Scholarships, Fellowships, and Assistantships- oh my!

Amidst the haze of confusion that was applying to graduate school, gaining acceptances, and trying to figure out what to do with all of them, I determined that I really, really wanted to write a post about money. It's perhaps the most important factor in judging whether or not to accept an offer of admission, yet it was the one I had the most questions about. So here's what I learned, maybe it'll help you sometime in the future.

1. Never EVER accept admission without financial assistants. This is my first rule of life. It stands particularly true if you're going into the humanities (i.e. English, History, Philosophy, etc.) because the last thing you want is to a.) not finished your degree or b.) not be able to find a job in the field you're going to school for and be stuck with the loans. A department's offer of financial assistance is often related to their confidence in your abilities. You are a gifted and talented student: don't underestimate yourself, and don't let others do it for you.

2. Schools will always fund Ph.D.s before Masters programs, so you have to look extra hard for funded Masters, especially with the economy the way it is now.

3. You remember that children's song about God answering prayers? "He might say yes, He might say no, He might say wait?" It's the same things with graduate schools. I've heard all three through this process. I've gotten notices of rejection because certain programs couldn't fund me. I've gotten acceptances to schools who admit "while we can't fund you now, we might be able to in the future." And, most importantly, I've gotten schools that say, "please, come! We'll pay you to do it!

4. Financial assistance is usually talked about in packages. One of my offers that came through had three components. 1) tuition waiver- yes please take my tuition away, especially since it'll be out of state 2) stipend- think of this as annual income. It can range anywhere from a couple of thousand to 25K+. 3) health insurance. This is more helpful for older graduate students trying to support a family.

5. There is a variety of things you may have to do for this money. No, I'm not talking about that. One of my offers is a fellowship, i.e. I don't have to do anything for this money. It's kind of like a scholarship, only that's not what its called. Not sure why, but that's not the important part. The important part is that later when you're trying to compile a C.V. make sure you include the fellowships, it's a rather prestigious vote of the department's confidence in you. Other offers include teacher assistantships, which range from anything between grading papers to teaching classes. Also there are research assistantships, which I believe are more common in the sciences, therefore I have a small working knowledge on this.

Ok, so there you have it, a five point crash course on understanding graduate school funding. Of course, there is a lot more to it than what I've written here, but these are the basics. It's a really interesting topic if you really think about it, and if you happen to have more questions, I may be able to find you and answer.

Rules to Lives By:

Some of you may know that I went graduate school shopping this past week. Allow me to start by saying that no, I'm not prepared to issue an official announcement as to the state in which I will be living come August. BUT I did learn some important things when it comes to shopping for graduate school.

Here's what you need to worry about:

1. advisor- It's the person who will help you make or break your career. A professor, who's interests are linked in someway with your own, under which you write your thesis/dissertation. Here's the kicker. Because you work under said professor, you'll always be "Lindsay Smith, Dr. X's student." (at least until you have a reputation of your own) Therefore, Dr. X needs to be someone great in your field. But it needs to be someone you can work with. A task that can be tricky when one's ego growth expands exponentially to the growth of reputation. Luckily, I think I've found a great advisor who is doing great research, and maybe one of the nicest guys I've met in this process.

2. Grad Student community- Graduate school can be intense and competitive. You want a place where you can fit in. It's like a "we're all in this together" scenario. You wouldn't think that would be hard to come by, but apparently it is very difficult to find. There are programs all over the country where students never talk, hide materials from one another, and generally contribute more to the stressful that is graduate school. =) I met some terrific people, and, based on my fly on the wall observations, they all seemed genuinely concerned for one another.

3. Funding! - perhaps I've listed these in the wrong order. Or maybe not. I think you have to find the right combination of great environment, academic success, and funding. It's like spokes of a wheel, one can't be missing, or substantially disproportionate to the other sides. Balance is key. I can't talk much about funding now, but I'll keep you filled in on what I know when I know it.


So there you have it, the three rules of selecting a graduate school. Of course there are more, but these were my big three when it came down to a visit. And I have to say, my visit passed all areas with flying colors.