maceochi

Rejected by UChicago. Roll on next year and the next application!

I've no idea how the process works. They obviously don't notify everyone, both successful and unsuccessful applicants, at the same time, at least at Toronto. Have you heard anything about the decision-making process?

Open question

Grub Street

high water

Well, as you might have seen in the results search, there's been at least one rejection from Toronto's Slavic department so far.

Ooh, I like predictions! What makes you say that? The "first half of March" guideline on the Humanities Division application site?

So... No more results then?

Congratulations! Is that one or two years?

Nerve-wracking it sure is! Is Indiana your first choice? What will you do if you get another offer?

Who got into Harvard?

Ah, that was just a bit of doctoral applications humour for you there to lighten the mood of nail-biting suspense! I've never read any Bely, I'm sorry to say. This is the year I tick some big names off the Russian reading list, so I will get round to him eventually. Another question: is there any time of day that universities usually send their notifications about decisions? My time zone is GMT+2, or Central+8, so I'd like to know when there's no point in waiting for a certain email to arrive.

Yes, of course. Understandable. I was too cheap and only wanted to spend $65 on one application! But, seriously, I only really liked Chicago, from what I read online. Who's your favourite Russian novellist/poet/short story writer and why?

Well, as I said above, I have no formal linguistics background whatsoever. I studied both Russian and French at undergrad and have lived for a total of three years in Russia, so my Russian knowledge is more practical. Nonetheless, if Chicago accepts me I'll take the linguistics track. I don't know if taking up linguistics at this stage is realistic, but I want to try. I'm interested in morphology, especially the morphological changes Russian has undergone as a result of social and political events - the October Revolution and the fall of the Soviet Union, for example. In a broader sense I'm interested in the interactions of state and language - official languages, language rights and language policies (especially for minority languages), for example, the Russian language in the Ukraine and Latvia (and the post-Soviet space in general). What drives me most of all is my ambition to become a teacher of Russian, but alongside that I want to learn something (well, more than just 'something'!) about linguistics as a science.

Are all you of you intending on studying literature, linguistics, or something interdisciplinary, in the places you've applied to?

Interesting.

Apart from Kansas, which I know interviewed you by phone, did any of the schools you applied to measure your Russian skills in some way other than your undergrad results? Some written task, for example? Chicago didn't ask for anything extra. I hope my Russian skills came across in my letters of recommendation!

Is an interview normal procedure for all doctoral programmes?

Hi Renwod90. I don't think they do. At least, their website doesn't say they do. But you knew that already. I don't know anyone who's applied there, so I've no idea. Chicago's site says decisions will be made "during the first half of March" - I wonder how strict they are about this. Do other schools keep to the timeframes they post on their websites?

Well, my motto is to remember the bigger picture! Especially if we're accepted. And if not - there are a lot of other options.

Hi Karent! Thanks for that info. Although I did feel a bit like I had a bucket of ice poured into my stomach on reading that six out of fifteen were admitted... Well, nothing I can do about it now!

Hello everyone! It's nice to have discovered this forum. I've applied to UChicago's Slavic languages and literatures programme, with the intention of following the linguistics track, if accepted. My background is in Russian, but not at all in linguistics, so it's going to be an extremely steep learning curve for me if I'm accepted. Their website says you can expect to hear back from them "in the first half of March", so of course I am counting down the days until March begins. I'm amazed at how many schools people have applied to here and wondering if I didn't hedge my bets too high by only applying to one. What motivated you all to apply to the programmes you chose? For me, it was the research underway at Chicago and the range of languages they offer. Does anybody know how many students each programme typically admits? It seems to be very difficult to find this out. Maybe my Google skills aren't at postgrad level yet! Or does it vary from year to year? Not that this knowledge helps in any way (and I refused to think about it during the application process), but it's still interesting. Congrats to everyone who's been accepted so far and good luck to everyone who's still waiting for that call/email/letter! Ian.