have a more holistic/less technical focus and do not currently have a person doing modelling, but I could skip over to Civil Engineering to take classes in it. My advisor would be a professor very close to retirement who is doing pretty much exactly what I want to do as far as groundwater management but no longer does much modelling. He has advised over 30 students who have gone on to good careers. However, I would have to be very independent in finding my thesis topic and project.

Would it be worth going into debt in San Diego to work on the more concrete technical projects, or would you recommend hanging tight with the better funding (for more work, tbh) and hustling to get research I wanted?

~Courtney

[I_mix]

Personally, I would take the risk and go to SD. Being able to work on things I'm specifically interested and that is novel is more important to me than a safety net. 

That being said: What would you feel happier doing? I know that seems like a cop-out answer, but you also have to take into account a bunch of other variables that you'd be dealing with at each school (environment, community, etc). Also an early career professor could be risky. How have your interactions with her been so far? Are there many other professors that you could switch over to if things head south? Close to retirement can also be a bad sign too.

I should amend this by asking: Would you be able to get any extra help in addition to that 10K (not from the school)? Or would you be able to apply for scholarships and grants? What are your other funding options here?

Edited March 22, 2017 by I_mix

[HappyRoyla]

I'm a numbers person. Quality of education is important, but is it more important than the amount of money you'll have to pay back in the long-run? Cost of living is a huge factor in student debt. And Corvallis, OR is significantly cheaper than San Diego. Will you have opportunities at OSU to work on projects you're interested in? Consider also you'll have your entire career ahead of you. And first-time advisors can be extremely difficult and frustrating to work with since they don't have the experience advising students one-on-one. Food for thought. Go with your gut. I

[siitrasn]

9 hours ago, HappyRoyla said:

I'm a numbers person. Quality of education is important, but is it more important than the amount of money you'll have to pay back in the long-run? Cost of living is a huge factor in student debt. And Corvallis, OR is significantly cheaper than San Diego. Will you have opportunities at OSU to work on projects you're interested in? Consider also you'll have your entire career ahead of you. And first-time advisors can be extremely difficult and frustrating to work with since they don't have the experience advising students one-on-one. Food for thought. Go with your gut. I

Just want to chime in as devil's advocate to what HappyRoyla is saying, in that I worked with two extremely young professors as an undergraduate and I found it to be a great experience. Young professors may not be able to guide you as well, but for a Masters program you're not committing 3-4 years as an apprentice like you would a PhD so your work doesn't have to be nearly as dependent on a single professor. Another point to consider is that young professors are just starting to take off in their career -- if they think your work can help them get a publication, they can be very open to helping out and committing to you, in addition to also being incredibly energetic due to their relatively young age.

At my undergrad alma mater, many famous and established professors were incredibly busy with their own projects, some even spending a significant amount of time off-campus to  deliver talks or write books. PhD students would be teaching their classes when they deemed it more important to work on their personal stuff than teach a course, so definitely consider this as a factor.

That being said, 9k is barely enough just for rent in San Diego with a roommate or two. SDSU has more options to living, but around UCSD/La Jolla you'd find 1 bedroom apartments costing $1400+ per month.

[juilletmercredi]

No, you won't be able to live on $10,000 alone in San Diego. You'll have to find ways to supplement that stipend, either through part-time work or by borrowing some money. That may be okay to you.

But quite frankly, I'd choose the fully funded and guaranteed stipend. Independence is not a bad thing, and learning to a hustle a bit can be invaluable for later on when you'll basically be required to do that anyway.

[Need Coffee in an IV]

Hey I have a background in geology too! Honestly, I would try to see if anyone at Oregon State was doing any type of modeling and take that course. That way you can still gain experience even if its not exactly what you wanted. Also Oregon State is investing a lot into your education, which is an indication that they really care about your reputation/outcome. Why else would they invest so much money and benefits? I also think its a good sign that they were upfront with you about lacking technical modeling courses. I would go with Oregon State.