nescafe

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With the proviso that I know nothing about the topic at hand, from where I'm sitting it looks like someone just got owned.

It really depends on how motivated you are. Are you able to make a commitment to work on learning it every day? Will you get a textbook/workbook and work your way through it on a regular basis? The thing about learning a language on your own is that you, and only you, are responsible for making sure you do it. You won't have a teacher correcting your homework or a tutor pushing you to practice. You will be solely responsible for your progress.

That said, if you really can make that commitment, it shouldn't be any more difficult to learn to read/translate MSA than any other language (although I definitely would not recommend the self-taught approach for learning to speak!). Once you teach yourself the alphabet (which honestly isn't too hard, despite its initial intimidating appearance), the written language is not that bad. MSA is SVO like English, has noun-adjective order like Spanish, and, other than a bit of funkiness with determining specificity, shouldn't be that confusing for a native English speaker. MSA does have a consonantal root system, which can be either a blessing or a curse - a blessing, in that you will be easily able to identify new words with the same root as words you know, and a curse, in that you will have to memorize vowel sequences that correspond to each meaning. I have found that the pros outweigh the cons on that front.

If you want a simple textbook that will explain things basically clearly and hold your hand a bit towards the beginning, I can recommend Al-Kitaab as one that I've used with some success. It's a bit more focused on speech, but it also has passages excerpted from newspapers and websites that can give you some great practice reading. You might also want to pick up a copy of the Hans Wehr Arabic-English dictionary - in fact, it is on Scribd, if you want an online copy.

Good luck! I hope things go well for you.

Really? Exactly what good would it do you Septimius if you found out tomorrow rather than on April 16th that you were in? I have no intention of replying until the last possible minute and I don't feel even remotely bad about it. I feel completely differently about getting a PhD now that I have been accepted than I did when I was applying, and I will be absolutely certain before I accept any offers that have been made that this is in fact the direction I want my life to go. Take a deep breath, think about something else for a few weeks, and for god's sake, quit using all caps to emphasize your point.

OMG- now I'm nervous! Thanks for update scd!

And congrats!

haha, oh well SCD... I guess it was wishful thinking, eh?
Thanks for the clarification!

As another seasoned grad student, I have to go with consensus here and say that you cannot sacrifice your dream school because USC might "frown" on you. Chances are that they have a wait-list of their own and will fill your spot without any trouble- and while admins might "frown" on reversals like this, everyone understands that students have to guard their own best interests... schools do the same and don't apologize for it!

As for the $1000, I would go either a private loan at your bank, or (shudders) a credit card loan if you need cash this quick. Bear in mind, though, that both options come with steep interest rates (usually about equivalent), and once the school year starts you will want to pay the loan back via either your Assistantship or Student Loans (which will carry a much lower rate) right away. I did this with some expenses incurred during the application process- and while it is less than ideal to shift money around like this, it will get the doposit paid.

But it is also very worth the trouble to chek and see if the school will advance the fees... couldn't hurt to ask.

And congrats!