Caohit

Yes, Indiana seems to be the center for Romanian Studies in the country, although many universities have a handful of people who do things related to Romania(n). I'm sending you a private message now, so I don't give out any more information on my boyfriend in such a public forum.

You posted this awhile ago, but I don't come to these forums very often anymore, so I figured I'd respond anyway. I'm not Romanian but my boyfriend is and I'm applying for money to study the language this summer at Indiana University. I've found it very difficult to find professors in the States doing research in Romanian Studies. Although, maybe in history programs it's different.

The advice I heard around here last year was to try not to go over the word limit by more than 10%. So, for a 500 word SOP, that would be 550 words total. I applied to schools last year and started with a SOP of over 1000 words but had to cut it down for a school with a limit of 500. I agonized over it but, once I had cut it down to the bare minimum, I found I liked that version better than the longer, wordier one. Also, keep in mind that if everyone else who applies keeps within the limit, your SOP will stand out and the committee might not want to read all of it.

I don't know if this info is to late for it to be useful. However.... I just finished my Masters at Middlebury. I attended a language program for two summers and went abroad for a year. They were very generous with summer funding but I had to get loans for the time abroad. I don't know if this is the case with everyone, or if it is the same at each language school, but I do think it's generally easier to get summer funding. As for your other question, I'm not sure but, at least with my experience at Middlebury, if you show graduate-level proficiency in the language you want to study, that's really what they want.

It's a great program. Spring semester just started yesterday so I'm still figuring out which classes I'll be taking. I was at Middlebury last summer but in the Spanish school because I'm doing a Masters in Mediterranean Studies which lets me work in two languages. So, I wasn't allowed to meet any of the people at the Scuola Italiana until the brief meeting during the summer and then when I arrived in Florence. I'm also applying to Harvard and Brown. Have you heard anything from them? I e-mailed Brown awhile ago just to check if my application is complete and never got a response.

Ciao! I don't have any answers to your questions but, like you, am waiting. And, I'm also doing a Middlebury program! I'm in Florence now through them. So, sorry I can't be of any help, but you are definitely not alone. Maybe there are some prospective Italian Ph.D.s lurking around the forum with more information...

Have a good feeling about: 2 Think I have good fit: 2 Have no idea: 4 Probably not: 2

http://danny.oz.au/d...r/phd_lotr.html This is just a fun article to, hopefully, relax us a bit. I especially like the explanation of Gandalf's disappearance.

Applied to 10 schools and just finished submitting the last application a few minutes ago. Also, my last letter of recommendation is in as of a few hours ago. It's a great feeling! Also, love the dating analogy.

Jacib, so true about the lack of motivation! Literally all I need to do is translate my SOP into Italian for a Jan. 15th deadline but I just can't find the energy to do it. I'm completely done with 9 applications and just have this one little thing hanging over my head.

This is something that depends on each department. The University of Chicago, for example, wants you to just put in the institution code (and not include the department code) when you send a score report to them. I think all of the other schools I'm applying to want you to put in both though. You should check with each school you're applying to in order to make sure. If you make a mistake, it will probably eventually make it to the right place anyway, it just might take some time.

I was also told about Interfolio by a professor and, wanting to make things easier on my recommendors, I paid for an account. However, almost every school I'm applying to has an additional form that each professor has to fill out. (They ask questions about your academic potential, motivation, etc.) So, at least for me, Interfolio isn't feasible. I also have one professor who did not want to use Interfolio because they required him to create an account and input his contact information. So, you should check and see if your schools have recommendation forms that need to be sent in with the letters, or paranoid professors.

Hi all. I've been lurking on here for awhile and (finally) found a question I haven't seen posted here. One Ph.D. program I'm applying to says that they recommend (but don't require) sending an official SAT score report. It's one of my top choices, so I was seriously considering doing it. But yesterday I went onto college board and creating an account, somehow connecting that account to the SATs that I took back in 2003, and paying to having the score sent just doesn't seem worth it. My score was good, so I'd like the school to see it, but is it worth the hassle? Has anyone else come across this?