talkcherty2me

Thanks! I agree that it's solid advice. Sometimes reviewers get lazy (understandably), so it's a good way to make the criteria they're reviewing for stick out.

I did the bold/buzzwords thing last year and got HM. I followed the same format this year.

Enjoy your freedom and go do fun things that you didn't have time for throughout application season

You forgot the third time: filling out NSF applications

I was also able to log in.

I brought up to my advisor that decisions are coming out next week, and he seemed very nonchalant about it. He's not taking any new students on next year, and I'm not sure if that's why... or maybe he's just a chill guy. I'm definitely more nervous than he is about it, even though he's the one who could potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Side Note: Does anyone know how HM looks compared to an award on your CV? I saw a few posts earlier discussing the benefits of getting the fellowship in general, but if your advisor has adequate funding (assuming the funding is for research you actually want to do and not just some project you got stuck with), most of them seem to be CV-related.

I don't see how they could possibly be real. NSF releases all decisions at once (last year emails were sent out around 2:00/3:00am CST). In all likelihood, results will come out next Friday. Last year, GradCafe was very accurate in predicting the decision release date, and I'd assume the same for this year.

Mine isn't updated either

j118, it's a housing lottery. You just have to get your housing application in by the deadline, which is sometime in May, I believe. Also, if you're worried after looking at the MIT thread from last year, there should be a lot more housing next year since Sid Pac will be completely open again. Also, FYI, this is a 4 year old thread. I believe there's a newer one in the current Meet and Greet section.

I go to one of your dream schools and have met many people in the chemistry department. A lot come from top schools, but there are also a good number of people who aren't from top schools. I've even met a couple of people who come from schools that probably aren't ranked by USNWR at all. I would say that for you though it's more important to have stellar GRE scores (I don't have knowledge on how important subject tests are since I didn't have to take one) than it is for people from top undergrad institutions... but other than that, with your qualifications, you seem to have as good of a chance as anyone else!

Would your main advisor for MIT/WHOI be at MIT or at WHOI? That could make a big difference. I was choosing between geological sciences at UD and CEE at MIT. I went with the latter. PM me if you want more info, since some stuff is a little personal.

While it's definitely a good sign , I wouldn't consider it an acceptance until they specifically tell you it is. I got flown out for an interview at one school and did not get in, and my undergrad earth sciences department does an interview weekend instead of an accepted students weekend (but they usually accept more people than they reject after this point)

You probably could contact them, but I don't think a lack of relevant coursework would be a make-or-break sort of a thing unless you didn't have ANY upper level science classes. I know a few physics majors who have gone on to do PhDs in geology and geochemistry. In the event you get rejected everywhere, I would try to spend the year gaining more research experience in your field (which you would get paid to do), rather than paying to take extra courses.

From my experience (a whopping one semester haha), your classes are there to help you with your research (if you're applying for a PhD program. I just realized you didn't specify). At the end of the day, you don't want to break your neck trying to get an A in a class when your program only requires a B and those hours could be put toward research. In an ideal world, you should be getting straight As and be super productive with your research, but a lot of times it's not possible to do all of that in a day *and* get a full night's sleep. The transition hasn't been too bad so far, but my advisor has a geology/geochemistry background like me which makes it easier. I'd say my research is still geochemistry-related, it just happens to be in an environmental engineering department.