BeatrizBear Posted February 12, 2015 Author Posted February 12, 2015 I was thinking the same about Indiana. I was (and still am) really curious about where I was on the wait list, but they weren't really forthcoming with that info, just like in your case. The director wrote that there was a lot of interest in the program too, maybe more than normal (that's what I read into the comment), but maybe that's just standard wait list notification fare. Either way, there's still hope. The email just said that they had "a large number of strong applicants." I think schools always say that, though. I wonder if they have separate lists for MA and PhD candidates. I mean, they must have a number of PhD and MA candidates in mind already. Well, hopefully people that don't want to go reject soon because this anxiety is killing me. I definitely would like to go to Indiana.
tardesdeinvierno Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Hola amigos, Congrats on all the acceptances, and for those who are waitlisted mucho ánimo! Since I last wrote, I've heard good news from Indiana, WashU, and UCLA. Generous funding packages, nominated for top fellowships. I've also been busy traveling along the East Coast visiting Brown, and interviewing Princeton. Now, I'm just waiting on Harvard... I thought applying was hard, but the decision's going to be even harder. Can I please just go to all of these wonderful places?!
Mr. McSuck Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 The email just said that they had "a large number of strong applicants." I think schools always say that, though. I wonder if they have separate lists for MA and PhD candidates. I mean, they must have a number of PhD and MA candidates in mind already. Well, hopefully people that don't want to go reject soon because this anxiety is killing me. I definitely would like to go to Indiana. Looking back at the email they sent me, I see that mine pretty much said the same thing--"We received a very large number of strong applications this year". I guess I read into that more than I should have maybe. I'd think they would have separate lists for M.A. and PhD depending on which one an applicant applied to, and I'm sure they have their favorites, but... I don't know. Maybe it would depend on who declined their initial offer into the program, insofar as they might want to fill that place with a similar candidate on the wait list; e.g., if someone interested in the linguistics side of things declined, they'd find another linguistics person to fill that spot, instead of literature. I have too much time on my hands to wonder and speculate about this, though. It's probably best to stay busy and keep yourself occupied, but that's easier said than done sometimes. The waiting is rough, agreed.
BeatrizBear Posted February 12, 2015 Author Posted February 12, 2015 Hola amigos, Congrats on all the acceptances, and for those who are waitlisted mucho ánimo! Since I last wrote, I've heard good news from Indiana, Wash U, and UCLA. Generous funding packages, nominated for top fellowships. I've also been busy traveling along the East Coast visiting Brown, and interviewing Princeton. Now, I'm just waiting on Harvard... I thought applying was hard, but the decision's going to be even harder. Can I please just go to all of these wonderful places?! Wow! That's great!
Mr. McSuck Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Hola amigos, Congrats on all the acceptances, and for those who are waitlisted mucho ánimo! Since I last wrote, I've heard good news from Indiana, Wash U, and UCLA. Generous funding packages, nominated for top fellowships. I've also been busy traveling along the East Coast visiting Brown, and interviewing Princeton. Now, I'm just waiting on Harvard... I thought applying was hard, but the decision's going to be even harder. Can I please just go to all of these wonderful places?! Congratulations! You got into some really great programs. You must have had some very impressive applications.
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 Looking back at the email they sent me, I see that mine pretty much said the same thing--"We received a very large number of strong applications this year". I guess I read into that more than I should have maybe. I'd think they would have separate lists for M.A. and PhD depending on which one an applicant applied to, and I'm sure they have their favorites, but... I don't know. Maybe it would depend on who declined their initial offer into the program, insofar as they might want to fill that place with a similar candidate on the wait list; e.g., if someone interested in the linguistics side of things declined, they'd find another linguistics person to fill that spot, instead of literature. I have too much time on my hands to wonder and speculate about this, though. It's probably best to stay busy and keep yourself occupied, but that's easier said than done sometimes. The waiting is rough, agreed. Some people around here would appreciate it if other people declined or accepted their Indiana offers, am I right?
Mr. McSuck Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Some people around here would appreciate it if other people declined or accepted their Indiana offers, am I right? Haha. Too right you are. In a way it gives us hope though: imagining tons of the initially chosen applicants also have offers from certain highly sought Ivy league institutions. Maybe Indiana acts as like a safety school for the creme-of-the crop Ivy league bound folks. Just a matter of... waiting... for what may come.
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 Haha. Too right you are. In a way it gives us hope though: imagining tons of the initially chosen applicants also have offers from certain highly sought Ivy league institutions. Maybe Indiana acts as like a safety school for the creme-of-the crop Ivy league bound folks. Just a matter of... waiting... for what may come. I would definitely be excited to go there. Indiana seems to have more language programs than any other university. I'd like to learn some Portuguese. And from the placement, it seems that people do okay job market wise. I hope I can see you there!
Mr. McSuck Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) I would definitely be excited to go there. Indiana seems to have more language programs than any other university. I'd like to learn some Portuguese. And from the placement, it seems that people do okay job market wise. I hope I can see you there! Likewise! It's also definitely one of my top choices from what I applied to. I haven't really given much thought to an official secondary/research language; though during my undergrad I did some self-study of Portuguese to the extent that I checked out a book of the grammar and enjoyed deciphering some Portuguese articles. It was fun. I also just look forward to moving to a new place. I've been in my home state for awhile now, and while it's home and comfortable and etc., I'm getting antsy to head off to somewhere new. Edited February 13, 2015 by Mr. McSuck
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 Likewise! It's also definitely one of my top choices from what I applied to. I haven't really given much thought to an official secondary/research language; though during my undergrad I did some self-study of Portuguese to the extent that I checked out a book of the grammar and enjoyed deciphering some Portuguese articles. It was fun. I also just look forward to moving to a new place. I've been in my home state for awhile now, and while it's home and comfortable and etc., I'm getting antsy to head off to somewhere new. I'm transitioning from another department so I feel I'm not as competitive as other people. I have basically only seven classes in the Spanish department and was awarded 8 credits for getting a 5 on the AP exam, but that doesn't really count since it doesn't come with a grade. I was initially in the Classics department and I thought I was going to keep going with that so I got an MA in Humanities and initially focused on Classics but then took some Spanish classes. I do have coursework in Ancient Greek, Latin, and German, though. I've skimmed Portuguese newspapers before and I can make out some stuff, but the speaking part is way too hard for me. If you speak to me I'll understand less than if I read it.
FingersCrossed12 Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Portuguese is my main focus. If anyone has questions, lemme know lived in brazil for some time and I go back frequently. If a department recommends you for admission, does that mean you're in? Like is the approval of the grad school just a formality if you definitely meet all of the university's minimum requirements?
Mr. McSuck Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) I'm transitioning from another department so I feel I'm not as competitive as other people. I have basically only seven classes in the Spanish department and was awarded 8 credits for getting a 5 on the AP exam, but that doesn't really count since it doesn't come with a grade. I was initially in the Classics department and I thought I was going to keep going with that so I got an MA in Humanities and initially focused on Classics but then took some Spanish classes. I do have coursework in Ancient Greek, Latin, and German, though. I've skimmed Portuguese newspapers before and I can make out some stuff, but the speaking part is way too hard for me. If you speak to me I'll understand less than if I read it. Ah I see. Well, you have a very diverse background, some might consider that a strength. I just got done with my undergrad in December, with 2 majors--Philosophy and Spanish. Philosophy was my primary major, but I found myself enjoying my Spanish classes (particularly literature) way more than my philosophy stuff, so I want to continue on with that. And particularly I'd really like to do a thesis or some kind of large research project. I have a few ideas I find interesting/exciting, and I think it'd benefit from the challenge. My spoken Portuguese is virtually non-existent. Passive understanding--i.e. reading--is a lot easier to come by, I've found. I tried doing some self-study with Latin too, but that, for me, proved to be pretty slow-going. From time to time I will get out my Latin book and try a few exercises, but I would probably need some formal instruction to make any real progress. But it's just a fleeting interest probably, a consequence of having too much free time. Either way, I bet some university is gonna view your diverse academic background as a strength-- you could provide a novel perspective in class discussion, for instance. That's why departments like a certain level of diversity, isn't it? Without it class discussion would just be a bunch of people affirming each other's views of everything (or at least probably not straying outside of a certain scope). And 7 classes is a good number, it would seem to me. If they're 3 credits each, that's 21 credits, which I think is sufficient to have a good sense of the topography of the discipline.... but I dunno. Edited February 13, 2015 by Mr. McSuck
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 I suppose, but man, there are some impressive applicants to compete against. And since some schools take a handful of students, it's not enough to just be good. =/ Did you try Wheelock's Latin book? That's what basically everyone uses when they want to self study Latin.
Mr. McSuck Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 I suppose, but man, there are some impressive applicants to compete against. And since some schools take a handful of students, it's not enough to just be good. =/ Did you try Wheelock's Latin book? That's what basically everyone uses when they want to self study Latin. Aye, competition be rough, especially at some of those big name schools... It would be interesting to know how many applications they actually receive. I saw someone wrote on the results page that Georgetown (if i remember correctly) got 9000 MA and PhD applications or something, which just seems absurd to me. That must be a typo. Yep, I have Wheelock's Latin (7th edition). I think I was discouraged cause Latin didn't come as easy to me as whatever cursory studies I've done of the Romance languages besides Spanish-- Catalan and Portuguese namely, but I probably should have known better than to expect it would. I haven't given it up yet, though; I'm just not going after it with the zeal I did when I started.
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 Ancient languages are harder than modern languages. Languages simply over time to meet the needs of the people. That's why ancient languages are more complicated to learn. Plus, there are different dialects. When I was reading Homer, I had to specifically learn Homeric Greek because his dialect is specific to him. Same with Latin, you have different dialects that you have to learn and some writers are easier than others. Caesar is particularly straightforward in comparison to some other guys. I really do hope I can get off the waitlist, but I think someone wrote in the results page last year that they didn't take anyone off the wait list, although it was for an MA program so who knows. I think they must have divided the spots into MA/PhD and then literature and linguistics so they can get a good number of students in all fields.
Mr. McSuck Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Portuguese is my main focus. If anyone has questions, lemme know lived in brazil for some time and I go back frequently. If a department recommends you for admission, does that mean you're in? Like is the approval of the grad school just a formality if you definitely meet all of the university's minimum requirements? I thought that meant you definitely got in, and the university just has to process your paperwork and stuff to verify your credentials... or something like that.
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 Portuguese is my main focus. If anyone has questions, lemme know lived in brazil for some time and I go back frequently. If a department recommends you for admission, does that mean you're in? Like is the approval of the grad school just a formality if you definitely meet all of the university's minimum requirements? Do you speak it as a native language? I wanted some more resources to learn the language. Do you recommend any books? And yeah, if the department recommends you for admission then you're in. That just means that your application has to go through the Graduate School office that the department belongs to. They'll probably just make sure they have all your credentials are in order.
FingersCrossed12 Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Okay, by credentials, you mean transcripts and stuff? And nope it's not my native language, it's actually my third. I use it more than I use english at this point though because the majority of my closest friends are brazilian. The book everyone seems to use is ponto de encontro. Not the most interesting book, but it gets the job done. Easiest way to learn Portuguese is to talk to someone that speaks it's natively. That's how I leaneed, then I went back and officially studied it.
victorydance Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Do you speak it as a native language? I wanted some more resources to learn the language. Do you recommend any books? And yeah, if the department recommends you for admission then you're in. That just means that your application has to go through the Graduate School office that the department belongs to. They'll probably just make sure they have all your credentials are in order. PM me, I got a bunch of pdfs if you want them.
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 Okay, by credentials, you mean transcripts and stuff? And nope it's not my native language, it's actually my third. I use it more than I use english at this point though because the majority of my closest friends are brazilian. The book everyone seems to use is ponto de encontro. Not the most interesting book, but it gets the job done. Easiest way to learn Portuguese is to talk to someone that speaks it's natively. That's how I leaneed, then I went back and officially studied it. Yeah. Typically when a department recommends you for admission, it means they tell the graduate office for the university that they want you. The office then makes sure everything is in order. Just a formality, really.
kidwolf23 Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Got rejecteed from Cornell today...0/3 so far...waiting to hear back from 3 more schools...feeling bummed but I just need one person to say yes. Is it just me or is it really tough out there this year? I've got an MA and good gpa. My gre is lacking and no pubs doesn't help. But geeeez.
BeatrizBear Posted February 13, 2015 Author Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Got rejecteed from Cornell today...0/3 so far...waiting to hear back from 3 more schools...feeling bummed but I just need one person to say yes. Is it just me or is it really tough out there this year? I've got an MA and good gpa. My gre is lacking and no pubs doesn't help. But geeeez. I think besides that one person that got an early unofficial acceptance to UT Austin, we all got rejected, which surprised me since I thought someone around here would get in. All the schools I applied to seem particularly brutal this year. But I'm the same boat as you, no acceptances yet and I'm pretty sure I got rejected from the last few programs I applied to. It's a hard year for us. I'm going to re-apply I have to. Edited February 13, 2015 by BeatrizBear
kidwolf23 Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I think besides that one person that got an early unofficial acceptance to UT Austin, we all got rejected, which surprised me since I thought someone around here would get in. All the schools I applied to seem particularly brutal this year. But I'm the same boat as you, no acceptances yet and I'm pretty sure I got rejected from the last few programs I applied to. It's a hard year for us. I'm going to re-apply I have to. Have you heard anything from NYU or tried to contact them?
BeatrizBear Posted February 14, 2015 Author Posted February 14, 2015 I heard that NYU already started sending their interview invites. I saw someone post one in the results page and other people know someone that got an invite. NYU interviews everyone that they're going to accept. I haven't tried contacting them, though.
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