bamafan

I wouldn't read too much into it. It got sent to literally every single person who applied.

I'm not familiar with this school, but Wiki suggests that it's a not-for-profit and may be legit.

That block of text is bigger than the Berlin Wall... But in all seriousness, I agree with Tea Girl. In many (most?) STEM fields, not only is a PhD beneficial for industry, it is often necessary if you want to ever move up. In some other fields, job prospects may or may not be more limited in terms of what directions you can go (ie mostly teaching).

It actually went to everybody who applied period, including the ones who already have an invite.

Congrats, cleverfool. I'm another low GPA applicant (3.3). To everyone still waiting to hear from places, don't give up hope!

I heard about 3 days ago, but I think it's likely there will be at least another round of invites as I got a second email today that seems to indicate they're sorting through respondents and the visit isn't until March 8. Good luck!

Just submit it the same as you would here. I honestly don't think there's much of a difference content-wise and the language thing is trivial. No one is going to think, "well, I was going to accept him but damn, he used the American spelling for honors."

Good luck, everyone!

I have something of a Cinderella story after coming back a bunch of crises including a crippling spine injury and family problems over the last year, and I'm willing to bet Berkeley's grad com didn't even look at almost anyone's personal statements. I feel like Berkeley's more of a numbers and credentials school. At least the program I applied to was by far the most stringent and even required that you have an impressive publication record. When it comes to programs like that, I highly doubt the personal statement has much if any value to your chances. It might be more in this case something POIs look at after you get your invite to talk about.

Just email and ask if you can take a plan. There's no argument at all, just ask them.

I really disagree. It's not your fault the other school gave you the invitation first -- you have no idea when UWM's interview dates are, so how is it your fault or you choosing the other school if you already previously committed/booked before even receiving UWM's invite? Most schools will either arrange an alternate date or something similar, but still pay for it. The fact that UWM chose not to do so is pretty much a giant "screw off" disguised as an invitation with caveats. It's not really rational, it's quite the opposite. UWM took offense and responded in an equally offensive manner. Even if they are a bit turned off, as many schools would be, the rational thing to do would be to recognize the applicant's hands were tied already and arrange an alternate date. What if, as the school in question, you basically told a top-tier candidate that they're not getting in by saying they need to get their own flight or you offend them and they turn it down (as most people would, and the poster in question has)? Remember, at this point, the schools are trying just as hard to recruit you as you are trying to sell yourself. The school's behavior here, in eliminating a potentially great candidate that they haven't had the opportunity to interview, is anything but rational. It's kind of petty.

I don't know if I agree with that completely. While a poor defense (and you're right, the Redskins pass coverage is atrocious) puts more pressure on the offense to deliver, Wilson also had to play from behind on a number of occasions and pulled off several comeback wins. Also, to be fair, the Redskin's run defense is really good, it's just their terrible secondary that gave up TDs. If they can get some good corners, the Redskins should be in the thick of it next season. Overall, RG3 certainly had a more difficult time, but even accounting for that, I think Russell Wilson's sheer performance is enough for me to give him the nod. But that's just my personal opinion. Ugh, don't even get me started on Jay. I'm a hometown Bears fan. I honestly believe he has one of the most unique skill sets in the entire league, but his career has been crippled by the fact he's had to play for the Bears the last five years. In his early Denver years, he looked like he was going to be elite. Then, he spent the last half decade as a human punching bag behind a worthless o-line and several dunces for offensive coordinators. Arm strength may not be the *biggest* factor, far from it, but it is really important. It's the reason guys like Matt Stafford (I'll take flak for this one, but I think it's more that he can throw from all sorts of weird crazy angles than his strength) can't win you games or Peyton has to kneel. They just can't get it downfield when it matters. It's also why Wilson or this week's big-man-on-campus Joe Flacco can pull off so many miracle plays; they can just air it out and let their big receivers go up for it or put it where only their receivers can grab it. Arm strength is also a key factor behind accuracy (I mean physical accuracy, not accuracy as a statistic as in completion %). Of course, decision making is the most important thing for that -- don't throw it into tight windows or mulitiple coverage if you can avoid it -- but sometimes (read: often), you have no choice and a QB with good arm strength can fit it into tiny windows. Maybe most of all, not having a big arm limits your offense significantly in what kind of things your OC can run through your QB and eliminates the threat of the big play, which lets the defense sit on horizontal routes and load the box. It's kind of a double-edged sword though; I'd argue this is why guys like Cutler have poor mechanics and are lazy. If you can get away with difficult throws because you have a rifle arm, you put less effort into refining your game. Like I said, I do agree that decision making is probably THE most important factor. An example of an ageless arm and reckless play would be Brett Favre. He's really overrated in my opinion. The problem with sports is the short memory people have, and also the sensational narratives. Favre gets excused for all his poor playmaking because he won the big one pretty early in his career. Yet the media likes to spin major events. For instance, look at Matt Ryan. Whether or not the Falcons made it to the SB, he's the same goddamn player. But now, the story is how he's still a choker, whereas if he had made it, everyone would be talking about how Ryan has finally arrived as an elite QB. But back on topic, when you put smarts and experience together with a guy who honestly has impressively good arm strength for his age, you get Tom Brady.

Very interesting perspective, I don't know many Redskins fans, so it's quite refreshing to see one who does not like him. I think his biggest problem is that he thinks he can take hits like Cam Newton, when in reality, he's Vick-sized whereas Cam Newton is a monster. That's one comparison I hate -- RG3 to Cam Newton. Their builds and play are totally different. RG3 is to Vick whereas Newton is more akin to Big Ben. As far as rookie seasons go, Weeden wasn't that horrible and he held it together okay considering the enormous disaster that is the Browns organization and their "offense" (aka Trent Richardson). If you think about it, his main issues were just accuracy (he was prone to under/overthrow) and his poor decisions/risk-taking, which led to a lot of INTs. The former can be attributed to him having to learn a new system and adapt to a pro-style NFL offense, which nearly all rookie QBs struggle with except Andrew Luck (the reason why so many teams do college offenses with zone reads, etc). But, I would agree that his ceiling is pretty low. He's probably the best QB they've had in decades, though that's not so much a compliment to him as an indictment of the Browns. Overall, I personally wouldn't describe him as horrible, just uneven. He just looks really, really bad because of the class he came out of, which features a number of potential superstars. He's definitely not a first-rounder though in my opinion. So now that I think about it, in the context of expectations, then sure, I'll agree he's been horrible. I think the Browns made a huge mistake firing Heckert. This guy has done everything right for the franchise (the blame for the Weeden pick goes on the owner). I don't think they'll find a more capable GM any time soon. I actually also think Wilson was more impressive than RG3. He had a rough start to the season, but since then, had been on a tear and in many ways, has been the best QB in the league in the second half of the season. He doesn't do gimmicky runs, but is lethal as an instinctive scrambler, a la Aaron Rodgers, and also has a cannon for an arm. Seriously, I remember watching one of his hail mary's. It went 60+ yards and he didn't even wind up before the throw. The only problem is that he's short... he has to do the Drew Brees baby hop step just to see over his line men...

I would interpret this as that they are offended and your chances of getting in are seriously diminished. That said, you already have a ton of options, and I don't know how in love you are with them, but if you're not deadset on UWM, I'd say you might want to consider declining their invitation. It is kind of an almost rude, "screw off" message to say you can come later but they won't pay -- it also implies they won't put together a nice interview day of events for you either. They have to know that this is how it'll come off to you and also that students aren't likely to come if the flight isn't paid unless it's a top, top choice, so If they aren't serious about you, why should you commit the time/money?

The experiences everyone has posted are very much appreciated! I'll be heading to my first interview this Thursday.

Haha, I see. Indeed, that's why I think the Ravens might have trouble with the read option. It's a shame about RG3 though. I am a huge fan of him and his game and you can count me among the people who blame Shanahan. Even if the docs said he was a-okay, I wouldn't have risked it because you have Kirk Cousins, who also looks like he could be a starter somewhere. But the crop of young quarterbacks this year is just absurd. Luck, RG3, Wilson, even Weeden and Tannehill have been decent. I even feel inclined to lump Kap in here since this is his first year starting.

Faraday, are you a 49ers fan in Maryland?!

Fair point, he's 8-4, when I said terrible away, I didn't mean specifically win percentage or even in the playoffs, but rather overall performance. In Baltimore, the Ravens are hard to beat and he looks elite. Away, the Ravens are easier to beat and even when the Ravens win, his performance is generally mediocre to poor, though these playoffs are certainly bucking that trend. Dude is going to get a mega contract whether or not they win the SB. Good for him, he took a risk last off season and it looks like it's going to pay off big time. But yeah, I'd say Jim Harbaugh is easily the best coach in the league behind Bill Belichick (yes, I know about 50% of the world hates BB, but you can't deny the man's genius). Harbaugh plays things in a way I respect -- high risk, high reward, and right now, it seems like a lot of reward. I'd argue John Harbaugh is fairly bold too when it comes to personnel decisions, the most recent being of course the elevation of Jim Caldwell to OC this late in the game, which I'd point to as the biggest factor for the Ravens getting hot at the right time. Their offense was fairly anemic at times under Cameron, but has been consistently dominant ever since he took over and Flacco's performance has jumped up because of it. Forgotten in all of this is poor Alex Smith. Any guesses to where he'll end up next year? He's always been playing under the label of not living up to his draft status, and this might ruin his confidence. Interesting point about this being the end of Moss' career as well. Another guy who I really think deserved to be in the Super Bowl is Tony Gonzalez. This guy has been playing TE in the NFL since practically before many of us were alive, certainly before some of us could read/write. A true pro's pro, but never got to the big one. At least he finally got a playoff win. And rising_star said it best: "The Manti Te'o story is the gift that keeps on giving". I especially liked Bill Simmons' description of the Tyson Zone. I was pretty to see that he got an ESPN contract this year to be on air, I've been reading his stuff ever since I also became an overly biased, obnoxious Celtics fan. The funny thing is, his joke about Belichick being behind the Te'o hoax might half be spot on; of course, no NFL team is behind this, but now he will likely slide to the late first round or even mid second, where the Pats or Bears might be able to pick him up (though honestly, I'd draft Alec Ogletree over Te'o).

Given the fact that my teams almost always lose and now that I've publicly jinxed the 49ers, the Ravens will probably throw for 12TDs by halftime and the Niners just forfeit and cry. In all seriousness, some intangibles to ponder beyond the plain old offense v. defense analysis I posted above: - Kaepernick's inexperience. He's been cool under pressure so far, but it's the Super Bowl! - The emotion / motivation of the Ravens to send Ray Lewis off with a bang (seriously, what kind of Batman-broken-spine-recovery drugs was he taking to return from a fully torn triceps in 8 weeks and then proceed to kick serious ass?!). - David Akers' struggles this season, including a missed chip shot today. - The discipline / penalty issues that have plagued the Ravens. - Both teams' "hard-hitting" reputation, put on display today when Pollard proceeded to try and murder a fourth Patriot in as many seasons. - Flacco's "away" performance. It's a neutral field, but aside from this playoffs, he's been historically great at home and mediocre away. It's like Jay Cutler's Jekyll/Hyde but worse; which Flacco are you going to get? The Brady/Manning-killer or the guy who posted a 0.3 and 0.4 QBR this season. - and last but not least, me... because I tend to jinx teams and the real reason Akers missed that FG is because I didn't re-orient my Bud Light. Should've listened to that goddamn commercial.

Yeah, my giant post above now makes me feel stupid. But mostly sad. This was the first time ever that Brady and co have lost at home while leading at half-time (previously, they were 66-0). Truthfully, the Patriots killed themselves more than anything else with poor coaching, drops, and injuries, but credit the Ravens defense for showing up. An interesting observation is that the Ravens' path to the Super Bowl strongly mirrors that of the previous two winners, the Giants and Packers, as underdog, overlooked 4th seeds. Something to think about if you believe in history. But yeah, the Niners I like. The Ravens I do not. I can't wait to see what kind of tantrums are going to happen in N.O. when we have not one, but TWO, Harbaugh brothers manning the sidelines (see Figure A). The poor refs are going to need counseling after that one. Anyway, here's my prediction and analysis for two weeks from now. Take it for what it's worth, considering I'm 0-2 in predicting this week's championship games (yes, I got the 49ers pick right, but barely, as I thought they'd run all over the soft Falcons, which they didn't until they figured things out in the 2nd half). Today, the Patriots' secondary was exposed today after the loss of Talib (but was shutdown dominant vs Ravens' pass game before that), when Bolden started running buck wild against an undersized Arrington, so I stand by what I said last week about the Ravens' passing. They only have three viable targets and are wholly dependent on that for their entire offense. The Niners had the 3rd best regular season defense in the league and a fearsome pass rush had faltered recently but finally showed up today vs the Falcons. While the Ravens' o-line is outstanding and kept Flacco mostly upright, Aldon Smith, et. al. should wreak some havoc. On the other side, three words: Colin fucking Kaepernick (this kid has spunk... see Figure . I gushed about his skills earlier, and I'll do it again. I'm not sure Frank Gore and Kap will be able to run consistently against the Ravens either, but even today against the Pats, the Ravens have been "leaky". The Ravens struggled badly with the read option when they faced RG3 (and Cousins for that matter), so it will be curious if they can figure it out in time vs Kap. For the record, vs the Packers, Kap ran for a ridonkulousaurus 181 yards off the read option/scrambles, and while he didn't run it once today vs the Falcons, that they had to put a spy defender on him opened up Gore for some big runs/TDs. Just the threat of Kaepernick will force the Ravens to be honest, and you have to figure Suggs or Lewis will be responsible for Kap. Unfortunately for the Ravens though, this guy has an arm that can rival Flacco and just as dangerous receivers in Crabtree and the ageless Moss. I think the difference in this game will be that the Niners can run, which will eventually lead to some favorable coverages. Meanwhile, the Ravens will have to keep throwing (but that's fine for them, because that's their whole offense anyway, and with Flacco, he will keep them in it), but ultimately, they'll succumb due to a fatigued defense and too many long 49ers drives on the ground. Also, the Niners offensive line is disgusting. They are enormous. TV stat of today -- their "jumbo" package weigh a combined 2250 lbs. Good lord. Hope I don't embarrass myself again with my prediction, but come the HarBowl (I feel disgusted just saying that), the Ravens keep it close, but Niners take their first SB since 94 and stay perfect in Super Bowls at 6-0. Final score -- Niners 31 v Ravens 24. EDIT: Lovely pictures... Figure A. "I WANT MY CAKE NAO NAO NAO!" Figure B. Dafuq is in my shit? I'm just gonna put that back...

Why do you need to be sneaky? There's nothing wrong with asking about decisions, no need for an excuse as to why. Also, most places dont require you to accept until April and I imagine they all know that anyway.

Even in your field, I think that is way too low. That score puts you in the 7th percentile. You probably won't meet minimum cutoffs and your apps may be automatically screened out. That's probably not what you wanted to hear, but if I were you, I'd retake it and cram hard for the math since your verbal is quite fine. All you need is practice -- honestly, half of the difficulty of the math part is just trickery in how they word things. It's not any harder than SAT math material, they just try to fool you. Just practice, practice, practice and get good at the fundamentals, and you should be able to improve your score a lot. Good luck!

Still waiting to hear from them myself, so I'm assuming it'll probably be a rejection as well. I'm pretty disappointed with Berkeley as I had gotten a call from a POI there who expressed strong interest and we chatted for about 20 minutes. But it seems my horrid UG GPA is catching up to me now.

I've been told not to check bags as they are not reimbursed. It depends on the school, check with them to ask. Edit: For UCLA, I booked my own flight so I went Southwest. Aw yea!

I regret not applying.