Decisions, Decisions

[pinkcheeze]

I'm trying to decide when I'll move to Australia: February, March, or April. The time frame is a little more expanded than that, because I will be going to visit Laura in South Korea on my way to Australia, so I could potentially leave Calgary in January, or I could end up in Australia in May. Originally I was going to head down for February, but

Comments

[lauralareine]

Hey Joni, my advice to you about funding is this. In grad school it's a little easier to get funding, but only if you're willing to dig, as funding avenues are not necessarily widely known. If you're really willing to get in with the department, schmooze, get to know as many profs as possible and impress them, it is likely that some work as a research assistant or something along those lines will come open, especially if you show initiative. There are also usually general scholarships and bursaries available to all students at the university. Apply like a madwoman. So I'd say that in terms of finding funding, the earlier you go, the earlier you can make yourself known and the more opportunities are likely to come your way. Appearing late in the program will not only make it more difficult for you to meet professors, it will also make it harder for you to meet the other students in your department. Grad school is isolating; it's easy to meet people in undergrad, but this is not true in grad school, and I imagine that this is even

[pinkcheeze]

I appriciate your feedback. :) I'm still really torn between February and April. My biggest thing is that I have a lot of debt right now and I want to pay that down as much as possible, and I don't think I'll be able to get as much paid off by February as I'd like to. :S And it's credit debt, so I'll still have to pay it when I'm in Australia, with no income, so...that's the main barrier for me.

I think that most of the people in my program are older, that's the impression I've gotten from the website but I don't know how accurate it is. I know that the program requires you to attend regular department meetings and participate in these, so as to lessen the isolation. And as much as I'd love to live alone, moving to another country where I don't know anyone, it's probably going to be a good idea to live with people. Ugh! I think I'm going to go crazy.