Phonolog

Haha yes funded - I wouldn't be excited it if meants $100,000+ debt

For anyone that might have been following my ongoing drama, I must rejoice by announcing I was admitted off the U Mich waiting list today. I wish the best of luck to everyone if results are not yet ready, and in their decisions.

I have had two conference proceedings, but as you can see, it's helpful but not a prerequisite. They know very well where you are located and your circumstances and what is reasonably available to you during your BA. I'd say have a writing sample that COULD be a conference paper or one day publishable, rather than focusing on getting the official acknowledgement these venues provide while still in the BA. A careful adcom will know quality when they see it, even if the paper you choose to use will only have been seen by them up to that point.

Where have you decided to attend?

I didn't want to freak everyone out. I have good contacts with people on both ling adcoms and non-ling adcoms. This NEVER happens. This is a very particular situation where the offer is rescinded. As far as April 15th, you might have noticed that some of your firm offers might be subtling pushing you towards a decision. They like to know sooner, rather than later. However, around April 8th or 10th, if your waiting lists haven't cleared yet, and you don't know, I have heard it is acceptable to ask a school who gave you a firm acceptance for a one or two day extension on your decision. Know, however, that you're getting involved in some sort of chain reaction. In an unprobable, but not impossible situation, We'll call you Trace. And we'll call some guy Mike. Mike was accepted to NYU, and waitlisted for Stony Brook. He wants to see about Stony Brook, but since Trace hasn't accepted it yet, she asks for an extension. Mike asks NYU for an extension. The 48 hours are up, no movement. It accomplished nothing, except make the adcom have headaches, and sit you in suspense for another two days. Alternatively, some people have managed to gracefully decline an offer they accepted after the 15th, when something came up. You'll have to do more research on the legality/acceptability/ethics of that decision, but I've seen it done. HOWEVER! Do not accept an offer you're not sure about early to avoid my situation - it is so unlikely that my contacts who have sat on adcoms at different schools for 40+ years have NEVER heard of it. Make the best decision you can, and do not jump the gun because you're scared of losing it. You can lose nothing before 5PM, April 15th, Eastern Standard Time.

Just saw there were new posts here - I spoke a little soon; learn from my experience, and I suggest that you do not withdraw until you have paperwork from your choice school

Yes, suing is out of the question. But, I am not going to completely "respectable" route either - because, truly, this has caused SEVERE problems in my life (lapse of health insurance, losing my apartment, early loan repayment I wasn't counting on, not finishing my master's) etc ... They definately all feel bad, on a personal level, which I am not trying to exploit. I do, however, believe that due to the level of damage caused, that i deserve full transparency. This is non-procedural ... not a rejection, not a wait-list; but something truly out of the norm where I was told repeatedly that it was all-go, then ripped with the rug under me. Not ever getting off a wait list is totally normal - but this is unnacceptable. I am eligible for all Santa Cruz graduate fellowships (I checked with the graduate division) - so this is, at best, an extremely irresponsible mistake on behalf of the department (assuming there was not a more sinister reason, which I'll not jump to conclusions on). In this case, I have made it very clear that: 1. I am not contesting this decision 2. I am not seeking damages However, I do expect full transparency as to what happened, and not "I am very sorry about what happened" but rather "This is what happened, and I am sorry about it". .

I was hoping you might chime in on this. I live in Canada but I am a US Citizen, so I don't believe this would be a significant problem. Sandy Chung was the one who eventually broke the news, but now remains particularly evasive - some people received notifications of the sort "we were not able to obtain the fellowship we wanted for you", mine simply said "funding has been volatile this year". The main point of contention being, I received an email "you have been recommended" but much later "recommendations have not yet been finalized". First: "happy we could admit you", then "we know now that we do not have enough funds to offer financial support to everyone who we had planned to recommend for admission." The closest I could get to an apology; "Yes, the wording of [program manager's name] original email was incorrect. It is not the case that recommendations were made to the Graduate Division for admission and then yours was rescinded. In fact, the Department has not yet recommended to the Graduate Division that anyone be admitted, because we are still working on the recommended financial packages. I am really very sorry that this has happened and that it has been a difficult experience for you. In the future the Department will do everything it can to make the situation clear from the outset, so that misunderstandings do not arise. Once again, I really feel bad about this -- None of it makes sense - "clear from the outset"? But "we now know" - from the outset they had given me incorrect information, or during the process funding became tight and they then knew that they couldn't admit all of us, but didn't notify us? What I don't see is "rejection" entries in the results page for Santa Cruz; so, I have no idea why I get to be the special one. Simply put, for me, it is MUCH worse than a rejection. I was fully planning on accepting this offer as soon as the official paperwork was done - restructured my master's degree so that I didn't have to pay the extra semester of tuition and not receive the MA (Santa Cruz was fine with that), didnt renew my lease or health insurance ... I generally believe I was guaranteed to move on to big and better things. It's real ... well ... it's a public forum, I'll refrain from saying too much. So, just a little reminder - if you don't want to go to Michigan, withdraw your app !

But who would want to spend 5 years around people who direspected you and acted so irresponsibly and unethically towards you? I'm sour on it all right now

Yes, I do believe they owe me some sort of explanation, but I can see very clearly that my e-mails are being BCC`d and CC`d to administration - they know they messed up and are probably being advised to not say too much - sticking to last minute funding changes is all that they can say. Because I was told repeatedly I was admitted. As far as their "waiting list" ... eesh, I don't think I'd want to go there now. What's truly upsetting is all my POI's who I held in such great esteem - I've lost so much respect from the blatant lack of respect they had shown me. Being a pessimist, I suppose I imagined this scenario. But I didn't think it would happen. Fingers crossed for Mich.

I honestly don't understand how it could. I was called, notified I was admitted. Put on the department mailing list. Received emails from the director "As you know, we have recommended you for admission to the graduate program. congratulations and welcome to UCSC" (Feb 5th) emails from POI "we are so happy that we are able to admit you!". (Feb 7th) More emails from manager "yes, your offer comes with full funding, the amount we aren't exactly sure of yet. But since we only reccomend students who we can fund, yes it is fully funded.". (Feb 9th) Then there was the open house, for the accepted students. (Mar 7-10) I couldn't go (health reasons), so I wrote "will this have any effect upon my offer?". Program director: "No, this will not accept your admission status if you can't come, we understand".(Mar 7th) So, on Monday, I write to ask about what I had missed, and no response .... I finally called today. The manager sounded very uncomfortable, wouldn't answer any questions. I asked to be put through, by telephone, to the director. She couldn't. Receive from director, about an hour later, the generic form rejection sent out to other UCSC applicants at the beginning of Feb. (I had been "accepted" the 5th of Feb.) When I asked for clarification I was told "the recommendations will be finalized next week and sent to the graduate division". Note the discrepencies in bold - it wasn't rescinded by the graduate department, who didn't have the recommendations, but recalled by the department. And it is quite unambiguous that I was accepted right - I mean, nothing of the previous messages hints at anything like being "short-listed" or "final round". I can't wrap my head around it - I had two interviews with them, the second because I have some dark spots on my record; I have a tricky medical condition. In the interview, I made it known it is now well managed. But, I declined the visit because it required me to do 72 hours of travel each direction - something I can't do with my health condition. I don't know if this is the reason - they think I'll have issues like that? Or they really just play fast and loose with words like "admitted" "recommended" "guaranteed funding" "admission not contingent upon attending the Open House". I'm baffled - depressed and disgusted. I hadn't refused anywhere I didn't want to go - I didn't get adequate funding at either of my other admits (<$10,000/year). So, they were impossible for me anyway. My last hope is that someone declines UMich ... there's 6 admits, 3 on the waiting list. I'm one of those three. But look at my luck! The only damage I did was accept to do some international field work in June, and then was planning to head straight to California. So, I gave a notification of resignation already to my job. That's going to need some tidying up ... although I don't know if it will work. But don't worry ANYBODY - I really think this could honestly ONLY happen to me. I don't know why, but don't start worrying about it.

Well, if anyone was on waiting lsit for UC Santa Cruz - go you! My offer was just rescinded. Oh yes, it can happen. I have never been more depressed, ripped open, or as completely internally destroyed in my life.

What do you mean by responding to emails promptly? Just make sure you check it every other day, or get a data plan on your phone for like a week so that you can check your emails there. They're not going to pass you over because you don't answer your phone or the number shows up as disconnected.

Oh wow - didn't know that existed. I should have done something like that instead of a masters (in France, where Post-bac is our bachelor's and it's all upside down). It would be nice to have left for a year and come back for say the honours year which is what that seems to be.

Are you French? France is the only place I know that says post-bac. And no, 1-year linguistics programs in North America do not exist.

My two withdrawals aren't top-of-the-line, so I doubt I helped anyone out like some one would with you if they dropped NYU or UMass - but, it's a start to keep the admits flowing.

Just wanted to state that I followed my own advice, and withdrew two

It seems we're about at that time where all acceptances and rejections have been received, waitlists drawn up, tears shed, ego-boosts abound, and everyone's freaked out about how they're gonna move across the country ... We all hold several offers (I'm sure) or an many waiting lists (I'm certain) and are basically confused about our choices. Some visit days are not for another month or so, so it is hard to make a decision right now. But I do appeal to everyone's sense of responsability towards their fellow linguists. I would never encourage anyone to rush into their decision and accept an offer hastily. I would, however, request those who are on waiting lists for schools for which they are not interested and will surely not attend due to better offers, to withdraw their applications as soon as possible. I do believe it will save much anxiety and sleepless nights for other applicants. Thank you

Well, as I said, read everything. One of the first things you can do is read cover to cover (browse, if you must) all of those "Handbook of ..." (syntax, phonology) ... there's the Oxford handbooks, the Blackwell handbooks and companions, etc. The more up-to-date, the better, however some of the ones published in the 90's can contain truly important articles. Then you move on to their bibliographies. Then you get a list of all the things you find fascinating and you Google Scholar them and check for how many citations there are. Read articles that are cited alot (in phonology, I say this is 150+ plus ... syntax might be higher). Make sure you keep lists of "buzzwords" that will generate important articles. For me, this means finding buzzwords (just examples) like: "obligatory contour principle" "underspecification phonology" "harmonic grammar" "learning algorithms linguistics" ... read through your LinguistList announcements for buzzwords (you should be subscribed to all of the mailing lists and announcements there that interest you). Here's a partial list of general buzz words (far from exhaustive) you might want to type into Google Scholar: "minimalist syntax" "government and binding" "syntax interface" "semantics interface" "interface in linguistics" "architecture of grammar" "underspecification in linguistics" "generative linguistics" "derivational linguistics" "non derivational linguistics" "syntagmatic paradigmatic" "langue et parole" "structuralist linguistics" "Prague school linguistics" "optimality theory" ... it goes on and on. Find more, out of the above resources, that fit you - if you're more into socio or pragmatics, there's alot that I don't know "focus marking" "theories of focus" "code switching" come to mind. To not waste inordinate amounts of time ... look at citation amounts. Make sure you read anything that gets into the 800+ citation range - it's important and everyone has read it. Check out your schools and see what those profs wrote. It might be minor, but check their bibliographies for more important articles. Repeat: reading THEIR article won't suffice as you'll have to understand the bigger issues which they have referenced. If this is going to be your career ... get ready to read alot. Even better, these articles should be inspiring you. Start writing squibs about your ideas and come back to them later. My masters thesis was written based on an idea I had reading an article in my second year of undergrad that I kinda just wen't out on a limb on. This is also the way I wrote papers that I presented at conferences and submitted to journals. And I repeat, above all, those so many important parts of your app. I received not only good admits, but my rejections were pretty much all accompanied by a personal email, which is very rare. But they wanted to be precise that I was an excellent candidate but here are the red flags that kept me out of some great programs and you should really keep in mind: I had a 3.45 GPA. Do your best to stay 3.6 + I have a bad habit of signing up for overloads in credit hours ... 18 instead of 12. Then I drop two or three around mid-semester when I get overwhelemed. Keep the "abandoned" or "withdraws" off your record. Some things people might now know but they should: Send in ALOT of writing. You can never send in too much. Especially if they are all on very different topics. Linguistics admit committees don't mind getting too many writing samples. Linguistics people are generally very down to earth. Network - people will take you seriously even if you're a freshman in college, as long as you know what you're talking about. Everything that admit committees expect you to know about linguistics you learned in your first year of your major program - EXCEPT for the/those subfields which interest you, in which case you should be as versed as a first-year graduate (at least).

As I felt zapster's response was rather complete, I am only going to focus on a small part of your post. First of all, I like that you said that you wish to devote your career to this - make sure that the graduate program in of itself is not the dream. This is a common mistake - many people get into grad school and feel like they have a job. Getting in and getting out in 5-6 years should be your goal to a career. Many people become too comfortable in their PhD candidacy ... Second, who ever you speak to, whether through email, in person, letters of recommendation; never, and I mean never, use the word passion It sounds ... well, I think you know it sounds trite, vague, and empty. Speaking of conferences and pubs and what not, I would not worry a second about publications. But, you are in (I assume) Binghamton, NY which is in the general Northeastern area. You have MANY universities around you which hold student symposiums and things of the like. You have a ton of opportunities to present research in a relatively university-dense geographic area. Take advantage of that. Even simply attending gives you something to talk about and probably meet the people you will need to know. What is your personality like? Outgoing? Do you speak well? Is your appearance pleasant? These things don't matter once your established but when you're trying to make an impression they do. No PhD lings at your school? Not a drawback - a benefit. It means as an undergrad you can warm up to your profs like a graduate would. My undergrad had not graduate program in linguistics, but the profs were nonetheless established academics who had clout and whose alliances were important. Once again, take advantage of the fact that as an undergraduate you are their priority, in the absence of grad students. Interested in learning languages? Find out schools you would like to go to and find out the first language of some of the professors (often, not English). Learn THAT language, get an extra "in" and personal connection. These profs are people, and most of them enjoy these personal connections. So, I would say grad school acceptance would probably break down as such: 20% demonstrating knowledge of how linguistics works (writing sample) 20% demonstrating how innovative you are (writing sample) 20% grades 20% letters of recommendation 5% personal story/history (if it gets to that point) 5% connections with faculty on the admissions committee 4% personality 4% GRE 2% luck that during initial triage, your application doesn't fall into the hands of someone who doesn't know what they are doing. NB - take advantage of student symposia, professor access, and keep the grades up ... and most of all: READ EVERYTHING YOU EVER POSSIBLY COULD ABOUT LINGUISTICS (cognitive, formal, structural, phonology, phonetics, syntax, semantics, typology, whacky theories, defunct theories, history of theory, applications, learn stats and probability, delve into computation ... make your brain hurt ... if you really have this passion (lol) you'll make it hurt until application day comes)

Don't worry too much Trace, the same group of 10-20 students are the ones accepted everywhere (except for me, since I made it clear my interests are narrow rather than broad); and the same 10-20 are on all the waiting lists. You will go to one of your dream schools, but you probably know that

Any time - it makes you look serious and interested

Reading through, I suppose there is much to consider. I suppose fuzzylogician is correct; I was saying you should attend because you should remain open to all schools to which you applied. But if you are absolutely certain you wouldn't attend if offered admission (no matter what), by all means allow a spot to remain open for other candidates. But I think you should go and remain open to attending because you don't know anything until you've visited. As far as a `bidding` war, I was told it was good to do. I never considered doing it myself because I know all of my still prospective schools equalize students (except McGill, where as a Quebec resident, I am severely underfunded as opposed to international students because I receive government funding and not McGill funding - go figure). On a similar subject, in the Linguistics 2013 forum we did discuss international vs. domestic preference. For McGill, it is correct - because the Canadian system requires quotas to be filled by provincial residents. So I'm the best prospective linguistics student from a province of 8.000.000 people. Wow, I feel SO special. Thus my insecurity about my abilities because I don't know of any other major linguistics schools other than us and and U Ottawa with such quotas (UToronto and UBC have special exemptions, so if you were accepted there and a Ont or BC resident, it was because you were awesome). Fek, t'es de Québec et tu sais ce que c'est un phonème, ben voyons, comptes-toi un futur McGillien By the way, many people are mentioning "leaving a bad impression". I think if you honestly say "I am broke from tons of studying, financial considerations matter in my final decision", would be appropriate. Firstly, because it's probably true unless you're independently wealthy or come from a state-subsidized free system. Even here in Quebec where we pay $2000 a semester in tuition, we all come out $50k - $60k in debt and making enough so that you don't compile CC debt during a PhD is important. Secondly, if being honest and saying this (to the right person, with whom you develope some sort of rapport) still "leaves a bad impression", I believe THIS would be criteria for wondering if you want to go there - these people might not be understanding of where you're at in life and don't care. But then again, I am very informal and only want to be in departments which are like this. But this might not be a priority for you at all ...

What you'll want to do is take advantage of the visits, if the schools are paying for them one hundred percent. Get to know the professors and share your interests because they might be hiring you one day. Get quotes on stipends, and put yourself up for auction - tell schools what others are offering you. What if JHU offers you $22k, but MIT $20K? You tell MIT. You're allowed to start a bidding war - you're a highly sought after employee. But above all, take advantage of the free trips and connections you can forge. There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with going shopping for something you know you'll never buy. Don't feel guilty. Yes, there might be wait lists with qualified students that need to be granted a place, But you deserve to explore all the options that were given to you. And perhaps you'll discover some hidden gems in a school that's off your radar. There's many different important facets to your choice, and of course we've all thought about: 1. Research fit 2. Do I want to live there for 5 years 3. Will I get hired with a diploma from this school 4. How much are they paying But, what might be even MORE important: 1. Hame I happy physically being there? 2. Are people nice? Do I feel uncomfortable or threatened around them? Can I be myself? 3. I was accepted based on my currents interests and knowledge - will I still feel comfortable here if I go off on a tangent one day and change my research focus? How flexible is this department? 4. The town looked nice in pictures, but could I really enjoy it here? Are there enough recreational activitites? Do the current students seem well balanced and sane? For example, for my research interests, I could go to a certain school that would be perfect for me. But I get a weird vibe. But I only know that because I attended that school for 6 months of my masters. But I would never have known if I had never gone. And maybe it could be the other way around for you - you never know.

Anyone gonna be at UMich with me next week for the interview/recruitment thing?