Generic Internet Persona

I'm going to be in the PhD program in the linguistics department. Fun stuff. You?

Just accepted an offer from the University of Arizona in Tuscon. Visiting the campus next week. Anyone else enrolling at UA?

yeast extract

So! I recently e-mailed one of the programs to which I applied, and they told me they never received my application. I did some more sleuthing, and here's what happened. I was granted an application fee waiver, and someone from the graduate college told me to put into the online application that I would be paying by check. Once the application was submitted, he informed me, he would put in the code for the fee waiver and send the application to the department. When I contacted the graduate college, they basically told me that they didn't forward the application to the relevant department because they never received payment! Looks like the guy I originally spoke to about my fee waiver didn't hold up his end of the bargain. Overall, I'm not too upset about it, because I doubt I really had a chance of being admitted to this program. Most of their applicants already have an MA, many are published, and I'm only equipped with a BA. I don't think it's worth it to press the matter further with this school, as I've gotten great offers from other schools. Either way, it kinda sucks that I didn't even get a fair shot. Anything like this happen to anyone else?

Heh... funny story, actually. Kind of embarrassing, too. I completely misread the letter I got from school X. After asking for clarification, it turns out that the funding there isn't so bad after all. In fact, the offer is better than Y's, overall. Looks like X is where I'll probably be going then. Haha. Anyway, good advice from everyone!

Thanks for the replies, everyone! I'm going to try to secure more funding from X. The cost of living in the two different locations is practically identical. I'm waiting on hearing back about a fellowship from X which would even the playing field some. We'll see what happens from there, but if I can manage, say, 80% of what I'm being offered at Y, I'll probably go with X. Now, I'm not hating on Y. It's a good school, and I'd be able to find a niche there, for sure. I wouldn't have applied to the program if it was without its merits, or if I'd be unhappy going there. It's just that between the two, X would be closer to the top of my list than Y if I were designating my "dream schools" or whatever. Anyway, any new opinions or thoughts are still welcome. Thanks again!

I had a pretty good laugh after I got my first rejection letter. You've gotta keep a good sense of humor about it. I wasn't particularly interested in that program anyway. I just applied because the funding was very attractive. I know that's probably not the best reason for applying to a graduate program, but I figured the worst they could tell me was no. Besides, I had an application fee waiver, so I didn't really have anything to lose. By that time, I'd already been accepted to two different programs, each with their own merit. I'm still waiting to get official letters of admittance or rejection from three schools, and I probably won't feel bad if I get rejected to one or all of them. If anything, being rejected at all three would make my final decision much easier! Anyway, I'd probably feel a little worse if my first notification from anywhere was a rejection, or if I got rejected from everywhere I applied, especially since I didn't equip myself with a Plan B. Either way, having a good attitude about it is the best way to go, whether the news is good or bad.

Hmm. So, I've applied to six programs, and so far I've been accepted to two of them (rejected at one, wait-listed at two, and still waiting to hear from another). Right now, both of the schools to which I've been accepted are putting some serious pressure on me to accept their offers. While I do plan to wait a little longer, to hear back from some of the other programs, before I make a final decision, I'm torn when it comes to deciding between the two schools to which I have been accepted. You know, just so I can tell them something in the meantime, or start making preparations early in case I don't get any good news back from any of the other programs. Perhaps some of you guys might give me some advice? The program at School X is a really great fit and matches up very well with most of my research interests. One of my interests is Native American linguistics, and the location is perfect for studying Native American languages, since it's really close to several communities where these languages are spoken frequently. The faculty here is very impressive, and I'd enjoy and be honored to work with them. They've offered me a four year waiver of tuition and fees, in addition to health insurance. They're also offering two semesters of assistantship with a fair stipend. The program at School Y isn't as good of a fit, but I think I could make it work. The big things at this school are computational linguistics (which isn't really my thing) and African linguistics, which could be interesting, but it's not one of my major research interests. Sure, I think I could make it work, but if I end up choosing this school over the other, I have a feeling I'd regret passing up the opportunity to go to the school where I could focus on what I'm really interested in. Now, the catch with this school is that they're offering me a very impressive five year fellowship, including health insurance, tuition/fee waivers, and a very comfortable stipend. If the two schools were offering nearly-identical funding, I'd definitely choose X over Y. But I don't want to have to take out a bunch of extra loans to afford living costs at X... and I'm not just supporting myself - I've got kids. Ha, if it were just me, I'd be happy to scrape by in a studio apartment to make it work, or live in a box under the overpass, or something, if I had to. Choosing Y, I wouldn't have the same opportunity to work on what I'm really interested in (although again, I could travel for field work, but none of the faculty there are really focused on Native American linguistics). On the other hand, the fellowship is prestigious, and would provide an okay living for five years. Thoughts?