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ides-of-july

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  • Location
    Washington state
  • Application Season
    2021 Fall
  • Program
    Linguistics

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  1. It was pretty straightforward, and relatively brief. I got the feeling the main functions of the conversation were (a) to get a better sense of whether I'd be a decent TA (is this guy obviously flaky? let's hear more about his teaching experience; et cetera) and (b) to hear a bit more about why I want to be in THIS program in particular? I had good things to say regarding (a) (previous solo teaching experience when I was ABD in anthropology, plus I worked for Princeton Review for a few years), and while I'd already spoken to (b) in my SoP, it was a good opportunity to elaborate. I felt like it was the kind of thing where, if I was already ahead of others, I solidified my position, but if others were ahead of me, I didn't lose ground. So we'll see, I guess.
  2. yes, thanks indeed. I'm an outlier's outlier--applying to only one program, an MA, and I'm old (56). I'm looking for ways to reclaim my academic background in anthropology (I was ABD at Emory before i had to quit and go to work) while building on my working life in the computing industries (so computational is an interest, but not only that). I applied to Kentucky (as I almost did here a couple of years ago, but ended up waiting a bit longer). It seems like a fine program and a good place to get my feet wet again, and decide just how far I want to go with this. But I do have an interview next week, and it's nice to be validated that far along.
  3. Thanks, that's a very helpful rundown. A question if you don't mind: Did you then go on to *study* software engineering, or just start working?
  4. From my reading of their program materials, the MS in CL program at UW really wants you to have data structures behind you before starting. It's not a hard and fast requirement (you can take it on deficiency once you're in, if I understand correctly), but it seems understood that your programming acumen should be at or around that level coming in. So... what did your programming II class cover? (setting aside questions about grades, for now) If I read the Brandeis materials properly, it seems like they might be a bit more floppy--but it also seems the calibre of admittees has gone up a fair bit over the last few years, so even though you might clear the basic admissions bar *perhaps* a perception of low skills would hurt. Note that there are various posts peppered throughout this forum from insiders* who can speak to all of this better, plus you can review the latest materials online from the programs--both are pretty clear about these matters in general. And I certainly defer to those people here with more knowledge than I have, who should chime in. Cheers, IOJ ________________________ * Retooling for CL is my general direction as well, but my background is different (anthropology + wandered into the tech industry some years ago)--so I'm going to try doing a standalone linguistics masters, address my deficiencies en passant, and hope that works for the next stage.
  5. Good luck to everyone still waiting. For those who don't prevail... I will see you in the fall, I guess. I posted near the beginning of this thread, but got spooked last fall when Congress was debating taxing stipends, and decided to keep my powder dry (I am super nontraditional) + continuing beefing up as best I can while waiting to apply for fall 2019. My primary interest is computational, but I'm coming from an anthropology background and have some other interests as well, so perhaps some of us will meet again in the fall. For the rest: Congratulations!
  6. I was thinking the other day about starting one of these threads, but I got busy with pre-flight for the GRE (took it yesterday) and in the meantime you beat me to it. Cheers! I'm basically going the MA route in this cycle as well, but not sure if I would try to go on to the PhD later, or not. I'm zeroing in on computational linguistics, and the idea I had was to find a linguistics MA program that would help me fill in both my linguistics gaps and my computer science gaps before trying (in the next round) for a program like the University of Washington's CL master's. The goal there would be to end up working in industry somehow. That being said, I always wanted to finish a PhD--I got all the way to the ABD level in cultural anthropology during a previous life--so if there was a way to still finish a PhD (albeit a different one) en passant, that would be awesome. I'm 53 and work at Microsoft (but not as a developer), and have no idea whether what I'm trying to do is incredibly brave or incredibly foolish. Probably both. Either way, I'm not seeing a lot of similar demographics to compare myself to, so if anyone wants to offer advice or feedback, feel free. (Just be gentle. ) Oh, and, to top off the complications--for various personal reasons, I'm trying to center my application process on programs near where my folks are / where I grew up. So far I am planning to apply to the University of Kentucky (I was an undergrad there) and Northern Illinois University (does a lot of Southeast Asian studies and that was my focus in anthro, plus I think I can loop in a lot of computer science there), and I'm thinking Ohio State because (a) geography, (b) good, (c) good for CL as far as I can tell, (d) why not. Here again, if anyone has advice on places I should add to the list (Indiana? the remaining pieces of UNC's program?), feel free. Looking forward to hearing what all the rest of you are up to. I envy you your youth and achievements--may you all succeed!
  7. Take the following with a big grain of salt, because I'm not too familiar with your areas or your situation. However... You might consider looking at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. I'm not actually very familiar with the school at all, but a quick look through the Linguistic Society of America listings turned up a masters program in cognitive linguistics. If they have funding--something that, frankly, wasn't obvious to me at a glance, so that doesn't bode well--it might be worth going somewhere that tops out at a master's first, so that you can be a bigger fish in a smaller pond (and accumulate research experience, glowing LORs, et cetera) for the PhD round of admissions to come later.* I also note that there are MA and PhD programs in what they call "Communication Sciences" that might be relevant, especially if the guy who was billing himself as the cognitive linguistics guy plays a part for them. Anyway, these are definitely only leads for you to follow up, but maybe there's something positive here for you. I'll be interested to know whether that's true. (PS. A quick note on the LSA listings: They're definitely not perfect, but they can provide some useful leads. If you haven't worked through their listings yet, try various combinations and see whether you can find some hidden gem you didn't already know about. It's worth an hour of your time.) *(PPS. I'm doing more or less the same thing, so there's no negative judgment. I am way out of the mainstream of applicants, so I need to re-foundationalize myself, but there's no shame in it. It's just the game. )
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