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an11

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Everything posted by an11

  1. Can't agree with you more!! I had pretty much the same experience! Well, to be entirely honest, I wasn't feeling all that confident about the strength of my application profile to begin with. Being an international applicant, my chances seemed really tough and I decided to include a lot of mediocre/safe schools. And, I got rejected from most of them...only to land an acceptance from one of the best schools I applied to! Which, as you so rightly pointed out, is now making me nervous about my potential. Lol, guess I'm suffering from a bit of the ''impostor syndrome'', along with some good old fashioned ''newbie nerves'' .
  2. Agree with both of you again! I also feel I will be outclassed by my peers. I am an international student, and even though I joined arguably the best undergraduate program in my country, it still felt like a breeze and I was never really required to push myself. And now, I'll be joining one of the top graduate programs in the US and I'm afraid about how efficiently I will be able to handle the stress. I fear I will get swamped with too much work and won't be able to make any time for leisure or social activities, which I fear would lead to a burnout. I know graduate school is all about time management and I'm simply worried whether I will get to properly do that... Then, there's the entire process of getting adjusted with life in a country that I have never been to. But I think I wouldn't have any problems with that and I have always wanted to move! It was also one of my biggest motivations to pursue graduate studies in the first place. Having been getting the same feelings as Mississippi snow as well, to some extent. I pretty much knew that I would be having an unproductive time at home, before going off to the US, so it wasn't much of a surprise for me...nonetheless it does add in to the anxieties. Actually, it was one of the reasons that I decided to join the summer research program, instead of sticking to the fall joining date! Did not see any point in just sitting and waiting at home for a couple of months more.
  3. You pretty much spoke my mind there, Mary Queen of Scotch! I have been feeling quite apprehensive and nervous about starting grad school this fall...and now I am going to be joining the summer sessions research program, from the first week of July. So I'm setting off for this totally new place and this entirely new chapter of my life, in about a week...and yeah, it's giving me quite a bunch of mixed feelings !
  4. You can pretty much submit your online application on any date, from the commencement of the online application till the deadline to turn it in. So if the application is open online, I don't really think it matters when you turn it in, as long as you can do it within the deadline. So if the application is open before August 1st, you can go ahead and complete it early.
  5. Yes, it is a good idea to contact professors at the schools you are interested in, before sending in your applications. If you are totally unsure about the exact field of research that you would like to pursue, then I would suggest that you go through the recent publications of the professors you are interested in and try and segregate them, on the basis of whoever's research you find more fascinating. This way, you can avoid sending in bulk mails to a large number of different faculty members in your department (which would, in all likelihood be ignored) and rather contact only the ones you are interested in, with specific queries pertaining to research being carried out in their group. They will definitely help you out, if you can personalize your mails and show genuine interest in their research. Keep your mails crisp and succinct and try and give a small background about yourself as well (you don't really need to send in your complete CV). You should start contacting faculty members, some time around August and September, about a month before the graduate applications start. Good luck !
  6. Hi...I put the address of the contact person mentioned on my I-20, which was basically the address of the university itself. I've already received my visa, so I guess that's pretty much the norm.
  7. Yeah, you should definitely remain in touch with the graduate office at the university and/or the international office, if you haven't received your I-20 yet! Sometimes, it does take a while for the I-20 to come along...it took more than 4 months for a friend of mine to receive his I-20 (he accepted his offer from Virginia Tech, in January and received his I-20 at the end of May!). The visa process in it's entirety, can take upward of a month to complete...so you should definitely try and get it done on time. Also, just get in touch with other international students who are joining the same program as yours, if you can and find out whether they are facing the same issue! I was pretty fortunate myself and got my I-20 within a couple of weeks of accepting my offer at UCLA! I've even got my visa and would be going there for the summer sessions, starting this July!
  8. Well, I don't really think there is really a huge difference between the two. An essay is supposed to primarily highlight your career objectives and your research/work experience (or any other points that the original essay asks to elaborate)...whereas, a personal statement, as the name suggests is supposed to be more personalized. So, basically you can take the liberty of going into personal details and experiences, that have shaped your career or your objectives, and helped you come closer to your goals, that you would have otherwise left out on a general essay. Having said that though, I don't really think there would be a stark difference between the two...and after completion, a generalised personal statement wouldn't look too different from a generalised essay. Of course, that depends a lot on what is required from you to begin with...just stick to the points that they have asked you to elaborate on.
  9. It is unlikely to be too significant, since you aren't applying to a program involving hardcore mathematics or statistics. Besides, you can try and explain it on your SoP and give a valid reason if possible, for getting an F in your freshman year. Good luck !
  10. Yes I have been to all three . You made a wise choice by allotting an entire week for Paris, because trust me, not even a lifetime is sufficient for taking in everything this city has to offer! But a week is long enough to have all the experiences that make Paris, such a popular destination for tourists all over the world. The way you should chalk out your itinerary, depends entirely on your interests. Paris has something for everybody! The history and art enthusiasts would remain inordinately busy with the Louvre, the Versailles and the innumerable other museums, palaces, art galleries and historic sites strewn about all across the city. For people who are more interested in having fun, there's Disneyland nearby and there's Montmartre, if you want a taste of that world-famous nightlife. Besides, the city itself has that romantic and elegant charm of its own, which never fails to beguile anybody who sets foot in it! You can also go for a couple of trips into the countryside and visit Givery or Fontainebleau. There's only one thing that you need to be wary of...the Parisians themselves are notorious for being cold, unfriendly, snobbish and unhelpful towards tourists and this is partially true, from personal experience. You would have a relatively easier time in the city, if you have a decent working knowledge of French. A couple of days is okay for touring London, though you would miss out on a few things. Once again, you should select the places you want to visit, based on your interest. I visited London with similar time constrictions as well, and being the history buff that I am, I made it a point to squeeze in a half-day trip to the Stonehenge, within my schedule. Edinburgh is a pretty unique city...far different from any of the others that I have been to (and I have been to quite a few all over Europe)! You would either love it or hate it, and I loved it . Try exploring the different alleys, kirks and old courtyards, around the old town in the evening right after sunset, it truly is an indescribable, fascinating and unworldly experience! Take a day trip of the Scottish highlands as well, if you can. Hope you have a really nice time and enjoy your trip ! And, wishing you get accepted into the program at the University of Edinburgh as well!
  11. You're welcome ! I sure do hope everything works out for you! On a side-note and just out of curiosity, where all do you plan on travelling during your trip?
  12. I personally think you should proceed with your plans of meeting up with this faculty member, when you visit the University of Edinburgh during your trip. Clearly the decision to meet with him/her, has absolutely no connection with yours getting accepted into the program...and as you mentioned, you would like to meet him/her, to just discuss his/her research and express your personal gratitude for all the help he/she provided, irrespective of whether you get accepted or not. So I think it wouldn't be all that awkward or untoward, if you stick to your plans and send in your request to him/her, whenever you want. Of course, it would be wise to clarify your thoughts to him/her as well and inform him/her of the fact, that you would just like to meet up because of your fascination with his/her research, if not anything else. But I am sure you would be able to figure out how exactly you want to put forward your request. In the meanwhile, I think it would be best for you to just relax if you can ! Try and enjoy your trip...Europe is an absolutely amazing place, and don't let your anxiety keep you from having a good time there!
  13. You pretty much need to have an impressive profile! Harvard is possibly THE BEST university in the world and it only stands to reason, that they would select the best amongst the very best applicants, into their graduate program. So you should have a pretty high GPA, extensive research experience with a number of publications (possibly in top-tier journals), good LoR's and decent GRE scores. Good luck!
  14. Your research experience would basically constitute, any form of research work that you have undertaken in a lab, either as a part of your undergraduate curriculum (e.g, bachelor's or master's thesis projects) or independent of your curriculum (e.g, the short-term projects you did during your internships). So, if you have worked on a research project, irrespective of its nature, you can include that in your CV and SoP as part of your research experience! Lol when was the last time that somebody embarked on ground breaking new discoveries or bagged a nobel prize, while still being undergrads ? Besides, usually the research projects assigned to undergraduate students, form a part of a bigger project which is being handled by a graduate student in that particular research group. Getting a publication, is indeed really beneficial though, and if you have one, it will definitely increase the credibility of your application! Good luck !
  15. Usually, north american universities tend to stress a lot of importance on research and work experience for international students, more than any other credentials! Your GPA and GRE scores generally serve as filters, so basically having a bad GPA/GRE score, would ensure that your application would not receive due consideration...however, conversely a good GPA/GRE score, doesn't necessarily guarantee an acceptance, but it sure does boost your chances! But extensive research experience, can easily trump other short-comings in your application profile and with my limited knowledge concerning your field, I believe your CV looks strong on the basis of the experiences that you have. It is really easy to get accepted into a non-funded master's program in north american universities...but it's a lot more difficult to get a funded offer, more difficult even than getting an offer for a PhD! But it also depends on the universities you would be applying to...and the most important aspect of applying for grad studies, is to make smart choices for the universities that you would apply to; balancing safe and ambitious schools in the right ratio. And, the general GRE scores are needed in all universities in the US and Canada. The subject GRE, however, is not as important and you need to check whether the specific universities you are applying to, require it. Any score above 320, is quite good enough on the general GRE. Good luck and wish you all the best! Don't be anxious, things tend to work out just fine in the end !
  16. I think that is a pretty credible score! I had a score of 840 (86%), on the GRE Chemistry subject test that I took last November, and I am an international student as well, with a relatively low GPA on the american grading system (mine was around 3.1). I still got around half a dozen acceptances (UIUC, Penn state amongst others) and am gonna be joining the graduate program at UCLA this fall! The thing is, your chemistry subject GRE score, is just one of the several different credentials, based on which the strength of your application will be judged. Your score is pretty good, and for international students, different universities have their own systems for standardizing the GPA's. Also, in my experience, GPA's might not necessarily make a lot of difference for an international student, if he/she has other useful credentials like good LoR's and research experience! So, bottomline is, you did pretty well on your test (anything above 90% is really good)! Wish you, the very best!
  17. Thanks for starting this thread! Indeed, I've been feeling kinda stressed out about housing, for a while now! I'm moving to Los Angeles this fall, to start my graduate studies at UCLA, and I'm an international student...and as you so rightly pointed out, I've been at a complete loss, with regards to getting a suitable place of accommodation in the ''City of Angels''! As expected, apartment rates are inordinately steep and I'm having a pretty tough time, trying to find a place to live in near the campus that won't burn through my humble graduate stipend. University apartments are extremely overpriced as well...though right now, that seems to be my most favoured option, because I won't be able to personally judge the private listings that are put up online (on craigslist or the university's housings website), till I get there myself and I don't suppose it would be a good idea otherwise. Besides, I would really prefer having a private bedroom and really don't want to share a bedroom with somebody else...though I would love to share an apartment! And, I have had little or no success so far, trying to find places like that which are affordable. So I guess I'll just bite the bullet and stay at the university apartments initially (they have shared apartments with private bedrooms and studio apartments), and hunt down a better place to live in, after I get there this fall! Hopefully things will work out for me .
  18. I took the GRE last year, and am attending grad school starting this fall. So here's my input... Previous GRE Started: Mid August 2012 Goal scores: V160-165, Q170 Practice test scores: V~155, Q~165 GRE test date: Early October 2012 Result: V160 Q167 A4.5 I was aiming for a perfect Q score, because I personally found the GRE Q questions to be a piece of cake, after the highly competitive level of maths I was exposed to, back in high school! I didn't even need to put any special effort to prepare for Q, all I needed to do was to get myself accustomed with the type of questions that are usually expected in the test and the question patterns. As far as V is concerned though, I knew I had to score somewhere around the 160 range. Despite the fact that I am not a native English speaker, I already had a pretty decent background in English. So, I just decided to go through the high frequency GRE vocab and once again, get myself accustomed to and comfortable with the question patterns. I never had any issues with time constraints on either section, and usually used to finish each section, with more than 5 minutes left. I decided to follow only the Princeton Review book (I just had a little over a month to prepare anyway) and I personally found it to be quite helpful! In particular, it served my purpose of getting the hang of the type of questions I was likely to encounter in the test. I took a lot of practice tests though, which also served me with the same basic requirement. And, I noticed that, people in general tend to score higher on the actual test, than on the practice tests. The most important point to remember regarding the GRE, is that it's neither a difficult test nor an easy one. Anybody can do well in it, with the right preparation! You just need to sort out a routine, identify your strengths and weaknesses and work towards improving them. And on the day of the test itself, it's essential to remain focussed and confident, and not to get tense or carried away. While working on the Q sections on my actual test, I was pretty complacent and thought I had answered everything correct...and in the end, was kinda surprised to see I have scored 3 points less than the perfect score. So it's imperative that you get to review your answers and ensure that you are not making any mistakes. So just keep practising and wish you all the very best!!
  19. From whatever I heard, ETH is definitely a highly competitive school and the level of academics is quite challenging. Having never had any first hand experience with education at the ETH, I can't really offer any other pieces of insights. I am also not really aware of the teaching approaches that are prevalent in Europe, compared to those in the US. I can tell from personal experience though, that in my field (chemistry) at least, Swiss university education tends to be quite practical oriented and you do get significant exposure in research labs. However, I am not really certain how american universities are oriented. As for getting enough time to wind off and enjoy leisure, once again from personal experience I know ETH is not too bad! You would just need to balance them out, with your academics...and I'm sure you would be required to do so even in the US. But if you fit in with the environment, you would have plenty of things to do in your free time. Some of which might not be possible in the US...such as getting to travel to some really nice places, pretty nearby! And as far as extra-curricular activities are concerned, I suppose the american universities themselves do offer lots of opportunities, in the form of clubs or societies that you can join, which might not be present to that extent in Switzerland. But that doesn't mean you won't get to do anything for fun!
  20. Program: Chemistry PhD, Admits: UIUC, University of Washington Seattle, Texas A & M University, UCLA, University of Pittsburgh, Penn State. Attending: UCLA
  21. True, cost of living is pretty high in Switzerland, but people get paid a lot higher as well! And it's quite a common practice amongst people there, to go on shopping trips to Germany or France, and reap the full benefits of the comparatively lower prices there, relative to the salary that they earn in Switzerland! Also, getting jobs in Switzerland, is indeed really difficult for international students, compared to the US and of course Germany. If you're an international student, you need to be highly skilled and extremely well qualified, to get employment in Switzerland. However, getting a degree from Switzerland itself, helps a lot, if you're seeking employment over there! And in particular, the ETH is a brilliant school...so if it was left upto me to decide, I would have definitely gone there. But the OP needs to think for himself/herself here...
  22. MIT doesn't ask for a GRE? I was required to provide both the general and subject GRE test scores for my department (Chemistry) at least! But anyway, I believe these schools have their own standards for estimating the GPA's of foreign applicants and comparing them with those of domestic ones. Besides, GPA isn't the only criteria by which a decision is made, by the graduate committee in these schools, regarding admission into the graduate program.
  23. I am an international applicant, and I never tried converting my GPA to the standard 4 point scale used in the US, during my PhD applications to american universities, until and unless I was specified to do so. I don't really suppose international applicants are supposed to convert their GPA's on their own, when they are making applications to graduate programs in the US. I made quite a few applications, and the only school which specifically asked me to convert my GPA, was the University of Washington (Seattle). For the rest of my applications, I just provided my GPA in the actual 10 point scale, which is used in my current university.
  24. It's true that getting a job, after obtaining a Masters degree, is a lot tougher in Switzerland itself compared to the US. You would have access to considerably greater number of opportunities in the US, rather than in Switzerland...if you're thinking of seeking employment in Switzerland itself that is, after completing your degree from the ETH Zürich. Having said that though, it's indubitable that the ETH is a world class university and outranks the other two by quite a significant margin! And it would always be a good idea, to get your degree from such a highly reputed school. Besides, there's always a possibility that you might get employment in Switzerland afterwards, or anywhere else in Europe for that matter (as a matter of fact, having a degree from the ETH will, in all likelihood, make it very easy for you to get jobs in Germany, France or the Scandinavian countries). If you want to pursue a PhD later on, then obviously the ETH would be a better choice as well. On a final note, living in Switzerland is an amazing and enchanting experience in itself!! At the end of the day though, it would remain your choice...so just judge your priorities well and make a decision. Good luck!
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