Bumblebee
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Posts posted by Bumblebee
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So, today I received a letter through the actual postal service (I am in ITALY!). It was from Umass. Apparently, they really wanted to make sure I knew they had rejected me, as if the previous email and website advice were not enough.
Thank you Umass, I'm flattered.
The letter paper was really nice though.
Well, back when I applied for the Spanish Linguistics program at Umass I also received a rejection letter in my home country, although in my case it was after I rejected them and was already attending another school. Apparently they didn't take my rejection too well
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Additional funding available? (summer research, dissertation year, language courses for those with language requirements)
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I don't have any restrictions/limitations to go back home for the breaks. I have a TAship which means that once I submit my final grades I am free until the following semester begins. And my supervisor is actually happier with me going home rather than staying because that means I have a chance to collect data for my research. I end up going back home twice a year: for the winter break and for the summer.
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I usually use Praat for sound analysis, but one of my professors uses WaveSurfer. As for the recordings, having a good microphone also helps. I've used a Sony mini-disc for my recordings and a Shure headmounted microphone attached and it has worked for me so far.
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This time last year I was enjoying my last days of holidays in my home country before returning to the US and starting to freak out about my MA exams (which I passed, by the way
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I always tell my students at the beginning of the semester (and before any written assignment) that they need to make sure their handwriting is clear. I always remind them that, while they only have to write one composition I have to grade 40+ (depending on how many sections I'm teaching) and that if I don't understand the handwriting I'll just cross it out and put a big fat question mark. The problem is that I teach Spanish, so adding to the handwriting problem it's the grammar and vocab problem, so I tend to be less tolerant with the handwriting. If I have the time, though, I usually try to make an effort and try to decipher what the student has written, but I always warn my students beforehand, to avoid nasty surprises.
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Just as @Christa posted, it usually takes a couple of days to process the I-20 and what takes longer is the international mail. I would wait a few more days (it's still the beginning of June) and if I doesn't arrive send them an e-mail. If you're worried about running out of time (or you know that wait lists for the visa interviews are too long in your country) you can even offer to pay for expedited mailing. When my school processed my first I-20 there was a misunderstanding and it got delayed. I payed the extra money and got my I-20 in less than a week.
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From what I understand, you are required to process the F1 visa at the consulate of your home country unless you are officially a resident at a different country. At least in the webpage of the US consulate in Madrid it says that if you're not a resident in Spain you have to return to your country to process the visa.
@Aoedogg, you said that since you're a NZ national, you don't need any visa to work in Australia, so I would assume that proving that you're living and working in Australia would be enough to allow you to process the visa in Australia. However, I suggest you call the consulate to make sure that you don't have to return to NZ to do it.
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Please, anybody, correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt you will find anything like an easy PhD program. A PhD program requires lots of work and effort. As @fuzzylogician said, it is very hard to succeed in a PhD program. Many students who are very passionate about what they do end up burnt out after years studying, researching and working on their thesis. And, again, those are students who really love what they do. From your post I understand you see getting a PhD as an obligation, rather than something you want to do (if it's not the case, please, tell me), which will make the task of getting a PhD even harder.
I'm sorry if this sounded very blunt, but I think it's better to know the reality before starting any program. Don't get me wrong, it is not impossible, but it's not easy, either.
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I've been going back home twice a year since I moved to the US: for winter break and for the summer. Fortunately, my financial aid involves teaching, so when classes are over I don't need to stay on campus. Plus, my research requires me to go back home to collect data and I teach for my school's study abroad language program in my home country in the summer. Which means, I HAVE TO go back home every summer.
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You're welcome! :-)
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There is a bus from Chicago, but I don't think it goes to the airport, so you would need to go to downtown Chicago and then take that bus. Just as @unforth said, your best bet is to fly to Indy. There are two shuttle companies that go from Indy airport to Bloomington (Go Express Travel - formerly known as Bloomington Shuttle -, and Star of America). They're not too pricey and usually you don't have to wait much in the airport for the shuttle. Once in Bloomington, they have several stops, so you can choose which one suits you better.
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Are you guys familiar with the field of L2 Phonology? Is it a promising one? Are there famous advisors/programs in this field? Thank you very much!
I'm not sure if it's very famous, but the Department of Second Language Studies of Indiana University has a Second Language Psycholinguistics Lab (http://www.iub.edu/~psyling/home.htm), lead by Isabelle Darcy. I think what they do is super-interesting (even if it's not really my focus).
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Thank you, @wrlzz :-)
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I also didn't feel supported by my family at the beginning. My mom wanted me to accept an offer from another school since it was closer to home (and by that, I mean a regional flight and an international flight instead of a regional flight, an international flight and another regional flight). She also thought that going to an East Coast school was much better than ending in the middle of nowhere in the Mid-West. My father kept saying that I was making a mistake. When I received the offer from the school I was super excited about it and after I did the campus visit I knew it was the place I wanted to study at. But my parents didn't support me and the issue of grad school was a taboo topic in our conversations. We didn't even discuss it. I felt miserable because I really wanted to accept the offer but didn't want to go against my parents (they're a really important part of my life). I ended up accepting the offer, but it didn't feel how it was supposed to feel. It took them a few weeks, but they finally realized that it was a great opportunity for me and that it was a good program. During the summer I kept telling them great things about the school, the city, the program, etc. to let them know that I was going to a good place. This is my second year here and they're just excited as I am with my progresses. They are happy now seeing how happy I am with my program, how many good friends I've made, etc. and they're coming in a month for my MA graduation. :-) It ended very well, but at the beginning I went through really tough moments.
What I meant with this looooooong post is that, even when my situation was not the same, I know what it feels not being supported by your family and making a decision that is making you miserable instead of excited (as it should be). I guess my advice is that, even when it might go against your family's wishes, you need to do what you think is best for you and go to the school you really want to go to. It might end up well for you (as it did for me), or it might not. But follow your dreams. Don't make a decision that you might regret all your life.
- nari27 and ecritdansleau
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I would definitely stay in Grad School, I love what I study. But I would stop teaching to focus on my experience as a student, I would move to my own condo (with a huge kitchen), get myself a car, and travel around the world during the summer breaks.
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@InguilineKea, in theory it doesn't. The one I bought is the SentrySafe H2300. It costs around $50, but I have enough room for several external HDs and documents. According to the manual it resists fires of up to 1550ºF and is waterproof. I have no intention of verifying if it's true, though. I'll just trust the manufacturer.
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Another thing about backup: there's always the small risk of a "catastrophic" failure in your room or office - say - some burglar breaks in your house or your house catches on fire, in which case you might potentially lose all of your hard drives. To insulate against this risk, I've simply bought CrashPlan so that I can back everything up to the cloud. I'm not sure if that's the best solution though - there could be others as well.
I have a safe box in my room (that in theory resists flooding and fires) and that's where I keep my hard drives (when I'm not using them), my passport, and other important documents. It didn't cost much (less that $30) and it gives me some peace of mind.
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In my case it was...
Now you're going to go back to school? At your age? When are you going to get married?
Or... so, you're going to be poor for the next few years?
But wait until you take your exams. My MA exam is in less than 3 weeks and I'm tired of hearing people saying..
- Nah! That's a piece of cake for you!
- You're going to be fine, I'm sure you'll rock it!
- If there's anybody who can pass, it is you!
- (Literature student in my department - I'm in the Linguistics track) Oh, c'mon, everybody passes the exam anyway! (Yeahhh!! In the Lit track, people in the Linguistics track do fail and I have several examples to prove it).
- (Coming from my parents) Don't be stupid! How can you fail? We have complete faith in you! You're a genius!
(Don't they realize that that actually puts more pressure on me and makes me more nervous? I know they mean well, but it only makes things worse)
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At the moment I have a 13" MacBook that I can connect to my 42" TV if I need a bigger screen :-) But I work a lot with spectrograms and sound waves and spend too many hours in front of the computer, so sometimes 13" feels small to me. I'm considering buying a desktop to work at home (I'm going to stay where I live now for 5+ years) and keep the laptop for when I work on campus and when I travel back home for the holidays.
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I'm curious; what kind of software does everyone use for their various specialties? Praat, OTSoft, etc?
In other words, what software should I spend my summer familiarizing myself with?
For Ponetics/Phonology I use Praat (although my Phonetics professor also uses WaveSurfer, but I like Praat better). As for Sociolinguistics, I usually use GoldVarb, but I know some people in my department have used SPSS or R for statistics as well.
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I received a TAship from my school but in Spain there are banks that offer scholarships to do graduate studies in France, UK, USA, etc. They pay for your plane ticket, a monthly stipend, tuition, application fees, visa fees and an additional payment at the beginning of your studies to pay for "moving" expenses (apartment deposit, furniture, books, etc.). They're really competitive, but they're really good. I don't know about the UK, though, but I think it's worth checking.
Indiana - Bloomington 2015
in Meet and Greet
Posted
As allplaideverything said the bus frequency from FP reduces a lot during breaks and Sundays as well (one every hour and a half or so), which can be a real pain, but during the semester weekdays there's one almost every 10 minutes (lines 6 and 6 Limited). I work in Ballantine Hall and it takes me around 35-40 minutes to get there if I walk and around 25 minutes to get to the Wells library. It's a nice walk when it's nice and sunny and you're not in a rush, but definitely not in the winter. Getting to Marsh (the closest supermarket) takes around 20 minutes on foot and getting to the mall takes around 25.
FP can be a bit pricy compared to other places, but the management is good. They organize activities (Thanksgiving parties, free breakfasts during finals week, chocolate party for Valentine's) and they're quick with maintenance. They may not be that good cleaning in the winter, though. But maybe it's just my impression - I used to live un Upstate New York before coming to Bloomington and they handled snow and ice better there.
I don't know about Heritage Apts, but since it's the same management I would imagine they offer a similar service.
I also know of people who live in Steeplechase (nice place, but too far from downtown), Reserve on Third and Meadow Park (these last two further east than FP). They all seem to be fine in those apartments (at least I haven't heard them complain about them).