fuzzylogician

"International grad school," as in anywhere that is not the United States? You're not even going to tell us in what field? I'm sorry but that's not the kind of question we can answer here. No one will sit down and make you a list of all the places that "do not require a GMAT etc" (what does that even mean, exactly?) anywhere in the world, it's too much work. If you want us to help you, you need to start by helping yourself. You need to formulate a question we can answer. Before you can do that, you need to do some work of your own. What countries are you considering? (hint: in some countries they speak languages you don't and therefore they are not options to begin with; some are just in parts of the world you may not want to live in.) A good way to narrow down the field is to ask: What do you want to study, and where do the scholars who study those questions work? Find some scholars who would be potential advisors in countries you might want to study in. This may require yet another process you will need to go through, of defining your research interests for yourself in sufficient detail to be able to find relevant scholars who could be your advisors. Doing this will not be a waste -- if you want to have a chance at a funded PhD anywhere, at the very least you'll need to be able to talk about specific research interests in an informed way; some schools will also want a research proposal detailing the precise question you will investigate for your PhD. Once you've identified some potential advisors, read about the application process to their schools (a lot of this information can be found on the university webpage or by googling). Then you can come back and ask more informed questions that someone here can answer, for example if you are unsure what the funding situation is like at country X or university Y, or how to write a research statement in field Z for a school in country W. That is the kind of thing that someone here might know the answer to.

Welcome to the linguistics forum! Aside from the universities you mentioned (and I would say Berkeley is quite different from the other three in its orientation), depending on your interests, geographic preferences, and qualifications, you might want to look at: NYU, UCLA, Rutgers, University of Maryland, University of Chicago, University of Arizona (Tucson), Georgetown, Harvard, USC; In Canada: McGill University, University of Toronto, UBC; Also possibly interesting: Stanford, Brown, UPenn, Indiana.

^ I second that. I have experience with both JFK (and other US airports) and YYZ (and other Canadian airports) and without a doubt the US Customs experience has been more pleasant and faster every time I have been able to do it at a Canadian airport. They are also easier to navigate than some of the monsters where international flights land in the US. I also like Air Canada, but regardless I think flying through Canada might be a good way to fly if you're choosing between a layover in Canada or one in the EU, especially since for Detroit you may need a connection within the US anyway.

Leaving home for the first time can be scary. It will probably feel weird and take time to get used to your new city -- but that's true for any big life change. There are a lot of big and small things to learn, including anything from what streets are safe at night to using the local transportation system to what brand of toilet paper is your favorite. You'll figure it out. It's just important to remember that it won't happen overnight, but within a few weeks or months things will look different. When you first arrive you'll want to take measures to stay safe, which might include reading up on the city before you arrive, talking to local foreigners about their experiences, getting involved in the expat community once you arrive, and generally erring on the side of caution until you are better acquainted with your surroundings. None of what I'm proposing here is specific to Russia, they are general things you should do any time you are in a new place. I understand your mother's fear. Any mother would be worried the first time her child leaves home and goes to live far away, and I am sure this fear is compounded by the fact that the only things she knows about Russia are what she reads in the newspaper. I know nothing in particular about Russia, but one thing I do know is that the news likes to reports on bad things that make good headlines; no country I actually know anything about is anything like what you might imagine from just reading the news. So, as suggested above me, keep your mind and eyes open, and I am sure you will have a great experience.

This is over a year old. Why revive it?

Assuming that you are not leaving with a Masters degree, I don't think there is any set procedure. You will probably have to schedule a meeting with your advisor and perhaps with someone else at the program (DGS or department head come to mind) to inform them of your decision. They will likely ask you why you have decided to leave, and what your future plans are. You are under no obligation to tell them, but you might want to think of something to say nonetheless. If you stay in the same field and attend another school, they may find out. If you hide this information, they may conclude that something was fishy -- e.g. you never intended to stay at their school and therefore had ill intentions when joining, you abused their advising and funding, etc. On the other hand, if there is an explanation that makes sense -- e.g. your interests have shifted, or you want a degree they don't grant, or your career goals have changed, somehow making A less appropriate and B the place where you should be -- then they should understand. It's always better if you can have their support than if you burn a bridge. Depending on the size of your field, one way people find out these kinds of things is that they talk to their friends. E.g. you apply to B; someone there calls your recommenders and asks about you and what you're doing now. Your recommender says you are currently studying at A. Another alternative: you may be asked what you are doing this year, if you withhold the fact that you are attending A from your CV. You tell a lie, and later get caught because details don't match or you forget them. Another alternative: you presented at a conference or wrote a proceedings paper this year, which shows A as your current affiliation. This information can be found on the conference website, your co-authors' CVs, etc. I highly recommend not starting a new program by being deceitful. If they ever find out, that could end poorly. Following up on the reply to your first question, if you burn bridges = upset people at school A in some profound way, it's conceivable that they could call up their friends at school B and dis-recommend you. I don't think it's a likely outcome, but it's not impossible. Probably more to the point, school B will probably want to have some explanation for why you are switching programs/degrees mid-way through. The concern would be that you can't follow through and might leave them as well, and therefore admitting you means wasting time and money resources that could be spent on a student that would actually stay the duration. This is especially true if you can't get any recommendation letters from advisors at school A, and there is no good explanation for the switch. It is much less of a concern if there is a reasonable-sounding story behind your decision and you have the support of your former advisors from A for the switch.

No, a low score probably won't kill your chances. However, it won't help. For what you're applying for, verbal will be more important, so a relatively low quant should not be the end of everything. Exactly how a low score will affect your application is hard to guess; it depends on how low is low and perhaps also what the combined score with the verbal will be. It also matters if there are official or unofficial cutoffs below which your schools might not even look at your application. If those exist, obviously it'll hurt you if you don't meet the cutoff point. This all said, I think when approaching these things it's important not to tell yourself you can't succeed.* The GRE math is formulaic and is something that you can practice and improve on with some tricks and not much actual math. You may not get a super high score, but I think it's reasonable to aim for an "ok" score -- you can do that! * I teach a mathy subfield within what people normally think of as a Social Science/Humanities field. Lots of students are alarmed the first time I put a variable on the board or talk about sets and functions. But they all make it, and some even grow to like it. It is doable, with the right attitude!

I think your post may be too vague for us to answer. I know I am somewhat confused. Here is a guess: - If your department has scholars researching both area A and area B, it may be possible for you to switch areas and still stay within your department. If not, you may have to start over, which means reapplying to grad schools with a concentration in B studies, to begin in the Fall of 2016 (since it's too late for Fall 2015). This means you'll be in your program for two years, and it may be wise to find out whether it's possible to leave with a Masters in A studies before you begin a new PhD program with a focus on B. - Unless your advisor studies both A and B, you will likely need to switch advisors, if you are able to stay in your department. - The only way you'll know if any B professor will take you as their advisee is to ask them. As a general rule, you will not be the first student to change concentrations while in grad school, and you won't be the last. If there is anyone in a DGS-like capacity in your program, I'd schedule a meeting with them to ask about the process of switching areas. - Since we're talking about switching after just one year of grad school, I'm sure people will take you seriously as a B scholar, once you switch. - You may have to redo some coursework if there are courses B scholars have to take that you haven't. I bet at least some coursework will carry over, if not all of it. However, if you have to switch programs/schools, all bets are off. Likely most of your work won't transfer, but it really depends on the specific situation. This is partly why it'll be useful to find out if there is the option of a Masters. That way everything you've already done won't go to waste. - You'll find specific research questions in the same way as before. You may need some more background first, so you should probably start by doing some reading and taking the relevant courses in your department. I'm sure you already have some idea of what interests you, or you wouldn't be posting here about switching from A to B.

I am not sure this an active program. It was/is designed to train speakers of indigenous languages to study their own languages and be able to document/revive them. Famously, Jessie Little Doe Baird participated in it. In all the time I was there, though, I don't think there was anyone doing this Masters program. As the website says, if you are interested in it, you should email Norvin Richards. He will have more informed answers for you.

At least in my field it is customary to include declined fellowships on one's CV, e.g. XX Fellowship ($YY, declined). Not that I understand why a short delay in notification would ever lead anyone to decline a fellowship, but that's a different question.

Skipping class for no good reason? That is something I wouldn't do. Not because it would hurt my grade but because it's unprofessional and would leave a bad impression that I would not want to make. Whether it'll affect your grade is hard to know but I'd doubt it since we're just talking about one class. If you were missing a class for a legitimate reason (like conference travel or illness) that should not affect your grade at all. If you are looking for help standing up to peer pressure, consider it given -- it's better not to skip class just to go with your friends to a concert.

Yep -- as long as it also comes with some kind of instruction on how to budget the funds (which, btw, young faculty could also benefit from). Let's say that not everyone plans far enough ahead to hold onto enough money to be able to travel sufficiently in their 5th year. In fact, I think it can very hard to know as a first year what is even reasonable.

I should say I still think it might be hard to get into a good program with essentially just two years of an undergrad education. It's worth a shot, but I wouldn't be too surprised if you don't get the admissions or the funding offers you would like. I think you will have a stronger case once you've graduated. This is why many students from countries with 3-year degrees at least start a Masters before applying for PhDs in the US. Re: LORs, I suggest having another conversation with the socio prof about who you should ask for LORs. Maybe if it's clear to him that (a) you have no other socio prof to ask, and (b ) you will have letters from other more famous profs, he will be less worried. Or he might have some other thoughts. I would say it's worth asking. While you're at it, ask for his advice on applying to grad school more generally. Since he's a recent graduate he will probably have relevant thoughts, especially with regard to his own school but not just. Re: contacting potential advisors: I guess I am not up to speed on this one. I can tell you it's not required (I got admitted to various places without contacting anyone, and I know others with similar stories). There are multiple threads on this issue, though probably not linguistics-specific. I suggest searching in the Applications forum for keywords like "contacting potential advisors" or "contacting POIs" (person of interest). From a quick search, I found this in the linguistics forum: And there are tons of things if you search in the Applications forum. See here. I suggest starting with some general advice threads. They cover this question along with others you might not have even thought to ask.

Some version of the allowance is common in my field. It varies in amount and in other conditions attached to how the money can be used -- anywhere from $X per year to be used for no more than one trip to $Y for the entire duration of the program to use as you see fit. My department gave us a lump sum. Linguistics doesn't have too many large grants (and the NSF is actively trying to cut what remains) and in any event it's not a grant-based field. I work on my own projects; my dissertation research came out of an idea that I had and developed, and got the money to fund the experiments for. There is not much that I need in the way of support (advising aside), since a lot of the work is cheap or doesn't cost any money. Whenever I do need access to a lab (for experimental components of my work), I work with a faculty member who has one and they end up being a co-author.* * Experimental linguistics is still a very young field and there is a lot we haven't figured out yet. Authorship, in particular, is still something people don't have a clear consensus on. It is also still hard to get funded because we are usually judged by people in other fields, who tend not to understand our questions. </rant> Yeah, this is a rich school. Not-as-rich schools in my field also have some allowance of this kind, but the amounts vary. (As do the stipends and other money-related matters more generally.)

Any publications from undergrad would look great. More specifically: - being 1st is better than being 2nd or 3rd. This may be field dependent, but at some point if you are a "middle author" (3rd or more in some, 2nd or more in other fields) it doesn't matter too much where your name appears. It's just clear that you did something but weren't the main contributor to the project. For an undergrad, this would still be great. - having a singly authored paper will help a lot, if it's in a good journal. It will help less if it's in a lower tier journal, a student-run journal, one that's not peer-reviewed, etc. - there is no such thing as a "super researcher" so no one can give you a definition of how many papers you should publish to reach it. Again -- any publications or presentations would look good. The better the venue, the better it'll look. Having a publication will count for more than having a conference presentation, but it's more realistic that you would have a conference presentation than an accepted paper in a good venue out of your undergrad research. To be very clear, you can have an impressive CV without having publications as an undergrad. It'll be impressive if you have diverse research experiences that you are able to talk about intelligently in your SOP, and if you have any experience going to conferences. If you are interested in going into research, then being able to spell out an interesting research problem and explain why it is important will be very valuable.

For the record, I have not spent money out of pocket on conference travel as a PhD student or as a postdoc, and I travel a fair amount. I had decent travel funding as a student and generous funding now. When I ran out of money as a student, I applied for extra grants, both institution internal and external. I use different tactics to reduct costs: apply mostly in the US -- locally as much as possible, crash with local students whenever possible or (rarely) share a hotel room with others, apply to conferences that reimburse presenters, have co-authors present. You have to be smart about where you apply and what you spend on travel, especially if you have a bulk sum for the duration of your studies. I don't think spending a lot of money -- or people's good will, for that matter -- on an expensive international conference in your first year is worth it, especially when your PI is going and therefore the presentation will end up on your CV. I would save my time and effort for when it really counts, which is probably in at least another year.

Oh, I'm sure experiences vary. My good experience with a credit union and your bad experience mean very little in the grand scheme of things, especially since we don't know where GeoMex is going to be living. This is why getting recommendations from the locals is important

I suggest asking current international students at your new department for recommendations. They will know who is good locally to you. Another option other than big banks is local credit unions. My account was with my university's credit union, and I really liked their service. It was easier to get a credit card than with larger banks, they generally knew how to deal with an international student with no SSN and no credit history, and they were always available on the phone or if I needed something in person. They were recommended to me by other students.

You don't really need to justify your decision to apply to PhD programs in the US. Everyone from all over the world does that, because they are recognized as the best, and also (not coincidentally) the ones that have the most resources. It's important to keep this in mind when you write this section of your SOP. There is no need to explain how you are tired of Israel or how there isn't enough socio for you. You should stay completely positive and simply explain why the schools you are applying to are the best choices for you to pursue your education and do the kind of research you are interested in. Putting another school/country down won't earn you any points. Yes, research experience -- as well as initiative and drive -- are taken into account. Definitely mention it on your CV, under research experience. There are ways to build this into your SOP, but you should find a way to say you learn something new and grew as a linguist. If you can't say that with a straight face, maybe it's better to concentrate on other aspects of your application, like what drew you to sociolinguistics, what your research interests are, and details about your seminar paper research,. I'm sure there is a way to work it out. I think there is a way to get a letter saying that you have fulfilled all the requirements for the degree, and it will be officially conferred on date X. I had a similar issue after I finished my PhD and got such a letter, which worked for basically everything important (there were some minor hassles but not necessarily relevant for you). This is the kind of thing that it would be good to contact specific schools about, to ask for their policies. Some schools may be more flexible about finding ways to make it work than others. The admissions office is experienced at dealing with students from different countries and understanding their grading systems. If your transcript doesn't provide some kind of explanation of the grades, you might consider submitting one as a supplementary document. In your case, though, I don't think this will be necessary. Tel-Aviv University is actually quite well known for producing strong PhD candidates, so people will recognize both the school and the meaning of the grades. As for explaining low grades, it's always hard to answer. I would be inclined not to explain anything in this case, for three reasons. First, your grades don't sound that low to me. We're talking about just one semester in your first year, so we also don't have a problem of a trend. Second, you don't want to sound like you're making excuses. Third, you don't know how the 'reserve service' explanation will be understood by people; it's unusual and it exposes you to potential bad treatment because of political reasons (of course, unbeknownst to you). I wouldn't do it. Yep, I agree that these could be great assets for your application. So we're agreed that the two famous people who know you well should write you letters. Who will grade your seminar paper/writing sample? If possible, the person who reads it should write you a LOR, it will help showcase your strength and background with socio. Out of the socio prof vs. phonetics prof, I have a couple of questions. Is the phonetics prof well-known internationally? Is the socio prof's PhD from a well-known school, and does he seem to be doing well now that he has graduated? I would be inclined to have the socio prof write you the third letter, since you already have two from more famous people and I think it will help to have one from someone in your subfield. However, if the socio prof doesn't know you well and therefore can't really say much about your potential to become a sociolinguist, and on the other hand the phonetics prof does know you well, then I think you need to go with the phonetics prof. We're still talking about people within linguistics, it's not like you are asking for letters from unknown people from other fields. If you are an American citizen, you apply as an American. There will be places to indicate that you did your BA abroad. Since you went to high school in the US, you shouldn't be required to do the TOEFL. My guess is that for most things, your situation is no different than MA students' situation, with the exception of being less experienced. That's why many students with 3-year degrees do MAs in the first place. If you don't get admitted to a good program with funding next year, I would suggest considering starting an MA in Israel. You can apply during your first year and leave the MA mid-way through if you get into a good PhD program (they won't like it, but you can do it). This will solve some technical issues with your transcript/degree and also help with the issue of experience. Good luck!

Regardless of whether or not you tend to over-analyze and read more into things than there is, here is the deal. If you are 7 months into a job, have received 2 warnings about your performance, and then had a third conversation where your boss says they are so unhappy with you they are thinking of firing you, would you try and guess what your boss wants from you and act just on that, or would you have a conversation with them to explicitly ask what their expectations are, and come up with a plan to meet them, possibly with some built-in measures to hold you accountable? Which plan do you think has a higher likelihood of making your boss happy, and which one has a higher likelihood of failing? Now factor in your tendency to over-interpret things. Does that make you more or less inclined to coordinate expectations as opposed to guess what they are?

OK, I'll say it. All your posts in this thread read weirdly sexist and completely oblivious to your situation. If I didn't know any better, I might think you were describing a fight with your girlfriend. Just from this latest post: She yelled at you on Friday, you were fearing a repeat. This morning she was in a better mood than usual, but she ignored you except for frowning at you once. (This setup, mind you, is all happening in your head.) You had a normal professional meeting in the afternoon, discussing a paper you are working on together, and making plans for the next couple of weeks. (Back to stuff in your head:) She apparently wasn't in a bad mood. Therefore, you are now less convinced that she is out to get you, but you still think she is volatile and might react poorly if you have to take time off for a medical problem later. And the kicker -- you think you can now put this fight behind you, so to speak: "She at least appears to be willing to move on from the idea of me being the bad guy, just as much as I'm willing to be more astute with my organisation." I think you are misreading the situation on many levels. They have been pointed out ad nauseam so I won't repeat them again, but you really don't seem to be getting it, despite saying over and over that you accept responsibility and are willing to change. You need to realize that this is a professional job situation, and she is your boss, not your friend and not your equal.

What would the letter say, exactly? I am not sure how you think it could help.

If you haven't replied yet, then reply, thank your professor for allowing you to defer, and say you are excited to begin your studies in the Spring. I'd contact him again in October, when you are done with your degree, to check in and let him know that everything went according to plan. If you are so inclined, you could ask if there is anything he recommends you do to prepare for your new program (but if you need to take time to rest or do other things, there is not obligation to start work early). Around that time you could also start thinking about immigration-related issues, if you are not a US citizen (assuming that the Spring semester begins some time around mid-January or February). If your school hasn't contacted you with information by then, you could ask about that and also about setting up a school email account and other bureaucracies. These may not be questions your professor can answer himself, but he might know who to direct you to.

I would recommend the flights with the fewest connections, as the others have stated. If I could choose between one layover in Europe vs. one layover in JFK, I'd choose Europe. Keep in mind that you have to go through US immigration the first time you arrive at a US airport, so you would have to go through it at JFK if you choose A --> JFK --> B. You also have to pick your luggage up, go through customs, then re-check it for your next flight. JFK is a large and busy airport, which can be hard to navigate, and the first time you enter on your new status might take longer than usual at immigration. The process is pretty straightforward (including the customs part -- Munashi gave a good description of the process above) but it can be stressful the first time you do it. So, if you do choose this option, make sure you give yourself more than enough time to clear immigration and customs and get to your next flight, so you're not stressing out about missing your connection. It is highly probable that you will have to go to another terminal than the one you land in (which means figuring out the airport's internal transportation system) and go through security again. Again, this is straightforward, but can be stressful if you've never done it before and you're worried about making your next flight. Generally, for me, I prefer to stop off in Europe and go through immigration at my destination city, to avoid the stress of possibly missing a connection. In that case your luggage can be checked through to your destination. It becomes trickier if we're talking one stop in JFK vs. two stops in Europe; it's really up to you. (I have no knowledge about visas for European countries or the UK.)

I am in a different field than you are but my take on this would be that you should have a general conversation with your PI about questions such as what conferences you should be submitting to, what conferences you should try and attend in person, and at what career stage. Also relevant: how many conferences per year does you PI think it is reasonable for you to attend, and who pays for your travel? These details are all important to know independently of what happens this particular time. I would not be surprised if your PI thinks the cost of the trip is just too high and the benefit not substantial enough given your career stage, but it would be a different story if you were in your 3rd or 4th year. As it stands, I don't think your PI's explanation for why he should go and not you is unreasonable. In any event, as long as you are acknowledged as first author on this presentation and subsequent publications coming out of this work, I wouldn't worry just yet. A more general conversation about expectations for who should travel, when, and how often, should help with your more general concern of getting 'hijacked' again in the future.