Crucial BBQ

Your own funding or not, the bottom line is they brought you into their program and are ultimately going to use you for their own needs: that is, to do the research that they see as most beneficial. If you want to cook French, and they want you to cook Chinese, well, you're just going to have to cook Chinese if you want to work for them (which ultimately is what you are doing even if you are funding yourself). Would it really be that bad, to learn to cook the Chinese way? And what if you do not get into academia (which, as you should know, is highly likely)? What you are going to learn in a Ph.D. program is to become in expert to a niche idea. Great for academia, bad for everything else. You will learn to use one piece of equipment to study one niche topic. Hardly transferable at all. If you can manage to generalize through a Ph.D. you are ultimately setting yourself up for success as you will have more of a transferable skill-set to offer non-academic employers. Seriously, google that shtiz. Outside of my own experiences, the Missus works at NIH, and has for many years. The numbers of Ph.D. grads and post-Docs who come in with virtually no math or basic lab skills blows my mind; and these are people coming from top institutions. Here is another reason why it is a bad idea to specialize: not that long ago gene sequencing used to be something that was only done by Ph.D.s. Now, it is something that is done by machines that are run by techs who only possess BA/BS. To those who specialized in gene sequencing during grad school, barely even ten years ago, now have a specialty that is obsolete. I am not trying to sound harsh, but instead to help illustrate that you may be in a better program than you realize.

You got your percentiles switched: a Q score of 159 is in the 74th percentile and a V score of 164 is in the 93rd percentile. Unless you also switched your scores (that is: Q is really 164), your quant score combined with your GPA is not that competitive for the schools you listed outside of maybe UC Riverside and UC Irvine. That does not mean you do not have a chance with at least one of the top programs, in particular if your SOP and LORs are strong, but I would suggest looking into some "lower ranked" programs.

For marine bio it will depend on the program as some I have looked at recommend it as one way to bolster the application and others will not accept it for any reason. Just so you know, the GRE subject tests are only offered three times a year; one date in each month of April, September, and October. The next biology subject test is not going to be offered until April 18, 2015.

How funny would it be if you, say, applied to Harvard and listed all third-rate/no-rank schools as the others you are applying to-and for a "softer" major? This question seems to come up a lot, by the way.

*off topic* No, I am not familiar with Dara's. I only went to Lucky House because the girl I was dating at the time was vegan; Lucky House, to my knowledge, was the only place to offer a fake meat.

Despite the impression you may get from reading posts here on gradcafe or in other websites, undergraduates with published papers are not that common, and undergraduates with first-authorships are even more of an outlier. To be frank, research is research. The whole point of doing research while an undergrad is to basically just get a feel for what it is like to do research, day in and day out. That is it. It is like going to an Asian restaurant and ordering mock duck. If you have prior experience with fake meats, and liked them, the chances of you finishing your meal increase. *I am from Nor Cal, I used to order the mock duck from Lucky House Thai. In case you are not familiar, Lucky House Thai is near UCB* Perhaps not the best analogy but you should get the point. There are a few comments. Do you want someone to chance you? Graduating within 2.5 years is impressive, sure, but how adcoms will respond to that may depend on why/how you were able to graduate in 2.5 years. Aside from that you wrote in a previous post that you are concerned about your GPA this semester, so I dunno. Once again it will depend on why/how you are graduating in 2.5 years. But hey, I am not an adcom

Who is telling you that you are screwed? The short answer: yes. You will view your raw scores at the end of the test (after you have accepted the test). You can report those, except for AW, and I have yet to see an application that asks for AW. Another answer: many programs that have a Dec. 1. deadline only use that deadline for the application; it is typical to allow another month for application materials to come in. But I would contact the program to be sure. Answer #3: I have taken the GRE coughgogg$$bleepmorethanoncefreck##ahem. Your scores will be available to view rather quickly. They also get sent out rather quickly, too.

Assuming all of what you wrote is true, you will be a very competitive applicant. I would not worry about a lack of publications. I would be surprised if you did not receive at least one offer (my guess....four in the least).

Yeah, the bottom line is you'll never know until you apply. The advice you will get on whether to include this information or not is seriously all over the place--even from the "experts".

Not sure about geology, but for oceanography your GRE scores are too low even though the programs may claim to not have a cut-off. But, for oceanography UMass is probably your best bet here.

Yeah, my transcript has courses listed without grades...and so does the transcript before it...and the one before that... I just reported the responses I got. I assumed the adcoms would see those courses on the transcript and then wonder where the original transcripts were. Then again courses that transfer in would more-than-likely have a grade of at least a C, so perhaps it does not matter? I also sometimes wonder if adcoms actually get the transcript or if someone in the "office" just gives them a transcribed list? I mean, I have often heard that "grad schools" recalculate GPAs in many ways, only look at certain grades, and so on. I really cannot imagine professors sitting around doing all of that, they are busy enough as it is.

I brought this up with the schools I am applying to as I have some community college credit for courses that have nothing to do with my degree or graduate school in general. The responses I got, in no particular order of reverence, are: 1. YES!!! Even if you took one course in pottery at a community college 50 years ago we want that transcript! 2. If the school is not listed as "having attended" on your application, the adcoms will not know to ask for it. 3. Only the transcripts from where you earned your degrees is what we want. 4. I don't know. I'll have to run this by such-and-such. *Crickets* 5. Really, no, you do not have to. But we would like to see them because it shows your interests and commitment to an education, even if those courses are in no way associated with your degree or future educational/career goals, and that could be a huge plus to the adcoms. Of course if you list those schools as having been attended you will have to send them in anyways. I wish I knew this last year. Could have saved a good amount of cash. I wouldn't worry about it, and I would not mention it.

Your V GRE score is about a 149 on the newer revised GRE. Q is about a 151. Both are near the 44th percentile. This was probably more of a problem than those three "week" recommendations you mention. Your Master's GPA is 3.4, yet your uGPA is 3.2. Probably not that big of a deal but also not that big of an improvement. It seems odd to me that you do not want to retake the GRE, but it seems more odd that your same program would want you to. And what is the difference, in terms of wasted time, from only applying to one program and being rejected by one program, or applying to ten programs and being rejected by ten? Aside from the money (which you did not mention as a factor), it should still equal a 1:1 ratio in terms of investment compared to reward. However, your odds increase for every number of programs greater than one that you apply to. You GRE scores are not impressive and you stated you will not retake the GRE because you feel like you cannot do better. Really? For your sake I hope you do not have to. If you do not want to feel rejection, or cannot handle it, than why are you even bothering? Seriously. I read all sorts of discussions by biology grad students (accepted, obviously) who now question why they are in graduate school, I don't like grad school, it was all done on a whim anyways, and so on. This website has some of them. My numbers are not the greatest, sure. But I was waitlisted to my number one program last year. In the end, I was rejected. I know the reasons why, I contacted the program to inquire about my application and its deficiencies...but every time I read posts by once ecstatic undergrads who now have no clue what they are doing or if they even want it anymore or...or...I keep wandering if I was edged out by some twerp who only applied on a whim, and accepted the offer because why not?, and a year from now he, or she, is not going to be interested anymore. If you want grad school then want it. If you don't want to want it, then don't. Don't take a spot from someone who has a reason and solid desire to be there.

I was on the phone earlier today with the head honcho at one of the labs/programs I am interested in. I shot him an email this Monday past and he wrote back shortly after. We exchanged a few more emails and then he gave me his number and told me to a call. I was fairly nervous, but quickly relaxed (...because his voice on the phone did not match what I had imagined it to be based on the picture on his faculty/lab profile page. Kind of reminded me of Griffin from Family Guy). We were on the phone for a little over a 1/2 hour and it went really well. He gave me a lot of great info, including some "insider" (okay, probably the same stuff he tells everyone who takes the time inquire) information on how to improve my chances of admission, funding opportunities, and a bunch of other stuff. He did ask me a bunch of questions but they were more or less topics for me to think about and address in my SOP and not so much to talk to him about (he mentioned that he himself has "2 1/2" students (one is lost in flux somewhere) and that he personally only takes on 2-3 students at a time. Good stuff though for sure.

The second you hit the submit button you will invariably think of something that should have went into your SOP or another change you could have made. I'd say to set the applications aside for a week or two then come back to them one last time before you submit.

Yes, 1 pound might seem trivial but you will notice the difference in weight.

My ex GF applied to seven Ph.D. programs. five denied her, one denied her to Ph.D. but offered admission to their Master's program, and the last asked her if she was willing to accept an offer to their Master's program. The second she said yes they denied her to the Ph.D. program and gave her the info on how to proceed into the Master's (this was during her phone interview with them, I was in the room). Last year one of the programs I applied to (Ph.D.) told me I was denied into that program but would have admitted me into their Master's program had I taken the time to explain a few things (my GPA) in my SOP. Heck yeah I would have accepted that offer. Frankly, if you are going to apply anyways you might as well indicate that you are willing to go for the Master's. I'd get in touch with the program director and ask if the Master's is absolutely, 100%, terminal.

A "terminal Master's" either denotes something that is more-or-less a professional degree (such as MBA, MFA) or is at the highest level of education offered at the school for what-ever specific program (the school does not offer a Ph.D. in that discipline). Perhaps, if your plan is to go into academia, if you would consider a Masters of History Education? Is this application specific to the program or Department? Or is it a campus-wide "generic" application? You can still get into a Ph.D. program from a terminal Master's program, the name doesn't really mean much.

I live in Howard County, MD. While I have never lived in Frederick, I can vouch for what BHR is saying. The Missus works at NIH in one of the biology-related labs. While NIH is capable of handling BSL 4, Ft. Detrick does BSL 4 on a regular basis and NIH has given Ft. Derrick the responsibility of handling the samples from the current Ebola patient at NIH. Not sure what kind of work your husband is going to do, but be aware that BSL 4 is a bigger part of Ft. Derrick than it is at NIH. (and no, I am not one of those who are paranoid of Ebola. Just thought you might want to know incase you already didn't).

One or two sentences is fine as long as one of them does not begin with Ever since....

My scores last year were similar. One program did not mention them, but all they wanted was something near the 50th percentile. I was waitlisted to a program and then ultimately denied. I was told my GRE was the deciding factor-it was a little too low. $180 is a good chunk of change. It could also be the difference between getting in somewhere or not getting in at all. If you feel that you can do better, if even only by a few points, it might be worth it. Otherwise what is the other option? Spending $1,000 on applications and being denied by all? I agree that you should contact your respective programs and ask. I have found the program directors to be a great source of wealth as they (the ones I have contacted) see the applications from both the admitted students and the rejections. They probably will not give you any hard-fast numbers but in the least they will tell you-perhaps in so many words-if you stand a chance with those scores. How is the rest of your application looking? If you have a solid GPA your GRE scores might be considered a fluke. And if you can get strong LORs and write a strong SOP you might not need to retake the GRE.

My personal opinion is that if you want to work in industry, than stopping at a Master's will be your best bet.

I tried googling this topic, no avail. I have not done much to improve my uGPA (re/taking courses) since I have graduated from undergrad, but instead have been been teaching myself Python, C, R, Matlab, HTML and CSS at the advice from a few gradcafe members. I will be able to take a course or two (or three) next semester (Fall 2015), yet, all of my applications will have been submitted and and decisions made more-than-likely before final grades are released. I can submit mid-term grades if they will be accepted. In the mean time what is the best way to convey that I am teaching myself Py, C, R, et al.? Will discussing this in my SOPs be sufficient, or should I build a website to showcase what I have been learning? Would it even matter? Granted, my skills are relatively rudimentary (or novice, if I am being euphemistic ): is it worth it or would including a URL to my own website/blog be considered too much?

I had two former profs enthusiastically agree to write LORs on my behalf. I sent them both an email passing along the required information...and nothing. Followed up with second emails about two weeks later. Still....nothing. And yet with a third set of emails about a week later. I was really bummed and confused but didn't sweat it too much as I had originally asked a total of eight people for LORs; seven said yes, only needed three. A few weeks after I had sent the last emails I got a response from one of the profs saying that he submitted the LOR to all indicated programs. The other prof responded with an email two weeks later announcing the same. So I dunno, give it some time. It might be a good idea to look for a replacement, too. As for the giving of info: some profs ask for a course list, CV/resume, and a few other bits of information to help aid them in writing the LOR, but I would suggest to not offer this sort information unless it is asked for.

Even though some on this site have published papers, done research under prominent persons in their fields, and so on, graduate programs understand -and do not expect- undergrads to have much experience. It is perfectly okay to include techniques done/learned in course labs, relevant courses taken, research experience to date, skills learned/in process, etc. *add* Of course you will want to remove this stuff as you gain more valid experiences, but in the beginning it is okay. Just don't fluff it up too much