nocturne

Thanks so much, everyone, for all the info. I've ordered the syntax book and a couple of books written by the faculty; they should arrive any day. I'm also going to borrow a semantics text from a classmate (don't know the name of the book yet), and I've downloaded all the recent articles from the faculty members whose interests most closely match mine. anyli_t, special thanks for the department-specific info; I'm still extremely nervous, but at least I know a little bit of what to expect.

Just checked the website for UT-Austin and I was totally rejected. They haven't said "boo" to me one way or the other, and AFAIK, no one else has heard from them, so it was sort of a surprise. I swear if I don't get in somewhere, I am going to bawl. I have GREs over 1400, a GPA over 3.6, and what the woman at UCSC whom I spoke to called "great" recs and writing sample (even though they didn't accept me for other reasons). I feel like I should get in SOMEWHERE. I am seriously beginning to flip out.

I'm green with envy! I had really wanted to get in there, but not happening -- at least not this year... :cry:

@ anyli_t: Have you actually spoken with anyone in the Linguistics dept. at UCSD? Or are you only interviewing over there for CogSci? Since you're already safely in, I thought you might not mind sharing if you've spoken to linguistics, so I can know what to expect when I get there at the end of the month...

@ pangor-ban, to which programs have you applied? So, I've ordered that Syntax book, plus a couple of books written fairly recently by faculty members whose interests pretty closely match mine. I've also downloaded a whole mess of pdf files from the few professors that work in the areas I'd like to enter. I've got a lot of reading ahead of me! As for taking upper-level classes at the universities around here, I've taken a few grad-level courses at my current university, but all the more theoretical classes are at the other university in the area, and they don't open the courses to non-degree-seeking students. According to what I've read on the UCSD Web site, they aren't offering anything pertinent this summer. They also don't list any books on the course sites, which may very well be because they use current articles. I suppose I could dig around the course Web sites of some of the other schools to which I have applied and see what texts they are recommending. If that fails, do you guys think it would be worthwhile to ask the professors I meet at the open house for a recommended reading list for self-study, or do you think it would reflect badly on me not to know without asking?

I'm into syntax, semantics, morphology, lexicology, language change and historical linguistics. I'm taking a couple of pretty interesting phonetics courses right now, too, but don't really want to get into phonetics or phonology too much.

Thanks for the tips. I'll check that book out, and look around to see what's available by the folks at UCSD now. Maybe I'll be less nervous armed with more information. I can't really complain about UCSC, since the prof I spoke with was REALLY nice about it, and did offer me information as to which classes I'd need to take, how much they were, etc. She just couldn't guarantee me anything without the background. She was totally honest and upfront that their program is small and intense and assumes a certain level of preparation (that I don't yet have).

In addition to the schools listed under your "still waiting" list, I'm still waiting for anything from UT-Austin, University of AZ, University of WA, and UNC-Chapel Hill. It's surprising to me that University of Oregon sent an acceptance to someone already; their deadline was only 2/1. Also, I haven't gotten my *official* rejection from UCSC yet; I've only interviewed with the faculty member whom I was hoping would advise me, and she told me that I'd need some further training before they could agree to accept me.

I've been invited to the open house for UCSD, and they have offered to pay for part of my travel costs. I see from this site that others have been accepted without a visit, so I am understandably nervous about the trip, nearly to the point of freaking out. Basically, I *MUST* impress! I figure that they are going to be basically comparing me to the other as-yet-unaccepted attendees, deciding whom to pick (and I have no idea how many slots they have left). :shock: Has anyone been to an open house before who can tell me what I should expect? I went thrifting recently with the purpose of buying some nice-looking clothes, and ordered some professional-looking shoes... is one expected to wear hose to these things? What sort of activities are usually included? Are they going to be looking more for a personality match? Will I be questioned on specific knowledge (and therefore should study)? I am worried because while I express myself articulately through writing, and my GPA and GREs look good on paper, I am rather shy and consider myself mildly socially awkward. I'm not one of those "go-getter" types with a loud voice and a firm handshake; I'm more of a quiet nerd. Any advice?

My school for undergrad doesn't offer a B.A. in linguistics, only a "concentration" in linguistics for the English B.A. that doesn't even show up on the diploma. They offer an M.A. in sociolinguistics, and I have been taking some grad-level classes in that sub-field, but my interests, based on the classes I've taken so far lean more toward the theoretical end of the spectrum. Problem is, there are no classes offered at my university entirely devoted to syntax or to semantics or to morphology, which is what I am interested in. There are only general linguistics classes that cover a broad set of topics about "History of English," " Modern English," "Variety in Language," etc. This has so far been a problem at least once, with my application to UC Santa Cruz; in my interview, they would have admitted me but for my background weakness, and told me I would have to take additional classes and reapply. I am worried that the same sort of thing is going to come up when I visit UC San Diego at the end of the month. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what would be a good way to make up for this institutional shortcoming? A couple of good books that you had to read for your linguistics undergrad on syntax or semantics that might bring me up to speed by the time I fly out there? I really, really want to impress, since they didn't accept me outright and want to meet me to make their decision. I know that I will be up against tough competition from schools that did offer a linguistics major. Help!

My mom doesn't even know what a Ph.D. is, and all she wants to hear from me is when am I going to have babies now that I'm married. I thought my little brother having a baby over the summer would take some of the pressure off of me (the oldest), but apparently, it's just made her greedy for even more grandchildren. She jokingly (but with a hint of derision) called me a "professional student", and she thinks that a job in some office somewhere doing someone else's boring crap-work is the be-all end-all of careers. She's much more impressed by money than by intellectual loftiness. Neither of my parents ever graduated high school (though my mother got her GED), and my father passed away in 2005 from years of self-inflicted bodily damage (drug and alcohol addictions run in my family). I get so envious when I hear of other people being able to ask their parents' advice about grad school. I actually dropped out of my first college because the professor told the class that we shouldn't try to hold a job while attending that program or we will fail. Seeing as how my family has been dirt-poor for generations, and the university provided no on-campus housing, I had to work (and eventually to drop out because the professor was right) to pay my rent on a ghetto apartment on the other side of town while the rich kids got to live in the cushy apartment complex across the street, all funded by their parents. I still have debt from the semester and a half I spent at that private college ten years ago. I just hope that I get a good funding package from somewhere, and that the schools I applied to will accept me on my merits rather than deny me for the lack of prestige of my state school.

@ enantiomorph: If you guys are lucky, he'll be in Baltimore and you'll be in D.C.; it's only a 40-minute drive! (I grew up in B-more, and spent quite a bit of time in D.C. on school field trips and going to see rock shows)...