Chai_latte

congrats!!

Yup. It was last week. Even though I've been eyeing the program for a while, I forgot to attend.

Agreed. First, check the status online. If anything is missing that shouldn't be, contact them today or Monday. Honestly, I had a hellish time with this. One school KEPT losing my stuff. Forget email. Call. If something is presumed missing, I want to be on the other end of the phone while he/she is looking for it. But, start with the grad assistant/secretary.

Like you, I performed well overall, but bombed the AW. I couldn't believe it! I was in shock for days. Retaking wasn't an option (b/c the new format debuted the following month). I did well in my app process. BUT, I also covered my bases. I told 2 of my profs that my writing score was crap and asked them to mention my writing ability in their recs. If you have old lab reports/projects or your thesis, send it to these profs. I also wrote a killer SOP. After that, my AW probably didn't matter to any adcomms. When necessary, point your LOR profs in a certain direction. Let them cover some of your flaws (like a crappy score). They're on you side...use them. They can shift that score from "potential warning sign" to "anomaly worth ignoring".

Look at the avg. scores for the schools you're applying to. If yours are below (or avg. and you think you can do better), definitely re-take. This might sound silly, but I didn't know quant scores would be that important for anthro. Anyway, don't worry about schools other ppl applied to. If the schools you picked are good matches FOR YOU, go with them! I'm in the physical sciences. I personalized my SOP. The opening paragraph was a show-don't-tell, relevant story. Of course, I never lost sight of the SOP's role. I spoke of my previous research, fit with the dept., goals etc. And I was very successful in my app process. There are ways to inject style into your statement w/o getting off track. I'd die before I'd write a dry SOP. As for UG background, they have your info. The only UG stuff I focused on was my research (experience itself, publication, research-related honor society etc.). Skip the grades (if you don't have to BRIEFLY explain some of them away), extracurriculars (unless particularly relevant to your field/research) and scores. Let the LORs handle the rest.

You know what? I totally misread your scores. I was thinking that the 560 was your quant score. A 750 is fine. Seriously. I know the percentile might be too low for your taste, but the score itself is A-OK! A 750 is never grounds for a rejection. Sorry about that. Anyway, the rest of your app looks strong. Sounds like you'll have solid LORs and a strong SOP. I like your mix of schools- just make sure they're a good fit. Good luck with those papers!

That's what I meant, the C was from a school that wasn't USF or your 1st school. Well, if it's that much of a risk (and you're not comfortable), don't do it. I'd just hate to have to explain yet another bad grade.

Well, I'm not sure what the rest of your profile looks like. You also haven't said what type programs (e.g. elite, mid tier, unranked, MS-(non)/thesis, PhD) you're applying to. Not knowing anything else, I'd say your quant score is decidely low for any engineering program. But, maybe you've published 1-2 papers, given 2 talks/presentations, written a compelling SOP and have stellar LORs from all the right people. Info like that would change everything.

I did a thank you note and a bookstore gift card.

LOL. Don't worry about it. I honestly think most people just roll out of bed that morning...or even a few mornings before that. No one is there for the photoshoot. On GRE day, we all look like bums. It's called "bum-chic". And all the cool kids are doing it.

I have two last names, too. I usually drop one of my last names, but had both on my GRE. So, that put me in a similar position. I didn't have any trouble. Just make note of that on your application (there should be a section on possible/alternate/past names).

Lol, doomed? So dramatic :-) No, you're not doomed. You've gotten great advice thus far. Follow it. My only question is: do you HAVE to submit that "C"? If I read it correctly, it's a course you took outside of USF (and your first alma mater, I presume). *I'll get pelted with eggs for saying this* I think I'd "forget" to submit that transcript (w/ just one grade on it). The way I see it, your narrative is: I messed up before, but look at me now! A 3.9 is rather impressive, and if the ling. course isn't a SPL class and was taken at a different school, I'd take my chances and omit. *let the pelting begin*

Def. give yourself some time off. Show them that you have a clear sense of direction. AND the longer you stay out of school, the less your GPA seems to matter. However, if you meet Columbia's GPA requirement and they prefer inexperience, why not apply to that 1 school and see what happens? The worst thing they can say is "no". P.S. Since your jobs suck, try to volunteer at a good place. No company/firm turns down "free work". Get your feet wet in a more positive circumstance (even if the awful secretarial jobs are paying the bills). This could give you some good material for you future SOP.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I think people question getting a PhD from their undergraduate institution (~10yrs total). But, a (professional) masters? I don't think I've ever heard any qualms about that.

You hit the nail on the head. I was worried that I'd miss out on business skills. I didn't think that an MBA was necessary, but I wanted to have some background. So, I planned (and will start) to take advantage of some of the conferences/events at my university's b-school. In my fantasy land, I'm hoping that my advisor and I can commercialize our research. Oooh, that would be a dream come true!

Wow, tough questions. Let's put the $ woes aside for a minute. You probably owe it to yourself to explore a little bit. Take a couple of classes as a non matriculating student, and see if you can sneak into other courses of interest. Take a CS course and then mosey (sp?) over to the business school and set foot in one of their large, lecture courses. The following semester or summer, take a pre-med (or upper level bio) course and sneak into another course. If you're working, look into evening courses. The point is, you need to explore. And given your age, your exploration window might be getting ready to close. So... do it now! (I say this as a non-trad student myself...I took 4 yrs btwn college and grad). Once you do that, you'll have a lot more direction. Also, don't commit to any degree if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to do with it. So, you should also look into career options for these diff. interests you have. Once you find direction, a post-bacc might be a good idea (since you ran into a lot of academic trouble as an undergrad). You have your work cut out for you, but keep at it.

You just might. Anything can happen if you really impress someone in your lab. He/she may want to take you on for good. So, I'd work my butt off and give 110%. Try to get in a presentation, or two (poster, talk... whatever) and attend a conference. Typically, no you probably wouldn't have a shot at the tip-top. But, like I said, anything's possible if you wow the right people.

I mean, you can ask. If she's TT, I don't see why she wouldn't accept students. Personally, I'd prefer a more established prof. Plus, you haven't mentioned if her research interests mesh with your own. That's far more important than having mutual friends/working at the same sites. Anytime you sign up for a brand new advisor, you're taking a risk. She may not get tenure OR she could become one of the absolute best in your field...you don't know yet.

congrats!

I would go with campus housing. There's not enough turn around time otherwise. The bad/good thing about spring is that the process is much faster. You find out faster, but you're also expected to find a place/get acclimated in two minutes. And yes, a lot of people tend to stay for the summer. I think it's a good idea thesis, or not. You have the opportunity to solidify your network/do an independent study/intern/anything without classes and homework anchoring your day. Seriously, be grateful that you have this as an option. At my school we have ~8000 grads w/ 200 slots for grad student housing. Half of the housing is crap, which means only 100 REAL slots are available. Luckily, I moved my feet and snagged one. I suggest you do the same.

I can't speak to the other schools, b/c this isn't my field, but you should def. be OK with Columbia TC. Is the psych GRE out of 800 (chem's GRE isn't)? I can certainly say your experience, major gpa and general GREs look solid. Good luck!

yesssss, I am addicted to chai lol. I'll tell you what an established engineer told me when I entered college: try to stick with standard degrees (you can get interdisciplinary/trendy with outside projects or independent studies etc). You want your academic background (on paper) to look as traditional as possible b/c that never goes out of style (and is rarely a waste of money/time). P.S. Biotech ain't what it used to be.

1) gee, maybe I should change my screename 2) You plan on finishing your current program and then doing this? Here are my 2 cents. A program with an exceptionally high acceptance rate, no job placement listed and 33k debt is a cash cow. Period. I don't care what brand name is attached to the program. One of my alma mater's does this. Maybe I'm a cynic, but the way I see it, they lure ppl to these specialty masters programs (w/ the brand name) that don't really deliver at the end of the day. Honestly, I'd avoid these programs like the plague. Also, I'm not a fan of doing anything science-based online. That may fly w/ business or law, but not this IMO. Perhaps others will disagree, but w/ your pending, bio-related PhD, I'd get an MS in Stat or computational bio through an established math dept. if bioinformatics was my interest. As for regulatory affairs, would you really need an MS for that? Couldn't you just apply for some gov't jobs at the NRC, for instance? ETA: given that Hopkins doesn't have (m)any online sci/math programs, it probably tells you that this degree will be very quantitatively light

Aaah, well that's a little different then. If your PI is saying that, follow his/her lead. I'm convinced that all the profs know eachother lol, and some can put in a *really, really* good word for you. B/c application processes make me nervous, I'd apply to two, good-fit mid-tiers anyway (even though you probably won't need them). But, honestly if your PI has given the green light, you're half way there.

And what, approximately, is the rank of your current MS program?