psycholinguist

Congrats to gradschoolplease and dilly-dallier! And Zouzax, that sounds like a nifty backup-plan!

Awesome! Be sure to check out Ravelry if you haven't already!

Hang in there, everyone. Let's also not forget the possibility of being waitlisted; last year I was put on the waitlist at my top choice of school on 15 March. Then, two weeks later, I got an email saying I was in!

Nifty!

Thank you! I'm feeling much more rational today. I think it's just natural in the wake of awful events such as this to wonder how we could have helped prevent them, which unfortunately often leads to the temptation to think, 'Well, if I hadn't done X or Y, then this never would have happened'.

Great thread! Chuck Norris was once sent a form rejection-letter by a school we've never heard of; this is because Chuck Norris immediately went back in time and ensured that its two founders would never meet. Chuck Norris can accept all of his offers simultaneously. Chuck Norris can reduce any language to a small handful of synonyms for 'afraid'.

Thanks so much. On some level I do realise that, and I think I'm going to be all right. It's just, yeah, a terrible shock. It all does speak to how special the community here is, though. I mean, heck, even though we don't even know each other's names (as well as ages and genders in many cases), we've come to care about one another a lot.

That is just awful! I'm so sorry. Thanks for letting us know. (I'm going to try not to spiral into self-blame here, but to be honest, I can't stop dwelling on the fact that I was the one who mentioned that San Diego is difficult to get around without a car.)

Hey pangur-ban! Good to see you! How goes it at MIT?

Agreed. This may or may not have been the issue with one of my applications one time...and honestly? Either way, the whole experience was so confusing and contradictory that I'm glad I didn't end up there.

I did my undergrad degree at Cornell, and loved it! Most people are really down-to-earth (there really isn't any stereotypical Ivy League feel to it at all) and there's a great variety of backgrounds: as I recall, about 35% of the grad-students are from countries other than the U.S. Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere and hard to get in and out of, but the area is stunningly pretty. The winters...well, they're winters, but they're manageable. And they're always preceded by the most amazing autumns I've ever witnessed.

Congrats! Yep, I'm in the MA program (and, for the record, I absolutely love it here!). I wouldn't be surprised if someone has indeed had a look at this forum. Not that I think people here are any nosier than usual; it's just that Grad Café is accessible enough that this would be a pretty straightforward place for any department to start looking for additional information about applicants that might help them out.

I agree with vaaarr about Wikipedia! One of my undergrad professors liked the phonology pages so much that she encouraged us to explore them, read them, cite them, whatever. Also, the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, by David Crystal. Readable mini-chapters, lots of helpful images and graphs, great for browsing. The third edition just came out last year...meaning that inexpensive copies of the second should be easy to find! * grins * (Heck, I think the one I have is the first edition, which despite being as old as I am is still very decent.) Welcome to the field, whether you decide to hang around or are just visiting for a while. * grins *

Congrats to all! I did my undergrad degree at Cornell; it's an absolutely lovely department (albeit small, with only so many subfields covered). But it's just one of many options!

Awesome! Congrats, everyone!

Congrats!

Congrats on both acceptances!

Yay! Congrats!

Heh. I hear the University of Ottawa uses a 10-point scale, and Carleton University a 12-point one. Go figure. But most transcripts should come with a backside or extra piece of paper explaining the school's scale (and maybe grading policies), shouldn't they? At my undergrad school an A+ was 4.3; but yeah, 4.0 is tops at a lot of places, especially in the U.S.

Sounds like a good start! Go for it!

Is there a student health insurance program at your school with which you could request a referral to an outside specialist? Otherwise, try Googling around for help in your area; you may be able to find a group that works with lower-income people. I agree with all of the above. Actual psychiatrists (as opposed to psychologists or counselors) are the best bet because they have medical training and know how to deal with mental-health issues as medical conditions, and how to address them with whatever combinations are going to suit the problem and the person best: talk-therapy, medications, cognitive-behavioural therapy, etc. It's not an overreaction, a personality-flaw, a weakness, or a case of runaway emotions. It isn't nothing, either; but it's just some brain-chemistry that isn't quite working right.

Congrats! That's awesome!

Ah, that would explain why I hadn't heard anything about any programs of theirs in linguistics. * laughs * Likewise! Best of luck!

Depends on the department and school; I get the feeling that some of them just dole out As to grad-students simply because they feel grades are a lot less important in grad-school (and because they want their grad-students to have competitive scholarship-applications and such), but others make you work for them. Regardless, I imagine there really aren't any standards; and more importantly, it's your research/presentations/publications that count for the most. (By the way: hello from across campus, and thanks for letting me know that grades are now available on ROSI! I'd been wondering when they would be.)

I always felt exactly the same way! I still have a bad habit of collecting pretty notebooks and then not necessarily using them. I'm also very particular about the pens I use, and have started relying on art-supply stores for those. Heh. Here's another feeling I know! My notebooks are my archives; they need to be tidy and easy to revisit. I have a notepad from that line right here by my computer, and it's lovely! Recommendation seconded. That's a really darn good idea!