Crucial BBQ

Plenty of people decide well into adulthood to change careers or just take a new path, often times including graduate school. I don't think that taking a gap year will matter much.

This seems more common than not. Of the programs I have looked at that post admissions statistics it seems that roughly 50% of the admitted students at most accept an offer.

I have neither. In reading many posts here on gradcafe I have come across something that can best be described as a similar thread: my undergraduate career royally sucked, my Master's career was stellar, I am worried about my Ph.D application. My undergraduate career royally sucked, too, in terms of GPA. I was also rejected from every program I applied to during the admissions cycle. Yet, a few of the programs I spoke to in regards to my application suggested that one of the best things I could do to aid my case would be to take a graduate level course or two; to prove I have the chops for graduate level study. This leaves me confused. There are members of this forum who claim to have completely bombed undergrad yet are having a stellar time in their Master's programs. And now they are worried about applying to Ph.D. programs. Why then are they so worried about Ph.D. programs when based on my communications with grad adcoms taking one or two grad courses only is enough to "prove" yourself? Wouldn't the Master's program trump undergrad?

Yes, you can. I would briefly mention why you sought those positions and what you gained from them if even just to have learned what kind of research you do not want to do.

Well, the average age of a grad students is "well into adulthood" [and no, that does not mean 22]. Your lack of luck with a grad student buyers guide is probably because it is not only assumed they already own a vehicle but also that they have either already owned several or know how to buy a car. I am beyond the age of "looking cool" or giving a hoot what my friends my think. A vehicle means for me total utility these days. It does not have to be a truck, but if it cannot haul stuff, I find it useless. Back in my "cool" guy phase I had a Honda CRX. I bought it from a friend for $50 because the clutch was going out. I got a new clutch from an auto parts store for just under $200 and put it in myself. I swear that thing got 50 mpg, and that was during a time when gas was still around $2/gallon. Got an Isuzu Rodeo after that. Wanted a Jeep Liberty, but the Rodeo was cheaper. I didn't really like the Rodeo but learned to appreciate the space. Got a Toyota Corolla after that, mainly for the gas milage but I was really missing the utility of the Rodeo...so I bought a Chrysler Town and Country from a friend for $200 (in near-perfect conduction). Never thought I would be a mini-van guy. I am fairly certain that scuba diving is going to be a requirement for my research, so I need something with enough space to carry my gear and not really worry about it rusting out from salt water. I'll probably keep the minivan for a while but wish it got better gas milage. Most of my vehicles were purchased from friends, and a few from Craigslist.

I believe I have a Coursera account... I am familiar with CLI from my time with Linux and have been using it more and more with Terminal (Mac). I have Xcode installed and even went as far as setting up an Apple Developer ID so I could download the XCode CLI; the .m files I have saved so far will open in XCode unless I retrieve them from within Matlab. I am okay with using Terminal to do some basic stuff but I am totally lost on how to use for computational computing or scripting. I can do some basic arithmetic, and that is about all. I will check out that Coursera course.

I lived in Minneapolis for ten years. It is common for multi-unit dwellings to have heat/air supplied by the landlord/property owner. The last thing they want is for someone to prop open a window during the winter time. Or even over the summer considering how humid it gets. College housing is no different. Personally, I would avoid anything in Stadium Village, Dinky Town, or the West Bank. St Anthony Village is cool, though. I'd also look into Whittier or the area just past 280 and University, but not quite Midway. The name of the Neighborhood is escaping me...Hampton, or Hamden....It is just slightly past where the campus ends and St. Paul begins.

Since posting my OP I have downloaded R, Octave, Maxima, iPython, Scilab, Sage, and FreeMat. I am really digging R, but haven't played around with it too much lately. Python/iPython looks awesome, but way above my abilities. I have had problems with the rest and despite being "community" projects documentation and tutorials seems scarce. Those that do exist for beginners seem to be aimed at the type of beginner who already somewhat knows what is going on. I have been using Linux off and on since 2007 and to be frank I am tired of the "if it is not working you are doing it wrong" attitudes found amongst the masses of the open source communities. I have also recently purchased Matlab with the Symbolic Toolkit because the student version was cheap enough. There seems to be tons of documentation and the attitudes form the "community" towards newbies seems a heckofalot more welcoming. I would like to keep R, Python, and Matlab for now and potentially get into one of the others more intensely in the future. In terms of what I would like to do I am fairly certain computer modeling/simulation would play a role. Thanks for the replies.

It depends on how early the EA was. If you're talking like knowing by the end of December, then yes, I would love to save a potential $1,000 in application fees, having GRE scores sent, transcripts, and so on.

I am not familiar with physics programs, but you might get some more responses (and better), if you post here: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/30-physics/

One of my LORs is from the Director of Student Life and Development. If it is the one he wrote for me back when I was a sophomore (and I think it is), then it is truly one of the best LORs I have seen on my behalf.

Your main issue is that you have yet to apply anywhere. What I mean by that is that you have not received a rejection letter and have not been in contact with a program regarding your application. Of course you have also not been accepted. Without actually applying you have now way to really determine what parts of your application are strong and what parts are deficient. I my GPA is low. So are my GRE scores. I applied to graduate programs last year and was rejected by all. One program stated that I had a strong SOP and LORs, yet were concerned about a few grades and low GRE quant score. Another program was confused by my SOP, claiming that I did not sufficiently state my case for pursuit of a Ph.D. They said that had I mentioned my low[er] GPA in my SOP they would have considered me for their Masters program. They made no mention of the GRE. The main concern with both of these programs were that I may not have been ready for graduate-level courses. One suggested I prove myself with a graduate level course or two, one suggested that I take more analytical courses to prove myself that way, and one simply suggested retaking the GRE and scoring higher in quant. My undergraduate research experience was/is solid, so there were no concerns of my ability in the lab or with research...just with the initial course work. I was also wait listed to a program, but didn't get in because of GRE score. So, without having applied I never would have known how to improve my chances next time nor would I have realized how close I came despite my "low" GPA and GRE: further strengthening my belief that a) numbers are just numbers, and, b ) you never really know what the adcoms are looking for. Since you are not applying until 2015/2016, I would suggest retaking the GRE as you have plenty of time to prepare. I would also suggest taking at least one higher level math course and/or some computer programming courses at a local community college. Lastly, I would suggest really getting to know those you are working with at HMS and push to do more "advanced" stuff if you can. Depending on what you are doing at HMS, your experience will more-than-likely trump the GPA.

I know it sometimes is the case; would the mentorship from this POI have been binding? I mean could you have gotten into the program then switched labs/advisors?

This may be acceptable to some programs but in general starting out with an anecdote is a no-no.

The verbal section has changed. No longer are there any questions relating to analogies and antonyms. The focus is more conceptual now than the exact dictionary definitions of the past. You need to know secondary and perhaps tertiary meanings. Magoosh suggests to use the official SAT study book produced by the College Board to get a good feel for what you need to know. You can just google the word banks since the lists are pretty much all the same.

Unless you are a full grown adult and have been with the same person for years.... ...otherwise those in their early 20s do not understand the mistake they are about to make. Yeah, puppy love is awesome.

I know of two people who were almost denied admissions because both had extremely low quant scores (GRE). Yet both had a substantial amount of undergraduate research/internships which the adcoms seemed to have found impressive. In terms of biology, I would say that it depends on either the program or the track. If the program has a research/thesis component or offers a research/thesis track, I would guess that some undergraduate research is necessary even if just literature based.

Even if your deadline [application] was Dec. 1, taking the GRE on October 31 would still be enough time. You get your raw score at the end of the test anyways (except for AW). I had a classmate who took it in October then retook it again in November.

You have been accepted; I would surmise based on that your LORs are positive. Funny thought: I just imagined you using your LORs to "rub it in the face" of any naysayer who may have doubted you.

While I am not currently in grad school I have had a Mac in my house since the late 1990s. Even back in the PowerPC days, when nearly everything was labeled as being "distinctly" Mac or PC (and the Mac version costing sometimes twice as much), if it had a USB connection it worked well with Mac no matter who it was for. I have yet to come across an external drive that does not work with Macs. There are two types of external drives: "off site storage" and "pocket portable". The Time Capsule falls into the external storage category and as such is rather large although one can easily fit into a backpack. Great for at-home use, bad for at-school use. Keep in mind that the Time Capsule is a piece of dual hardware: it's an external storage device and a wireless router. The best bet would be to get a portable external drive, also sometimes referred to as pocket drives or simply portable drives because most are small enough to fit into pants pocket. Personally, I would get a basic (uh, non- SSD) 1 TB WD with USB 3.0. You really do not need anything faster than USB 2.0 unless you plan on transferring large digital media files. A Thunderbolt connection would be nice, but expensive. Unless you are doing the "creative" arts Thunderbolt is probably not necessary. For what it is worth there is really no difference between a Mac and a PC external drive. Any external drive can work with a Mac but you might have to spend (literally only) a few minutes to reformat it to work with Mac's filing system with some drives, which can be done with OSXs built-in Disk Utility very easily. These days a Mac-desginated external drive means that the drive is either faster (for the creative types), has a faster connection (for the creative types), or has a built-in capability to connect with Time Machine (wirelessly). So, I would suggest a basic WD Passport.

The chances of them remembering you at the end of the year/early 2015 are slim to none.

The year I entered into my biology program (undergrad) Calc I and II, along with a basic intro Stats course were all that were required for the program. Shortly after I matriculated the school changed this policy to Calc I and Stats only. I have also seen biology programs (undergraduate) where only a terminal "calculus for business and social sciences" was the the required advanced math course. The programs I am looking at seem to stick to wanting only one year of Calc, where a few state they would like to see a course or two beyond Calc I&II, yet state no indication of what. One program specifically states a year of Calc is required but they also want to see Calc through Diff. Eq. in the least. I am asking the question because I recently came across an article and discussion by current and former biology grad students that make the plea for potential biology students (grad) to take Calc I&II, Linear Algebra, Diff. Eq. and either mathematical modeling of some sort or computer programming. For the current grad students, is this true?

My GRE quant was a heckofalot lower than yours and to my knowledge it was only really an issue with one program during the last admissions cycles. Seeing as how I went ahead and applied with less than stellar GRE scores I would spend my remaining time focusing on my SOP if I were in your shoes. Even though my GRE was less than stellar it was still middle-of-the-road; my SOP was strong enough to carry me into wait list hell for one program. In another application my GRE scores themselves were not the sole cause of denial. Grad school is not like undergrad where the best high school students are (generally) picked by the best schools based on SAT/ACT scores and GPA. Grad schools want the students with the best potential to complete a relevant research project and GPA says nothing of your ability or desire to do research. The GRE is slightly different in that most seem to agree that it really tests how well you test on standardized tests, but some do see it as an example of analytic prowess. If given enough time most can score high on the GRE. As an example I was hitting near 167 for quant in nearly every untimed practice test. The real GRE? You have what, a minute and a half for each question? That is totally unrealistic as realistically in the real world you will have way more time than 1 1/2 minutes to solve problem.

Personally, I would not mention the depression. On the one hand it seems like too easy of a copout and I would bet the farm that this is the #1 "reason" adcoms see in the SOP. On the other, even though there was an upward swing in terms of GPA and productivity the adcoms might fear the depression will return. And if they are going to (potentially) drop a few $100K on your education/research, you can see why they might choose to pass. I think it would be better to say that "you" had a hard time adjusting: new city, school, people, first time away from family, and so on. Even stating that you were unsure about college at first would be better.

There will be a few specific questions they are asking you to answer found within the essay prompt. The questions may not seem obvious, but they are there. What they are looking for in general is: 1. Your motivation for a Masters/Ph.D. program. 2. Future career goals. 3. Why this particular program. 4. Preparation for graduate school/why you feel prepared. And so on.