xolo

I've been occasionally on this board for the last 6-7 years, especially when I was applying for admission to graduate programs. I just finished my PhD in Spanish linguistics. This last year I, at times, thought that the University of California was going to crush the soul out of me, jejeje, but it did not quite achieve that. I wish everybody well, however and wherever you find yourselves. And congratulations to the people who found a grad school slot.

This is totally subjective and personal, just try to visualize where you'd be happier and go there. I was 4 years in a California "small town" but super expensive at the same time. Also, I'm now in a "small town" in Mexico that, for me at least, is culturally very rich.

There's a big factor that gets little attention (usually). Besides the academic alignment and all that stuff, a big question is how well the department runs and is it functional or dysfunctional. Professors' egos get in the way all the time, not to mention when you have people from all over the world working together it can be culturally stressful. The problem is trying to get a "read" on how you might be affected since it's pretty subjective and probably most departments are not perfect. (Oh, far from it). Then again, maybe you don't care. I decided to just not let it bother me because that wasn't what I was there for and I knew university students are only there on a temporary basis. I'm now far away from it and trying to write. But there were events I experienced, where I just shook my head and thought wtf?

Stupid schools, it's so arbitrary. Whatever you do, do NOT give up. It's just a matter of a little time. Do something that interests you and makes you a better candidate. I'm a lot older than all of you and I think I was accepted only because I applied that one year. Really. The stars aligned and they will for you too! I was rejected from UT-Austin (thank god!) and I remember an admin calling me to ask for an updated transcript. When I told her that was really the year I graduated with my BA, she said "Oh, ok, I will make a note for the admission committee that you are really that old" I knew right then it would not end well.

Who cares about the length of the interview, this is super positive. I never got any interviews from anybody. So how did it go?

You're in

Well, of course you are right in those cases. I didn't know any internationally respected scholars when I applied (I do now since I'm at a UC campus). At my school, the membership of the admission committee seems to be a state secret, I certainly didn't have that info when I applied. I actually was pretty ignorant when I applied to nine programs. No, I was very ignorant. I managed to get accepted into several programs somehow. The MA that I would have paid for (riiiiight) and others, but I did someone get accepted into a nearby UC campus where I taught Spanish for four years and went ABD last year. Now I'm doing what I really wanted to do, fieldwork in Mexico. But I don't study literature. Anyway, good luck to everybody. I remember how exciting it was when I applied and when I got that email offering. That turned out to be life changing.

I'm not sure you can parse the difference so finely. I think it makes sense to say what your proposed research project entails, regardless of end goal. The SoP is a very brief statement, I'm not sure anyone will know that you are talking about 50 pages of thesis or 500. (I'm in a MA/PhD program, got my MA a couple of years ago, so my SoP was literally for the MA and PhD)

I have no idea why that happened nor do I know you, but this sounds absolutely heinous. Friggin dysfunctional departments. There was one really nice guy in my department who failed his MA exam so left with nothing after a couple of years of his time. Just give him his MA and let him go, maybe he wants to teach Spanish at a high school or something. Friggin egotistical professors "setting an example". You should ask the faculty that you have rapport with to write letters, not that letters are that important, but it is a check-box that must be in place. Your written material is what matters.

You guys rock! I felt the same way a couple of years ago while working up to my MA. I don't study literature, I'm in a linguistics program and at the time I was writing about the fonetics of a Mexican tonal language. I thought I was going to fail! I never want to write about phonetics again. ever. I can remember how my MA chair "strongly encouraged" me to work harder. Now I'm here where that language is spoken but I'm working on cultural aspects. I'm good. Good luck to everyone.

Hi SlyManuel. You're already done with your applications? Wow, that is efficient! I wasn't done nearly so quickly back at the end of 2014 when I submitted my 9 applications. But, extremely stressed is normal, most people feel that way, and that's exactly how I felt back then. I'm now in my fifth year of a PhD program and I went ABD in June 2019. I'm doing fieldwork now to "finish" my PhD (as if the dissertation isn't much of anything!) I wish everyone great success!

I didn't have any interviews out of 9 applications (4 acceptances). But, the conversations I had with professors before being accepted were mostly in English. I find my department favors English in internal matters, but it does vary depending on who is talking and which is their strongest language. But, the Spanish classes themselves are 99% conducted in Spanish. Oops, I mean the undergraduate Spanish classes. For graduate classes, it really varies. Some of the professors are native in Portuguese. Good luck to everybody!

I applied to 9 programs and no one interviewed me. I ended up going to a tier-1 public research university. The most important aspect of the application, at least for me anyway, was research fit with a professor who was on the admission committee. That was just dumb luck, I had no idea what I was doing. Other than that, the written material you submit, like SOP and writing samples, are also important. The GRE and GPA I don't think are that important, more like technicalities. The application deadline for the program I joined was in December and I was officially accepted in Februrary (If I recall correctly), but a professor let me know via email in January. That professor became my MA chair and is now my PhD chair. Good luck to everyone.

I applied 4 years ago and got into my top choice. It was really just dumb luck as I didn't have any idea what I was doing. I didn't have any degree in my field. I got my MA Spanish in 2017 and now am trying to go ABD (All But Dissertation). I'm planning to be in Mexico all of next year and thankfully stop teaching undergrad Spanish classes (they take way too much of my time). Anyway, one thing I've learned and as many of you know, you need to create a relationship with a professor who shares your interests. That's the only reason I've made it this far since there is so much nonsense that transpires in an academic department, some of it pretty petty and some of it pretty ugly. I'll go even further and say you need to have friendlies and support on your committees, both MA and PhD, that point cannot be overstated. So it all comes down to building and maintaining good personal relationships. Good luck to all of you this year.