Des Grieux Posted December 11, 2012 Posted December 11, 2012 (edited) Hello everyone! I think it's high time to start this year's thread. What are your thoughts, hopes, and doubts? And first of all: good luck to everybody! Edited December 11, 2012 by Des Grieux
funchaku Posted December 11, 2012 Posted December 11, 2012 AHH, I know I'll sleep/eat/breathe a lot better once these apps are out of the way! The hardest part for me has been the SOP, which I've somewhat tailored to each school. And the writing sample-- is everyone just sending in one? MIT, for instance, asks for "one or more" Good luck everyone!
Des Grieux Posted December 11, 2012 Author Posted December 11, 2012 AHH, I know I'll sleep/eat/breathe a lot better once these apps are out of the way! I've just finished submitting all of my apps, but somehow I am not too sure it's going to make me sleep any better... I've just sent one writing sample to all of my schools. It's a draft of my thesis so I think it's sufficient. It's the only research paper I've written so far anyway, so I thought there was no use trying to send anything else. What did you send?
funchaku Posted December 11, 2012 Posted December 11, 2012 Some of the schools only accepted one, so I sent a fairly substantial (25 pages ish) research paper. But I'm also writing up another, shorter more experimental paper right now, so I was thinking of sending that in as well. I am jealous that you've submitted everything already, but congratsss!! Where all did you apply?
Tanner Posted December 11, 2012 Posted December 11, 2012 Hey, guys. I thought I'd jump in on this thread as well. Turns out that I'm going to graduate and do a master's instead of sticking around at my undergraduate institution. Most of the MA/MSc programs are in Europe, of course. In fact, I'm only thinking of applying to one US MS program, since the others aren't terminal master's degrees. But of course, I still have to take the GRE before the January deadline, so I'm really not spared all that much holiday excitement. Where are all you guys applying?
Des Grieux Posted December 11, 2012 Author Posted December 11, 2012 I'm sure a 25-page paper will suffice, but if your second sample allows the adcom to see you from a different angle and displays an additional set of skills and interests, then I think it can only work to your advantage! I've applied to Brown, Northwestern, NYU, Stanford, UC Berkley, UC San Diego, and USC. I'm mostly interested in phonology and psycholinguistics, but I am also quite passionate about endangered languages. Where are you all applying and what are you hoping to specialize in?
funchaku Posted December 12, 2012 Posted December 12, 2012 I'm applying to UCLA, Johns Hopkins, MIT, UMass Amherst, UPenn, UMD, Rutgers, and Harvard (Psychology). I'm interested in acquisition (syntactic acquisition specifically), so the school choices were largely based on whether or not they had an acquisition person there. I'm mostly worried about Harvard because I have no formal training in Psych.... Tanner, what US terminal MA program are you applying to?
mq1 Posted December 12, 2012 Posted December 12, 2012 When are you guys expecting replies from your school? I have applied to four universities. GMU, UCB, UFL, and UConn
funchaku Posted December 12, 2012 Posted December 12, 2012 I think most places let you know definitely by end of February. Most of the apps are due late December or early January.
Tanner Posted December 12, 2012 Posted December 12, 2012 Funchaku, I'm applying to CUNY's MA, so I'll have to get my application in by January 15th. The other programs I am applying to are in Europe and have later application deadlines. Looks like you picked out a great range of schools. A lot of those are ones I will consider myself after completing the master's. Out of curiosity, do you foresee your doctoral research in language acquisition as being predominantly situated experimentally, theoretically (i.e. A.I., learning theory, etc.), or both?
funchaku Posted December 13, 2012 Posted December 13, 2012 I've heard CUNY is a good place to be! Good luck! I am hoping to do experimental work, though I do kind of feel like answering questions about learnability is the often hidden (or not) goal of most acquisition work.
Tanner Posted December 13, 2012 Posted December 13, 2012 That's good to hear. I've garnered the same impression of CUNY. Good luck to you as well with applications and your future research.
legatrix Posted December 14, 2012 Posted December 14, 2012 Alright chaps. Is everybody on here American? Anyone hoping to end up at Stanford or UCLA? Can I enquire as to how seriously you all treated the GRE? Personally I paid it the same heed as I did the Street Fighter II game built in to the aeroplane entertainment system I was using the day before I sat the test (hows that for computational load?). Rumours have reached me of late, however, that certain applicants prepare thoroughly in advance. This makes me nervous. I look forward to hearing from any fellow grammarians! (And I trust you have all scoured the results pages from last year - heart-rending stuff!) best Luke
funchaku Posted December 14, 2012 Posted December 14, 2012 I don't think a great GRE score will necessarily get you into a program, but a bad one could potentially hurt your chances. For instance, the UPenn program notes that your chances of being considered a serious candidate is slim if your combined GRE percentile is < 75%. Beyond that, I don't think it's that big a deal. I've applied to UCLA--definitely hoping to end up at their acquisition lab!
legatrix Posted December 16, 2012 Posted December 16, 2012 Yes I had seen the UPenn table! Good of them to make that information available! UCLA is your first choice, then? I must admit, it's a tempting place to live. I was getting ahead of myself somewhat by looking at rents in the area. Scary stuff.
languages-etc Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 Hi everyone, I've finally finished my apps and am breathing a sigh of relief. I only applied to places I would absolutely love to attend - which means they are competitive. Mostly looking at endangered languages and documentation, while exploring the theoretical implications. I have a good GPA from a top school and have lived and worked abroad for a few years, which are pluses, but I have mostly been working in Applied Linguistics and am looking to get into a theoretical program. I'm also older than most applicants (no, I'm not "old" as in 25 but much older than that!) So I really don't know what my chances are, but here's hoping...
SympathyCandidate Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Hi folks! Jumping in after being all lurky during last year's round of applications. Last year didn't go so well (unfocused applications, juggling with outside-university work, who knows what). Put out a few applications and am debating whether I want to/can send out some more. We shall see... Currently feeling that familiar mix of confidence/optimism (decent record and an added year of experience) and Oh-no!/Wet-blanket anxiety -- this can be such an opaque process. languages-etc, it looks like we have somewhat overlapping interests. I'd prefer my program to focus on cognition and language/cultural vitality and continuity. But overall, I'm happily broad; I've been sort of splitting my time between language revitalization and suprasegmentals in phonetics-phonology-morphology interfaces. So ultimately, I'd would enjoy almost anything. A bit appropriate; I'm from a sort of hodgepodge background of linguistics, anth, non-profit, and humanities -- doing a linguistics MA, but teaching and working in distant or unrelated fields. So.. the litany. I've applied to the linguistics programs at Berkeley, UChicago, UPenn, MIT, and UBC. Also for UChicago anth, upon advice from a professor. Maybe (probably) a couple more. Anyway, back to grading. Good luck to everyone!
Des Grieux Posted January 20, 2013 Author Posted January 20, 2013 Hi everyone! Â So...any news? So far I've got an acceptance from Northwestern. Very happy! Â I've seen two interview invites from NYU Linguistics on the results page. Do you know if all the invites have been sent? Â Best of luck to everyone!
mq1 Posted January 21, 2013 Posted January 21, 2013 Hi everyone! Â So...any news? So far I've got an acceptance from Northwestern. Very happy! Â I've seen two interview invites from NYU Linguistics on the results page. Do you know if all the invites have been sent? Â Best of luck to everyone! got no acceptance so far
mq1 Posted January 21, 2013 Posted January 21, 2013 Hi everyone!  So...any news? So far I've got an acceptance from Northwestern. Very happy!  I've seen two interview invites from NYU Linguistics on the results page. Do you know if all the invites have been sent?  Best of luck to everyone! By the way How did you get the results? Mail, Email, Checked your application online?
Des Grieux Posted January 21, 2013 Author Posted January 21, 2013 I got my results by email from the admissions officer (and POI) with the official letter from the Graduate School attached in a PDF file. Â Hopefully you'll have some good news soon. Good luck!
Kwest Posted January 21, 2013 Posted January 21, 2013 I'm so glad that I've started getting some responses back! As everyone knows, waiting is torture.
MissTrace Posted January 22, 2013 Posted January 22, 2013 Hi everyone! Waiting is definitely draining . But let's be constructive! Although I've not heard of any good news yet, I've at least unsubscribed my email from 20 spam/promotional websites. I'm hopeful that I will save a lot of time after this application period .
Colombo Posted January 23, 2013 Posted January 23, 2013 So which universities have you guys heard from except for Northwestern?
funchaku Posted January 24, 2013 Posted January 24, 2013 I've heard from UPenn for an interview. Anyone else?
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