umniah2013

I think it depends on whether you want to transfer credit or not. I 'm not planning to transfer credit but I'm still not sure which is better a letter grade or pass/fail. I mean if I wanted to apply to phd programs would the transcript matter at all?

It must have been a really hard decision saying "no" to Maryland. Wishing you all the best at USC!

mind games

I was wondering if TA positions are only given to doctoral students. Also if the student has an outside funding ( I have a scholarship that 's funded by 2 organizations), does that mean she/he doesn't get any offer for RA or TA? I do not need funding so would volunteering be possible for either TA or RA??

Chomosky, Lakoff , Pinker and Halliday.

Congratulations! Maryland is an awesome school for psycholinguistics! I'm happy for you You're gonna miss the weather here in California

Leesies congratulations!

telianathegreat + Onzeheures30 Thank you for the helpful input! Although I got acceptances for the MA, I'm pretty sure it's more competitive for the PhD. Lingutherobot , the rejection might be a result of too many applicants having the same research interests.In that case, lots of qualified applicants will get rejected. Life can be so random and luck plays some part in this situation.

Fuzzy brought up some really valid points that can help in deciding. Most of the programs I chose are totally different from each other in terms of research facilities, collaboration opportunities,..etc, that's why I'm not struggling as much ..except may be for the location/ living expenses. I'm waiting to hear from one school and I doubt the result will change my mind any way. I now realize how lucky I am to have chosen few schools. You have to think carefully of how long 5 years would be if you chose only based on the job prospects. It's important to consider all aspects of the school and how comfortable you'd be during the time of your studies. I think as long as all the schools you're trying to decide on have good reputation in the field, then, I wouldn't worry much about the job prospects.

I would rank them for psycholinguistics as : 1. MIT 2. UCLA 3. UCSD 4. Maryland 5. Ohio State I like UPenn too! All of these schools are highly selective. Some of these schools value your score in the GRE like Upenn and other schools like UCLA and I think MIT care more about your resarch experience rather than the GRE.

I was surprised that what I considered a "safety school" was the first to reject me and my top choice school- the one I thought out of reach was the first school to send me an offer! Indeed, nothing is impossible I also was surprised how location can be a factor in my decision. And I wish I spent a longer time studying for the GRE!

Wow so you can take a research methods course as a sophomore? In my school , they just added the course recently and it's almost exclusive to only seniors. "And it also means breathe! " hahaha I know I'm worrywart I can't help it >_< I haven't thought of taking some undergrad courses ,but it certainly would help tremendously.This is definitely something I'll consider when I start my program. Thank you so much for the informative reply.

I have read some research papers but I think to read even more especially the current issues in my field. I'm thinking I should also subscribe in some academic journals to keep up with the research. Thank you for your great advice. I appreciate it!

I agree and it's kinda the same in my field i.e. the issues discussed in the paper is more valued than the technicalities of writing. You were fortunate to have participated in several research projects as an undergrad.I think that type of experience is necessary for the success of grad students. Uh I'm so mad at my school >_< Although , I have to admit my school is currently providing more research opportunities than when I was attending. Any way, thank you for the great input!

Thank you ginagirl for the reply...It is just that when I browse some C.Vs of graduate students, I see some papers published or on the way to be published. That's why I wanted to know the things that I needed to work on in terms of what's expected from as a grad student.