bamafan

Yup, but I'd be on the lookout for TA&M. Manziel looks to be for real.

I would just like to say that Alabama is killing ND. That is all.

Congratulations, I got my UG degree in that particular BE department. It's a very forward thinking program and depending on what you want to do, some of the professors are just outstanding. I'm fairly close with a number of the faculty there so if you, or anyone else, have any questions, I can try to answer them to give recommendations to fit your interests.

Even if you don't feel your app is much better, it probably is from your experience alone. This is my second time as well, and I've gotten two interviews so far (both 2-3 weeks ago). I'm hoping the next few days/weeks will yield more good news. I like my chances better (knock on wood) simply because, though like you, I know my "stats" aren't significantly improved, the app itself is miles ahead. I published a few papers, did some more research in the off year, reused two of the three recs but substituted a superior third, rewrote my SOP from an embarrassing trainwreck to a fairly serviceable one, and perhaps most importantly, got my apps out way, way clear of the deadline (mid-November roughly, for all apps, regardless of if they were due 12/1 or 1/3).

I put around 3 on average. There's usually another place to list them, and I'd do it there. You don't want your SOP to lose focus with a lot of name dropping.

I would not, it doesn't appear to be directly related to your work or field of study. In a personal statement, sure, but in a statement of purpose, I recommend against it.

Also, there's no need to be nervous or anxious. These interviews are meant to be fun and just as much of an opportunity for you to interview them as it is for them to interview you. In fact, you're likely to enjoy yourself more, get more out of the visit, and present better if you are relaxed about the whole thing. And... you guys have invites already as well! Don't sweat it. There's lots of folks out there still waiting for their first one. I was really anxious before I got my first one, and then after that, the anxiety kind of just disappeared.

It's the calm before the storm. Pretty much only early app deadline results are out and even then, many schools haven't sent out anything yet. Over the next month though, virtually every school will send out invites. The general rule of thumb is that if you didn't get an invite by the end of January, you probably won't, so next month will be a crush of notifications.

Thank the committee.

Don't despair; I don't mean to say ALL Dec 1 results are out, just that any that are out are likely the Dec 1 ones. I think the crush of Dec 15 results will begin to trickle out around New Years.

Pretty much only the December 1 due date apps have results out. In a week, the December 15 ones will start to trickle out and in three-four weeks, the forum will explode in activity, jubilation, despair, and panic.

2.5 is not a lie, most apps only require one digit. If it's what you want to do, then of course, it's worthwhile to give it a try. Make sure to stress your major GPA and perhaps if you have a good explanation for your overall GPA, mention it briefly in your SOP.

Nah, that's not a problem. Falsified references would be INCREDIBLY easy to find out by an adcom, as a simple google query would be able to detect whether or not a letter writer actually exists at the claimed institution. As it is, recs from PIs who are not well-known don't hold as much weight, and a fake name that no one knows is more likely to trigger a background check on the presumed letter writer. Even if they for whatever reason use real names of real PIs, that seems ridiculously stupid and dangerous. So for the other things, maybe ghostwriting is a problem, but I'm not so sure. For references, I doubt it will ever be an issue.

Yeah, if you do have a conflict, tell them you already scheduled a different one earlier BEFORE you received their invite.

It's free, it's fun, and a tremendous opportunity for you to assess your fit with PIs and schools. Go for as many as you feel you can manage and for which you have genuine interest.

You're very right, that was a presumptuous statement by ridofme. However, I admit, I got similar read from it; the OP's post seems to imply that she's considering it. At least, that's how I read it since it's just such a stupid and preposterous thing to do, I can't imagine anyone actually doing it yet the OP "heard" that some people do it (which I certainly have never heard before).

I'm not sure the competitive of your programs, but some of mine are pretty competitive too (accepts only 4-5 per year for instance). This isn't med school. The GPA and GRE are frankly the least important part of your app, far secondary to your SOP, letters of rec, and research/work experience/qualifications. If it comes down to the final spots and you have a comparable app but a lower GPA, you could get cut, but for the most part, GPA/GRE are used more as minimum qualifiers. For instance, the average GPA of one my programs according to the adcom folks when I asked is 3.7. Guess what? I have an interview there. That's why 3.3 isn't a death sentence; you can still get in. It's just not as ideal as a 3.7, but then again, that's not as ideal as a 4.0, if you get my drift. Just make your app the best as can be and your GPA as high as possible and stop fretting about the numbers. edit: Also, you've got 3 semesters left! That's a TON of time. Nothing to worry about at all right now.

You can't find an earlier weekend to take it on? It's only a few hours. Granted, it *should* be okay, but this isn't one of those things you leave to chance and cross your fingers. Take it earlier.

Well, you can do the math yourself and see if you can raise it to a 3.7, but I don't think it's going to be easy if possible at all. That said, a 3.3 isn't a death sentence; it's exactly what my GPA is at the moment. You can make up for it with an otherwise stellar application. As for how to study for the GRE, that's its issue -- practice early and often, simple as that. You should know though that a GRE alone won't make up for it; the GRE is a relatively minor aspect of the application, but then again, so is the GPA.

Make a complaint back. Make it clear that you didn't know the scheduling until well late into the process. That's not your fault, that's the fault of the instructor.

Yes, sir, that's right. AJ McCarron is a bit of a scrub and Teo may be formidable, but ND hasn't seen an SEC-caliber defense like this yet this season. It's going to be a beat down to the tune of 28-3 or something similar. Now to business, here are some of my recommendations. Since there is no word limit, you should definitely write more -- not more for the sake of having more, but because you have the opportunity to say more about yourself. My SOP is around 800 words, and I'm sure it's not a gold standard for a good SOP, but I think <400 is too short. This doesn't flow well. I don't prescribe to the the philosophy of a catchy first line or a story either, but you should sound more enthusiastic about statistics. It's your career! Too much passive voice and flow issues again. "I studied structural engineering at XYZ University, which illustrated to the importance of statistics in a variety of fields; for instance, LRFD blah blah blah." Perhaps tie it more directly to your undergraduate studies, and present the quality and breadth of your education/qualifications. Again, work on flow via opening statements and clinchers. Perhaps something like, "Given my background, data mining is another interest of mine. As an engineer, I have the training suited to determining how the intricate, and seemingly unrelated, constituents of a system work together in harmony -- how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Statistics provides a crucial means through which we can extract usable information from data and apply these insights to further our understanding of real world problems. With my programming experience..." You get the idea. Sound well read without being pretentious or too wordy. Often, people write convoluted sentences thinking more is better. More is only better when written well, otherwise, concision is key. Speak authoritatively, do not use any conditional or uncertain terms. The future IS bright, period. Get rid of words like "would", "ideally", "some", etc. In fact, get rid of this whole paragraph. I'd get rid of this too... This just doesn't belong in an SOP, nor does it sound professional. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but I think you have a lot of work to do on this SOP. The biggest problem is that you are too colloquial; this isn't a conversation. You need to be completely professional here. At minimum, I would add the following: your work/research experiences; how they make you qualified; how the former two items make you a good fit for the school and its program; your future career goals (don't give a bunch of hypotheticals -- say, "I plan to work in the intelligence community, xyz abc, or as an actuary, xyz abc." EDIT: Also, avoid hyperboles or phrasing for the sake of sounding erudite like "to glean the last modicum of information from a set of data."

http://www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/education-training/post-bachelor-fellowship Here's one I just got an email about today at the University of Washington Seattle, which is itself a great bio sciences school and a top, top program in BioE (my major).

If you're planning to apply, do it now, but since you haven't taken your GRE, it's likely too late for PhDs. I'd recommend getting a post-bac, it's a great way to get paid and get research experience (and a rec) to beef up your CV come application time. Alternately, working in a lab is fine as well, for the same reasons as a post-bac. If nothing else, you can come away with a rec letter. Your GPA is not undoable; try to get it higher with your last semester. I only have a 3.3 and I'm applying this term, to fairly promising results so far (knock on wood). Also, I'm not sure how much the letter from the dean/surgeon will help if he/she is not a research oriented doctor and you're not applying to med school.

Again, I think it's not so much an issue of getting away with it, as it is with why would you want to? I can't imagine a ghost written SOP being very good, and writing an SOP is really NOT that bad. Try not to think of it as something you have to do but rather something you get to do, an opportunity so that you can express yourself, your interests, and qualifications in a personal and convincing manner.

I wouldn't bother with it honestly; it would draw attention to an error that the grad adcom themselves may not notice.