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uncultured

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    Woman
  • Location
    California
  • Application Season
    Already Attending
  • Program
    Earth System Science

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  1. Current Stanford ESS PhD student here, hope this helps. 1) Is it even worth applying to the PhD program straight from undergrad? I have already identified some POIs but I have no idea if they will even consider taking on someone who's just attaining their bachelor's degree. Yes. Many (most?) of us started the PhD program without an MS. Some PIs encourage applicants coming straight from undergrad to apply to the MS program (mine did, although I didn't listen), and there might be a few PIs who only take students with an MS. I'd email the faculty you're interested in and ask. Also worth noting, from what I understand, the department doesn't guarantee funding for MS students like it does for PhD students, so I'd encourage you to ask potential PIs if they have funding for MS students. The department makes it pretty easy to transition from the MS program to the PhD program (assuming the PI is on board), so if you can get funded as an MS student, it might be the way to go. 2) Would I be much better off applying to the MS program to gain more research experience before applying to PhD programs? It depends. Some people choose to get an MS first to explore more research topics and decide if they even like grad school before committing to a PhD. I knew what I wanted to work on and that I needed a PhD for the career I want, so I went straight into a PhD. Plus, I'm older and wasn't willing to take on an extra ~2 years of grad school to get an MS first. It seems like you already have a decent amount of research experience, so if you're certain that you want a PhD and you know what you want to work on, go for it? Although you might be considered a more competitive applicant with an MS... again, kind of depends on the program/PI, I think. 3) Also, in terms of a PhD degree, even though I'm coming from undergrad, is it expected that my research interests and subsequent dissertation topic are set in stone upon applying? I'm almost certain that I want to study ecological restoration and how climate change is influencing the ecology of vulnerable ecosystems, but, who knows, something during my time as a graduate student could rewrite my path. At least in our department, your general research interests should be pretty "set in stone" when you apply, since you'll be writing about them in your application. Further, ESS is a direct admissions program meaning that you're admitted to work with a specific PI, so your success as an applicant largely depends on whether or not your research interests match those of a PI (although I'm sure there are exceptions). The department makes it VERY challenging to switch labs if your interests end up changing or things aren't working out with your PI. Plus our department is so all over the place, there probably isn't another group working on topics you're interested in (again, there are some exceptions). I don't think any faculty here expect applicants to know exactly what they want to work on for their dissertation. However, it's possible some PIs only have funding for specific projects and are looking for students to work only on those projects. This is another thing I'd encourage you to ask potential PIs about. When I interviewed, my PI had funding for 4 projects and it was expected that I would work on one of them, and I started working on my dissertation project right away. However, different PIs approach this VERY differently. Students in other groups are expected to develop their own dissertation topic from scratch and use their first couple of years to do so, as Hydrobiogeochemist mentioned. I can't really speak to any other PhD programs but I imagine my response likely applies to other direct admissions programs? I imagine rotation programs are a different story.
  2. Also trying to figure this out...
  3. Posting just in case someone has the same question in the future: Current Stanford Earth System Science student here. This department is diverse af. You absolutely do NOT need any prior earth science/geophysics coursework to succeed in this program, I’m honestly shocked another grad student told you that (to be fair, I can’t think of anyone in geology/geophysics who came here without any earth science courses, but this is very common in ESS, especially in the geobio labs). Many of us have degrees in bio/chem, others have degrees in physics/anthropology/etc. My degree’s in microbiology, I knew next to nothing about rocks before I came here and I’m fine because I’m in a micro lab. In fact, I would argue that many of the geobiology PIs here prefer taking students with bio degrees interested in geobio over students with geology degrees but limited bio lab skills. As far as the required ESS graduate coursework goes... 1) don’t let all the earth-y sounding core classes scare you, they’re just “professors on parade/ here are the different kinds of research we have going on/ get to know your cohort” type classes with nonsense names. No prior earth science knowledge needed. 2) you can get out of these classes if your PI signs off on it, message me about it if you want.
  4. Yeah I'm reapplying to try to get into EV. I'm fine with my Oak Creek assignment but I want one of those EV full size beds! And I think being part of the on campus community would be good for me.
  5. Did you guys get your housing assignment? I'm in Oak Creek.
  6. How many housing options are you guys ranking in your application? I don't know how far down our lists we could actually end up.
  7. In ESS, we're admitted directly to a specific lab. More typically, incoming grad students rotate through multiple labs in their department and then pick the best fit, so I was just curious how it works in geology. A week or so after I made my ID and accepted my offer, I received an email with links to information including how to check my To Do list in Axess, where to send official transcripts, incoming health requirements, housing, etc. But other than that, nothing of note. I'll try to remember to let you know if anything else comes up, but I'm trying to start in summer so I imagine my situation might be a bit different than yours. Cheers.
  8. Hi! I'm going for Earth System Science! Same school! *high five* I'm also beyond excited. I only applied to this program and still can't believe I got in, to be honest. But after learning about my PI's work I just had such a hard time getting exciting about other labs, and all of the faculty I met with on interview day did a great job reassuring me I can kick butt at Stanford. As for housing, I'll definitely be living on campus, at least for the first couple of years, I imagine. I haven't had roommates since 2012 so it's going to be an adjustment (not trying to pay that extra money for a studio, hopefully I can at least get my own bathroom). I like to work at weird hours so being close to campus is really important to me. Financially, on campus housing seems like the best option by far, and 3/4 of the grad students I asked told me to live on campus. What are you thinking? I'm from Northern California so I don't have a crazy move like you. Are you excited about living in the Bay/ sad about leaving Australia? Do you guys rotate in geology or is it direct admit like ESS? Cheers!
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