solairne

I'm going to be likely looking for a place for my partner and me in Montréal. I know I can find information on housing online, but as an American moving to Canada, can I get some information on from whom we should get internet, cable, cell phone etc. I'd really like to keep iPhone service in Canada, but all of the companies offer really high plans compared with ATT in the US. Any other info on the city is appreciated!

I'm not that concerned with the roommate situation as my partner is moving with me. So it's just a matter of actually finding a place to live, especially since we have 2 dogs and a good amount of furniture. I think I'll just put some money away and try to fly up sometime in May to sign a lease for July. Not ideal, but at least I can check the places out.

That made me feel a lot better. haha About the housing, I mean after you are accepted and been there and decide it's right for you. Like when you knew you were moving to Cambridge from overseas, how did you go about setting up housing for the fall? Airfare from Houston to Mass/Montréal isn't obscene, but it's not cheap, and I"m a little bit concerned with finding decent housing for when I have my Uhaul go up there. Do you just buy an airline ticket, fly up and look around and sign a lease ahead of time?

Thanks, that's really helpful! I'd say overall I'm very happy with my candidacy for the programs with the exception that my school did not offer a BA in Linguistics (thus the French and German degree) and with the fact that I'm applying with a BA and not an MA. I wrote extensively in my SOP about my linguistics experience with attending several conferences at a few universities as well as one of my presentation on the effect of Norman French on English's lexicon and syntax. From what I've gathered talking to a few students, especially at McGill, it's more important that you show familiarity and research potential than necessarily having a BA/MA in Ling. I'm sort of banking on that. About what you said with the travel arrangements for viewing the school... is it that after you accept an offer, be it open house or on your own, you were expected to show up at the school some time in that spring semester for a meet and greet? Also since you're an international student, what was it like in terms of finding housing? I'm sort of worried about how I'm going to find a house or apartment to rent in either Montréal or Mass. with my living in Texas. Thanks again! Edit - does fluency in languages have any real impact on candidacy? McGill is in francophone Canada, and I'm hoping that me being francophone might give me an ever-so-slight edge.

Those are some impressive admissions. If you don't mind, could you post your application stats. Thanks for all the helpful information on dates!

I'm going to be bold and make predictions about the individual schools. *note that all the programs I applied for come with full funding* McGill - accepted (75% or greater chance) Rice - accepted (75* or greater chance) Amherst - Could go either way, I would not be surprised with any outcome MIT - rejection (maybe a sliver of a chance that I'll be accepted, never know) I bet I'll come back posting 0/4 though.....

I applied to McGill, MIT, Amherst, and Rice. Of those only McGill had a cover sheet, and it really was more of a "are you Canadian" thing than a list of what is inside. What I did was go to the post office and have them put the supplementary materials inside a certified envelope (one of those large cardboard things) and then mail them out to the 4 schools. I then contacted each of the 4 graduate advisors and told them exactly what is coming and to let me know when it arrives. I don't think a cover sheet would have been a bad idea for me, but I don't think it would really make that much of a difference either. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable, but at minimum I would make contact with the respective graduate advisor to verify that what you sent arrived.

From everything I've gathered from obsessing for the past year, it seems that you meshing with the faculty is the most important thing. The people whom I've spoken with have said that a BA/MA isn't as showing potential for good research and original ideas, but that it is ideal for a candidate to be somewhat up-to-date on current topics. It seems like: Mesh with faculty > research potential and demonstration > recommendations > grades > etc.

Those aren't bad stats. By a year of teaching experience, I mean 18 months as the French (upper and lower division) tutor for the University. I'd imagine you'd have a pretty good shot at Amherst, maybe at Stanford, too.

Why don't other candidates post what their writing samples are over? Mine is a 19 page independent research paper over V2 transfer from native German speakers into English.

I'm applying! McGill, MIT, Amherst, and Rice My stats are in the new topic. It shouldn't be hard to find as nobody ever posts here lol.

So let's start a topic where people list where they're applying, with what stats, and hopefully people can post their acceptance or rejection so others can see. I'm applying from a University in Texas with a BA in French and German language. 3.645 GPA (on a scale where A- is 3.67, B+ is 3.33..... *gag*) A lot of extracurricular language work Auditing a few doctoral seminars on Old English morphology and syntax Attendance at several Ling conferences, talks, presentations at several universities 1 presentation given 5 letters of rec. 1 year teaching experience Study abroad Several awards for achievement and several academic scholarships Writing sample is an independent paper over V2 parameter transfer from German native speakers into English, conducted in Germany (about 19 pages) I don't have any outside funding I'm applying to (in order of preference): McGill MIT UMASS-Amherst Rice I don't know if this is helpful to anybody, but from what I've gathered by asking around and scouring the Internet, admissions decisions are generally: MIT - end of January through February McGill - during late February to early March UMASS-Amherst - before the end of March Rice - not really sure, but it has a late deadline of February 1, so my guess is pretty late.

That's a really really smart idea. How exactly did you get into contact with them? Just send them an email? I live a few thousand miles away, so I can't really set up an in-person meeting...

Thanks for all the advice. I'll definitely start reading articles published by faculty members and start up a conversation over email. The above quote from you, "sound outresearch proposals they would support," does that mean like finding out what research fields they'd take interest in? Again, thanks (to everybody) for the good insight!

Hmmm I'll be looking at about a 3.65 GPA with language degrees from a middle tier American school. I have a lot of scholarships and foreign language related jobs and service, but no real "lab experience."

By "20% going down" do you mean less than or more than 20%? ... :-( As a denied applicant, do you mind giving me a run down of your qualifications so I can see where I stand in relation?

Thanks for the responses. LSA institute isn't an option for me since this summer is the only summer that I'd be able to go in time for applications, but I'll be in Europe from May-August with scholarships. I'm going to be studying at a "linguistics institute" in France, though. I'm hoping that will help. I'm not 100% dead-set on McGill; if a US school gave me entrance to the doctoral program and McGill only gave me entrance to the qualifying year, I would definitely go with the PhD. I'd prefer McGill, however, since it's a fantastic school and is in a French-speaking area. On the McGill admissions page, it says, "Applications are also invited from students with a background in other disciplines. Strong candidates who do not satisfy all requirements may be required to take additional undergraduate courses. Certain candidates may be admitted to a Qualifying Program which permits them to make up the gaps in their background by taking appropriate undergraduate courses." So, I'm crossing my fingers and waiting on pins and needles for pretty much 12-13 months. I'm also going to apply to Stanford, Amherst, Rice, NYU, and Colorado @ Boulder. It's really crappy because unlike law school, there is next to no "statistics" for admission. I've jotted down a few really helpful suggestions from you and other people in different threads, like mentioning my self-motivated study and in the letter of motivation write about a summer study plan and books I'm planning on reading. I guess I'll just be waiting for a while. :-(

I'm currently a junior undergrad and am preparing my application for the 2010-2011 academic year for doctoral programs in linguistics. My number one school is McGill and I was wondering if any of you have information on their accept/reject rates and what successful (and unsuccessful) candidate profiles look like. I'm going to be graduating with a B.A. in French language and a minor in German language from a known state university in Texas, USA. In spite of graduating with a non-ling degree, I've got a few nice things on my CV: a few prestigious scholarships/grants, department tutor for French, language excellence awards, and I've taken a smattering (maybe 21 hours?) of linguistics related courses that were offered in non-ling fields since my university doesn't have one. The classes were like Syntax of English, French phonology, History of English, Language Analysis and Bilingualism, etc. I emailed McGill asking, and they said that in my case preparation might be an issue, and if I apply for the PhD program, they might instead offer me the qualifying program (a non-funded 1 year admittance where you take requisite undergrad courses). I'm trying everything I know of to buff up my CV, trying to get more ling related jobs for next semester, trying to get a paper published, and I'm studying abroad in France and Germany this summer in linguistics programs. Tl;dr : Tell me about McGill and what I should do. Thanks...