Suggestions for the Fall Application Cycle

[vivalaschwa]

I've been lurking for about a month, ever since I first decided to apply for graduate school, and I've been impressed by how much helpful information this forum holds. Now that the decisions are rolling in, I was wondering if any of the current applicants had suggestions for those of us who will be applying in the fall. Were there any resources you found to be particularly useful or interesting? If given the chance to start over, is there something you would do differently?

Also, what is the best way to assemble a realistic list of schools? I have found about 10 schools with more than one professor who matches my research interests, but they all seem to have very low admittance rates. I would hate to apply to too many top-tier schools and meet rejection across the board, but it is obvious now that there are no "safety" schools in the realm of graduate admissions. What is the best way to ensure that my list is well balanced to maximize my chance of admission?

Thanks!

[psycholinguist]

Welcome! Love the username, too.

Things I would advise:

1. (Already done.) Identify professors you'd like to work with. Being a good match for the department's and the faculty-members' research-interests is so important.

2. Contact these professors. Just simply emailing them and saying, 'Hi, I'm [name], and I'm applying to graduate programs for [semester]; I'm interested in your work and am wondering whether you're taking on students for then' can make an enormous difference.

3. Other people here have pointed this out lately, but finding faculty-members of interest at less-prominent institutions is easy if you just sort of follow citations around looking for papers that fascinate you. (Also, going through a long list of schools that offer linguistics MA/Ph.D. programs is a good way of finding schools that might be good bets but don't immediately come to mind.)

4. Learned the hard way this week: watch your LOR-writers closely, and if they haven't submitted their letters and the deadline is looming, nag them. Don't just assume it isn't your problem.

Good luck!

[Aspiring Shrink]

Great question:

There are many hoops you need to jump through. The first hoop is numbers, being that there are many more applicants than spots, the colleges sift through the applications based on GPA, GRE. If you make the cut then you have to have a good statement, strong letters of support and research (for psychology). After that it's really about making connections, networking. If you have been in contact with a professor over the course of six months and then they see your name in the application folder you have a much better chance of being noticed. I wish I would have been more proactive in this sense.

Good luck and please let me know how things work out.

-A.S.

[fuzzylogician]

Everything psycholinguist said.

I surfed to every page on this list and looked to see if the research being done at each department appealed to me.

Fit is the most important factor in admissions. You could be accepted to top schools and rejected from lower-ranked ones, if your interests match better with professors there. Ranking shouldn't be what decides where you apply.

Spend as much time as possible revising your writing sample and SOP.

Linguistics departments are small enough that every application is given at least some consideration. I don't think there are cutoffs the way there are in larger departments where your app can be thrown out without anyone ever seeing it. Your essays are going to be what convinces the department to accept you.

Research experience: get it if you can. It will be very hard to be accepted straight out of undergrad with no experience.

Show an understanding of the state of the field and how it's reflected in the department you're applying to.

Talk about interests or projects that you would like to explore, that are reasonable in scope and converse with what is already out there. What you choose to write about in your statement should mesh well with the department you're applying to. If you're applying to a theory-heavy department, show an understanding of that and spend less time talking about how you would like to run experiments (if there is no to guide in that); if it's a OT-is-god department and you are applying to phonology, make sure that they know OT is your god as well [an aside: first question in our intro to syntax class last semester: 'raise your hand if you have not yet accepted UG as your personal savior' ::laughs::].

Be focused: choose a couple of things that interest you and expand on them. Choose depth over breadth if you have to cut things out of your statement for length reasons. Make sure other projects or interests are mentioned in your CV and by your recommenders.

LoRs and LoR writers. They are oh so important. Make connections with reliable writers to secure the best recommendations you can.

If all else fails, find a way to mention that you are a pastry-chef. Or just a great cook. That will go a long way to getting you admitted to some schools

[cuppamerlot]

I got into a number of top-tier programs with the goal of going into a research career in linguistics, and didn't apply to any non-top-tier programs, for reasons I mention below. So this might be a little too cautious-sounding for people; take this with a grain of salt.

0. Do linguistics. Research is nice, having a cohesive plan for how to expand it in grad school is great. I got involved with several grad-level projects in the summer before my fall app cycle, so it's not too late to start.

1. One thing I want to emphasize, regarding your compiling of the lists of schools to apply to, is to seriously consider what the reality of doing a linguistics PhD program is if you haven't yet. Majoring in linguistics as an undergrad (with no double-majors or anything else on the side) is pretty bad for job prospects; a PhD is worse since you're losing 5 years of potential earnings, and if you think grad programs are competitive, consider how stupidly bad the job market for linguistics is after you finish, regardless of what school you come out of. For example, two of my advisors actually recommended against applying to a particular UC school because they were "Tier 2" and the job prospects aren't worth the time and effort. Note that this school, and other "Tier 2" schools, are highly competitive and definitely worth going to if for other fields like the hard sciences.

Now the school you go to obviously isn't everything in terms of job competitiveness and great work is coming out of less prestigious departments, but there's no question that you would have an easier time after grad school in certain other fields.

Jobs are definitely one reason why I didn't consider ling grad programs until near the very end of my undergraduate career. It wasn't until the combination of the interesting courses I took at the LSA Institute, finding enjoyment in working on a senior thesis, and professors telling me that I'd probably get into some top-tier school that I finally took the plunge. (This meant rushing to work on the apps and study/take the GRE, all the while working on coursework and a thesis, so my second tip: Start sooner than I did.)

Aside from the jobs, regardless of whether you are willing to look at non-top-tier schools:

2. (Ab)use your professors. It's out of your control at this point whether your school has professors who are active in the field and are aware of the reputation of/your compatibility with other graduate programs. But if you do have people like this, it's absolutely in your best interest to go up to them and ask for help with the application process beyond just letters of rec -- they will know which schools are at the top, which are slightly lower, and so on. Talking to professors goes double if you're actually in a PhD-granting program, because that means they're used to reading personal statements! Have them proofread it for you (but make sure to get multiple opinions if you do). Ideally, professors in your department should know you well enough from the courses/projects you've done with them to give you good suggestions for programs and write you a good letter.

A caveat: If these professors are older, they may be basing their opinion on old reputations based on dead/retired colleagues. Linguistics departments are changing rapidly, some faster than others. As the other posters have said, use your best judgment.

3. Be bold. You have to be bold to survive in academia anyway, so why not start in your application? Apply to good schools, for reasons mentioned above, and write a good personal statement that describes just how awesome you are and why these places should pay you to go there. It's difficult to avoid sounding too arrogant or pompous, but confidence is good.

4. Apply for external fellowships.

Edited March 5, 2010 by cuppamerlot

[vivalaschwa]

Wow, thanks for all the great replies!

Cuppamerlot, I appreciate the advice to be bold. I find it difficult to talk about myself, but that is an instinct I am obviously going to have to master. Out of curiosity, what aspects of your profile made you a particularly strong applicant? I have been surprised by the results that some of the regulars on this forum have received so far, all of which seem to demonstrate that even ostensibly strong applicants cannot be certain of their outcomes. What strengths did you have that convinced you to "take the plunge"?

Fuzzylogician, you've mentioned in the past that research experience is vital, and I will have at least one summer research internship before submitting my applications. I will graduating in December, one semester early, for financial reasons. Do you have any tips about how to gain research experience post-graduation? [Also, my syntax professor spent last class ardently defending the Internal Subject Hypothesis--So I know what it like to be courted for conversion!]

[fuzzylogician]

Fuzzylogician, you've mentioned in the past that research experience is vital, and I will have at least one summer research internship before submitting my applications. I will graduating in December, one semester early, for financial reasons. Do you have any tips about how to gain research experience post-graduation? [Also, my syntax professor spent last class ardently defending the Internal Subject Hypothesis--So I know what it like to be courted for conversion!]

I assume you're American? I don't have too much insight into getting experience in the States, other than that you can write a thesis, do independent study or volunteer/get payed to be someone's research assistant. I don't know how viable any of these options are for you, but from what I hear the American system is much more open to undergraduates doing all of that than the European system, where they don't even look at you before you start (preferably finish) your Master's degree. For people outside the States, the way to go is usually to do a Masters, where it's much easier to do a big project, get one-on-one time with a professor and get an RAship/TAship. That's what I did. I understand that there are fewer MA programs in the States compared to Europe, though, and I don't know what their quality is. Maybe other people can give you better advice.

[pangur-ban]

If all else fails, find a way to mention that you are a pastry-chef. Or just a great cook. That will go a long way to getting you admitted to some schools

Wait, is *that* why I got into MIT?

[fuzzylogician]

Wait, is *that* why I got into MIT?

[pangur-ban]

Glad I sent the long version of my CV/work history then.