RiseofthePhoenix

Come again

With all the fluctuations in the economy and all I thought I'd seek an updated response from you Seattlelites. I applied to two separate programs at UW and they're my 1st and 2nd choices respectively so I'd like to believe that I may be headed there in Fall hopefully. I'd ideally like to live on my own and I don't have any pets or so's moving with me. Specifically, I'd like to find out the ballpark range for rent in a tiny studio (have an MA used to grad style matchbox housing, lifestyle etc), and any ideas as to what areas to look for quiet and affordable housing. Thanks in advance.

Commercial fishing

I don't know when your application deadlines are but this is something you should have contacted your recommenders about way ahead of time. In any case, you need to email or go see them I person as soon as the break is over if you still have time. You should definitely call the programs and tell them that your profs are having issues with turning them in on time. Most programs have some kind of grace period. Best of luck.

I would designate a fourth/optional reference just in case. These guys are nice people and mean well but are extremely busy. They all have lives, families, go on vacations etc etc. I wouldn't take any chances.

I don't think your GRE score is bad at all. The way I understand it is that one low score and one high score kinda offset each other. What's more important is the percentile rank of your score. Your verbal score for a non-native speaker is pretty good. Your AWA is close to the 4.0 mark which seems to be the average for grad school students. Your quant is below average for sure but I think this might be offset by the fact that you are bilingual. Best of luck

I would strongly encourage you guys to speak with your respective schools' International Student office and talk with an immigration advisor before you travel anywhere just to be safe. Don't rely on the Internet or this forum as immigration laws are highly subject to change. Best of luck.

Rescue boat

Also note that a lot of schools will look at the last 60 hours instead of your cumulative gpa. In some cases, you can get conditional acceptance requiring you to get all As and Bs, taking leveling courses, or satisfy some other requirement. In any case, I would call each school's graduate office and ask them specifically what their requirements are. Some schools have strict gpa requirements, others have unwritten rules about gpa cut-offs. Best of luck.

I think different disciplines have different notification deadlines. One of my application deadlines was Dec 11, but I'm pretty sure I won't hear anything back from them until at least mid-Feb. I'm kind of jealous of the life sciences folks because as disappointing as it is to get a rejection, at least most of you don't have to wait til feb-march to hear back from your programs.

I second everything that Darwin said except that contacting POIs is not necessarily an advantage nor a disadvantage. It's just something that some people choose to do. However it is more important to mention who you want to work with in your SOP. I can't tell from your post whether you've mentioned this in your SOP or not. I personally was in contact with POIs in 4/8 programs to which I applied. This doesn't mean that I will get into those programs, or that I might be rejected from the rest. If you haven't contacted anyone, and you've already submitted your applications, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Best of luck.

I rocked an undergrad gpa of 2.87 as a psychology major from a large state school ranked in the top 20 in psychology. I applied for an MA in a different social science field at the same school and got conditional acceptance. I just graduated with my MA (3.7 gpa) and am applying to phd programs for Fall 2013. Some of the schools I applied to recently have a minimum 3.0 undergraduate gpa cut-off. They say nothing about how an MA gpa is factored in. Others clearly state that they only look at the last 60 hours or last 2 years of coursework. I think that while some schools say they require a 3.0 ugpa, they have alternate means of calculating grad gpas. I can't imagine schools turning down acceptable grad gpa, GRE scores, research experience and potential, good fit, good lors and sop based on your weak undergraduate gpa. For example, one top-20 university in my field requires a 3.0 ugpa while the department in that university requires a 3.0 on the last 2 years of coursework. My last 2 years of coursework is my MA degree, effectively rendering my ugpa useless. Good luck to all.

Freak out

Bias effect

grief stricken

I was in a similar situation recently with one of my professors really taking his time with the uploading process after multiple in-person and email reminders. I finally had to call each department which had close deadlines and explain that one of my professors was having some issues blah blah. To my surprise, the department staff at every school I contacted were super friendly and said that this is actually a common issue. As long as you have your application submitted and the only thing missing is the LOR, most departments will give you a few days to a few weeks as a grace period to get them in. My situation was weird in that the said professor ended up uploading his LOR to 3/8 of my programs and not the rest. So, I designated a replacement for him and had to call the grad offices and make changes to the notification system from their end...lots of unnecessary work in a very stressful period of my life! But even then, the department staff were very cooperative and reassuring. Here is what I would do in your case. Contact the departments and explain to them that one of your LORs may be late. Don't explain why and don't be rude or put down the professor; just tell them it might arrive late. Ask them what the latest date it can be in by is. Also, see if you can designate a 4th/optional recommender just in case your professor, for whatever reason, doesn't send his LOR in. I was lucky in the sense that my missing LOR was actually my third LOR and my primary LOR (my advisor) and my secondary uploaded theirs way ahead of time. Best of luck and I hope it all works out for you.

Navigate to the "Results Search" section of the site (tab on the top right) and type in your program details in the search box. You'll see when and how last year's applicants were notified. That is probably your best indicator of how the process will play out this time round.

Risk tolerance

This is the case with me as well. Sub 3 uGPA, 3.7 MA GPA applying to phd programs. I honestly think this is a non-issue in the sense that, while the adcomms will surely glance over the uGPA most are interested in the most recent transcripts and there is no doubt that a graduate transcript is a more accurate determinant of your abilities than and undergrad one. In my case, four long years passed between my undergrad and my grad career. Young people are dumb, crap happens, you learn and grow wiser. Academics realize this. I second the note about strong LORs, letter of intent, research potential and writing sample. I'd go as far as saying that the gpa and GRE scores are probably the least important parts of the application. Fit, research potential and your professors vouching for your academic abilities are the most important aspects IMO.

I would guess that you will get what they refer to as "conditional acceptance" meaning that you will be required to take anywhere from 3-6 core classes in econ before you finish your MA degree. I had a BA in psychology and applied to a sociology MA program and got in on conditional acceptance because I only had 3 hours of undergrad sociology. Since econ is also considered to be a social science, I'm assuming this is how it will work for you too. Best of luck.

That's a very positive sign that they want you in their program. Professors are not obliged nor do they see respond or send emails to be polite or to get anybody's hopes up. I'd interpret this as a very good sign and perhaps and unofficial early acceptance barring any funding constraints.

I think I'll just go to Europe and look for a teaching position there. The prospects of finding a teaching gig with a masters degree are much better in Europe than in the US me thinks.

My advisor: "If this was Vegas and I had to put money down I'd say you'll get into at least 3 programs you applied to" Me: "Which ones?" My advisor: "Oh, that's impossible to tell" Me: "Dude, this ain't Vegas" My advisor: "That's true.." Me: "I'm applying to SUNY Stony Brook" Thesis committee member: "Now you're gonna have to get used to riding that damn train to NYC every weekend..." Me: "..."

They obviously know you applied to grad school and therefore are a target for their company due to higher likelihood of cardiac arrest, stroke, or death by anxiety and negative thinking.

I'd say that your chances are better because 1. International students have a good reputation for doing well in US schools 2. The funding pool is separate from that of native students. This means that while there are fewer spots available for international students, you are really competing against other international students to get admission. For instance, if a certain program has 200 applicants and it accepts a cohort of 11 students, it is likely that anywhere from 0-3 or 4 spots might go to international students. Out of the 200 total applicants, there are probably 20-30 international applicants. This is all based loosely on past admission information released by some school in my area of sociology. I have no idea how it would be in your area.