Chai_latte

I'm not that familiar with the new GRE scoring. What percentile is your quant score? My gut says that w/ the schools you're applying to, you should be aiming for mid 160's at least. If I were you, I'd study for that exam again. You might get away with omitting the GRE subject when/if it's optional. But, I would seriously consider re-testing before moving through the application process. As for back-ups, you should def. add some. You're in PA. Philly has some schools I would add. Basically, add some state schools and mid-tier private schools to your list that mesh with your research interests. You also say that you're applying for Spring 2013. I wasn't aware that any of those schools had spring admission (I'm almost 100% positive vandy, columbia and yale don't).

hahah...katerific, your gifs are great!

Taking chemistry courses is a good first step. After that, I would go for the masters. A science MS will open up more doors for you in the long run.

Don't sacrifice any of your other letters, but if you can tack on an extra one (call the office to find out)...

You should definitely wait. As rising star said, these programs have very low accceptance rates (sometimes as low as med school). I'm just curious. Why do you want the degree? With 1 JD and (potentially) 2 PhDs, will psych complement your law/poli sci background in a particular way? If I were you, I'd def. tackle that in any SOPs and make sure my recommenders spoke to that as well. You don't want your other 2 terminal degrees to count against you/make you look indecisive.

I don't have anything useful to add, but I'm really shocked by its size. Wow. Are most of their students M.S.? Non-thesis?

Yeah, I'm interested in this too! I plan to start with those anxiety- ridden pre-meds

A few years ago, I knew someone who was having this same internal debate. He decided to get his MFA in order to bolster his network. We've lost touch, so I don't know if he feels the investment was worth it, but networking was the deciding factor for him.

i'd go w/ the new guy

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum (and I'm obsessed with it so far). I'm a science girl interested in entrepreneurship. I'm in love with my grad program/sub-field/advisor, but I've never wanted to become a prof or even to run my own lab. I want my own company! Surely, I'm not the only one who isn't eyeing the ivory tower. What are you studying and what is your (nontraditional) dream career?

May I ask why you're applying to 16? Are they all great fits (research/location etc.)? Is your list top-loaded with "dream schools"? Are there schools on the list that you'd really hate to attend? I ask b/c initially I had forwarded 14 schools to my profs (none complained about my number), but I wound up getting rid of 2 schools (location) and then 3 more (poor fit). If there's some fat you can trim off of that list of 16, do so (but don't force it). If, by chance, you can get it down to a lower number, you might want to ask her again. BUT, honestly... if I were you, I'd probably move on to the next prof. If I sense anything less than 110% enthusiasm (even if the reason is external and has nothing to do with me), I move on. EDIT: Unless she's your UG research advisor. If that's the case, do what you need to do to get her rec.

"asking if someone intended to move might be seen as uncouth" You know what? You're right. Glad I didn't take my own advice when I was applying lol. *silently slinks into the corner* I'm now co-signing what Takeruk says.

Hi abcd1, Since you're aiming for a PhD eventually, I think it might be good to consider MS programs at PhD granting institutions. I'm not ruling out places like UNC-Ashville, but schools like Maryland- Baltimore (like milam said) or Maryland- Baltimore County, probably schools like SUNY Stony Brook or SUNY Buffalo, CUNY graduate center, UC-Riverside, Illinois at Chicago, maybe WashU, Brandeis or Tufts and various state schools (Nebraska, Arizona, Kansas, Georgia etc.) Basically, go to USNews.com, look up the biological sciences (not so much for ranking, but for a full list of schools). You'll probably have to start looking outside of the top 50. Go through the list and email/call/look at the websites to find out which schools offer the masters. Create your list from that. Look at the profs who have interesting research and/or who are especially accomplished in their respective fields. I don't know if the schools that I mentioned offer the MS (I think they might), it's your job to find that out and to find other institutions that meet your needs. This is a very personal choice- one that a scholarship governing body can't/shouldn't make for you. The main reasons why I would lean towards a PhD granting institution are: 1) there is heavier emphasis on research (at least stereotypically) 2) if you don't get in elsewhere for the PhD, you can probably stay where you are 3) yes, science is partially about who you know- there are higher odds of a well known prof being at a public PhD place than at a MS granting institution. Of course, as Milam pointed out, you can be successful with either option. It's really up to you.

"Rising AP's". Does that mean assistant profs? I don't know about sociology, but I think it is fair to say middle aged/ tenured profs don't move around as much as younger ones. But, they can (and do) move. One of my friends in bio had 2 research advisers (assoc. profs) to leave in his first 3 years. The first prof went to UCB. The next guy (and my friend) went off to Penn a couple of years later. Interestingly, two full profs left Penn for my school. So, there is movement, but I think in all depts. the order would be: assist>assoc>full. If you're concerned, ask POI's if they plan to stay put. My adviser just moved her lab to my dept., so I didn't have to ask.

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What a disappointment! 10 is definitely not a huge number. Get another prof, and I would also recommend the one who knows you better. Who knows, maybe you can ask him to mention your "A's" in Dr. Famous' classes. That way you get an enthusiastic rec and an acknowledgement of your strong performance with Dr. Famous. Win-win.

Honestly, I think that most of the advice would hold. There is probably (a little) less emphasis on research for the MS.

I had planned on applying to 12 schools, but by app #7, I was suffering from application fatigue. I chugged through an additional two and chucked the remaining three. I'm sure apps #8 and #9 weren't as good. But, you have to be true to yourself. If 15 programs truly excite you, you'll take the necessary time. I think I ran into trouble b/c, like you, I was eager to get started BUT not all of the schools were great fits. The apps for "poor fit" schools were painful to complete. If I had only considered "good fit" schools, my list would've been half as long. P.S. my rejections came, exclusively, from the schools that weren't good fits.

My Q + V scores were great, but my writing score was terrible. There was no way that I was going to retake the exam (I tested in mid-July, right before the format change). So, I told my LOR profs. I still had some of my old lab write-ups and they had held onto my larger reports. Even though I'm in a quantitative field, I asked my profs to talk about my writing ability. I had written killer SOPs and I didn't want their authenticity to be questioned by adcomms. Moral of the story: you're not dead on arrival if your scores aren't 100% shiny.

I was told that any UG coursework (pre or post-B.A.) counted towards the undergrad GPA. Assuming that's the case, you should take additional UG courses (maybe relevant, upper level electives) and take a couple of grad courses to show that you can handle upper level work. As rkg said, make sure that the other parts of your application are strong. Also, be sure to apply to a wide array of programs. I'm pretty sure most MSW programs have high acceptance rates- so you just might have a shot.

So, it looks like you're interested in transferring from one grad school to another. It just happens that your current grad school is an international one. I'm not an expert, but I think that would be fine. It's OK if the US schools know that you're a current student elsewhere. And if you explain your situation to your current professors, I don't see why you would have trouble getting letters of recommendation for American schools. Give it a shot.

I can't speak for international applicants either. But, at my school, you guys have to apply ~4-6 weeks before the rest of us (even though I think you find out when everyone else does). As for me, a domestic applicant, the wait time varied. One school took 2 months, another waited 10 days. I think my average was 6-7 weeks though (I applied to 9 schools). Unfortunately, no I can't speak for JHU specifically.

Hi Eponine, I'm new here, but I think your professor's assessment was rather harsh. Here's what I did (and what I would recommend for others). I enrolled in a post-bac at a top institution (I already had strong scores, research experience etc.) and then I applied to grad programs. If you're looking into "ranked" doctoral programs, I'm not sure if an "unranked" MA is the prescription. If I were you, I would take a few undergrad electives (as a non-matriculating student) at a top place after finishing the MA. One thing to remember, and I think I'm right on this one, is that your undergrad GPA won't be averaged with your grad GPA. So, I think it's still a good idea to raise that UG GPA w/ some post-bacc work. Best of luck!