Ok, so I don't want to become one of those people who blogs about pointless life-type things that no one cares about, but I have a dilemma. As most of you know (or maybe not most of you, assuming people I don't know may be reading my blog...probably not, though) I'm in the middle of applying to grad school. Well, actually, I'm at the end of it. To be specific, I have 8 days before I need to inform schools as to whether or not I will be attending them. Here's the stats on the schools I applied to.
University of Wisconsin Madison--Tied for best sociology graduate program in the nation. However, extremely funky funding situation means I would always be wondering if I could afford to eat the next semester, so they're effectively out.
University of Oregon--My fallback school I only applied to in the freak chance that everyone else denied me admission. Screw 'em.
University of California Berkeley--The other school tied for number 1. As such, they are offering me very little in funding, meaning I would have to go into debt if I went there. Although their prestige is very handy in finding a job after graduation, they also have an earned reputation of being a place where the faculty just don't give a fuck about their grad students succeeding or failing.
University of California Santa Barbara--Pretty nice funding package offered, temperature in the 70s 320 days a year, three faculty with whom it would quite benefit me to work with. Top 20 school, so my career options are still open. However, Santa Barbara is kind of a small town, and the cost of living is very high there.
University of Minnesota Twin Cities--By far the best funding package, also a top 20 school. However, they're very focused on breaking back into the Top 10, and as such, really discourage students from street-level activism, of which I'm quite fond. Not too sure how many faculty they have that I really want to work with.
Boston College--By far the coolest school. Full of crazy left-wing faculty who are always getting arrested for verious causes and writing really cool stuff. However, has a very low departmental rating, which would make it hard to find employment afterwards.
Univrsity of Michigan Ann Arbor--Denied me entrance. Fuck 'em.
So you can see the quandry I am in. Where the hell should I go to grad school?!? I only have 8 days to figure this out, people!
1 comment:
You totally want to go to BC. Boston is by the far the best city in the country to go to school in. There is everything around, and as far as not getting jobs, just being here will help you get a job. With this many colleges here, this is one of the first places employers look. Boston just fucking rocks....not that I am biased...;)
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