gubidal092

flat broke

I used this thread as a reference before moving to DC two years ago (ack! that long ago?), and was kind of dismayed at how short it is compared to the other city guides. I can only really speak to my experience as a Georgetown grad student, so take my experience/advice for what it is. The base price of anything you can rent it around $1000. For a room and a (shared) bathroom. That is not to say that you cannot find things cheaper, but if you want a room of your own anywhere feasibly commutable to GU, that's generally around what you'll pay (by commutable, I mean under an hour commute via public transport. There is no parking for grad students at GU). The average price for renting a parking spot (from someone's driveway or a parking garage) is about $150/month. You are likely better off without a car. My first year I lived in Glover Park, a neighborhood essentially equidistant from American University and Georgetown. It is a beautiful and great place to be (especially for families, I think), and I enjoyed it, but it was less expensive to be in Arlington, VA (though not much less). It is easier to find apartments with parking spaces in Arlington, I find. It is also closer to several highways). Arlington is very popular for grad students and the shuttle is convenient. (It is also close to the metro.) As far as public transport goes, DC has plenty, but for my own comfort I decided to live only in places easily walkable to my campus (no more than 40 min walk) and ideally where I also have the option of taking my university's free public transport (busses). There do not appear to be any ways of getting a discount on public transport in DC (metro or busses). Even the monthly passes are EXPENSIVE. (student passes are only for students in high school or younger). I might add more to this later, but figured I would start by posting this.

If it has not been too long after the Skype interview, you can always send a follow up thank you note if you have not already (but you did send one, right?). It is a gentle reminder to the committee that you are still interested (and still waiting) and gives them the opportunity to respond if they want (though they might not). Much more than that would be pestering, I think. But, if you have legitimate questions about the program or something else you talked with the interviewer about that you could follow up on via email, that is another way to open the communication channels and try to feel out how things might be going for your application.

employment counseling

Those small moments by myself (bus ride, waking up, etc.) tend to be when I stress the most, so I play words with friends (which I ironically play with people I do not know -- has anyone else noticed this?). I feel to guilty about wasting water to take a long shower, but I keep finding excuses to take extra ones -- maybe I'm subconsciously dealing with the stress? Baking. Bake all the things! I also annoy my boyfriend with 'what ifs' for getting into different schools (or not getting in anywhere).

Academics (and I am including myself here) tend to think we have cornered the market on "Imposter Syndrome". However, speaking with other people in other professions, this is a common feeling that pretty much everyone has (especially at the start of a new career or new position within their job). Similarly, people often feel they could never do someone else's job (even within the same office, believe me, I have consistently heard this from people), while feeling that anyone could do theirs. Grad students are some of the more neurotic people on the planet (again, I'm including myself), and we tend to forget that we are in this tiny bubble where everyone is smart and driven and experts in their field. But we are all also faking it (at least at the grad level). Don't worry; just keep faking it until you no longer feel like you're faking it. You are much more prepared than you think you are, and you are much better at your job than you feel. <3 (Another side point of this is that people tend to advance in their careers (or education) until they reach their maximum level of incompetency, rather than their maximum point of competence. But, just remember that you are constantly "leveling up" -- the bosses just keep getting harder, that's why it doesn't feel like it's getting easier, even though if you checked, you have tons more XP than the average person. Because this comment needed a video game metaphor.)

I also agree with Fuzzylogician (perhaps because being from the same field lends us similar professional understandings). Provided, of course, that you have not contacted them much before this point (i.e., you haven't emailed them to "update" other things previously). If you have a POI you have been emailing with at the school, I would email them directly about this (perhaps CC the DGS or department secretary). If you do not have a POI, I would email it straight to the DGS/secretary (whoever you think is most likely to be fielding emails to students). Though, as others have pointed out, this might not change your status if you are already on the waitlist (as you suspect), but it might move you up the waitlist. Which could ultimately be the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. Also, look at it this way; do you really want to work at a department where people get so pissy after one well-intentioned email that they blacklist you?

heart stopper

public humiliation

wind burn

I thought it would be better to send an follow-up email than to send nothing; at worst the recipient will react ambivalently; at best they will appreciate the gesture. I agree that the thank you email is better if you have a stronger connection with the interviewer, but I don't think it's necessary. I had a skype interview with some members of the admissions committee (4 people), but only had prior email contact with the DGS, so he was the one I directed my email to. I wanted to refer to all of the professors I had met with by name ("Please extend my thanks to Dr. Blah, Dr. Blah, and Dr. Blah." etc.), but due to technical issues, I could not really hear the name of several professors who were there (Skype audio didn't work so I was listening to four people talk over a cell phone's speaker phone option and watching them via Skype -- not conducive to audio clarity). I was able to match the people I met to their faculty photo, but one person I just could not pick out. So I wound up saying something to the effect of "Please extend my thanks to the rest of the Admissions Committee." I think the thank you email post-interview can only help you (unless you really cannot write an email).

rbear91, did you send a follow-up "thank you" email?

cantankerous fool

Just as long as I don't get a rejection ON my birthday again, I'll be fine...

So I'm going to the Univ. at Buffalo (SUNY) open house on Feb 13-14 (they already did interviews and let the first round(?) of unofficial acceptances in), and I still haven't heard anything from any other schools (freak out!). I'm weighing the merits of emailing the departments in Yale and CUNY to see if I could "stop by and see the department"/email some POIs directly (haven't contacted them before now, so possibly a bad idea?) asking if I could meet them, since I'll "be in the area" (Buffalo = ~5 hrs from New York/New Haven, but who's counting?). Thought I'd run it by you guys to see what you think. I know in some disciplines this is acceptable behavior to some degree (at least, that is the sense I get), but what about in Linguistics?

I went through and did approximate times for hearing back from my schools: (SUNY) Univ. Buffalo -- Late Dec-Mid Jan (thank goodness I've heard back from somewhere.) Berkeley -- Late Feb (I'm going with latest dates reported in the last few years for hearing from a school, so I know this conflicts with what some other people reported) UPenn -- Late Feb CUNY -- Mid-Late Feb Harvard -- Late Feb Yale -- Early March Cornell -- Early-Mid Feb (last application is one of the earliest respondents? Srsly?)

whole-hearted

Uh, I had one where I thought I had woken up to turn off my alarm and when I checked my email on my phone I saw a rejection from one of my schools. Not even my top choice... Plus, for the nightmare to be true the school would have had to have sent out the emails in the middle of the night! I wish we could get our admissions decision immediately after submitting our applications and just be done with it. The waiting is the hardest part.

Hi Ahlam, I do not have an answer to your question, I am in the same boat. If anyone else has any advice, we would appreciate you sharing!

As an unfunded grad student who also found my department a poor fit, I completely sympathize with you! As a PhD student I decided to finish my masters and then look elsewhere, but if you are intending to be a terminal masters student, then it may be harder to stay the additional year and finish. Just know that if you don't finish your degree, you will in all probability have to start all over at your new institution. You might consider, if you were hoping to eventually go for a PhD, to just do PhD applications in order to better your chances of funding, especially considering most universities do not fund masters students. With a year (or at least a semester at this point) of grad school under your belt, you will look better to admissions committees (if you are doing well in those classes) than an undergrad. Just explain how the classes at your current institution have helped you grow as a linguist, but your research interests are not supported by the institution and school X would be a better fit. Regarding LORs, I would try to get at least one letter of recommendation from a professor at your current institution. Maybe find a professor you are taking classes with who has a sympathetic ear willing to write you a LOR that explains how you are not financially supported at your current institution (though, really, it is relatively common for masters students to pay their own way or take loans out). There should not be a problem to any admission committee to see most of your LORs from your undergrad -- but you need to make sure it is people who you have kept in touch with and can speak to how ready you are for a grad program now instead of a year or so ago. Hope that helps!

Definitely break your class up into chunks: I would avoid one "chunk" of activity or instruction being longer than 15 min max. Also, I don't know if you are doing breaks in your 2 hour sessions, but you might want to consider building in a 5-10 minute break halfway through. It will help some of the students come back in focused for the last hour. Another thing I have learned (I taught a couple adult classes that were 2h 30 this summer) was to not be afraid to cold-call on students. There is no reason to wait for students to volunteer. Cold calls keep them engaged. You might have one or two students who a chronically shy or afraid to speak, and you can always make arrangements with them in particular for credit outside of class somehow (if you do that already with those students), but most will do well. The students will figure out early on that they have to pay attention the whole time, and it also reinforces that you are leading the class.

Thanks TakeruK! It's just hard to know how to word these sorts of things. I don't think I would accept another unfunded offer, especially having the experience of not being funded (the number of times I have slipped through the cracks; I didn't even know my advisor was going to be on leave this semester ahead of time); I would likely just stay where I am now and keep pursuing outside funding (which I am also applying for this semester).

Hi Guys, I'm currently enrolled in a PhD program where I am not funded, I'm just coming to the point at the end of next spring where I'll be able to earn an masters-in-passing, and I am putting out applications this fall for other PhD programs where I might get funding (as well as being a better fit to my interests). I'm wondering what I should say about why I am leaving my current program. I don't want to seem like I'm complaining about lack of funding too much, but I want to make clear that I'm not leaving because I've messed up somehow and now have to find a new program (which I've heard is a concern some departments have when they see a phd candidate switching schools). Any advice? Also, since I haven't been funded, I haven't had the opportunity to teach or do research, but I've done my best to approximate these experiences as I can; I took my department's year long TA training (not required for non-TAs), and now I'm working on my grad school's teacher training, and I worked as a teacher for all ages last summer (440 hours class time). I also have found a professor (in another department) who I am working with on her research, but I'm not officially an "RA". Am I going to look ridiculous if I spend a bit of time talking about these in my SOP or an additional document? I'm hoping to show that I found opportunities to expose myself to normal funded PhD student staples like teaching and research even though the opportunities weren't handed to me.

Hi AllenWang, Generally speaking a Statement of Purpose (SOP) and Personal Statement are considered to be the same thing. Usually you outline your previous work/why you are applying for the program, then talk about your research goals and fit within the department (i.e., who you want to work with). However, most programs in the USA will require that you take all of your courses in English, and most require that International Students prove their proficiency in English in some way or other. If you are applying to a program where work in done in English, they will expect your SOP to be in English, since they expect you to be fluent. You should really ask yourself if you will be able to write and read extensively in English, as will likely be required of you in a US program. Depending on the sorts of programs you are looking at, you might have to write a thesis or dissertation that will be very lengthy and require fluency or near fluency in English. Hope that helps!

So I am currently in a PhD program, that I will complete a masters-in-passing in at the end of this Spring, and as I am not funded I am also sending out applications to other schools that I might complete my PhD at instead. I might stay at my current university, I might not depending on the responses I get. So I am also applying for funding, via various grants and fellowships (NSF GRFP, Ford Foundation, etc.). I know people apply for funding at the same time they are doing applications, but the applications seem oriented towards people who already know where they are going to be attending (i.e., my specific research will vary depending on where I go, so am I very, very general and non-specific, or do I lay out different propositions for research? etc.). So, how do I express the fact that I don't know where I'll be attending for the award year or precisely what I will be researching in these applications? I'd appreciate any advice with this; this is my first year doing external funding applications.