Any tips for MIT linguistics application?

[lingrussian]

I'm a sophomore at Ohio State and was wondering if anyone has tips on applying for MIT's linguistics program, e.g., specific classes that would help, specific research areas, etc. Tell anything and everything you can.

[fuzzylogician]

Some more specific questions would help, but judging from the accepted applicants in my year and this year, it seems that the adcom members choose people who have worked on least one well thought-out project. Usually it's a paper (=the writing sample) that develops and defends an argument about a (possibly very small and focused) problem in one of the core areas of research - syntax, semantics or phonology. Areas of research members of my cohort worked on prior to getting to MIT include comparatives, NPIs, case, concealed questions, gradable adjectives, locatives. People work on different languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, French, Chinese, Hebrew. I'm simplifying because obviously the papers dealt with some small niche in a specific language in each of these areas, but the point is that it's mostly formal stuff in various areas of research.

They've been working on increasing the amount of experimental work that's being done in the department. You mostly see it in phonology, but there is interaction with the brain and cognitive science department and there was a recent hire of an experimental semanticist (Martin Hackl) who is really great and I am sure will lead us in cool new ways to do research in the coming years. Mostly, though, if you want to be prepared for the 1st year coursework at MIT, you need at least some basic training in all of syntax, semantics and phonology. The way things usually go, people have deep training in one or two of those fields and less knowledge and interest in the third. Most of the work that is being done is very much formal and theoretical. The program is best suited for individuals who are self-motivated and work well independently. The program is exactly what you make of it. There is great freedom and you will get support in doing whatever you want, but you have to get interested in things yourself and in some cases deal with the bureaucracy of getting it done yourself. If you can do that, then MIT is a good place for you.