nylnyl

Chai_latte thank you very much for your input, my tendency was towards that approach too but I wasn't sure so thanks for making me decide:)

Hello everyone, this is a great and inspiring thread for someone like me:) I am currently in the process of applying to PHD programs in Musicology, my problem is my undergrad GPA is 2.8 because of personal health problems related to weight issues. I was morbidly obese and had different health problems because of it and I also had problems while trying to lose the weight, I have been through two surgeries during undergrad and that greatly effected my psychology and concentration in school. Since then I have lost all my excess weight and I am a healthy person overall after a 6 year journey. My question is I have read the previous pages of the thread and it is stated that I should mention why my gpa is low, but what I'm wondering is should I just mention the reason as a personal health problem (superficially), or should I mention in detail that it was related to my weight so now that they will know that I am perfectly healthy or maybe I should not mention it at all? Another reason that makes me doubt whether I should mention it or not is my Master's GPA is A over A, I did really well in my graduate studies and my undergrad gpa had an upward trend towards the last two years leading to my graduation. Should I explain this change or should I not mention it at all and let my transcripts speak for themselves? Thank you all for reading and inspiring people like me to apply to grad school.Have a nice day:)

Hello everyone, I'm an international student from Istanbul,Turkey and I'm currently in the stage of finishing my master's thesis in Musicology. I'm applying for a PHD in Musicology to UCLA, Ohio State, Cornell, Brandeis, University of Chicago and McGill for fall 2013. I'm also on the fence about applying to NYU, U of Florida and Rutgers. I still haven't finished and submitted any of my applications unfortunately. My main interests are 20th Century Music (Electronic Music, Minimalism and Jazz mostly) , Film Music (which I'm currently writing my master's thesis about) and Music Psychology/perception. I'm open to any suggestions about my school choices. Funding is very important for me so I'm trying to look into schools with more funding available for international students. My biggest concern is my undergrad gpa, we don't exactly have the equivalent of the u.s. grading system but it's somewhere between 2.90-3.00 as I understand (Cornell is out of my reach I know but I still want to try it since it's one of my dream schools). My master's gpa is 4.00 (A) on the other hand. So at least I have that going for me. My ibt toefl score is very good but I'll be taking GRE general at 29th November and I'm a bit afraid of Quant. section because I studied at a conservatory for the last 14 years and we didn't have math classes so math is kind of scary for me. I just want to register and say good luck to each and everyone. I hope everyone gets in to the school and program they want. Have a nice day everyone, it's nice to be in the same boat with you all:)