General Taking of Stock
First off, I've been noticing that lots of people read this who don't have livejournals (Andy, occasionally Walter, and my mom and dad being the ones that I'm usually aware of.) I'm not sure who the last one I responded to was, though, so... anonymous buddy roll call! If you read my journal or comment anonymously, give a shout with your name or some vaguely identifying information so I can say hello properly. (Riddles, cryptic hints, etc. are acceptible, but will cause me to become INTERNET DETECTIVE.)
Second, I would like to apologies for the whining tsunami that washed over this journal last week. I'm getting healthier, I've calmed down, and things are coming back into perspective. I am not, in fact, doomed. When I really think about it, I'm not even really in over my head. I just have to trust that I am capable both of handling more than I think I can and of realizing what I really can't handle. When I don't psych myself out I generally do all right.
On that note, I'm realizing that the chances of being able to take the GRE in time to apply to grad schools are dwindling faster than our poor polar icecaps. My only chance is to take it in Paris, and I'm not sure when they offer it or even if they do in English. We shall see. In realizing this, I also realized that the well-defined, well-organized 22-year plan according to which I have been operating the past, er, 22 years is expiring in just about six months, and that with grad school up in the air I am fresh out of ideas. So I spent a good hour of paper-writing time coming up with this, instead.
Revised Plan for the Next Umpty-Tumpty Years
Immediate:
-look into taking the GRE in Paris. Can you do it in English? How much would it cost? How long would it take to get scores sent to the states? Can you get your scores by phone? If not, proceed to next section. If so, see below.
-Take GRE in Paris, probably the weekend before finals or immediately after. This would give me no time to practice, about which I am quite uneasy as I haven't done any math for ages. Then again, how much math do you need to be a historical linguist?
-Pay the extra ten dollars to get my scores over the phone in order to have them before January 15th.
-Apply to the U of I graduate linguistics program before the 15th of January deadline. They have an excellent department, from what I've heard, and Hans Heinrich Hock teaches there (!) Plus, I know people in Urbana, which is a perk, and I'd be close enough to my family to be home in three hours if I really needed to be.
Upon Return to Lawrence:
-rock up the next semester. Write amazing things, get letters of recommendation, complete an astounding senior honors project.
-find out if it’s possible to be admitted to the U of I Linguistics graduate program in the spring term. If so, go to. If not, look for MA programs with rolling admissions or spring admissions; you can always transfer, and you need like burning not to have your student loans come due yet.
-Be in Ms. Lanouette’s office just about every other day. Find out everything you can from her about the grad school application process
This Summer:
-WORK. Find yourself some kind of relevant languagey thing if possible; an editing job, writing internship, etc. would be best. Hit up the Career Center but good in search of such things. If you can’t find anything skilled, work anywhere, two or three jobs at a time. The main thing is socking away a good amount of cash, especially if you end up taking six months or a year off. Make enough to pay off loans as they come and to fund applications.
-Move out if at all possible, so as not to be yet another parasitic child-in-crisis on the family budget. Try to move down to Urbana, maybe: you could apply to work in the area, and it would put you in the optimal place to remain in close contact with their graduate program.
-Look into short school/community college programs (languages, mostly) that don’t cost much. If they keep you a student long enough to fend off the loan people and are cost-effective, so much the better, and you need to learn another language anyway for eventual Ph.D. qualifying-exam purposes.
If Accepted Somewhere:
-Don’t fuck up, kid.
If Not Accepted Anywhere:
-...
-...
-Shit, I got nothin'.
Hopefully this is sufficiently possible.
Stay tuned for my next entry, ADVENTURE IN ANGERS!! (or: Three train tickets, two castles, and a suicide), which will detail the utterly bizarre events of last weekend.
Second, I would like to apologies for the whining tsunami that washed over this journal last week. I'm getting healthier, I've calmed down, and things are coming back into perspective. I am not, in fact, doomed. When I really think about it, I'm not even really in over my head. I just have to trust that I am capable both of handling more than I think I can and of realizing what I really can't handle. When I don't psych myself out I generally do all right.
On that note, I'm realizing that the chances of being able to take the GRE in time to apply to grad schools are dwindling faster than our poor polar icecaps. My only chance is to take it in Paris, and I'm not sure when they offer it or even if they do in English. We shall see. In realizing this, I also realized that the well-defined, well-organized 22-year plan according to which I have been operating the past, er, 22 years is expiring in just about six months, and that with grad school up in the air I am fresh out of ideas. So I spent a good hour of paper-writing time coming up with this, instead.
Revised Plan for the Next Umpty-Tumpty Years
Immediate:
-look into taking the GRE in Paris. Can you do it in English? How much would it cost? How long would it take to get scores sent to the states? Can you get your scores by phone? If not, proceed to next section. If so, see below.
-Take GRE in Paris, probably the weekend before finals or immediately after. This would give me no time to practice, about which I am quite uneasy as I haven't done any math for ages. Then again, how much math do you need to be a historical linguist?
-Pay the extra ten dollars to get my scores over the phone in order to have them before January 15th.
-Apply to the U of I graduate linguistics program before the 15th of January deadline. They have an excellent department, from what I've heard, and Hans Heinrich Hock teaches there (!) Plus, I know people in Urbana, which is a perk, and I'd be close enough to my family to be home in three hours if I really needed to be.
Upon Return to Lawrence:
-rock up the next semester. Write amazing things, get letters of recommendation, complete an astounding senior honors project.
-find out if it’s possible to be admitted to the U of I Linguistics graduate program in the spring term. If so, go to. If not, look for MA programs with rolling admissions or spring admissions; you can always transfer, and you need like burning not to have your student loans come due yet.
-Be in Ms. Lanouette’s office just about every other day. Find out everything you can from her about the grad school application process
This Summer:
-WORK. Find yourself some kind of relevant languagey thing if possible; an editing job, writing internship, etc. would be best. Hit up the Career Center but good in search of such things. If you can’t find anything skilled, work anywhere, two or three jobs at a time. The main thing is socking away a good amount of cash, especially if you end up taking six months or a year off. Make enough to pay off loans as they come and to fund applications.
-Move out if at all possible, so as not to be yet another parasitic child-in-crisis on the family budget. Try to move down to Urbana, maybe: you could apply to work in the area, and it would put you in the optimal place to remain in close contact with their graduate program.
-Look into short school/community college programs (languages, mostly) that don’t cost much. If they keep you a student long enough to fend off the loan people and are cost-effective, so much the better, and you need to learn another language anyway for eventual Ph.D. qualifying-exam purposes.
If Accepted Somewhere:
-Don’t fuck up, kid.
If Not Accepted Anywhere:
-...
-...
-Shit, I got nothin'.
Hopefully this is sufficiently possible.
Stay tuned for my next entry, ADVENTURE IN ANGERS!! (or: Three train tickets, two castles, and a suicide), which will detail the utterly bizarre events of last weekend.