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fuzzylogician

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Everything posted by fuzzylogician

  1. fuzzylogician
    This is really a question for the program, and no one here can answer it. Ask to be put in touch with a few current students and ask them about how far their stipend takes them, where they live, whether they need to have roommates, etc. Usually "fully funded" would mean that you'll be able to afford housing in a reasonable distance from the school, often with one or more roommates, and your health insurance will be covered. Some schools subsidize transportation costs. Some might even help with moving costs. Some will cover dental and vision (many will not). It varies quite a bit, and also depends a lot on the cost of living in your designated city and on your personal habits. The same amount of money might be enough for one person but not for another.
  2. fuzzylogician
    It's a positive sign. I am guessing that it's not an official interview because there are rules for what those mean (for example, it may mean that they'll have to talk to every applicant they are considering), but in this case they just aren't sure about something to do with your application but they don't want to then have to talk to everyone. I had a few of these "informal" conversations when I was applying, always from schools where the fit was less obvious. In any event, I would treat it exactly like I would an official interview. Brush up on your materials, be prepared to answer questions about your research interests and fit, and anything else you submitted. Good luck!
  3. fuzzylogician
    It's a common and very reasonable request, not one that should offend anyone at all. Good luck!
  4. fuzzylogician
    Ask them about a deadline for the decision and mention that while you are very excited about the offer, you are still waiting to hear back from a few others schools and would like to have all the information available before making a decision. As for the I-20, if I remember correctly, I got one randomly in the mail from a school that I didn't end up attending, but not from any of the others. It was a little strange. But yeah, it happens. With all the immigration craziness going on right now, I wouldn't be surprised if schools have a policy of getting things done as soon as possible. Just don't do anything with it until you've accepted the offer.
  5. fuzzylogician
    No, it won't reflect poorly on you. And if a school that hasn't offered you funding is pressuring you to make a decision, in my opinion the only thing you can do is accept, and later rescind if you get a better offer. I don't think anyone can fault you for that. But for starters, see about getting an extension.
  6. fuzzylogician
    Yes, you can and should do that. Are they offering you funding? You should also check to see if they agreed to the CSG resolution: https://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/CGS_Resolution.pdf
  7. fuzzylogician
    If you say it right, all you're saying is "I think X university is better *for me* *given my current circumstances* than you guys". That doesn't need to mean you think the other university sucks, or you would have presumably never applied there in the first place. This is a decision a lot of strong applicants will face, and no one will take it personally if you choose to go to another school. And you are, in fact, exceedingly likely to see these people again at conferences and such, because academia is a small place. My experience has always been that people were very gracious and remembered me positively, even if I chose to go to another school. I just wouldn't worry about it.
  8. fuzzylogician
    I'm always confused by this question. You're applying for a PhD so presumably you want have a presence in your field. You'll have a website, you'll go to conferences, publish, etc. Your affiliation will appear in each of those places, and you'll be in your department's directory, as well. This is not secret information. Why would you not share it, if asked?
  9. fuzzylogician
    Oh man, I still remember the first rejection email I sent, and it wasn't even to a school that was a particularly good fit so it made perfect sense to decline (in hindsight I don't know what business I had applying in the first place, nor why they accepted me...). My hands were shaking, it was the weirdest experience. But I also know I made the right decision and I think it was also right to do it quickly, once I made the decision. But yeah, it's really not like anything else, being unexpectedly successful at the end of a hyper anxiety inducing process. You should remember to celebrate.
  10. fuzzylogician
    Yeah, it's no one's responsibility but your own to get your materials in on time. No one is responsible for following up with you. If anything, you should be grateful that they're giving you an opportunity to submit materials a month late. I don't think you get to be upset about that. As for the email from your father, I have to admit that if I'd received an email like that from an applicant's father, I'd find it very strange. I don't think it did you any favors. I hope it didn't hurt you. All I can advise at the moment is to get the transcript submitted as soon as possible, and ask your family members not to intervene. No one can tell them anything about your status anyway (privacy laws would prohibit that), and it's odd at best. You're an adult now, and you're expected to behave like one, not have your parents try to wrangle special favors from officials on your behalf.
  11. fuzzylogician
    You should decline as soon as you've decided that you won't accept the offer. Generally I would only do that after I've received at least one other offer that is more attractive.* In your case, it sounds like you can go ahead and decline the offers you're sure you won't accept. I think that saying that you think that another school would be a better fit for your interests is entirely legitimate. If anything, I think many people would appreciate an argument from fit more than one from funding, although both considerations are obviously important. Mentioning considerations like location, employment opportunities for a spouse, etc. are also all appropriate at this point, if you choose to share that kind of information. Either way, I don't think you need to worry. Schools expect their strong applicants to have multiple offers, and I'm sure they'll appreciate knowing quickly and being able to move on to someone else on their list. * More paranoid individuals might first accept an offer, then decline the others, so YMMV. I did as I advised above. EDIT: also, congrats on your offers!
  12. fuzzylogician
    Yep, it happens. Especially when you're dealing with unofficial emails from POIs, those could come at any time. (Although it's less likely than during business hours). That said, taking some time off and not obsessively checking your email is a good thing. An acceptance email will still be there Monday morning.
  13. fuzzylogician
    Highly unlikely. Stop worrying, it's just two emails. You'll be fine.
  14. fuzzylogician
    You should ask your professor for guidance.
  15. fuzzylogician
    Yeah, I think you want to hear from @rising_star.
  16. fuzzylogician
    I wouldn't email each POI separately. Find the most reasonable coordinator type person in each department (probably the dept admin) and write them. They'll be able to tell you who to contact, in case it's not them.
  17. fuzzylogician
    It's not a big deal. You might ask to replace your old CV with an updated one because you found an error in the old version, but $3000 isn't that much of a difference when we're talking about these kinds of amounts. The thing I *would* make sure is clear and accurate is that if you worked on a project but were not the PI or otherwise the person who got the grant, it should be clear that the funding came from someone else. Misrepresenting someone else's grant as your own would be a much bigger issue than miscalculating the conversion rate.
  18. fuzzylogician
    The world is a big place, I don't think I can give you informed opinions about every university in every country on every continent. If you have more detailed questions, we can try and help. Otherwise, my best advice is to go to the websites of some universities you might consider working at, and seeing who they employ and the moment. If everyone has a US degree, that'll teach you something. If everyone has a local degree from that same country, you'll learn something else. On the other end of things, you could write potential advisors and ask them where their previous students have gotten jobs. Your particular advisor will have more influence on your career than the university you're at, in most cases. You'll learn a lot from knowing that they've had successful students in the past and where they are now.
  19. fuzzylogician
    There is very good semantics in the Netherlands at several universities, most notably Amsterdam but you might also want to look at Leiden and Utrecht. Also in Germany, especially Berlin, Potsdam, Frankfurt, Konstanz. In the UK, look at UCL and Queen Mary and the University of Edinburgh. Oxford and Cambridge for something very different. In France, the Ecole Normale Superiore and maybe one other, but it's less developed. There is also stuff to look at in Belgium, e.g. NTNU, and Oslo. (This is off the top of my head so not an exhaustive list.) I don't know much of anything about cognitive semantics, though, so I'm telling you about what I consider to be semantics, which is what they do in the States. In all of those places, if you look, you'll find some local/European PhDs and also quite a few US PhDs. Overall I'd say that alums from leading US universities have an advantage, but it's not like you can't get anywhere with a European PhD. Of course you also didn't tell us which country or countries you'd like to have a job in, so that too remains an unknown.
  20. fuzzylogician
    What subfield and what are your post-PhD plans? It's hard to say more without knowing at least that much.
  21. fuzzylogician
    Hardly. It'll mean postdocs and also Assistant Profs won't be on H1-Bs, and since that's the main visa at least for TT jobs (and for anyone who was a J-1 as a student, also for postdocs), it just means that international people will have a very hard time getting jobs in the States.
  22. fuzzylogician
    Given that you have the better part of a year to get ready, you might as well try to both spend time on your SOP and other statements AND work on polishing this paper and getting it to a publishable state. It doesn't take a year to write an SOP. When you say you want to try and get this paper published, I assume by that you mean in a reputable, leading journal; a publication in an undergraduate/graduate student journal or a low-tier journal won't do you too much good. You might additionally look into trying to present the work in a leading conference. Again, regional/student conferences will have less of an impact than a selective conference. This should also lead to a strong writing sample for your applications, which is also a plus. The main other thing I'd suggest investing time in is cultivating relationships with professors who you eventually want to have as LOR writers. Maybe there are projects you can work on with them other than this old paper that would lead to a productive outcome.
  23. fuzzylogician
    Most likely you'll be fine, and Feb 1 is also enough time for mail to reach its destination if it was sent today. You might in the meanwhile also email the admissions office an unofficial copy of your transcript just so they have something in your file until the official one gets there. Usually there is also a short grace period after the official deadline, so even if the transcript is a few days late, you should still be okay.
  24. fuzzylogician
    I don't think I've ever heard of a case where someone had an interview and had an answer immediate at the end of it, one way or the other. The interview is just one part of the process, and usually the professor who interviewed you will then meet with the rest of the committee to report back and make decisions. You might not hear back for a little bit, but that shouldn't be cause for concern.
  25. fuzzylogician
    I don't know what that post is about, but since all departments I know make their decisions as a collective, I would assume that you were told the truth and there is still a chance. The only reason I can imagine someone finding out earlier is if they were targeted by the department from some university-level fellowship with an early submission date; those things do happen. But otherwise, I think usually all the decisions are made at the same time, and by the department as a whole.
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