Grad School

Nothing, and I mean nothing scares me more than the prospect of having to apply to graduate programs. I’m absolutely scared to death to apply to grad school! I don’t know why I have this fear of doing it but I think I’m having a lot of self doubt, that I am not capable of getting into grad school first of all and then if I’m even capable of being successful in grad school!  Every time I think about grad school I get nauseated  and all of the feelings of doubt and failure begin to zoom through my head. I think back at my high school years and wish I had been a better student, I then look at my undergraduate years and even though I was a 10 time better student in college I wasn’t as good I should have been. I should have graduated Summa Cum Laude but barely escaped with just a Cum Laude and I blame that partially on my undergraduate career in student affairs as I spent the majority of my time as a resident advisor and resident manager in the residence halls.

The one thing I do feel good about when thinking about applying to grad school is that I am way ahead of the game as none of the applications for 2010-2011 are out yet. This also makes me weary as I wish I could start now with all the free time I have and get it over with. I am currently studying and preparing for the GRE (not as much as I should be but it will increase soon) and after I type this I’m going to start researching on writing the best statement of purpose!

I’ve narrowed down whom I’m going to ask for recommendations based on which programs I ultimately decide to apply for.

For Romance Linguistics Programs- Dr. Brian Joseph (Dept. of Linguistics, OSU), Dr. Janice Aski (Dept. of French and Italian, OSU) and Dr. Christiane Laeufer (Dept. of French and Italian, OSU)

For Langauge Documentation, Description, Endangered Language Programs- Dr. Brian Joseph (Dept. of Linguistics, OSU), Dr. Judith Tonhauser (Dept. of Linguistics, OSU), Dr. David Odden (Dept. of Linguistics, OSU)

I’ve decided that I definitely want a higher degree in linguistics and I’m going to start out with an M.A. degree so that I may get my feet wet before diving into a Ph.D program.

Some of the programs I’m looking at are:

The University of Arizona- Native American Languages and Linguistics M.A.

The University of Hawai’i at Manoa- Linguistics M.A.

The University of Michigan- Linguistic Anthropology M.A. (I may not go for this one b/c I got a C- in my Anthro 200 class that I hated)

The University of London School of Oriental and African Studies-Language Documentation and Description M.A.

The University at Buffalo- Romance Linguistics M.A.

The University of Washington- Romance Linguistics M.A.

Eventually no matter what M.A. program I do, I’d love to do the University of Hawai’i’s Linguistic Ph.D or the University of California at Berkeley’s Romance Language and Literature Ph.D. This of course can very well change depending on my future!

Please give me feedback on funding options for grad school, any other programs you know that specialize in either Romance Linguistics or Endangered Languages, Documentation and Revitalization!  I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

This post is stored in the category of Made in France, Personal Post, Written in English and was written by Derron Borders

Tags: Cum Laude, endangered languages, Grad School, GRE, language, Linguistic Post, Native American Languages, Resident Advisor, Resident Manager, Romance Linguistics, Statement of Purpose, Summa Cum Laude, The Ohio State University, University at Buffalo, University of Arizona, University of California at Berkeley, University of Hawai'i, University of London, University of Michigan, University of Utah, University of Washington

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