PrettyVacant

2112

I'd recommend Gabriel García Márquez's The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor, and Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and some of his short stories: "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World", and "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings". If you are into "lo real maravilloso", check out The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier. Also check out some of Julio Cortázar's short stories: "Continuity of Parks", "The Night Face Up", etc. Horacio Quiroga's "El Almohadon de Plumas" is also one of my favorite short stories. You can also check out novels like Maria by Jorge Isaacs and Marianela by Benito Pérez Galdós.

I'll probably stress over what went wrong with my application.

It made me burst out laughing too. Reminds me of this review. In all seriousness, I'll probably cry for few days, then who knows.

I also feel like my application was a complete disaster. I'm going crazy reading my SoP over and over again, and to be honest, it could have been so much better I think that what we are feeling is completely normal. It's natural to oscillate between two extremes: saying things like "my application is great, and I'm definitely getting in", and then the next day thinking: "my application is terrible; they are gonna put me in the "reject" pile right away." Such is life. I'm also wondering if I should have taken (and submitted) TOELF scores with my application. My native language is English, but I did my undergrad in a primarily Spanish speaking institution. I did my B.A in English, and I also have a post-grad diploma in TESOL. I'm an EngIish teacher, for god's sake! I'm just worried that they are just gonna use it as an excuse to reject me. Sorry for my long rant, I'm just a big ball of anxiety right now.

I agree! My SoP didn't have a word limit, but I went with concise and succinct. It's a little over 800 words, and it includes an anectoesque reason for studying linguistics, then addresses my educational background, then my work experience, and finally my research interests.I'm also applying for a Masters.

I'd recommend York University's TESOL program. Link here.

Hi, I'm going for my M.A in Applied Linguistics. I'm hoping my main area of specialization will be Spanish/English bilingualism, with a sub-specialization in contact linguistics and code-switching (Spanglish).

Hang in there! You shouldn't count a rejection until you know for sure. You applied to a lot of schools, so don't give up hope! I'm also feeling depressed. I can completely empathize with you regarding the SoP. I also did the anecdote-as-hook thing, and looking back on it, it probably wasn't the best idea. I keep reading my SoP over and over again, and going: "What was I thinking?" Meh.

That's my worst fear, too.

Congrats!!!

Actually, Alberta is a prestigious university. A few months ago, it was ranked 4th in all Canada, above Queens, McMaster, etc: See here. I would definitely consider applying if I were you.

It is! I love the pistols. Well, I had everything ready, and I just wanted to get it out of the way! Last season, I left it until the very last minute, and I don't think it worked to my advantage. This season, I was also filling two applications at once (grad school and immigration). I just wanted to finish the grad school stuff, so I could concentrate on the immigration forms. Did I mention I wasn't working at the time? That probably played a big role in sending my application package so early. I just had so much time on my hands!

I guess emails don't really make a difference. I can imagine the adcom going: That girl dared to email us a while back! REJECT!

I'm going through the same thing. I applied back in November, and my program deadline is Feb 1st, so they probably haven't even looked at my application. And yet, I'm constantly checking my email, logging into mystudent view, etc. to see if there is a decision yet. I can't help being so anxious. I just want to know already! Last time I applied, I was so sure I'd get in, I didn't stress about it at all. After I got rejected, everything came crashing down. It was a big wake up call: What if I'll never be good enough for grad school? This time around, I'm prettty confident, but I can't help but feeling a sense of impending doom. What if it happens again? I don't know if I'll be able to handle another rejection. Oh well.

Nice. I applied to York a few months ago. The program deadline is Feb 1st, so I probably won't hear back from them in a while. I figured there would be quite a lot of contact between both universities. It's a small circle, after all. I'm pretty sure Ryerson doesn't even offer linguistics. As for OISE, they offer an M. ED/M.A in Second Language Education which is close to applied linguistics, but with a focus on education. I've already got a TESL diploma, so pursuing an M.ed in SLE seemed kinda pointless. York University is my only option. Let's hope I get in! It's always nice to find a fellow torontonian (and a linguist for that matter!) in here, so thank you for sharing your story.

I'm on my second go around as well. I only applied to one school during the 2009 season, and I ended up getting rejected. Truth be told, I didn't put a lot of effort into that application, so the outcome wasn't a big surprise. My research interests were not in tune with the institution I applied for, but I still applied because it was the only university in my city. I think adcoms have a way of figuring out you are only applying to a school because, well, there is no other choice. The rejection turned out to be a blessing in disguise: I had originally applied to do my M.A in English Literature, so when I got rejected, I decided to apply to a completely different program: TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language). I got accepted right away, but the school was in a different province, so I ended up selling everything and moving there. I graduated a few months ago, and I loved every minute of it. I discovered I had a passion for language learning/second language acquisition, so now I want to continue in that field which is why I'm applying to do my M.A in Applied Linguistics. This time around, I'm also applying to one school, but in a different field. I spent months working on my application, and I definitely feel more confident. Grad school is a highly competitive process, so if I don't get in this year, I'm sure there will be something good waiting around the corner.

I'm happy with the way it looks.

Psycholinguist, which university are you currently attending? The department sounds wonderful! I'm curious because I'm also from Toronto, and I applied to do my M.A in Applied Linguistics. I also applied to only one program. In retrospect, I think I should have applied to more schools, but I didn't have the money at the time ($90CAD per application is a lot for an unemployed college grad). I was also limited by the fact that I can't relocate to another city, so there is really no point in applying to places I can't get to. I fell in love with the program I applied to, so I'm quite happy with my choice.

I wish I had contacted the program before applying. Last time I contacted a program before applying, I ended up not applying to the school because I received a very negative response. So maybe not contacting the programs was for the best. Who knows? It's hard to tell at this point. I just wish they had gotten to know me a little better. It's hard not to sound generic when you are basically telling the adcom committee what they want to hear. I hope what I presented was memorable enough. I should really stop second doubting myself. I wish more people had read my SoP before I submitted it. Most of the feedback I received was very positive, but I had trouble convincing myself it was the absolute best I could come up with. I spent about 2 months working on it, and I was never fully satisfied with it. Too late now!

I really have no idea how the adcom will react to my application. They'll probably go: "She only speaks two languages? Next!"