sophie anne

Thanks GeoDUDE! I really appreciate your thoughts on the matter. It seems that you and I are pretty much on the same page about the decision here... That it's more important I am happy with myself and the skills I'm gaining than the specific research focus of my advisor and thesis. Most of my work thus far has been in geobiology (with a heavier emphasis on the biology side) and my job as a lab tech would be as a geobiologist with one of my current research advisors. That advisor feels pretty strongly that Brown is "too paleo," but frankly he's a biologist and not a geologist so our viewpoints tend to differ. He's pushing for me to take the year with him to publish in some high impact journals and reapply to the more competitive schools on my list. Thing is-- funding at Brown is surer than it seems to be at Caltech, MIT and Boulder... and that's nothing to sneeze at!!! Mainly, I want to have a really candid discussion with my POI at Brown to make sure that he thinks we can tie in my biology background to a really interesting project. I got accepted to the joint program with the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, so this really could be the best of all worlds with a strong geo department and access to a great biological research institution. What I'd really like to do, I think, is take the year to finish up my current research and get some publications and defer Brown until the fall of 2016 (if my advisor will let me do that) because the skills and publications I'd get during this year in-between would definitely make me a more experienced scientist and probably a better graduate student. Also, the lab tech position involves some Arctic field work soooo that's more than a little tempting! So the question becomes, what will I do if Brown says no gap year and I need to either turn down the acceptance or reapply next year? Ahh... At least I have a decision to make. Like you said... either way it ain't too shabby! ETA: Yes, I've visited Brown and met both of my potential advisors (one at Brown in the geo dept and one at MBL) and I loved it! I really think I would be happy there. The grad students were people I immediately felt at home with, and I really liked the other professors I met.

Not sure how to edit my old post so I'll just repost this here: At this point, I'm expecting rejections from the other three as well but it isn't over till it's over. The offer from Brown is great (funding guaranteed for 5+ years) so while this process has certainly been a reality adjustment in just how competitive these programs are, it's been a success. The research fit may not be the best at Brown, though, so I'm left making the decision between taking this offer now or taking some time off to improve my qualifications and try again for MIT/Caltech in the future... I do have a job as a lab tech lined up for next year so I'm considering deferring Brown even if I do decide to accept their offer. Best of luck to you all, and let my results be a lesson that admission to these programs is not always just a result of your qualifications, research fit and whether the POI wants you... even if all of these things fall into place you may still end up with $600 in rejection letters! So definitely make sure to have a backup plan! Ugh

This is so comforting to hear, since things aren't looking good for me this time around. Congratulations! It's wonderful that your persistence paid off; you clearly deserve this!

My POI at Caltech just confirmed for me that the AdCom didn't recommend me for admission, but also said she had already initiated an appeal to reconsider me for admission (apparently she was hoping to have good news for me before I emailed to ask... no such luck haha). So, I'm in a weird almost-certainly-rejected-but-maybe-not limbo right now. Fun! I emailed my POI at MIT today, so I should know soon.

So that's Caltech and MIT off the table. Looks like I might be back here next year trying for round two

Thanks for getting back and clarifying! and congrats!!! Is Caltech your top choice? Well, I'll just operate under the assumption that I won't be going to Caltech. That way, if I get a surprise, it won't be of the disappointing variety Not sure whether it would be appropriate to email/call and ask- what do y'all think?

Nothing from Caltech. So, yeah. Let me know if you call or hear anything... There don't seem to be any results for Caltech GPS on the results search so they may be running a little later than usual with decisions. One person posted earlier in this thread that they got accepted by Caltech but it's not in the results search, and they didn't specify that they applied to GPS, so unless they come back and clarify I wouldn't count that as anyone having heard from GPS. I've just decided to wait patiently for my overpriced rejection letters

Congrats!

FWIW, POI at Boulder says to expect unofficial news late next week, so if anyone else has a faculty contact there you might expect the same.

Sounds like a keeper!

Maybe schools are running a bit late this year...

Yes. I believe that the adcom should be finishing their first pass at the files this week, and they will then be reviewed by your POI/potential advisor. (per an email from my POI)

I know that Brown hasn't met yet. My POI said during my visit that he wouldn't have any official news for me until mid-February so I wouldn't be too worried, ellen_ai.

Yup. All of this.

I'm assuming that I'm on the low end of MIT and Caltech credentials... those are definitely my "dream schools"! It's my understanding that schools will often have students they are considering for admission visit during January and February, is this true? I already have a visit planned to Brown for January, and I'm hoping to combine that with an MIT visit too, since I've never been on campus there before. The thing is, it's just not in the budget to fly to California on my own money right now (I live on the east coast), so phone conversations are the best I can manage unless the schools end up helping with the costs... I'm not applying to Scripps because there isn't an advisor there who does research I'm particularly interested in, and because I don't need another "reach" school on my list. It and several other schools were on my initial list, but this is the pared down, interest and budget-driven list of schools. If I could apply to them all... but alas, money