goldheartmountaintop

Alright, I've made my decision! I'll be joining USC in the Fall! Extremely happy about it.         

OK, so I've made my final decision, I am going to NYU. All things considered, I think it was a fairly easy one. I probably knew from the very start they were the best fit for me, and their Open House confirmed my resolve.
 
The reasons that shaped my decision are as follows:
(1) they have several people I could work with on different aspects of my core interests;
(2) they have one specific person I know I am an absolutely perfect fit with (although he's a part-time professor, but he's super available and helpful);
(3) I will have lots of opportunities to explore my secondary interests;
(4) their current grad students (4th and 5th year, in particular) seem very knowledgeable and determined;
(5) all of their current grad students seem happy;
(6) they have a consortium with other unis, so if I find I'm lacking smth at the home dept, I'll be able to get it somewhere else;
(7) I have talked to non-NYU ppl from the field, and they all think NYU is an excellent place for me;
(8) they offer a good financial package (their flexibility about teaching is particularly appealing);
(9) I fell in love with NYC;
(10) closer to the end of my stay in NYC, when discussing NYU with my Russian-speaking friends I started saying something like 'у нас в NYU' (at us.GEN at NYU; 'at ours at NYU') instead of 'у них в NYU' (at them.GEN at NYU; 'at theirs at NYU'); I took it as a telling sign of where my heart was.

Accepted to Yale!!!!
Finally some good news! So the last will be first! (Why am I citing the Bible?!!!!??!?!)
 
Extremely happy. Good luck to those still waiting!

I got accepted to U Michigan today! I am so, so excited! Finally, some good news! 

You've gotten some very good responses, but I just wanted to put in my two cents. Of course fit is important, but perhaps taken too liberally to mean "alignment of interest". Your interest in, e.g., ergativity might match perfectly with Professor X, who is the ergativity expert in the field, but that's neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for acceptance (at least at first blush, the institution I'm at currently might not look like the best fit for my larger interests). I think demonstrating in your application your ability to conduct independent research is arguably the most important. Notice that this cuts across several sub-components of your application. Evidence for this capacity should be given not just in your SOP, but also in your letters and in your writing sample. Some of the things you mention here are not so important, e.g., GREs. Many of the schools I applied to didn't even look at the GREs. And at most 1 person in my current cohort has had any publications at the time of applying, and I think that's fairly standard, at least in Linguistics programs. My main advice to you for the next application cycle--partly because it is the one you have the most control over (you can only do so much improve LORs)--is to work on your writing sample. It's the strongest piece of evidence that an adcom has that you can do good, graduate-level work. Good luck!  

I have noticed that too, I just started deleting a ton of people, I don't need the garbage on my newsfeed lol. 
You have a boyfriend that you live with.. you can easily get married and have a baby now if you actually wanted. I feel like you have no reason to not be happy. 

Have just declined my (very generous) offer from UTexas. Don't know why I'm feeling sad even. Maybe, it's just that saying 'no' feels bad no matter what.
 
Well, at least they can get someone off the wait-list now.

I got admitted to UC Davis. Yay! It actually works out really well with where my husband got a job and since I doubt UCSC or CU Boulder will admit me, I'm so thankful. Only really annoying thing is they haven't sent me an acceptance letter. It's driving me nuts.

Lol I'm totally famous now so thanks!
I hope some of your students are hot guys.

In all honesty though it is so sad that you go out of your way to make fun of me and make smart comments about how dumb I am or desperate or pathetic or whatever. I wish I could edit this so the specific person knows I am speaking directly to them BUT I'm sure they have an idea. Anyways you can say what you want, in the end you aren't better than me. I got into every school I applied to also, obviously I am somewhat smart. So have fun teaching your class about me, and making fun or whatever. At least I am honest with myself and other people, I have been extremely candid on this topic and I say kudos to me. Going out of your way to bring me down or make me feel bad is really sad. Anyways good luck in school and teaching and all that. Next time I would like an entire lesson plan about me;) actually collect your hottest students numbers and send them my way! I like tall athletic blondies... Ok go! Haha

Ok well to your first point, I know I'm not the best friend right now and I admit that. If my friends were actually doing things I cared about (or I wasn't jealous of) I would be totally fine. If my friends were going to grad school I would be so supportive and happy for them and helpful, if they were getting good jobs/careers I would be happy for them, but no I'm not happy for them to get relationships or pregnant by God knows who... No sorry not supporting that. I can't. Emotionally I can't I just don't want to be involved or talk about it or deal with it. Their relationships aren't helping me get into one.

Anyways I probably should give that guy another chance.. Guess I better wait until pay day, since I will obviously be footing the bill. The Meetup group. I probably won't go back to BUT I will be more kind in my description of them.

As far as the quote, I did it the way I wanted. The additional part was an add on and I couldn't quote them (if there's a way please explain) I don't need to be told how I should and shouldn't respond thanks though. I have NO problem saying whatever I want to whoever I want when I want. That's pretty obvious.

Pinsker, if you were my friend or family member, I'd want to come right over there (wherever you are) and personally knock some sense into you. Two things.
 
First, you CANNOT force a relationship, no matter how much you want it. It's just not how things work. Vetting every person you meet once for whether you want to marry them and have their children is NOT going to get you into a relationship any sooner. It's going to scare anybody with half their wits about them the hell away. You're moving at an unreasonable pace even for people who are also looking for someone to settle down with relatively soon. You're not using the early stages of dating for the right things - just getting to know the other person and finding out if you're in principle compatible. Slow down, there's a lot to learn about another person who you are considering having a committed relationship with, and as someone who wants a traditional family and marriage, you want to make sure you get this right.
 
Second, and more importantly -- you are putting yourself in all kinds of danger by signaling so openly that you are so desperate. People WILL take advantage of that, and it will NOT work out well. You sound alarmingly trusting (parents can't be bad people, seriously??) and/or willing to take unreasonable risks for some imagined reward that is just NOT there in the way that you think it is. Snap out of it, things will happen when you least expect it, once you calm down and stop with this manhunt. Focus on just being with yourself and getting to know YOU and what you want in life, and I promise it'll lead to a better ability to be part of a couple down the line.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but sometimes friendship isn't always about being around when they're doing things you're interested in or even approve of.  My best friend has been in and out rehab and off/on drugs a majority of our friendship.  When she relapses, I'm there for her.  When she is clean and sober, I cherish those months with her and praise her every step of the way.  She's a "super senior" in undergrad and struggles to attend class, much less do the work or make very good grades.  Grad school is out of the question with this friend.  But I love her regardless, I value her as a person, and I cannot imagine my life without her in it.  We laugh until we cry, share an incredible dancing hobby together, and she is my rock when I need her as well.  The best friendships and relationships are give and take.  I think someone else said this as well, it may have been what you quoted for the above response, but find yourself a truly valuable friendship and you will suddenly find much more joy out of life.  I promise.

Arghhh, I had totally forgotten about academia.edu and their snitchy policy of telling who saw your profile, when suddenly:
"Someone just searched for you on Google and found your page on Academia.edu. To see what country the search came from, follow the link below"
 
New Haven, CT and New York, NY. Both searches are from today... It makes me nervous to know they're vetting me,

WAITLISED AT UC Santa Cruz :D
 
I got a call from the DGS yesterday afternoon. I'm reaaaaaally hoping this pulls through! 
 
Respectfully, if you got in and you decide not to go, please decline ASAP so those (very few) of us who have been waitlisted have a chance of getting in!

Flying to America tomorrow for the open houses! Will be a crazy trip! Wish me luck!
 
And good luck to everyone!

Hi, I did my undergrad and my MA at U of T in a humanities/social sciences department. I chose to go elsewhere for my PhD for various reasons (one being the academic incest issue), but I actually had a really great time in my department and would have been quite happy to stay, so I guess people's experiences vary. I second what a previous poster said above about seeing whether you can meet with a few current grad students in your department. Additionally, some departments pay for potential students to visit, so you could try to set such a visit up and see for yourself what the culture seems to be (and you seem to live in Toronto or have family there, so it would probably be pretty easy to set up a departmental visit!). 
 
A few questions you might find useful to consider in making your decision:
 
- Re: funding, if you don't find your funding package to be very competitive, you should consider how simple/difficult it might be to supplement it. Are you eligible for SSHRC? OGS? Are you able to take additional TA-ships, say, over the summertime (most people in my department were able to do this) or at UTM/UTSC? Are you able to get an RA-ship? Can you get an instructorship at any point?
 
- Re: culture, I agree with this comment from your original post: "I found the education of very high quality but the support lacking," but would like to note that I experienced much greater support and much fewer bureaucratic issues as a graduate student than when I was in undergrad. This is partly because a lot of the admin issues I had as an undergrad were dealt with through my college, not through my department. How big is the graduate department that you're potentially interested in? What's the approximate faculty to student ratio? How many students do your POIs generally supervise?
 
I can't really say anything about the other departments/schools you're interested in, but I hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

I am so drunk on HBO that I don't know what you're saying

I wouldn't take the NRC rankings too seriously and I certainly would not recommend choosing a school based on it. Assuming you want a job in academia, your school name will open some doors for you (if it's a good one) but your advisors' reputations are even more important. One way to get information about job placement and success is to find out where people who are getting jobs now graduated from. This will give you a picture of how good the school was a few years ago, so not perfect but not bad (with some exceptions, like the program at McGill which I personally think is an up and coming force in the field).
 
Really, I think fit is the key to a good graduate school outcome. By the time you graduate, you should have 3-4 scholars who form your dissertation committee and who write you letters of recommendation for jobs. The relationship you have with these people will determine to a large extent how competitive you are in your field. If you cultivate strong relationships with 3-4 influential people who will write you glowing letters, you are well on your way to success. If you work with obscure people, you'll have a harder time but still if you have a strong dissertation and publication record, that can be overcome (or, as happens to many, you end up working with just one person who writes you an amazing letter, but your other recommenders don't know you that well). The strength of your dissertation and other research will be largely dependent on your well-being in the program and how well-supported you are. If you are unhappy and don't get along with anyone, you'll have a hard time getting work done. For that reason, I'd choose a school where I felt like I connected with several professors over a more prestigious one where I didn't feel like I belonged. Same goes for student-student collaborations, which can be a great way to crank out research -- some schools have more of that than others, though you should keep in mind that it's unlikely you'll actually identify any potential collaborators in your cohort or in other years during your visit. But feeling like you get along with people you meet is a good initial indication. For better or worse, though, at this point you have several good options and it's likely that you will be happy and successful at any of them. There is no one correct choice. (Personally, I think I would have been happy at any of my top 3 choices, though I am convinced that I would have ended up with very different profiles and research activities at each one, but not in a way I could have foreseen when I was making the decision.) Feel free to PM me if you have questions about specific schools that I can help with. 

Yesterday was an eventful day for me.
 
Got an e-mail from one of the NYU ppl with whom we'd had an interview earlier asking for a quick Skype conversation, during which she told me the dept had recommended me for admission. The official offer will be sent to me later, after the grad school does all the proper paperwork, but the decision's made. Bliss!
 
Later during the night (well, it was night in Moscow), got a letter from Chicago saying I'd been recommended for admission and specifying some of the details of the upcoming official offer.
 
I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but as soon as I come back to my senses (and after I'm through with my tomorrow's interview with a very cool linguist who'll be joining UMass in Fall), I'll start working out the way to visit the open house events later in Spring.

Just got my offer from Cornell! It's like my dream has come true!!!

Oy vey it'll be gradmagedon

I hope that means I get a pony <3

Yep, that's the same thing I was told! That's great--and I agree about their research being very exciting.
 
Yes, we will definitely meet at Stanford now! I'm pretty excited--now that's it's official I have my invitation (just had to answer my phone this time). I look forward to meeting you and the others attending!

Thanks, fuzzylogician! You're the best! I will go through threads and prepare for the interview..., but tomorrow. Today, I think I've earned myself some wine!
 

No, seriously, don't pester the admissions committee...it can't end well!