Linguistics 2009!

[Phonologist]

Now that we've got our own sub-forum, let's get the ball rolling with some discussion and admissions results.

As of 2/17:

Acceptances/Interview invites/Wait-lists (An R indicates that these schools have informed applicants of rejections as well; P indicates that, based on historical data/other factors, you're probably rejected if you haven't heard anything).

Brown

Cornell - R

CUNY Graduate Center

Delaware

Georgetown

Harvard

Johns Hopkins (cognitive science) - P

Northwestern - P

NYU

Ohio State - R

Rutgers

Stanford - P

SUNY Buffalo

UC Berkeley - R

UCLA - R

UChicago - R

UCSC - R

UCSD - R

UIUC

UMass Amherst

University of Arizona - R

University of Connecticut

University of Maryland - College Park - R

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

University of Oregon

UPenn - R

UT Austin - R

Yale - R

Still Waiting

MIT

UNC - Chapel Hill

UW Seattle

more?

The list above isn't complete, so let me know if you have any suggestions/revisions/additions, especially regarding the "P" and "R" annotations. You'll notice that I've included only pure linguistics/linguistically-oriented cog.sci. programs, because I'm afraid it'd get too unmanageable otherwise. Good luck to everyone!

[nocturne]

In addition to the schools listed under your "still waiting" list, I'm still waiting for anything from UT-Austin, University of AZ, University of WA, and UNC-Chapel Hill. It's surprising to me that University of Oregon sent an acceptance to someone already; their deadline was only 2/1. Also, I haven't gotten my *official* rejection from UCSC yet; I've only interviewed with the faculty member whom I was hoping would advise me, and she told me that I'd need some further training before they could agree to accept me.

[Phonologist]

In addition to the schools listed under your "still waiting" list, I'm still waiting for anything from UT-Austin, University of AZ, University of WA, and UNC-Chapel Hill. It's surprising to me that University of Oregon sent an acceptance to someone already; their deadline was only 2/1. Also, I haven't gotten my *official* rejection from UCSC yet; I've only interviewed with the faculty member whom I was hoping would advise me, and she told me that I'd need some further training before they could agree to accept me.

Updated - thanks!

[dutchie]

Hi there. Nice that they finally have a linguistics subforum! I have applied to:

MIT Linguistics/Philosophy

NYU Philosophy

Yale Linguistics

UMass Linguistics

CUNY Philosophy

Rutgers Linguistics

Columbia Philosophy

Northwestern Linguistics

Boston University Philosophy

U Maryland - College Park Linguistics

SUNY Buffalo Linguistics

So far I have only heard from Northwestern; waitlisted. I'm so nervous! I don't know if that's good or bad :-)

So what is everyone into? I guess Phonologist is interested in ... phonology? I study logic and semantics, which is partly why I am applying to some philosophy programs. Many semanticists are philosophers.

[Dinali]

I'm focusing on phonology too, but I still dig syntax so hard that I had trouble choosing.

[nocturne]

I'm into syntax, semantics, morphology, lexicology, language change and historical linguistics. I'm taking a couple of pretty interesting phonetics courses right now, too, but don't really want to get into phonetics or phonology too much.

[anyli_t]

Thanks for getting this started - it's nice to have a place of our own.

I'm a psycholinguistics/language and cognition person myself, though I've been a slave to Praat on account of an undergrad advisor who's a phonetician, and I'm warming to the idea of continuing with phonetics as one avenue of research.

(I'm currently writing from San Diego on my first interview visit - so much warmer than my native East Coast! Also quite nice to meet up with other like-minded people in person.)

[capitol_L]

Nice to finally find some linguists milling about - should we not be envious of the philosophy grads, with their ever-current who_got_in obsessions?

At any rate, I'm one of those who got into linguistics a bit late, but nevertheless I have at long last settled on a bevy of sub-fields, namely, syntax, semantics, and the interface thereof; phonology and cross-linguistic variation; optimality theory in various applications; and language acquisition, mostly first-.

Due to some very constraining personal circumstances, I could only apply to DC-area schools, so I am giving it a go at UMD-College Park (Linguistics); Georgetown (Spanish Linguistics); and Hopkins (CogSci). I dashed off the UMD app too hastily, and unsurprisingly I did not receive an interview invitation (congratulations, anyli!), but there is good word from Georgetown, and I am wringing my hands as I await the JHU interview.

Any insight into how these interviews are conducted, or perhaps, into what their purpose really is? Or maybe we can figure out how many people will be at the Hopkins interview - it seems that in such a diverse department, those invited will scarcely overlap in research interests. But that may just be my impression.

[nocturne]

@ anyli_t:

Have you actually spoken with anyone in the Linguistics dept. at UCSD? Or are you only interviewing over there for CogSci? Since you're already safely in, I thought you might not mind sharing if you've spoken to linguistics, so I can know what to expect when I get there at the end of the month...

[CaballeroAndante]

Nice to finally find some linguists milling about - should we not be envious of the philosophy grads, with their ever-current who_got_in obsessions?

At any rate, I'm one of those who got into linguistics a bit late, but nevertheless I have at long last settled on a bevy of sub-fields, namely, syntax, semantics, and the interface thereof; phonology and cross-linguistic variation; optimality theory in various applications; and language acquisition, mostly first-.

Due to some very constraining personal circumstances, I could only apply to DC-area schools, so I am giving it a go at UMD-College Park (Linguistics); Georgetown (Spanish Linguistics); and Hopkins (CogSci). I dashed off the UMD app too hastily, and unsurprisingly I did not receive an interview invitation (congratulations, anyli!), but there is good word from Georgetown, and I am wringing my hands as I await the JHU interview.

Any insight into how these interviews are conducted, or perhaps, into what their purpose really is? Or maybe we can figure out how many people will be at the Hopkins interview - it seems that in such a diverse department, those invited will scarcely overlap in research interests. But that may just be my impression.

What is the good word from Georgetown? Im still waiting to hear back for the Hispanic Linguistics program and was curious what other people have heard. When did you send in your app? What is your profile like?

[Phonologist]

Any insight into how these interviews are conducted, or perhaps, into what their purpose really is? Or maybe we can figure out how many people will be at the Hopkins interview - it seems that in such a diverse department, those invited will scarcely overlap in research interests. But that may just be my impression.

I'm probably going to be at the Hopkins interview. I think you're right about the scarcely overlapping research interests - I thought for sure they were going to toss my app because I wasn't enough of a "cognitive scientist," but I guess they really do support a wide range of interests. Of your options, capital.L, I would give Hopkins some serious consideration; of the schools you mentioned, Hopkins by far does the best job of sending their graduates to good jobs.

[fuzzylogician]

Hello fellow linguists!! congrats on the new forum, it's much needed to reduce (at least my) anxiety.

I mostly do formal semantics and am also interested in its interface with syntax and pragmatics.

My interim results:

Accepted to -- UCLA, NYU, UMass (just heard a couple of hours ago, yay!!)

Interviews with -- UPenn, UCSC, Brown. Those three are probably my worst fits so I've contacted all three schools to let them know I have received better offers so they can stop considering me. I'm guessing from the interviews that UCSC planned on admitting me, UPenn and Brown maybe not so much...

Still waiting -- MIT, Rutgers.

I'm hoping to attend the Open House at UCLA and NYU so maybe I'll meet some of you there!

[anyli_t]

@ anyli_t:

Have you actually spoken with anyone in the Linguistics dept. at UCSD? Or are you only interviewing over there for CogSci? Since you're already safely in, I thought you might not mind sharing if you've spoken to linguistics, so I can know what to expect when I get there at the end of the month...

I'm officially here for the CogSci visit, but since I won't be able to make the Linguistics open house, I'm meeting with some of their folks as well. I'm not sure how representative my experience will be, since I'm guessing Linguistics will have a whole event planned, while I've just got a few interviews squeezed into the morning. But if you've got anything in particular you'd like to know, I'd be happy to share after I meet with them tomorrow.

[Phonologist]

Hello fellow linguists!! congrats on the new forum, it's much needed to reduce (at least my) anxiety.

I mostly do formal semantics and am also interested in its interface with syntax and pragmatics.

My interim results:

Accepted to -- UCLA, NYU, UMass (just heard a couple of hours ago, yay!!)

Interviews with -- UPenn, UCSC, Brown. Those three are probably my worst fits so I've contacted all three schools to let them know I have received better offers so they can stop considering me. I'm guessing from the interviews that UCSC planned on admitting me, UPenn and Brown maybe not so much...

Still waiting -- MIT, Rutgers.

I'm hoping to attend the Open House at UCLA and NYU so maybe I'll meet some of you there!

Congrats on the acceptances! I'm going to call it right now and say you're good for MIT as well - you've made it into the other top programs, and foreign students always do much better than American students at MIT in terms of getting accepted.

[fuzzylogician]

Congrats on the acceptances! I'm going to call it right now and say you're good for MIT as well - you've made it into the other top programs, and foreign students always do much better than American students at MIT in terms of getting accepted.

Thanks! I almost wish MIT *won't* accept me, it'll make my decision incredibly difficult. I mean, how do you choose between such strong programs? I'm sure I'll open a "what would you do if you were me" thread if I'm somehow accepted.

[nocturne]

fuzzylogician wrote:

I'm guessing from the interviews that UCSC planned on admitting me

I'm green with envy! I had really wanted to get in there, but not happening -- at least not this year... :cry:

[sais]

Wow! Our own private forum! Now I'm going to be spending even more time on here

Anyway, I'm so glad to hear someone is getting accepted to all these schools. Congrats!

I haven't heard from anyone yet and I'm starting to worry it's not going to work out this year.

Is everyone applying for the first time? Any second or third time applicants?

One of the big questions I have is what do I do to strengthen my application if I don't get in this year? Any ideas?

I haven't given up hope yet but all the programs I applied to are listed as having started contacting people and that doesn't bode well...

Good luck to everyone. We'll get through this together!

[nocturne]

Just checked the website for UT-Austin and I was totally rejected. They haven't said "boo" to me one way or the other, and AFAIK, no one else has heard from them, so it was sort of a surprise. I swear if I don't get in somewhere, I am going to bawl. I have GREs over 1400, a GPA over 3.6, and what the woman at UCSC whom I spoke to called "great" recs and writing sample (even though they didn't accept me for other reasons). I feel like I should get in SOMEWHERE.

I am seriously beginning to flip out.

[danil]

Wow!

It's great to finally see a forum for Linguistics. Kudos to you (not sure who it is...psycholinguist? phonologist? someone else? sorry... )!

I'm a little timid in butting(?) in here as although I am a part of Linguistics and my MA was from Linguistics as well,

I'm striving for a PhD in Applied Ling. which I know is different from what most of you here are planning to study.

So far, I've been accepted to UHawaii-Manoa, SLS program (thanks Dinali for your input to my queries on living in Hawaii!)

and Georgetown University , Linguisics program.

My best friend who's into Phonology has been accepted to UM-Ann Arbor and is still waiting for several other schools.

Glad to have this forum rolling~!

[paigemont]

Thanks! I almost wish MIT *won't* accept me, it'll make my decision incredibly difficult. I mean, how do you choose between such strong programs? I'm sure I'll open a "what would you do if you were me" thread if I'm somehow accepted.

IMO, UMass is easily the best choice over MIT. It certainly has stronger phonology, psycholing, etc., which might matter in case you want to be well-rounded/change your mind about syntax/semantics/pragmatics.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your educational background like?

Also, as my sig says, I was accepted to UIUC last week. No word yet on funding, though, so I don't know how to feel about it. Also, rejections from Stanford (no real surprise) and UCSD.

[dutchie]

Hello fellow linguists!! congrats on the new forum, it's much needed to reduce (at least my) anxiety.

I mostly do formal semantics and am also interested in its interface with syntax and pragmatics.

My interim results:

Accepted to -- UCLA, NYU, UMass (just heard a couple of hours ago, yay!!)

Interviews with -- UPenn, UCSC, Brown. Those three are probably my worst fits so I've contacted all three schools to let them know I have received better offers so they can stop considering me. I'm guessing from the interviews that UCSC planned on admitting me, UPenn and Brown maybe not so much...

Still waiting -- MIT, Rutgers.

I'm hoping to attend the Open House at UCLA and NYU so maybe I'll meet some of you there!

Hey fuzzylogician. Congrats on all your acceptances! So I guess youre a logician :wink: Where do you study? I'm getting my master's in logic at the University of Amsterdam ...and also interested in formal semantics and pragmatics. Now I'm so nervous about hearing from Umass since people have started hearing! The website still says pending.... :!:

[fuzzylogician]

To those who asked about my educational background: I did my BA in linguistics and knew right away I wanted to work on semantics, so I was able to specialize in it starting my second year. In my third year I also took some extra logic and math classes to have a more well-rounded education. I actually do straight up formal semantics, though my work almost always relies on logical tools. I just liked the oxymoron "fuzzy logic", hence the name.

Right now I'm working on my master's (linguistics, concentration in semantics). (I hear) my recommendations from my MA were very strong, and from well-respected ppl in the field. I'm working on two projects this year as well. I had hoped that one of them would win me a trip to do some fieldwork and maybe get a publication out of it but sadly now I think it might not happen. Not enough time. Also at this pace I might not finish my master's thesis, but the nice thing about the american programs is that you don't actually need to have one, haha.

dutchie: I wouldn't worry about the UMass website, mine still says they haven't received any of my transcripts and 2 of my LORs. I hope you hear good news from them!

[Phonologist]

paigemont said:

IMO, UMass is easily the best choice over MIT. It certainly has stronger phonology, psycholing, etc...

That's debatable - for the kind of phonology I'm interested in, MIT is on the cutting edge. In fact, I didn't even apply to UMass.

[capitol_L]

I just called Hopkins Cognitive Science to confirm my attendance at the interview day, and I found out that 13 people were invited, though apparently around 11 will be attending. Also, the events are expected to last from 8:30 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening, and then there are the "festivities" at the home of one of the current grad students. All candidates will be very well fed, it sounds, so I wouldn't worry about the long hours.

The secretary said that the whole thing was rather informal, though it seems like we'll be having lots of interviews, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Which professors did those of you attending request to meet? And Phonologist, you're iffy on coming to the JHU visit day? How come? What would be your top-choice programs, if I might ask?

[Phonologist]

I just called Hopkins Cognitive Science to confirm my attendance at the interview day, and I found out that 13 people were invited, though apparently around 11 will be attending. Also, the events are expected to last from 8:30 in the morning to 6:00 in the evening, and then there are the "festivities" at the home of one of the current grad students. All candidates will be very well fed, it sounds, so I wouldn't worry about the long hours.

The secretary said that the whole thing was rather informal, though it seems like we'll be having lots of interviews, both in the morning and in the afternoon. Which professors did those of you attending request to meet? And Phonologist, you're iffy on coming to the JHU visit day? How come? What would be your top-choice programs, if I might ask?

I confirmed my visit today as well. I was waiting to see if they would let me leave early since I have an interview at Stanford the next day at 8 in the morning. I'll be leaving Baltimore around 5, so I guess I'll be missing out on the "festivities."

My top choices are UCLA and MIT; wait-listed for funding at the former and still waiting on the latter.

Edit: Did Barbara say anything about how many they were expecting to admit from those invited to the interview?