Huge congrats romani!
@romani, Big congrats! I am really happy for you! I heard it is not easy to be accepted into a fully funded PhD program these days, especially an extremely good one!
This is so great!!! As a Wolverine with a couple degrees from that school, I couldn’t be happier to hear they had the sense to snag you! Kudos and welcome!
That is awesome, romani! Seems like you always get into every program you want, don’t you? So could you explain, to us non PhD’s, exactly what this means? I get that fully funded means no tuition and living expenses covered? Enough to live well? Health insurance is great. What do you do for five years, what is a normal schedule? And what do you do when you graduate? I know, so many questions, but I’d like to understand what the process is.
Ha, I wish, busdriver! I think it’s more that I rarely take extreme chances. The jury is still out on one program- which I will likely be rejected from and that’s OK 
I will fill you in on what I know. Mind you, the details are a little fuzzy because I was literally shaking when the grad director was giving me details.
Funding details:
-Tuition & fees taken care of.
-~19k stipend for the year + 4k in the summer
-Opportunity for travel funding so I can go to conferences, etc. This will likely be quite needed as (I think) much of my research will take place out in California.
Program details:
-Courses for the first two years. There are only 2 core courses and then the rest are tailored to my specific needs.
-For the semesters where I’m not teaching, I take 3 courses. When I am teaching, I take two courses. I start teaching 2nd year. (I already have a prof who wants me to be her GSI).
-After the 2nd year, I can continue to take some courses if I want but the bulk of my time is dedicated to teaching (I either have 2 or 4 semesters of guaranteed GSI appointments), researching, and writing. It generally takes 6 years to do the whole program so the 6th year is usually funded through an outside fellowship.
Oops- hit enter too soon lol.
Anyway, the funding is enough to live OK but it’s expensive to live in Ann Arbor. I will be moving because I’m done with the commute.
The very good thing is that AA has a good economy and my partner should be able to find a job. He works with kids so it’s not like we’ll be living the high life but we’ll survive. We luckily have an OK chunk saved up. We’ll also be down to one car which will be nice.
We also have completely funded health and dental insurance for both my partner and me (and Romani junior if it happens to come during the program).
They extended offers to 8 people so it is a very small, intimate program. I already have a research advisor (my current boss) and connections with friends who are in the program. I got a flood of congratulations from them tonight so someone spilled the beans 
This is the spiel from the AmCult website about the program:
It sounds kind of open-ended but it has an EXCELLENT post-PhD placement rate in post-docs and Professor positions (my goal).
Wow, now I understand the extent of this, it sounds amazing!! Like you’ll have everything set wonderfully for the next five years and then the best job placement ever when you graduate. That is some great deal. I was wondering if it was five years of just classes, which would get old, but this sounds interesting and perfect for you. No wonder you are so happy! I can’t imagine the one you think you won’t get in to (bet you will) could be better than this.
Yea for you!!!
You have worked so hard, it’s great to see that rewarded.
Lots of moms here rooting for you all along and happy to see your hard work pay off.
The other program only accepts 2 applicants. I will likely be turning it down if I am accepted.
You guys might get a kick out of this. I said that my dad was telling strangers around him. What I didn’t tell you was what he said: “My daughter’s going to be a doctor!!” I love him, but sometimes he doesn’t quite think things through.
romani, it hurts when I do this …
So happy for you! Best wishes.
romani,
So great about the insurance. I think you’ll sleep better at night…
My dad brags a lot, too God bless him.
And dental? I’ve never had dental with any job ever. Great!
Wow, this is amazing! What a great place to be at and fully funded for the next 5 years! Permission granted to your dad to tell any and all strangers!!!
Congratulations, romani! This all sounds great!
Congratulations! So happy for you!
Are romani’s dad and Nrdsb4’s dad as ill-behaved as me (this dad)? LOL.
Congrats again, romani.
That is awesome, romani. Congrats!
Congrats, that is a great package. It is very fortunate to get summer funding
@busdriver11 PhD programs usually have limited classroom requirements you take at the beginning. After that you focus on research exclusively unless you want to take classes to learn about something if your research expanded into a new area.
That sounds far more interesting than five years of classroom, BrownParent! It sounds like a lot of freedom to follow your own interests.