fuzzylogician

Right now I miss the old format, which had great functionality. It could just be a matter of time and getting used to the new format, which I agree looks much better. I think a "how-to" faq could be useful right about now.

I like the new look! Is there a "view first unread post" button anywhere that I've missed?

Seconded. I thought the same thing upon reading your post, coyabean.

In my case, knowing my gender and that information makes me very easy to find. I think once we start specializing in our field, that's true of most of us.

I still get excited every time I see snow...they assure me that'll pass soon enough too

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned both my age and my gender[1] in previous posts over the last year, and my location is right there for you to see in my stats. But I kind of like the anonymity this forum allows[2]. [1] I'll give you a hint: it's not the one people usually guess. [2] Actually, if you really want to know who I am, it shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes on google to find out. But don't. *sighs*

Hey, good(?) to see you again! Well, school is exhausting, but in a good way. So far I'm pleased that my ug was apparently very thorough, because I've seen everything we've covered so far at least once before. That makes my life considerably better than some of my cohort, who haven't had as extensive of an exposure as I have. Still, we go deeper and faster than we did at my ug and I'm grateful for the possibility to have some very smart people tell me what they think about current theories in syntax/semantics/phonology (well, maybe not phonology *sighs*). I think my cohort is great, both as people and as linguists. If you remember my posts from last year, the social environment was what worried me most about going to MIT. Never believe evil rumors people at other schools tell you! The transition from writing papers, which is pretty much all I've been doing for the past three and a half years, to solving problem sets that come at a rate of at least one a week per subject hasn't been easy. I'm looking forward to going back to doing actual research. They tell me that starts in the second semester of 1st year, which I guess is not that long a time to wait. On the upside, I've been accepted to NELS this year and I'm working on an article I've been invited to write before I started MIT, so life is overall good. Cambridge is a great city to live in, I'm very happy with my choice. Boston? uh, the airport and bus station seemed nice... the first weeks here I was busy getting my life moved over from overseas and didn't have time to explore my surroundings. As I start getting visitors, though, I start going out with them and seeing parts of the city. So far, I like what I see. The weather right now is what I would almost call "winter", but here they insist on calling it "autumn" and saying it's going to get much colder...not looking forward to that (or to the money I'll have to spend on boots/clothes/coats to keep myself from freezing). But, I have it on good authority that it's possible to survive the winter even if you're not used to it. I guess we'll see soon enough

You could ask the department to make sure, but if they don't say the materials has to be mailed directly to them I think it's ok to send everything yourself in one large envelope. Get both the transcripts and the lors in signed sealed envelopes, keep them sealed and put them in your large envelope. I agree that's the best way to send things, because then you can track the envelope and at least know everything got sent and received by the department.

I agree with the comments above, a degree from an american college should be more than enough to prove you're a competent English speaker. Still, since the application process does defy common sense on some occasions, the safe thing to do is contact the schools you're applying to directly and ask.

I think the point people are making is you shouldn't apply to schools just because you're likelier to be accepted there. Only choose programs that are a good fit and you can see yourself attending (that includes living where they're located!). Ranking and acceptance rates should not outweigh fit; what's more, I think people are often surprised to be accepted into higher ranked programs and rejected from "safeties". It's all down to where you'd fit best. At the point when you apply to PhD programs you should have a clear enough idea of your specific interests that there shouldn't be too many schools that would be good for you, but if there are and you need to narrow down the list - that's where I would consider looking at acceptance rates.

Yes, I think it's a good idea to have a native speaker go over your text and make sure there are no glaring grammatical or styling errors. However, no proofreading service can/should comment on content, so make sure you have a *finished* version you feel strongly about before you spend your money. Ideally a friend or professor could do it for you for free, or you could try posting on livejournal's applyingtograd where they also give great advice.

Fax them a copy of the score report you get in the mail. That should be the fastest way.

I think an early December re-take date should be ok for January deadlines. Unless something goes missing, chances are your scores will get there before the deadline. I don't know if your schools allow it, but some places will accept an unofficial copy of the score report (basically you can fax them your own copy once you get it in the mail) and will put it in your file until the official report is received. In any case, even if it arrives a little late, most schools won't just toss your application. They'll hold it until it's completed and then pass it on to the department. I think it's much wiser to take your time and study properly, in which case you're also likelier not to need a re-take to begin with. So, study hard and go with the November date. Good luck!

Wow. Is this program one of your top choices? It's a lot of money to spend on applying just to this one school (gre+app fee+transcripts) if it's not a top choice. If I were you I'd contact the school to make sure that your potential advisors are taking on new applicants next year and that the school can fund its incoming cohort (I assume you're going to want to be funded). Otherwise I'd seriously consider saving my time and money and not apply. Just my 2 cents.

I spend at least 10-12 hours in the office every day, and still can't afford to take the weekend off. It's overwhelming, but with almost half of the semester gone, I feel like I'm finally getting into a good rhythm. I'll just reiterate what friends from more advanced years keep telling me: don't try to be perfect - it's ok if you make some mistakes or submit portions of the assignment that you know aren't perfect. Your main goal should be to get past this year so you can start doing your own research. No one is going to hire you because you got perfect grades in your 1st year courses anyway! Since I've made this mental switch in my mind that not only do I not have to be perfect, but for the sake of my mental and physical health I had better the hell not even try, I feel a definite decrease in my stress level. I go home earlier, sleep more (and better), and have recently started dedicating Saturdays completely to none-academic activities. I highly recommend doing that.

The obvious reason to apply to a lot of schools is to increase the chances of being admitted. Of course you have to do your research and find the places with the best fit, and you need to write good sops. But generally you write most of the sop once and only change the fit paragraph, and if you start in time there's no reason why you wouldn't be able to both thoroughly research schools and apply to a dozen of them. Beats the hell out of having to wait a year and reapply because you were too picky in the first round. Costs more that way too.

I think a 1200 combined score should be enough to get you past the initial cutoffs (though I know nothing particular about your field...do your programs post averages or minimum gre requiremens?). Your research experience is very strong and puts you at a great advantage compared to other candidates; that, along with the sop and recs, are the important parts of your app, much more than your gre and gpa. So, as the poster above says, I don't think you need to be worried, let alone hopeless.

I'd be wary of doing this. Your recommenders can easily know the what the real deadlines are through other students who apply to the same schools and have asked for a lor, or they can find out online or through colleagues. They could think it dishonest if they find out you told them the deadline was, say, a month earlier than it actually was, they're busy people so it's quite conceivable that they'd plan things differently if they thought your letters were due in December, not November. Plus, schools' deadlines don't often change that much so if it's a month earlier than last year some people might find that strange and check it out. Point is - don't mislead your lor writers.

Are you referring to the overall ranking of the school or to the ranking of the specific program within your field? The Name factor is more important if you plan on working in the industry after you get your degree, less so if you want to stay in academia - then you want a program with a good reputation and the school matters much less. I agree with the previous posters though, you have nothing to lose by trying. Apply, and if you are admitted then you can start weighing your options.

Yeah, waiting for my lor writers to upload the letters literally in the last hour before the deadline was brutal. Especially since three of my four lor writers were in a different country and I couldn't just go to their offices and refuse to leave until they finish writing the damn thing (which I sort of did with the fourth, flaky professor I mentioned earlier). But they all assured me they'd do it, and they all did come through in time, so I really shouldn't complain. There were posts last year from people whose writers were late or suddenly decided last minute that they didn't have the time - those people were seriously screwed.

Ugh. Note to self: In the morning, FIRST drink (at least one cup of) coffee, and only THEN post on forums. I meant that I applied to 8 schools, so each of my recommenders[1] wrote a total of eight letters. Each of them submitted ALL of their letters ON THE DAY OF THE DEADLINE. So it didn't matter that I rushed to finish my apps early and give them a month to do it in. Plus the two months advance notice they had before that. And the fact that they could easily write the letters in a word document and have it ready before they even got the prompt. [1] I had 4 recommenders. Should have been 3 but one seemed like she was about to flake 10 days before the deadline so I added to 4th just to be sure. Long story.

I had one like that. I made sure my recommenders would know the prompt will only be sent after I submitted the app and that I would let them know when that would be. I worked on those apps first and submitted them so that my lor writers had at least a month to write the letters in. Eventually, even though I gave them more than 3 months advance notice, they all submitted all (eight) letters on the week(/day/hour) of the deadline. ugh.

For me the process of editing the sop led to definite improvements and refinements so October would have been too early, but early-mid November would have been fine. I guess it depends on how strongly you feel that your application is finalized and there's nothing you can do to improve it. Sometimes even simply taking a step back and letting it sit for a week or two can do the trick - either you're happy with it or you feel there's room for improvement. But it's probably not too early, if you feel that you're ready. If the online application for this year has opened, then the school should be ready to receive application packets. It's important for obvious reasons in cases of rolling admissions. Otherwise it's mostly good for peace of mind and ease of dealing with mistakes and misplaced materials.