fuzzylogician

That's great news, congrats!!

It depends on the person. For some environment is very important, others could live anywhere. I personally chose a school in a city I thought I could live in over the school everyone thought I should go to, but was in a place I couldn't see myself being happy living at. The fact that you are worried about this tells me that you are one of those people who care about where they live, so I'd say - go for B.

The reverse logic makes just as much sense to me: wouldn't they offer any new available funding to people who haven't accepted theor offer yet (in order to attract them) instead of to people who have already accepted? The answer could change from school to school. Really, I don't know which they would prefer.

Chomsky's papers are considered classics but difficult reading. I have to admit I've only ever read one of his papers and didn't enjoy it all that much (but I'm going to MIT so I'm sure I'll get the chance to read all of them at least once..). If you're interested in semantics, I'd recommend reading--and solving the problems in--"Semantics in Generative Grammar" by Irene Heim and Angelika Kratzer. They cover all of the basic theory you'll need to know, that's used by most semanticists today. You might want to post this in the linguistics subforum, so you can get recommendations from phonologists, syntacticians, etc. I wouldn't know what to advise you there, haven't taken a course in any of those for 2-3 years at least.

Thanks, this is very helpful! I visited Cambridge in March and took some time to walk up and down the neighborhood so I'll get a somewhat clear idea of where I thought the better places to live were. Do you know the popular websites where people post vacancies? I only know craigslist and couldn't find any info on MIT's site.

So if I come to town around the 15th of August then I should be able to find something by September 1st? I understand that most leases will begin on that date. Would landlords be willing to accept checks from a foreign bank? I'd assume that it'll take some time to open an American bank account and get a credit card and checkbook for it, probably more time than I will be allowed to be in the country before the semester begins (=30 days). Would my award letter from MIT that says I'll receive a stipend be enough to convince landlords that I am trustworthy? Are there ways I can boost my credibility, considering I don't have a credit history in the US (a letter from my current landlord saying how wonderful I am? something else?).

Then the question becomes, are you willing to take the risk of having to drop out and reapply another year if you won't be able to secure funding in/after the first year? You'd stand to lose 1-2 years of your life, having to start a program over, losing a significant amount of money, and generally having a lot of heartache (am I missing something?); If it works out, you'd be in a top program with a great placement record and funding. If you decline, I suppose you'd reapply next year and hope for a better outcome. So I think you need to ask yourself if you could live with losing the money and an extra year to reapply? Is it worth it not to always have that what-if regret? Again, I'd probably say yes. I only have one major what-if regret in my life where I was too afraid to go for something that I wanted. It was more than 15 years ago, I was about 10, and I still find myself thinking about it a lot more often than I'd like to. Bad decisions I don't tend to regret, because I tried my best based on the information I had at the time, and who's to say that a different decision would have turned out better? If you have a similar character, then going for it is better than regretting not trying. If not, well then you need to do whatever it is that will allow you to sleep best at night.

It's risky, that's for sure, but it sounds like top-10 would give you a big advantage compared to your current school. From what you write, it seems that your department does everything it can to find funding for its students and has had a good track record doing so in the past. It's not perfect, but past experience is all you have to go on. I think you should have a clear idea of what you intend to do in case you don't get funded. Do you plan to take out loans (for how much? would the amount be feasible to pay back considering expected future earnings)? Can you get state residency? Could you study part time and get a decent job with your qualifications? Would you consider applying to a different program next year and starting over if you don't get funded? It's basic game theory. Are you a risk taker or do you like to play it safe? You have a lot to gain if it works out, but I think that you should know the consequences of not securing funding and decide whether you can live with them or not. If I were you I'd probably go for it, but not before being torn about it for a while. It's a hard decision.

If you mean you wrote to them recently, then I'd suggest waiting until you hear what they say before deciding whether to accept or decline. If it's been a while since you've been in touch, you might want to contact them again to let them know that they're still your top choice (and maybe ask when you might expect funding decisions). Good luck!

Congratulations!! That's great!

Any other year, I'd say go for it and don't look back. But with the economy being what it is, I'm a little apprehensive. I'd need to know more about top-10's placement record and ranking in your specific subfield, and I'd talk to more grad students to make sure that it's never been a problem in the past to secure funding past the first year. Consider the worst-case scenario: if you don't get funded at all, will you be able to swing it somehow? My instinct still says, go for it!

Absolutely. The Q is high school level and pretty straight forward, I think. There aren't that many tricks the GRE uses and once you learn to recognize them, the questions become easy. For the V part, I found that memorizing words alone was not enough--learning to guess wisely is key. Maybe two or three of the book-full of words I memorized appeared on the actual test, but I did a good job guessing the answers to questions that had 2-3 words I'd never heard of before (or since). There are strategies for doing that, I used Kaplan but I'm sure other books can also help. No clue what the reading comp was all about, *sighs*.

My instinct would be not to accept yet and to let the school know that the only reason you haven't done so is because you are a bit apprehensive because of the lack of funding (write an email that makes it clear that funding will immediately make you accept, but that doesn't explicitly say you won't accept without, if you're considering doing that). But I could be mistaken here.

My scores were close to the ones I received on the CATs - my quant was about the average I got on the tests and the verbal was the highest of the scores I got. The AWA blew me away (didn't make a scintilla of difference in the end, though). Now might be a good time to stop studying, it's stressing you out and that can't be good for your score. Trust that you've studied enough and will do well, expect the best. If it doesn't work out, *then* regroup and decide what to do. But don't plan on failing!! Take the day off and do something relaxing. Good luck on Thursday!

I do that already without having join the network..

Yes. I love cats.

Why would I want to join my school's network? What are the advantages? All of my friends already know where I'm going anyway (posted numerous conflicted updates and a happy decision update )...

Glad I could help! You still have plenty of time to work on becoming a strong applicant for fall 2010, but start working on your app NOW. One of the first things to define is what you want to do with your degree (stay in academia? work for the government or NGOs? Go into the private sector?). After you've decided on that, sit down with your profs and ask them where work is being done that can help you achieve your goals. For different goals, you might choose schools with different strengths (i.e., placement records in academia vs. the private sector, subjects that are more desirable in/outside academia, etc). Read up on profs' works at those universities. Decide which schools to apply to and start assembling all of the required materials. There's some great advice on this board that you can use when you get to that stage. Good luck!

That's more customary in some fields than in others, I don't know about Geography. Regardless though, it sounds premature to me. It's not usually a good idea to contact profs just to ask if they are taking on students next year (they wouldn't be able to give you an answer yet about what will happen 1-2 years from now anyway). You need to show familiarity with potential advisers' research and talk about how it relates to your interests in your email. First, you need to define your research interests. It doesn't sound like you've had a lot of experience in the field of geography. You need to sit down and think about why you want to go to grad school for it. The adcoms ask themselves this question of every applicant, moreso of ones who don't have a lot of formal training in the field. They will want to choose applicants who have clear goals and a strong background, who will have the greatest chances of successfully finishing the program. Second, try to get some relevant research experience (If the job offer you talk about offers you that, then it's great). Think about what kind of writing sample you'll be able to provide. Spend a considerable amount of time working on you SOP to make sure that you properly explain why you want to get into the field, (hopefully) highlight the improvement in your grades in your major/last years, talk about your future goals and what you hope to get from your grad degree. Also work on obtaining a good score in the GRE to offset the lower GPA.

It'll also help if you have a good GPA in your major and in your upper division courses. Showing improvement in the last two years or so of your studies with a good in-major GPA (regardless of lower grades in fields you have decided do not work for you), and making a good case for yourself emphasizing this in your SOP will help your application to be successful.

This is excellent advice, most importantly - offer the people you ask a way out. It's important to approach the process in a professional manner. Contact potential recommenders well ahead of the deadline and ask for a strong LOR. Let them know that if they are unable to write you a letter, for whatever reason, you will accept their decision as final. Come prepared with a kit for each letter writer, containing everything you want your letter writer to know about you: a transcript, CV including honors, etc. Be prepared to offer a picture to help them remember you, and to offer a sample of the work you did for their course. Provide your letter writers with a list of the schools you are applying to complete with (a) the letter submission deadline ( info on letter submission - if it's online, provide the link or information on when to expect it if your recommender will only get the prompt after you submit your app; if it's paper, provide the filled-out forms and the envelopes as required © a link to each department's website and a summary of its strengths (why it's right for you). All of this is designed to make your writer's job as easy as possible. They are liable to use the info you gave them so you know you are getting a good letter. Lastly, ask your letter writers if they would like periodic reminders and how would it be best to remain in contact with them so you can provide more information if it becomes needed later on. Many profs will postpone the letter writing to the last minute even if you gave them 3 months to do it in, and you really don't want to participate in next year's "it's past the submission deadline and my letter writer is MIA" thread. Professors seem quite impressed by students who do this, so you will be likelier to get a stellar rec. I think that it's vital that professors feel free to give their honest opinion of students without fearing their reactions. But you are totally within your rights in refusing to waive your right to read your letters.

i think you got some good advice here. Take this year to study for and retake the GRE. If at all possible, get a tutor to work with you on test-taking techniques. Your post makes you out to be an intelligent, articulate person, so I am sure that you can do better than your current score. As it stands, it is a huge liability in your app. I agree that you have to directly address your low GRE and GPA scores in your SOP. Spend a lot of time on this essay to make sure that you get the right tone and explain why you want to study psych and why programs should choose you over applicants who have significantly higher scores. Have every prof who agrees read and comment on your SOP, if possible try to have potential advisers from the schools you want to attend read and comment on it as well. They will give you the best feedback. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you this year, and hope you will have better luck next year!

Thanks.. I'm an international student so I can't come to the States early in the summer, and I'm apprehensive about finding an apartment online without seeing it for myself. I'd imagine that most landlords won't want to let an apartment to someone they haven't met either. Would you recommend taking a dorm room for the first year and looking for something better while I'm there, or would it still be possible to find something decent in the 30 days I'll have before the semester begins?

When should I start looking for an apartment in the Cambridge area? Some of my friends think that it's enough to get there two weeks before the semester begins to find something decent (assuming my standards aren't all that high). Is that true? Also, how do leases usually work? Do you have to commit to a predetermined period (a year or 6 months) or is it usually open-ended?

That's all well and good, and if your recommenders agree to show you their letters then there's nothing wrong with that. But it's unethical to open sealed envelopes and read the letters after waiving your right to do so. It cripples the application process for of all the reasons that were stated by people above me.