[ SECRET POST #3034 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3024 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 038 secrets from Secret Submission Post #432.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Re: School/funding advice?

[(Anonymous)]

Current grad student here, who also had choices and offers of funding. My experience says go with the funding. Grad school is almost prohibitively expensive. Even your stipend might not go as far as you think, if the school has mandatory but not free health insurance, fees not covered by funding, etc. In terms of your future career, it's also important to consider how you "launch". That fancy private school will more likely offer you a better launch; your connections will be with other fancy private school people, which means you'll be ahead of the curve come job hunting time. Finally, as I'm sure you know if you've already gotten your MA, grad school is insanely stressful. Anything that can help alleviate that stress, like pinching fewer pennies, is probably better for your performance and well-being. Also, you can list that funding on your CV, which makes you look better to future employers. And of course, having connections at two schools instead of only one will give you more opportunities to collaborate and a larger network when it's time to look for a career.

All that said, how you fit really matters. Clearly the fancy school thinks you'll fit, but your current school knows you do, and you like it there! That matters. Wherever you end up, you have to be able to work with those people in that environment for several years. If you honestly believe your current school is the kind of environment you can't bear to part with, consider applying for external funding through grants, etc. Assume you'll have to pay entirely out of pocket and look into the real costs of this, including tuition, fees, and whatever it's going to cost to actually eat and keep a roof over your head, and see if it seems manageable. If you don't have any/much debt already, it might be worth it to stay. If you do, though, or if those costs are just too much to bear, or if you don't think you can balance a job with PhD work (many people can't; this isn't a failing but a reality check), I say go for the fancy school. But if you're committed to this current school and it's worth the costs, see what kind of support you can get and might reasonably need.

Re: School/funding advice?

[khronos_keeper]

You bring up some really good points. Grad school is definitely prohibitively expensive, and I'm at least 40K in debt for my MA right now, on top of what's left over from my BA. And yeah, there are definitely fee and insurance junk not covered in tuition that would come out of the stipend.

You're also very right re: connections at both areas, and not something I had really considered. The fancy private school already gave me a boost when I worked there as a researcher for a year, so they already knew my name and rep, and this helped in getting a full ride for the PhD. And I hadn't thought of listing the stipend on my CV! Good tactic.

And YES for the stress alleviation aspect. Funds and taking out loans have always been a huge stress point for me, and I know that being financially secure will go a long way in soothing stress. Tbh, up until this very day, I had been assuming for about 4 months I would having to pay out of pocket for the state uni. I've been sounding funding sources, applying for jobs, asking professors if they can spare any money. I've even perfectly rationed out my bank account so I have enough for rent, minimal food, and bare minimum of tuition, in hopes that the 16/17 school year will be better.

I haven't been thinking about my attachment to my current school in those terms. You are right in that I fit there, and I'm comfortable there, and that I am nearly going blind with the fancy uni. It would probably go a long way if I went there in person and met some of the faculty, staff, and fellow students.

To be entirely honest, I think I can definitely handle working and PhD-ing at the same time. For my MA, I was doing 9-12 credit hours, while working 30-40 hours a week. Granted, I don't know what this new school will be like, but they're willing to go to bat for me, if they're offering me this fuckton of stipend.

But-- in the end, I just hope that if the fancy new school ends up going down the shitter, my old school will have me back. I'm committed to my field now, and I'll go where the research and money takes me.

Re: School/funding advice?

[(Anonymous)]

Absolutely go check out that other school! :) I see in an above comment you said it's STEM-focused, but I'm also a social science person at a STEM school. The reality here is that while big data and STEM rule the uni, within my college and department it's much more diverse. I'm pretty heavily qualitative and interpretivist, so this is extra important, but I've still felt very nurtured within my department itself. If you have concerns about this, I think it's absolutely fair to ask the profs and students you might be working with what their take on it is. Ask about epistemological stances and how they navigate working at a school that prioritizes a discipline that isn't always friendly to your own. Their answers might give you a better feel for how you'll fit. It's the department that you'll have to work with, not the university (for the most part). Itll also help you feel around for potential mentors. It's been my experience that even at times when the whole department doesn't quite "get" what I'm doing, having a couple professors at my back is really important. I know my peers have felt similarly about their own mentors. So making sure you've got at least one person who really gets you, whether it's your topic, research methodology, or epistemology, goes a long way in dealing with the other pressures.