So the offer is still tentative, as they are not sure whether of not the position will open. You know, this is really unfair, playing with peoples lives like this. Going into a doctorate program is a huge life decision. When I made the decision to withdraw, I started making other plans in my life, applying for jobs, connecting with old contacts for jobs and asking favors, telling friends and family that I was going to stay in Iowa, etc. I agonized over the decision, then made it swiftly and decisively. It was difficult enough for me to give up on my PhD at Columbia, because of funding issues. Do people have no idea that people have lives and commitments in their lives, and that they can't just switch gears every couple of weeks and expect people to give themselves existential whiplash over their whims and indecisiveness? And what happens if I do take the offer? Will it disappear next year in the same whimsical manner it appeared this year? How is one to trust what one is told about funding, when you've been mislead before? I don't feel like I can trust any answer I get from any university dept. regarding funding. This time I was told that the offer "usually" stands for 2 years. So does the "usually" give them a legal out if they decide they don't want to fund me the next year? Is their saying such a thing just said to play on my wishful thinking and get me to agree to something I would not otherwise agree to? I know that many departments can't afford to give every doc student funding. That's fine. That does seem to be confined by budget constraints. But some integrity and honesty has to be restored to this process, and in order to do so departments need to create concrete procedures for offering funding. This whole time I've felt like I've been dealing with used car salesmen that are trying to get me to spend the most money possible, and not telling me "how low they can go". You have to walk out the door for real before they come running after stating, "OK, OK, we'll give you the discount!" The grad student should say "this is what I need to survive" and the program says "we can" or "we can't" and that's then end of story. Putting people through the emotional ringer be keeping them strung along on un-guaranteed possibilities, wavering back and forth about what they can and cannot offer is unfair and cruel. I'm tired of this game already, and I haven't even started.