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I know I've been gone for a long while now. Next term is looking to be a lot nicer than this term was. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into writing (and reading) LJ then; there're quite a few posts I have built up if I ever get the chance to write them out. Well, now for the last few months in review:
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My schedule was updated, though I never got around to mentioning it. Well, it's been updated again! As always, that link is reachable from my profile and will be the place I try to keep all that info up to date and disseminated.
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Accepted: Indiana (3/7)
Pending: JHU
Red Rubber Ducky Stamp of Doom: Berkley (2/21), MIT (~3/5), Urbana–Champaign (3/5)
(Dates are when the letters were written and are for the benefit of those doing statistical analysis.)
Well, it looks like the winnowing process is well on its way. Indiana only offered me a nominal award which is unfortunate (though I may get to work with Michael Gasser or Doug Hofstadter, both of which would rock). Still waiting to hear from Johns Hopkins. In other news, I've been offered a programming(!) assistantship at PSU were I to stick around here. Tempting, but I'm pretty sure in the long run Indiana would make up for the price.
Of course now I'm getting tempted to just go for a PhD again, but then what the hell would I do with two PhDs? From the looks of it IU limits transfer credits for MS to 8 (a little more than a quarter) of the required 30 meaning I'd have ~7 classes to go, or a year. The PhD program requires 90 hours, but the transfer cap is 30 (of which I'll be at 21.3~23.3 at the end of next quarter) which'd be 22~23 classes, or just under four years taking it easy (possibly as low as two if I go for summer courses). And of those 90 credits, that includes a required minor which could mean 4 or more of those classes in linguistics (or cognitive sci, or systems sci). Awfully tempting if I could do it in just an extra year, even if only an extra two with either of the guys noted above and a decent fellowship or assistantship.
JHU only allows two classes to transfer (of 6~8 required) for the MSE, which means a year or just under. Whereas the PhD program requires two more classes, and doesn't specify the transfer cap. Hells, at this point if feels like with all I've put in I might as well just go for the doctorate rather than being overeducated for the slip of paper I'll have to wave around, especially if I'm going to go through the trouble of transferring (I'll have 28~32 of the 45 credits required at PSU after this spring, meaning I'm 5~6 classes away from the degree (i.e. barely two quarters) only one of which is required to be CS, so the rest could be ling if I can get my advisor to swing it).
Bah, just the same temptation as when I was filling out those damn apps. Why must I keep convincing myself I'm not really a computer scientist? Just because I'm good at it, I must keep remembering that linguistics is my passion. Fuckin' A, mate. What do y'all think I should do? Think it's worth an extra year or two knowing I'll have to go through the whole dissertation thing again another four years later?
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Just finished "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" not too long back. For those who haven't read it yet, it's a fabulous book. Hilarious, engaging, quirky, intelligent. Everything you'd ever want from a scientist. This was my bus-time reading for a few weeks, and let me tell you how hard it was to keep from laughing out loud every page or two turned. All the same, my smiles were deafening and turned many a head in those few weeks. There's a spot around two thirds on where his inveterate womanizing tendencies bleed through into something of a bitter cynicism, but he cheers up again by the end. In all, an excellent read and highly recommended.
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As I mentioned in a screened post a while back, another application I filled out recently is for going off to Seoul for a couple months this summer to learn Korean. I should hear back from them mid- to late-April just a bit after I accept my grad school. Depending on finances, timing, and the details of the program exit, I may also try to stop over in Japan for a brief trip on the way back. In addition to going back to the country, there're a few friends out there it'd be nice to see. Of course all that depends on when and where I'll be moving in the fall and arranging housing there et al.
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And now I must be off to sleep. Else I'll piss off the sexiest vixen by being late to pick her up tomorrow morn. I hope to be able to write a bit more afore classes start up again, though somehow I doubt that'll happen :)
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-27 12:06 pm (UTC)From:Heh, well, i was pretty good at linguistics when i studied it at uni, but now my passion is for computer science . . . . time will tell whether i'm actually any good at it or not. :-)
i don't think i can offer any decent advice regarding your education, but yeah, i imagine it would be pretty cool to work with Hofstadter. :-)
Surely you're joking is excellent! i tend to use stories from there as a substitute for having humorous and interesting life stories of my own. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-27 03:24 pm (UTC)From:1) I'd be wary of assuming you can get your PhD in the minimum number of credit hours listed. Make sure to look into the processes of exams, etc. there and make sure you know it would be doable in the time frame you're hoping.
2) Some PhD programs won't accept applicants who already have a PhD in any field. Check this out if you're committed to your ling PhD in the future.
And congrats on Indiana! That does sound like a kickass place to be. Would the support come anywhere close to supporting the cost of living there? (Example: most chem grad students at UW and other comparable schools make 20-30% more than I do at UF, but Gainesville is hella cheaper than Seattle or Denver or Southern CA, such that I have way more expendable income than they do anyway.)
JHU is stupid with replies. I was so angry about last year... clearly I was on the waitlist and they wouldn't tell me so, and I had to accept another school's offer before they sent out their decisions. Jerkfaces. I hope they treat you better.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-30 06:21 pm (UTC)From:Oh absolutely. I still need to do more research on what all the requirements are, but that's my first approximation. Of course, doing it in two years —even assuming I'm not missing anything— would mean working solid through the summers and all terms. The big trick with that would be not burning out before going for the linguistics —which, of course, is the big issue with the whole notion of getting two PhDs at all.
My current sort of crazy notion is looking into the possibility of getting a dual PhD (i.e. working on both at the same time). If I go to JHU that would be (theoretically) doable since they were one of the schools I was going to apply to for ling anyways. Of course, whether such a thing even exists, whether I could get into the ling dept there, whether I could get them to cover travel to do fieldwork in Japan, etc, who knows?
The support from IU is really nominal, on the level of "well, we have to offer everyone something". Which is another reason for the doctorate interest: PhDs get some support since they'll go out and make a name for the uni, masters not so much.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-31 01:10 am (UTC)From:A dual PhD might make more sense--or specifically looking at programs with a specialty in the kind of linguistics you're interested in. I mean, it looks like you're definitely in for a ling PhD regardless of what comes before, so it's mostly your compsci coursework and the amount of that you tie in to your diss that's going to matter, more than what degree(s) you have in computer science.
But yes, tell 'em you want a PhD if you want any support at all!
no subject
Date: 2007-04-03 03:09 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-03 03:10 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-03-27 03:44 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-03-30 06:26 pm (UTC)From:And so we lose Wren for awhile....
Date: 2007-03-27 08:16 pm (UTC)From:Re: And so we lose Wren for awhile....
Date: 2007-03-30 06:34 pm (UTC)From:Re: And so we lose Wren for awhile....
Date: 2007-03-30 07:58 pm (UTC)From:Just noticed...
Date: 2007-03-27 08:17 pm (UTC)From:Re: Just noticed...
Date: 2007-04-10 12:34 am (UTC)From:Re: Just noticed...
Date: 2007-04-10 02:03 am (UTC)From:no subject
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Date: 2007-04-05 10:24 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-06 04:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 04:24 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 10:16 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 03:46 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 03:48 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-04-14 04:26 pm (UTC)From: