fuzzylogician

The norms on these things vary greatly by field, geography, and other factors. If you're unsure, keep saying "Professor LastName." In my field, at this point you would be licensed to write "Dear FirstName," but I'm in a different field than you, and you should be careful. Edit: also, please don't post the same question multiple times. I've deleted the other post you made with this question, since it had no replies and this one does.

Alright, so now we have a field. I can't guess what field you are in if you're not going to give that information in your post or profile, hence the link to the general admissions site. The bioengineering site indeed mentions the IELTS, but it says nothing about the TOEFL one way or the other. If I were you, I'd write the department to ask. I'm sure you're not the first student to encounter this problem, so I'm sure they have a policy in place for that. The only department that says explicitly that it won't accept the TOEFL is the DMSE: https://dmse.mit.edu/academics/graduate/prospective-students/faqs. It's probably too late now, but for others who are reading this and for future reference, one of the earliest things I did when I was applying was to create a spreadsheet with the requirements of each program. Mine all wanted either the IELTS or the TOEFL and I chose to take the TOEFL. If the common denominator were the IELTS, then obviously that would have been the one to take. If some only wanted the IELTS and some the TOEFL, then there would have been plenty of time to contact them to see if they'd still agree to accept the other exam, or to reevaluate how important it would be for me to apply to these different programs. Planning is the name of the game.

They are replacing two faculty members but losing three. They do say they hope to hire more in the next few years, for what it's worth.

Well, it sounds like you don't meet the basic criteria for applying to this fellowship. I'm not sure how you think we can help with this. If you think this is a mistake and you're still eligible, you're probably going to have to contact someone who can help you figure out how to save your application despite not having this required document. One fix you could probably use in the meantime, so you don't lose information you've entered into the system, is to upload some other document, if the system won't let you save otherwise. I wouldn't submit the application this way, though, unless someone tells you this is an ok way to deal with missing an important document.

Beside things already mentioned, it is a very small program (currently 7 faculty, but 6 as of next year, I believe), and it's had some worrisome personnel-related problems over the years, with people leaving and others not getting tenured where they would have been at any other institution. This means that it's hard for them to develop a real strength in any particular area of linguistics. Most subfields are going to have 0-1 person working in that area, and that means that strong students interested in that area are likely to pick another school, where there are more potential advisors and other students working in that area. That said, I think the people there are good and there is a lot of potential. They certainly do a good job training undergraduates who go on to top graduate programs in the field.

OP -- MIT accepts both the TOEFL and the IELTS. See here: http://web.mit.edu/admissions/graduate/graduate/international.html. It says nothing about a preference. Beyond that I didn't understand your question. I don't know about this, my department offers to waive the TOEFL requirement for international students who can demonstrate a high proficiency in the language through other means (e.g. a degree from an English-speaking university, evidence of extensive background in English). I don't think anyone has had an issue getting their I-20 or DS-2019.

I've posted this link in various other threads here, but I'll do it again because I think it speaks exactly to this culture of keeping our failures secret and the kind of anxiety it can generate in others: http://sasconfidential.com/2015/11/20/shadow-cv/ . I completely agree that it's important to talk about rejections and about what that does to a person. I don't think it's fixed by looking at our CV and questioning our interviewing skills (I wish it were that simple). Yes, there needs to be some of that, but there is so much more that goes into the process that you can't control. You can be an excellent interviewee and have more publications than some of the old folks on the search committee have now, but still not get the job, because of numerous other factors that go into these decisions. I, at least, find if very helpful to know that it happened to other people who I think of as successful and well-adjusted -- that they too were unsure and had serious doubts about whether they were good enough and would make it, and when they should stop. It makes my feelings more valid and normal, and even though it doesn't stop me from having them, it still helps to know others have had them, and gotten through.

I think it's perfectly fine, I'm sure he knows it's last minute, just stay professional in your correspondence. It's fine to say "Unfortunately I've already made travel plans for this weekend and therefore won't be able to make tomorrow at 9am. Here are some other times that work for me later in the week: ... ". Give several options and indicate that other times might be ok too.

Depending on when you last emailed your recommenders, you might send a reminder and ask when you could expect feedback on your SOP. You could also say something in your email along the lines of "if I don't hear back, I'll follow up again in a week," although it's not clear to me that that's needed. Some professors do appreciate getting periodic reminders, but they will tell you so, and without knowing that, there is a good chance that you'll just be annoying them unnecessarily. This said, it being two weeks out, I wouldn't worry at all about the fact that none of them have submitted the letters yet. A lot of profs will do it last minute.

If the professor had anything to tell you, she would've already reached out to you. Unless you have a reason to be emailing (e.g. you've heard from other schools and have to make decisions very soon), nothing much will come from emailing.

The best way to avoid shutting any doors is simply to not shut any doors. Think of this conversation as a way of finding out more information about the professor, his research group, and his research project, and come to it with an open mind. Don't write him off just yet, and instead try to think about what you'd want to know in case you did choose to work with him: what is his mentoring style like? what is the school life like in general? what coursework and other work would you have to do? what kind of jobs do students get once they graduate? what are the details of the project you'll be working on? Collect all this information, and at the end of the conversation tell the professor how much you appreciate his time and this information, that you're still in the process of hearing back from schools and so you can't make a decision just yet, but you are excited about this opportunity and you'll let him know once you've decided. You never know how things might work out with your other options, and frankly having an advisor who you get along with is very important, just as much (if not more) than having a topic you like. So if this professor feels like a good possible advisor, that's something to take very seriously when you make your final decision. Working on a topic that (as you say) is "hot" right now might contribute to your future job prospects and might also be something to consider in choosing a program. So, basically, I would think of this as a real and viable option and treat it that way through the interview and beyond it, until you make your final choice. Professors know that students will often have more than one choice and they fully expect some students to turn down their offer. You won't be offending the professor in doing that, as long as you're polite and professional about it.

It depends on the school and possibly the field. I was in the first year of a two-year masters program when I applied and got into several PhD programs in the US. Once I'd settled on a program, I talked to them about whether or not they would mind if I didn't complete the masters (there would have been a way for me to work very hard and finish the entire two-year degree in one year, but it wouldn't have been any fun). They said they wouldn't really care one way or the other. I ended up "freezing" my masters, just in case, but I never went back to finish it. I've since graduated with my PhD and not once has anybody asked about my masters program. It's on my CV as "Masters studies in XXX" in a way that makes clear that I didn't get the degree, but it's never caused me any trouble. As I recall, I didn't need to present any documents of any kind to register; they already had my undergrad transcript, and I don't think they asked for anything else that's relevant here. So, the moral of the story -- you're going to have to ask your programs if and when it becomes relevant.

I don't know if anyone can help you much with regard to specific institutions, but if you run a search or just browse through the interviews and visits subforum, you'll find several posts with common questions and potential answers to help you prep. See also this blog post:

True, but important caveat: you'll need to apply for a new visa the first time you'll leave the country, because you need the visa to enter the US on your F-1 status (you need a valid I-20 to be in the US on your F-1 status). So, it might be worth figuring out a way to get a new visa over the summer so you're not stuck unable to come back if you need to travel at some later point, since I presume you do intend to travel at some point in the next five years; or at least you should be aware of this and plan accordingly for your first trip out of the US.

Hi -- please don't post the same question multiple times. I've deleted the other instance of your question. Have you checked the results survey to see if anyone has updated anything about this program?

No one can tell you what your chances of acceptance are, we don't have that kind of knowledge. In general, it'd be better to post this kind of question in the subforum that directly deals with your subfield, where there will be more readers who have knowledge of your subfield. But, again, none of us can give you any odds or make you any promises. In addition, I don't know about your field, but at least for other fields, we are also lacking relevant information about prior research experience, strength of LORs, writing sample, SOP. Without those, based solely on GPA and GRE scores, it's hard to say much of anything.

Student visas can't be renewed, so you'll have to get a new visa. After you're admitted, the international students office at your new school will send you your I-20, and after that you'll be able to pay the SEVIS fee and get a date to visit the US embassy or consulate near you. This will happen roughly in Late April or May, but the actual timing may vary and depends entirely on how your school operates. They might do it much sooner or much later. If you don't hear from them until May, you could probably write them to inquire about when you might expect to receive the documents.

I'm sure it was ... but now you can put it in perspective: it didn't hurt your chances one bit. Congratulations!

You know, I think we all know some people who we might think would be better off quitting and doing something else. But I also think that our own evaluation of our self-worth is completely clouded by the emotions we feel on the horrible roller-coaster that is the job market. I don't think any of us can think about it objectively, I think the job market messes with our heads in a way that's hard to deal with without some external support and help. When I occasionally have these feelings, usually following some setback or bad result in my career, I am lucky enough to have trusted mentors in my life who I know I could turn to and ask straight up: am I good enough? (Also: mentors who will reach out to me and say: that sucked, I'm sorry, but hang in there, you can make it.) No one can guarantee that things will work out just because you are good enough and deserve to make it, but I hope you have people who will give it to you straight and tell you if they think you have a fair shot, or if you'd be better off either aiming at a different tier of schools than you have been, or quitting and doing something else altogether. Beside mentors, maybe there are other peers who are going through the job market ordeal at the same time as you. It helped me to learn that my friends, who I think are amazing people and I am sure will be successful, were feeling just as miserable and insecure as I was. It's not an easy conversation to have, but this feeling is unfortunately extremely common. The support of friends who can really understand what you're going through is extremely valuable. The question of how long you want to try is a very personal one, but also one to think through with trusted mentors. I don't think giving you a number would help, exactly. It also depends on how well you've been doing in previous years - even if you didn't get a job, did you get interviews? my impression is that people who get multiple interviews are generally attractive enough to make it, and then it's just a matter of time until things click and the stars align just right so they are the chosen ones. It can still take a while and be demoralizing, but it's a different situation than if you've never even gotten a long-list interview, in which case you should really get help with your application materials and also again seek out the advice of someone who's been on hiring committees and can tell you how competitive you are.

I think at this point it's too late to write. For future reference, I think what you could have done was email once you submitted your application in December, just to say "Dear Prof X, I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to talk to me in September, it was very helpful (or whatever generic thing about what you learned and how it helped you craft your materials for this school). I just submitted my application, and will be looking forward to hearing from school X in the new year. Happy holidays, -magnetite". This would have refreshed the prof's memory of you and there was a legitimate reason to email. Now I don't see what you'd say, so I think you probably have to just wait and see.

Given that they asked for a clean copy, they obviously aren't going to disqualify you based on this. They are going to ignore it and read a copy that doesn't contain it. This is very good news. A typo also won't disqualify you, nor will mixing up an attachment. I assume you apologized and said it got there by accident, and I'm sure the chair understood, because we've all been there before.

I was in this situation, and I chose school #1. I did that only after I made sure (through talking to students and checking cost of living calculators) that I would be able to live reasonably well on the stipend the school was offering. It was clear that I'd have to have roommates, but noone I talked to seemed to have any problem making ends meet. I didn't have a family to consider, so this seemed ok to me. Would it have been nice to have the extra money and nicer lifestyle? I'm sure it would have been. Do I regret my decision? Not even for one minute. The school was the best fit for what I wanted to do, and my advisors were (and still are) amazing.

Some fields/schools do interviews, others don't. You could check the Results Survey to see if your schools did interviews in previous years and to see when they sent out their acceptances. That should give you an indication of when they might make decisions this year. If you got an email saying you've been admitted, there won't be any interview. You might get invited to an admitted students event, which I would advise you to go to even if you are afraid of social interactions, because the information you'll get about the school would be too valuable to give up. If they invite you to such an event, they would usually offer reimbursement. If you can't afford to go, then I think it's entirely fair to say it's impossible for you to travel and to ask to have Skype meetings instead. Same would go for interviews -- if you can't travel, the vast majority of schools would be understanding and agree to hold a Skype interview instead of you flying out to meet them in person.

I mean, it's difficult to read tone from an email but hopefully you know your advisor and have at least some understanding of their intentions. There is a big difference between something like "to save costs on this grant, we should share a hotel room." and "since we're both going to attend this conference, would you like to share a hotel room?". The former requires a more formal reply that probably has to mention that you are uncomfortable with that situation, but to the latter you can just say "thanks for thinking of me, but I've actually already made other arrangements" without going into any further detail. I don't think there have to be any red flags raised in this situation automatically just because the advisor wrote with this question.

The bottom line is that students need to learn to operate within the norms of their fields, regardless of your opinion of them. That's what the responses here are about -- they're not about whether the prof is right, but about how to interpret his response and how to reply to it.