Fall 2016 Application

[canaan.breiss]

6 hours ago, laura.st said:

There is only one acceptance and one wait listed on the results page... do you think we should assume rejection?

It seems like they've released rejections, or at least many of them (including mine  ), but you have to log into the site to check.

[historicallinguist]

6 hours ago, laura.st said:

There is only one acceptance and one wait listed on the results page... do you think we should assume rejection?

I just logged onto Spire and saw my Rej. 

[historicallinguist]

2 minutes ago, canaan.breiss said:

It seems like they've released rejections, or at least many of them (including mine  ), but you have to log into the site to check.

I got it too. Too bad.

[show-me-the-consonants]

19 hours ago, WVE said:

I got a rejection via e-mail this morning 

Did your status on the website decision thing change too? 

On 2/20/2016 at 0:43 PM, wine-ing said:

I mean, I know I didn't get into UCLA- but it seems people have got acceptances, wait-lists, and rejections? Did anyone here get a rejection from them? How/when did you hear about it? I've gotten no emails and when I log in to the website, it says that no decision has been made yet :/

 

I'm in the same boat. Why don't they do rejections all it once?

Also: has anyone heard from UBC?

[zahraamir]

I checked the website to see my rejection from UMass and my status was wait listed! I wonder why I didn't recieve any emai about it! but I am really happy! 

waitlisted by my dream schools MIT and UMass! I really hope I can get in this year.

[wine-ing]

1 minute ago, zahraamir said:

I checked the website to see my rejection from UMass and my status was wait listed! I wonder why I didn't recieve any emai about it! but I am really happy! 

waitlisted by my dream schools MIT and UMass! I really hope I can get in this year.

Ahhh! Sending positive vibes your way!

[sluiced]

Just now, zahraamir said:

I checked the website to see my rejection from UMass and my status was wait listed! I wonder why I didn't recieve any emai about it! but I am really happy! 

waitlisted by my dream schools MIT and UMass! I really hope I can get in this year.

It happened the same to me... wait-listed without receiving an email.

Btw, thanks @historicallinguist for your help.

[historicallinguist]

2 hours ago, zahraamir said:

I checked the website to see my rejection from UMass and my status was wait listed! I wonder why I didn't recieve any emai about it! but I am really happy! 

waitlisted by my dream schools MIT and UMass! I really hope I can get in this year.

I am on the same boat. I just got waitlisted by Kansas today.

[historicallinguist]

1 hour ago, laura.st said:

It happened the same to me... wait-listed without receiving an email.

Btw, thanks @historicallinguist for your help.

no problem. I saw that you are holding an offer from Rutgers. Are you likely going to accept the offer from Rutgers ? I have not yet heard back anything from Rutgers, and I think I am still in their pool. I was waitlisted by Rutgers last year, and this is my second time applying.

[historicallinguist]

I saw some acceptances for Kansas on the result page. Anyone wants to claim the acceptance? I am waitlisted. So, I would be grateful if I could know more about whether you guys are going to accept the offers from Kansas or not.

[Iwanttogotothere]

Guys! I just got my first admissions offer!!! This is my second time applying and I was worried it wasn't going to happen but it did! I'm so excited!!!

[wine-ing]

2 minutes ago, Iwanttogotothere said:

Guys! I just got my first admissions offer!!! This is my second time applying and I was worried it wasn't going to happen but it did! I'm so excited!!!

Congrats!

Where?

[Iwanttogotothere]

8 minutes ago, wine-ing said:

Congrats!

Where?

Thanks!

UT Austin

[wine-ing]

11 minutes ago, Iwanttogotothere said:

Thanks!

UT Austin

Oh nice! That's awesome! 

Congrats!

[linglingling]

Has anyone heard from CUNY?

I saw some rejections and acceptances on the results page but no news for me yet. 

Should I assume rejection?

[vonham]

1 hour ago, linglingling said:

Has anyone heard from CUNY?

I saw some rejections and acceptances on the results page but no news for me yet. 

Should I assume rejection?

I wouldn't assume yet.. I don't think they're quite finished making decisions. I am visiting nyc next week so I emailed them to ask them about my application, because obviously if I get in then I want to visit the campus  (and won't be able to fly to the US again to do so). 

I got a reply that I've been wait listed for a fellowship, with an alternate offer to attend their MA program unfunded.   Seems like they're only accepting people to the PhD who they can offer fellowships to.  I guess I'll visit, in case I do end up getting in with a fellowship.

Ugh it's like every acceptance I've gotten has been like "oh but wait listing for funding!" I'm obviously so happy that I've received these acceptances.  I wonder regarding the funding though.  Is it because my GRE scores weren't that great? My GPA? I feel like with funding the numbers matter more

[historicallinguist]

8 minutes ago, vonham said:

I wouldn't assume yet.. I don't think they're quite finished making decisions. I am visiting nyc next week so I emailed them to ask them about my application, because obviously if I get in then I want to visit the campus  (and won't be able to fly to the US again to do so). 

I got a reply that I've been wait listed for a fellowship, with an alternate offer to attend their MA program unfunded.   Seems like they're only accepting people to the PhD who they can offer fellowships to.  I guess I'll visit, in case I do end up getting in with a fellowship.

Ugh it's like every acceptance I've gotten has been like "oh but wait listing for funding!" I'm obviously so happy that I've received these acceptances.  I wonder regarding the funding though.  Is it because my GRE scores weren't that great? My GPA? I feel like with funding the numbers matter more

I am on the same boat. Accepted into Ph.D. but no funding yet.

I do not think GRE and GPA matter for this kind of thing. I have a decent GRE and almost perfect GPA, but still getting no funding. 

I guess the problem is in writing sample. It looks like literature review type of writing sample is not reviewed favorably by adcoms. They are looking writing sample that proposes new things. This means generally speaking a term paper is unlikely to be good enough to stand out as a great writing sample.(in a 10-15 pages, double spaced term paper, it is hard to write anything substantially new, and it is more likely that the whole thing is a literature review).

 

[vonham]

3 hours ago, historicallinguist said:

I am on the same boat. Accepted into Ph.D. but no funding yet.

I do not think GRE and GPA matter for this kind of thing. I have a decent GRE and almost perfect GPA, but still getting no funding. 

I guess the problem is in writing sample. It looks like literature review type of writing sample is not reviewed favorably by adcoms. They are looking writing sample that proposes new things. This means generally speaking a term paper is unlikely to be good enough to stand out as a great writing sample.(in a 10-15 pages, double spaced term paper, it is hard to write anything substantially new, and it is more likely that the whole thing is a literature review).

 

Hmmm, I wonder. I don't think with me specifically the problem could have been the writing sample, as I was quite happy with it, and have received favorable feedback. My paper was not just a lit review. Basically I compiled a corpus of bilingual interaction in a community of practice. I took some theories on CS, and came to original (as far as I know, so probably not lol) conclusions regarding code-switching in a community of practice. Mine was like 20 pages long. It was originally a seminar paper; we are required to at least attempt to formulate original ideas in our seminar papers. I mean, I didn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but I didn't just review the literature. 

Maybe it was my SOP? I thought CUNY was a great fit. As is Arizona. (Pittsburgh not so much and I don't really know how I got in). I guess something was missing. I mean it seems that they liked me enough that they want me to attend, but not enough to provide funding? Ah well, no use dwelling. Time will tell if I do end up getting funding, and I'll definitely know more once I visit Arizona and CUNY. 

 

 

 

 

[sluiced]

Maybe the funding has to do with the actual possibilities of studying without funding. I mean, I couldn't study without funding because as an Argentine I can't work in the US, and of course I don't have the money to support myself for 5 years. And the two universities that accepted me offered me funding.

[Sora]

6 hours ago, historicallinguist said:

I am on the same boat. Accepted into Ph.D. but no funding yet.

I do not think GRE and GPA matter for this kind of thing. I have a decent GRE and almost perfect GPA, but still getting no funding. 

I guess the problem is in writing sample. It looks like literature review type of writing sample is not reviewed favorably by adcoms. They are looking writing sample that proposes new things. This means generally speaking a term paper is unlikely to be good enough to stand out as a great writing sample.(in a 10-15 pages, double spaced term paper, it is hard to write anything substantially new, and it is more likely that the whole thing is a literature review).

 

That's what I thought when I selected my writing sample - term papers tend to not have the kind of originality expected for PhD app (especially a typical UK style term paper? I don't know much about how they're supposed to look like in the states). So in the end I decided to only submit my MA thesis which was 30 pages in total but only 5 pages were background and lit review stuff and the rest was an artificial grammar learning Exp. I did plus results and discussion. I guess it would be much harder if it's pure theoretical stuff so I've always admired those.

3 hours ago, vonham said:

Hmmm, I wonder. I don't think with me specifically the problem could have been the writing sample, as I was quite happy with it, and have received favorable feedback. My paper was not just a lit review. Basically I compiled a corpus of bilingual interaction in a community of practice. I took some theories on CS, and came to original (as far as I know, so probably not lol) conclusions regarding code-switching in a community of practice. Mine was like 20 pages long. It was originally a seminar paper; we are required to at least attempt to formulate original ideas in our seminar papers. I mean, I didn't reinvent the wheel or anything, but I didn't just review the literature. 

Maybe it was my SOP? I thought CUNY was a great fit. As is Arizona. (Pittsburgh not so much and I don't really know how I got in). I guess something was missing. I mean it seems that they liked me enough that they want me to attend, but not enough to provide funding? Ah well, no use dwelling. Time will tell if I do end up getting funding, and I'll definitely know more once I visit Arizona and CUNY. 

 

 

 

 

I was also wondering a lot about the proper way to approach SOP after I had some time reflecting on my application this time. One thing I'm most confused about is the degree to which you specify your research interests and plan.  In my SOP I tried really hard to be specific about what kind of topics I'd like to pursue, using which methods, within which theoretical framework, etc. I guess it worked quite well if that school's indeed a fit but I did worry about by doing so some schools would perceived me as an applicant who's only comfortable with doing A, B and C but not others. Especially after I found out my friend's SOP was in contrast sort of vague (open) about she'd be interested in doing and she did manage to get interview and waitlist at schools I got rej (she's from my MA cohort with quite similar background as mine). 

[historicallinguist]

3 hours ago, Sora said:

That's what I thought when I selected my writing sample - term papers tend to not have the kind of originality expected for PhD app (especially a typical UK style term paper? I don't know much about how they're supposed to look like in the states). So in the end I decided to only submit my MA thesis which was 30 pages in total but only 5 pages were background and lit review stuff and the rest was an artificial grammar learning Exp. I did plus results and discussion. I guess it would be much harder if it's pure theoretical stuff so I've always admired those.

Wait! I am surprised that there are term papers in your U.K. program. My program basically has nothing like this, i.e., no homework, no term-paper, no practice, etc, throughout the whole year. And all assessments lie in the final examinations at the end of the academic year. I thought my program is typical of a U.K. program, but after I saw your post I now feel quite surprised. 

[Aces]

The way they accept people in linguistics PhD programs is frankly incomprehensibly different from how they accept people in other fields like economics, physics, math, etc. In other fields, the factors they consider are whether:

1. You can handle graduate-level coursework.

2. You can do original independent research.

3. You have good fit.

Consider my application:

1. Well-written SOP (I went over it with a professor)

2. Original and technical writing sample in theoretical syntax (I try to reduce all of control theory to Agreement by using theta-roles as features such as in Hornstein 1999). This shows I can do original independent research.

3. I'm applying from a top linguistics school as an undergraduate.

4. I took the first and second semester PhD-level courses in syntax as an undergraduate.

5. I took 12 graduate-level courses as an undergraduate, showing I can easily handle graduate-level coursework.

6. I graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

And I'm also pretty sure I had good fit with the places I applied to, except UCLA, which I didn't think was a very good fit and I would probably get rejected from. Interestingly, I got rejected from every linguistics PhD program except for a waitlist at UCLA. I've been told that this is weird in other fields: if you're getting a waitlist at a top program, you shouldn't usually be getting rejected from everywhere else you apply to.

If I had applied to schools in other fields, I have been told that I likely would have gotten at least one outright acceptance from a top school, and done much better. Fortunately, I have the chance to start a top cognitive science PhD program next semester instead of a linguistics program, and I can move fields, which I will likely be doing. I don't think I could get employed as a linguist in the future if linguists don't care much about hard work.

Edited February 24, 2016 by Aces

[Sora]

1 hour ago, historicallinguist said:

Wait! I am surprised that there are term papers in your U.K. program. My program basically has nothing like this, i.e., no homework, no term-paper, no practice, etc, throughout the whole year. And all assessments lie in the final examinations at the end of the academic year. I thought my program is typical of a U.K. program, but after I saw your post I now feel quite surprised. 

I think what you describe is a typical Oxbridge thing! (So in a sense the truly traditional way maybe lol). They refer to those exams as papers if I remember correctly?

Most other programs now use a mix of assessments (coursework, essay, presentation, exam, etc.).

[historicallinguist]

1 hour ago, Sora said:

I think what you describe is a typical Oxbridge thing! (So in a sense the truly traditional way maybe lol). They refer to those exams as papers if I remember correctly?

Most other programs now use a mix of assessments (coursework, essay, presentation, exam, etc.).

Exactly! Exams are called papers. MA Thesis is called MA dissertation. 

Although things are generally appealing to tradition here,  I personally think that the mix of assessments with coursework, essay, presentation, and exam etc makes more sense. Putting all assessments as papers at end of the year really has several potential problems:

1. You got one chance to do everything. If you do not do well for some reasons, you will have to wait for another year to resit the paper.

2. It is hard to get continuous feedbacks/formative assessments to monitor academic progresses throughout the year. So, it is hard to identify problems/deficiency early on and then do some specific works to fix the problems. When small problems accumulate, they could potentially pile up and eventually become unmanageable. 

3. Papers are graded by anonymous examiners and the names of candidates must be concealed from the submitted papers (examiners can only see candidate number). So, if you do well in the papers, you won't know who gave you good marks, and those who gave you good marks won't know who you are. This means examiners are in a position that is impossible to write you LOR even if they like your works. Nor are your lecturers in a position to write your LORs because lecturers do not give you marks or grade your works. As a result, the only potential persons you can get LOR are your tutors and supervisor. (Some tutorials do not involved any formative practice, and tutors in these tutorials do not seem to me in a position to write LORs)  But if your tutors and supervisor are the same person, then theoretically you will be able to get only one LOR. This could potentially create a lot of problems when it comes to application to a graduate program, outside funding, etc.

4. Sitting several papers that are 3 hours long for each is clearly not the most enjoyable experience for most people.(especially when you have to wear the sub-fusc and do your papers for 6 hours in a small room).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2016 by historicallinguist

[sluiced]

2 hours ago, Aces said:

The way they accept people in linguistics PhD programs is frankly incomprehensibly different from how they accept people in other fields like economics, physics, math, etc. In other fields, the factors they consider are whether:

I totally agree with that. I had very good results on my application process (wait listed at MIT, accepted at Chicago...) and I lack all the "credentials" that most of the applicants here have.