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Smaudge

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Everything posted by Smaudge

  1. So it looks like I'm going to get my MA degree before getting my PhD (I gave a shot at going straight to PhD.. not looking so good). My question is: should I... 1. Go to the most highly-ranked program I can get into, even if the program specializes in something related to my sub-field of choice, but that I don't care much about (I'd do this if it gets me into a PhD program I love) 2. Go to whichever program specializes the most in what I want to do for PhD 3. Go to the cheapest program I can find, as long as there's someone there who does what I want to study In all three senarios, I am theoretically getting an awesome GPA. I really just want to know which choice would most boost my application for a PhD and be the best choice given that these programs will probably be unfunded.
  2. Not only can't I keep myself from bringing up my grad school woes into every conversation, but I constantly play out different senarios in my head. I day dream of getting an acceptance email, doing a couple of fist pumps, and then calling everyone in my family to tell them the great news. Also, if I happen to get the email during the day, I fantacize about keeping it a secret from my husband until we both get home. He opens the door to our apartment, I run up to hug him and say "Guess who just got accepted to Harvard!?" and he picks me up and spins me around.... ...and then I remember that Harvard has already sent out their interview invites and I have slim to none chance of getting into any program. Then I refresh the results page on gradcafe. Why, brain? Why?
  3. Now I have the song "Bye bye love" in my head. Only the "bye bye happiness" part is replaced with PhD.
  4. still hasn't heard anything

  5. Who dat say they gonna beat dem Saints!?!!
  6. In a slightly different situation, my older sister met her (now husband) during grad school and the majority of their relationship was long distance. She was in medical school, he was at West Point. Right before he was deployed to Iraq he asked her to marry him. He came back a year later and they got married. Then, in a horrible turn of events he was redeployed for the first 15 months of their marriage. I'm happy to say that he's finally home, and they're now starting their life together. My sister says that if they could survive all that, then they can certainly survive marriage! I think it takes a certain type of person to do well long distance. You need to be able to have long phone conversations and let the other person know that they are always on your mind even if you're miles apart. Also, it's good if you can have supportive people around you. I lived with my older sister during her final year of med school (aka her first year of marriage), and we had to celebrate her first anniversary together. I know that I was a horrible substitute for her husband, but I also know she was glad that she wasn't alone. I know that the whole thing was extremely hard for my sister, but she's now happily married and couldn't be more proud of her husband, who is now a captain in the army. Obviously this was a very unique situation, but they're living proof that long distance can work.
  7. How are the ladies in your life handling your new companions? I know when my husband grows a beard three things happen: 1. It makes me feel like I'm married to a mountaineer 2. The beard becomes part of this grizzlyman alter-ego that includes a very deep voice 3. He threatens to register it on the national beard registry
  8. Ugh definitely. I actually had a brief return to confidence earlier this week until I saw on the results page that one of my programs put out their first round interviews. And.. I've heard absolutely nothing from anyone. I'm going to wait another week before completely descending into a crumpled ball of ice cream and anxiety, but I'm also mentally preparing myself for across the board rejection. Waiting sucks.
  9. 12 offers? That's a bigger than usual program right? I was thinking that each accepts around 5-6 each year? I think I'm slightly encouraged
  10. I hate the maybe pile. That's like limbo.
  11. I noticed on the results page that some Linguistics PhDs have started to hear back about Harvard interviews. I applied and haven't heard anything, so I'm wondering if that's a 99% rejection, or if I shouldn't give up hope yet?
  12. If last year's timeline is correct, then I could be hearing back as early as tomorrow morning... I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight.
  13. I hope you sang "Killer Tofu" while you were cooking.
  14. Yes I'm feeling it right now. I have one last MA program to apply to (deadline Feb 15), and I was putting it off to see if I heard anything back this week. I don't even really want to go to this last program, but I added it as one final safety... and it's a possibility that I'll need it. The app is supposed to be done in one sitting, so I'm not too worried about it, but I don't even want to think about doing it right now. We have a serious case of Applicationitis.
  15. I felt weird about this too... especially when I was applying to MA programs and filled in the PhD programs I was also applying to. (I think I regret doing that now). At the time I was thinking that they might notice that all of my programs were in Boston, and think "She really wants to be in this region"? Hmm... maybe not.
  16. For me it was the schools who require three different forms of your transcripts. For two programs, I had to send official copies, upload student copies (and play around with the file size until it was small enough to upload), and then manually enter in Related Coursework and Relavent Coursework, plus my grades, plus how many semesters I took each class. Really, Harvard? Really?
  17. I feel your pain. I ordered my last set of transcripts three weeks before deadline, and the only reason that I called to check on them was that one was supposed to be sent to my address and I never got it. The registrar's office then claimed that they never received my request (even though I had faxed it in AND gotten a confirmation), and refused to expedite my renewed request because of the holidays. I tried to remain polite on the phone, but I'm sure my frustration came through when I asked--for the third time--, "Are you sure there isn't anything you could do?"
  18. In addition to all that, when the time comes to apply for your PhD you may still want to address your low GPA in a Statement of Purpose. Instead of trying to ignore this part of your past, explain how you've grown and are much more focused. Detail the things you've done to improve yourself academically, how you're a completely different type of student now, and how your lack-luster undergrad transcript makes you want to work so much more in graduate school. The adcomm will appreciate your acknowledging your weaknesses and how you've worked hard to improve them. Good luck!
  19. Great insight! I think I've got some form of everything you mentioned except for TA experience. Also, I have no idea what my LORs wrote... but they knew me pretty well so hopefully they said something personal and inspiring. Today I am feeling optimistic! I'll enjoy this while it lasts...
  20. fuzzylogician- I wonder what they meant by "is successful so far"? Academic awards? Publications? High stats? How do they define success? I'm definitely not go for launch on the publications.
  21. What do the Linguists do? This could have potential.
  22. My husband and I are in our early 20s and have been married for about a year (Been together for 7! Yep... met in high school). Last year he applied and got into a great law school program in Boston, but deferred admission until this Fall so that we could have one stress-free year of marriage. Since then, I've decided that I also want to go back to school, and thankfully Boston has 8 potential programs (some Master's, some PhD) in my field. Technically, I applied to any program in a 1.5 mile radius, which means that we could potentially be in different cities. If that happens, we might have to do something where we both get dorms on each campus and see each other on the weekends... not excited about that. All in all, I'm nervous about the transition and anxious about where I'll be since I haven't heard any responses yet. However, I certainly wouldn't trade this wonderful first year of marriage for anything. Stay tuned!
  23. I'm pulling out my old "Intro to German" book and relearning everything. Might come in handy one day if I need to give out some classroom commands to German kids? Öffnen Sie das Buch, bitte. At any rate, it was a New Year's resolution of mine. (Right under: get into graduate school)
  24. My negs are my lack of publications/hard-core research experience. Also, I'm applying to schools that are very theory-oriented, and a lot of my background comes from an Anthropology standpoint, which may not be a good fit. Oh, and I didn't have any help or guidance as to what PhD programs want to see on my application, so who knows what they're thinking. My real downfall is that if I get rejected across the board I have no idea where to go. I have no Plan B, and a pretty useless degree outside of academia. (Unless I convince some employer that "Linguistics" is code for communication, and yes I can surely communicate with people on a phone and direct their call to a salesperson).
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