reeses_pieces

Officially accepted my offer at Scripps! Had an amazing visit this weekend and I couldn't be more excited.

I haven't heard anything yet either, and I spent an evening chatting with my POI and he pretty much stated it was going to be a done deal. Weird.

Thanks, it seems pretty straightforward from your description. It seems a bit overwhelming because there are two full days of activities and interviews, but I'm sure it will all go well. I definitely wasn't planning on using my phone (can't believe someone did that) but its always something to keep in mind. I guess I was more worried if I was supposed to have specific questions related to their research (not including my advisor who would naturally expect that), but it doesn't seem like it would be the case. My research interests are in paleoceanography/paleoclimate so I doubt they'd expect me to review the research of the volcanologist I'm meeting with, for example, haha! Thank you for the tips CC2014. Congrats on A&M, it's an awesome place.

Anybody have any tips for open houses? I got my interview schedule for Scripps and its packed with a bunch of professors, some of whom don't even do research related to my interests or future work. Are these meetings more informal like a get-to-know you type of thing? Seeing all these faculty I'll be sitting with for 45 minutes even though I know nothing about their research is intimidating!

Yep, same with me. I didn't visit SIO, but I sure as hell networked more there than anywhere else. My POI was a great fit, we talked often, etc.

Is funding tight at ASU this year? I had talked to two POI there (albeit they collaborate quite a bit) and they both told me that they weren't going to be able to take students this year because there funding situation was not what they expected. I want my application fee back! Haha

Yes, I did as well. I think they sent it out to everyone, seeing as I've been conditionally accepted (pending my official transcripts matching my unofficial one)

Out of curiosity, what program did you apply to. I hope you get in! EDIT: Also, that timeline makes a lot of sense since their open house is next Thurs/Fri. I'm sure the plan is for advisers to make their final decisions on students who haven't been fully accepted then.

Thanks! I'm a bit nervous for the workload but I hope its manageable! I know getting a PhD is a crazy amount of work in general so it seems a little daunting. I'm guessing since your boss has a job it turned out well for him haha.

Hi all! I think I'm headed off to Scripps Institution of Oceanography next year- I've heard great things but wanted to see if anybody on this forum is currently attending or has in the past. I just want to know how you've liked your time there, what the atmosphere is like, or any other tips and general advice. I'm really anxious to start my research and relocate over there! Thanks in advance!

This is great to know, seeing as how I had already printed out a bunch of papers for my first open house. You just saved me a few hours!

I have an itinerary for the Scripps open house for mid-march, if you'd like to see it. If not I can tell you more once I'm there! I also have one for UW- madison as well.

I've spent a decent amount of time in both Austin and Berkeley and you definitely can't go wrong with either. I do love Berkeley's free thinking atmosphere though, a professor I know who went there said its great for coming up with some unique and innovate research. Either way, congrats!!!

Undergrad Institution: Large state school Major(s): Geology Minor(s): No minor, but took a lot of extra courses GPA in Major: 3.52 Overall GPA: 3.34 Position in Class: No idea Type of Student: Domestic GRE Scores (revised): Q: 168 V:166 Research Experience: Research experience began senior year of high school running my own project out of a NOAA lab. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: University honors program/citation, invited to departmental honors but declined since I was studied abroad and didnt want to graduate late, honors thesis project. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Working as environmental consultant at remediation firm for the past few months. Also worked with a local tech company and spearheading a side kickstarter project to develop small carbon monoxide detectors that can be plugged into an iphone. Potential for measurements of other harmful compounds/gases as well (think methane, CO2 levels, etc). Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 2 recommendations from professor's I've worked with extensively and 1 from the tech company. Two upcoming publications with the professors writing me the recommendations. Poster presentations for thesis and an REU, but no conference poster presentations. Applying to Where: Accepted, Applied, Interview, Rejected Scripps Institution of Oceanography- PhD (five years of funding guaranteed by SIO, fellowships will cover my expenses in general, although they want me to TA one quarter so I get some experience.) Arizona State University- PhD CU Boulder- Applied to MS but got accepted to PhD after interview? (funded, likely RA/TA position?) University of Washington- PhD (no word) UC Santa Barbara- MS (no word) University of Wisconsin Madison- MS (funded, but declined before I heard back about details since I got accepted to SIO) Boston University- PhD My guess is I'm not getting accepted into Univ. of Washington... I contacted the professor I was interested in working with there pretty late in the game since I hadn't planned on applying there originally. Haven't heard back. I'm expecting to get into BU based on the meeting I've had with my POI there, but haven't heard anything official back. POI at ASU is having some funding issues apparently, so that is up in the air. SIO was my top choice, so barring some miracle I'll be heading there. Hope this helps.

Accepted into CU Boulder for a PhD. EDIT: Geological Sciences department, fyi Double edit: I forgot, if anyone else is still waiting to hear from from the geology department at CU Boulder they said they hadn't sent out a bunch of their acceptances yet. Also, it seems I am funded but no word on what that package entails exactly.