
Dinali
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Everything posted by Dinali
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You're a linguist? So how many languages do you speak?
Dinali replied to Dinali's topic in Linguistics Forum
I'm at the point where I think the Bachelor's degree basically IS just fully defining linguistics. I know people who didn't even really grasp the concept after completing Intro to Linguistics (and doing well). Of course, one of my favorite explanations of the university system is: (paraphrased, and I don't know the source. Sorry) -
Oh, I can't afford to take that trip. I'm just going to anyway. I'm lucky that I have the ability to make a small amount of money on the road, as long as I can get to an internet cafe every couple days. Not a lot mind you, but summer in Europe is mild enough that sleeping outdoors isn't that bad.
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Hehe. The question we've all answered a million times. Deep breath, launch into rote response "Linguistics isn't really about speaking a lot of languages, it's the study of blah blah etc." My favorite moment related to this was in France. I studied at Bordeaux 3, taking their third year linguistics courses. I was with a group of other students, and one asked me what I studied in the US. Linguistiques, I replied. She immediately asked the above question. Before I could say anything, one of my French classmates rolled his eyes, took a breath, and launched into that exact speech, in French, that he'd given a million times. That's when I realized how small our field was.
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post here if one of your programs has started contacting...
Dinali replied to frankdux's topic in Waiting it Out
Oh yeah, no doubt. My 2008-2009 equivalency hasn't stopped me from checking my email ever ten minutes either : ) And I'm at a client now that has a serious firewall blocking everything, so I actually installed an ssh server at home and am checking gmail via links in order to do it. Now that's desperate! -
My plan in this vein, IF I get in anywhere, is to spend about a month closing out all my current clients (equivalent of giving notice at a real job), then put my student loans in deferred status, pack my rucksack, put everything else in storage, fly to Paris and walk the Cami
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post here if one of your programs has started contacting...
Dinali replied to frankdux's topic in Waiting it Out
Last year Feb 11 was a Monday though. So its 2009 equivalent is Feb 9 or Feb 17 (since 16 is a holiday most places). -
Never a shoe has been more aptly named.
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post here if one of your programs has started contacting...
Dinali replied to frankdux's topic in Waiting it Out
So how many more posts do I need to get out from under decaf? There's a 30% chance that any further posts from me will just be to hit that total Congrats psycholinguist on UCSD btw. I went to a guest lecture by Vic Ferreira on neuroling and it got me all psyched up (pun! HAR) about a subject that had never really grabbed me before. -
That's good news then. I lived there growing up, then moved away from 2000 to 2004, then left again in 2006. I never had a car and so restricted my living to areas with easy access to BART. It was expensive enough that moving to Manhattan actually allowed me to pay a bit less than I had been, and that's not something many places in the world do. Edit: I should rescind my participation here actually. Comparing living in a city as a regular person and living there as a student is virtually impossible. Please ignore my post above and go with what Phonologist said from the perspective of a student and more recent resident.
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I don't mind being busy at all. The hardest part about it was that I'm 3,000 miles and 3 years away from when I was in undergrad. When I resurrected a paper to submit as a writing sample, I didn't even understand it and found it hard to believe that I had once written it. Luckily, it all came back after rereading and rewriting it a few times, so it's not like I've forgotten everything -- it's just no longer readily at hand. The distance was harder to surmount. I had to call and email my former profs instead of swinging by and visiting. I had to remind them who I was. I didn't/don't have any kind of advisory infrastructure. I'm reading this site and constantly happening across people mentioning stuff in their posts and thinking "should I have done that? Does that apply to linguistics? What does that even mean?" Based on my experience, I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone that is even considering grad school, apply as a senior even if you don't plan to go right away! You can defer admissions, or simply decline everywhere, but when you do finally decide to go, you'll have a worked-up, advised-on paper, your profs will have letters on file for you, you'll know what the timelines really mean, etc.
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Must be nice. I've had to cut my rates (freelancer) so much in this economy that to maintain my income I'm working almost double what I was this time last year. Doing these apps while working 70 hour weeks was NO fun.
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Depends on how far you're willing to commute and how many people you're willing to live with. As you probably know from a minute's research, the Bay Area has one of the highest costs of living in the country (probably world). However, it's also extremely varied, and with BART you can commute from a very wide range of areas. If you live in Concord/PH/WC area it's a fairly short commute and you can rent rooms for $650-900. If that doesn't sound like a bargain to you, the Bay Area is probably not a good idea. Berkeley itself, at least the areas you can walk safely through at night, is more like $1000-1250 (again, this is rooms, not apartments). It's possible to find stellar deals anywhere, of course, but if they're properly advertised, you'll be looking at stiff competetion for them. If you post areas in Concord/PH/WC I can tell you if they're decent or not. I know the neighborhoods here like the back of my hand. Berkeley itself I'm not as familiar with on a detailed scale.
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I'd be thrilled to be accepted at any of the places below. Obviously I have a preferential order (not necessarily the order below), but I wouldn't have applied to anywhere I wouldn't actually be willing to go; that would just be a waste of application fees to me. If I get an offer at a lower place and waitlisted at upper ones, I'd certainly put off accepting anything until I had worked every angle I could, but in the end, if only one of these departments want me, I will be there.
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post here if one of your programs has started contacting...
Dinali replied to frankdux's topic in Waiting it Out
Hey, does linguistics have a subject category down below? It gets shuttled around between so many departments at different universities that it's kind of hard to pin down. On topic, I searched the results page and saw that some people are reporting emailed responses from Penn. I've heard nothing yet. I assume that's bad. -
I think you're right. Harvard has had record numbers of undergrad applicants every year for the last several years, with record percentages of those also applying for financial aid. I imagine the same holds true for other top universities. With those guys graduating into a faltering economy, staying in school another five years must look pretty enticing. Add to that the load of people going back to school after a break, for career development purposes, or as a way to ride out the recession on a stipend . . .
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post here if one of your programs has started contacting...
Dinali replied to frankdux's topic in Waiting it Out
I drove up to UMass one weekend and checked it out, and liked the place enough to apply regardless of the specific program. Why avoid OT hubs? I had professors strongly recommend Rutgers specifically because of that. I dunno about the alma mater effect. Honestly I've heard it both ways. At UCLA at least, I knew a few grads who matriculated directly from the undergrad department. However, if that did figure into my status, it gives me hope. So does the fact that the letter specifically mentioned funding problems. If a school in a less cash-strapped state considers the same app, it might turn into an acceptance. (I also drove up to Boston and toured MIT. Good GOD is that building ugly! I know, I know, architectural masterpiece blah blah . . . nah, it looks like something built out of blocks by the kid that would later be collecting animal heads in the garage.) -
Wow. It absolutely blows me away that that kind of situation would even exist. Maybe I'm too trusting, but I told my boss and co-workers from the get-go about my apps. I think they're about as nervous as I am about getting in some place and everyone's got their fingers crossed for me. If you work with people as evil as you describe, maybe you should have left a long time ago. Life's too short.
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post here if one of your programs has started contacting...
Dinali replied to frankdux's topic in Waiting it Out
Hey Phonologist. They told me the same thing. Once I get my inevitable reject from MIT, I'm not sure where to pin my hopes. UCLA was my undergrad so it was kind of my sure thing. I'm phon too. -
First, 'aloha! Are you from Hawai'i or have you lived there? There's a psychological element to moving to Hawai'i that doesn't exist in most other places. A lot of people who move there from the mainland (whether for work, school, or retirement) find out they can't handle living that far from anywhere else. Hawai'i is the second-most distant place from any other landmass in the world (the first is Easter Island). I've known several people who went to U of H for a year and bailed, not because of academics, but just because they felt trapped. Leisure activities in the islands revolve around the beach or the mountains. This is great for a vacation, but can you handle the next five years or so doing NOTHING but studying and surfing? Not saying this to dissuade you, of course, as not everyone has this problem. I lived in Honolulu for years and loved it. But it's something extra to consider that might not be an issue at your other places.
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Are high school vs. university salaries even comparable? At a high school, the teachers go there to teach. At a university, the professors join a faculty to do research. Teaching is a part of their duties in the quid pro quo relationship they share with the university. The university gets instructors, advisors, and the reputation that comes from having top-notch research coming out of its campus, thereby enabling it to recruit the best candidates. The professor gets a research facility, qualified research assistants (ie grad students), sabaticals, tenure (hopefully), and a little bit of money. The stipend that goes into recruiting the best grad students can be considered part of the professor's salary too, since he or she is the one benefitting from the assistanceship. To prepare for my application I've spoken with a good many professors about a career in academia, and none of them put money at higher than fourth or so on a list of things to consider about potential professorships.
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Hi all. I just got my first response to my apps, a wait list at UCLA. I found this site looking for information on what exactly my chances are there on the list. Anyway, this seemed like as good a thread as any to pop in and introduce myself since, like the intro to Casablanca, I'm waiting, and waiting, and waiting...