VioletAyame

I think your school's Honors office or Academic Advising office would be most capable to give you the credible answers to all your questions. Just to present my experience, I did have to come up with the theoretical framework and methodology for my project, albeit under supervision of my mentor. We also spend the spring of our junior year going from brainstorming to a complete proposal and looking for a suitable mentor, and the project was to be done during senior year. Both my honors program director and my mentor made sure it was manageable for me and I'm sure it's the same case for other students as well. I did not need any lad or equipment for my project (it was a media content analysis, so I basically watched a lot of sitcoms and code them ), so it might be more complicated in your field. Definitely check with them, but don't miss the opportunity because of over-worrying!

Has your friend looked at the program's website or tried to contact the department yet?

I agree with TakeruK. I did my university honors program and completed my honor thesis during my senior year. It was a great experience and had it not been for it I would not be applying to grad school now. I was allowed to pick any topic that interested me and develop it into a feasible project with a mentor of my choosing. It helped me tremendously not only in getting research experience but also in narrowing down what research topics interest me. Thanks to the project I got to work with my mentor who has been super encouraging and helpful. Regarding the time range, she made sure I did not bite off more than I could chew and I finished it just in time. So all in all, doing the honors thesis gave me research experience, interests, a writing sample, and a mentor who has helped me with so much more than a LOR. It does depend on the your school and your discipline, so find out more details and if you decide to do it, choose your mentor carefully. Other than that, I highly recommend it.

I'm not familiar with how adcoms calculate GPA for unofficial withdrawal grades. I always thought your GPA stays the way your undergrad institution calculates utility, and any extra calculation on adcoms' part would be for major GPA and upper-division (junior & senior level) GPA. I might be wrong; hopefully other people can weigh in. But perhaps your best bet is to ask the department directly how they treat such grade?

Are those programs requiring you to send in the official transcript? Most official transcripts will include a legend for the grades used, and what NS stands for should be listed in there. In the meantime, I second the poster above's advice to use the addendum.

First I think we need to distinguish between the cost for an individual to attend and complete grad school and the cost of any given program to admit said individual. It seems that the argument has been made against "not completing one's degree is wasteful for oneself" and now we're arguing the cost for the institution. From what I just read in this thread, it looks like there are to types of reasons for non-completes; let's call them external and internal. External reasons are things like advisors leaving, losing funding, family issues, etc. In short it is not the intention nor the fault of the grad students to drop out but instead the circumstances did not work out. I don't see any plausible way to foresee this, any indicator which adcoms can use to flag these candidates. They are, like you said, uncontrollable events. Internal reasons are when students voluntarily drop out, for a job offer or a change in direction/discipline, or when students are not qualified. If it's a change in intention, it's not in the best interest of the programs to admit those candidates in the first place, and had they known they probably wouldn't have made the offer, but is there really a way to know? Most often times the candidates did not know this themselves; things just come up and they have to make a choice. Companies do try to minimize this from happening, but it does still happen, so whatever method they're using is not 100% effective, just like in academia. The only case which I think which might call for better screening is when students don't qualify, but then again I don't know how common it is as the reason for non-completion. If it's a very low percentage, perhaps it's just the same risk inherent in any other endeavor and there is nothing more to be done. Adcoms are not omniscient after all, no matter how much they seem to be so to us applicants.

ETS will post your entire score once the AW score is in, usually within 10 days to 2 weeks. I can't say with absolute certainty that the V & Q scores you saw at the end of your test are official since I haven't seen ETS' policy on this, but I've never heard of any incident when they were changed in the official score report. Also, I believe those sections are entirely graded by computers compared to the AW which uses human readers, hence the delay in scoring. For these reasons, you may as well consider them official and stop worrying. You're done with the GRE, congratulations! On the side note, I did get a 170 too and it did not change

Ah I see. That makes sense then. You're more annoyed at how people weren't treating you guys fairly than at the guy himself. I think it's more the fault of your old program's faculty than of your colleague, but I have to admit this detail did not cross my mind before. I'm gonna go through this alone as well, and I've heard a lot about how to manage things when you're in a relationship/ married/ having children and not enough (if not at all) about how tough it can be for single people. I've been reading the other thread too, and now I'm even more worried than I was before. But then again, while they do have spousal support, wouldn't married people also have more responsibility, more worries and their plans more likely to change in consideration of at least another person? It's all give and take in life I presume.

It is interesting. Coincidentally I just rewatched this video today on Youtube and it mentions the concept of "gravity assist". It sounds similar to what you just described - am I kind of correct or wrong off the bat here? I have to admit, I love fun, educational Youtube videos like this and then take pride in knowing just a little bit more than the people around me http://youtu.be/YHin6lk4KqU?t=49s

Thank you so much for that orange, I've been giggling at work like an idiot for 2 days now. I don't really use Twitter so I just go to the website and it's fantastic. My favorite right now is "Unfortunately, French is the national language of France." Would you care to elaborate? That sounds really interesting, or maybe it's just reminding me of Loric's parody thread.

Haha it happens. Just a heads up, I tried contacting Penn State several times to confirm if they got my GRE score report (I put in the right school code but wrong departmental code after I took the test, long story) or I should have it resent, and I heard back nothing. I emailed both the grad school and the department several times, called the department coordinator 3 times, still nothing. When I logged in my application later I saw the GRE section had been updated and that they got my score report. So they're probably just very bad at responding to student inquiries, not necessarily ignoring your requests. Maybe keep trying and let us know how it turns out. I also heard quite a few stories about people getting accepted even after getting the school's name wrong or misspelled, so don't lose hope even if you don't get to fix your SOP.

So... you're annoyed with a married man because he has a dutiful wife? Why exactly? I would think that's one of the least annoying things regarding other people. Ah that's what I thought, but from what I just heard around here aren't I supposed to look around for availability? Not commit to anything just yet, but explore the options and the price ranges, yes? Sorry Pinkster, I probably should stop asking questions here

Thank you all very much for the advice and personal experiences. I will try to get it done before I leave, but it's encouraging to hear there are still plenty of options comes summer. I've been lurking around the city-specific threads to get a feel of my potential locations, but I guess now I should start looking seriously at housing options. Is there any other website/service you would recommend?

Congratulations! UW-Madison sounds fantastic. You should check out the Interview/Visit section under the Applying sub-forum. There are tons of threads there about what to expect, what to ask, what to wear, etc. If you don't mind me asking, will this be an interview with your POI or with members of the admission committee or both? I think the questions they'll ask will change depending on who will be interviewing you. I'm applying for the first time too, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice. I'm gonna venture and guess that it's good news, meaning you might be one of the applicants who stand out to them right away. Did they give you a deadline to decide? Either way, congratulations! Yes we're quite a lovely bunch here. I was very glad to have a lot of people to freak out with - over the last few weeks I think a combination of having nothing to do after the application, the winter blues, holiday craziness and homesickness almost drove me out of my mind! I come here to find my sanity in other people's panicking. Happy new year everyone! May the new year bring good news to all of us!

Interesting. Most schools I'm applying to just have text boxes for applicants to self-report score, then require an official score report directly from ETS. Do you still have to do this or is the scanned version enough?

Sorry I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I got a (kind of) relevant question. Assuming I get in a program across the country, June/July would probably be too late to look for a place? I plan to go back home (across the Pacific) for a few months after all the decisions have been made, so that would be around the end of April. If I manage to fly to where the program is, find a place and sign a lease for August - September, is it advisable to leave the country for a few months in between?

When I took the TOEFL more than 5 years ago, ETS did send me an official score report in the mail. It's for personal use only and is not valid for use in admission process. Then when I took the GRE this September, there was no mailed score report. They just emailed to let me know that the score had been posted in my account online, so perhaps they've changed their policy. Or it could be that they have different policies for TOEFL and GRE. I think you can probably find our on the website, or if all else fails, just give them a call and ask. For my curiosity's sake, is there a particular reason why you need a paper score report?

I posted a topic a while back asking if it's appropriate to give some holiday gifts to my letter writers. I was told that if our relationship was such that I would have given the gifts regardless of the letters then go ahead. I feel that it's a very good rule of thumb, and so my mentor/advisor got a nice scarf (a standard holiday gift IMO) and the other two got cards wishing them happy holidays with lots of thanks.

S/he did, "This is my first semester in the Ma program." Would it be better or worse then? I would think apart of the value of the grade itself, the Master GPA also impacts his/her chance of getting into a Ph.D program in the future if s/he so chooses?

Ouch. But your signature is still showing "UPenn"?

Also are you really comfortable letting strangers making this important decision for you? What if someone tells you to pick American without offering any details, much like your question. Would you listen to them then?

Ah Pinkster Pinkster Pinkster, I'm finally compelled to reply to your posts. Let me say a few things about me first so hopefully what I'm gonna say will resonate with you better. I'm about the same age as you (about half a year older in fact); I'm an international student from Asia; I came to the U.S for college when I was 18 and I've been home twice ever since. I graduated about one and a half year ago; I worked for about 9 months before I decided to apply to grad schools. I'm an only child and my parents were super protective - I had never spent a night apart from my family before I left the country. I have cousins here whom I've been staying with; they helped me a lot to settle in when I first arrived but I got to figure a lot of things out on my own and now they're more like roomates for whom I pay super cheap rent. Alright, so there are 2 things I want to tell you. First, your actual question: How hard is it to move to a new place? Pretty hard, I'd say. I had an extreme case of homesickness and culture shock for the first 6 months, but then again I was only 18, away from home for the very first time in a very foreign culture. It did take a while but I made it through, and so you definitely can. People have been giving you a lot of great practical advice, and I still have a lot to learn from those suggestions, so I'm not gonna add anything. I just want to say that it's worth it, and hopefully I can encourage you a bit. Looking back, going abroad was the best thing that I've ever done. The experience was immense, and to go into details would take forever. There's the basic stuff (which I'm still very proud of) like learning how to do laundry, cook a full meal, keep and house, manage your own schedule and finance, etc. But more than that, I have changed dramatically, from the way I see myself to the way I see and treat other people, including (most importantly) realizing how stupid I was and still am at times and how diverse others' life experiences can be. I figure part of this was just me growing up, which can be done pretty much anywhere, but since I had been coddled (and it looks like you're in the same boat), getting away from home was much more effective in this regard. I remember the moment I realized how alike my high school friends and I were, like cookies cut from the same mold. Not that there was anything wrong with the mold, and it still shapes a big part of me right now, but it's like seeing the ocean for the first time and realizing how small your pond was. Second, what I infer from your many posts is how you think there's a magic point somewhere in the future and when you get there, all your problems will melt away. There is no such magic point. Believe me, I used to be so sure that I would finish college here, go back home, get a good job, work for a few years, meet a guy and then get married and start a family. My magic timeline was set to be at 28. It is later than yours and may seem more reasonable, but in fact it is no less fictional. People have been telling you time and time again that you can't plan your life out on a calendar like that, so I won't waste time repeating the reasons why. What I want to emphasize is even when you do get there (and it will rarely be the way you want at the exact time you want), you will still have problems and worries and heartbreaks. Life doesn't just stop when you get married and have babies. What if your kids got sick? What if your husband got into an accident? What if your family lost your house like a lot of people did in 08? What if your husband cheats on you or your kids abuse drugs? There are all sorts of things that can happen, some less serious than others, but so is life. It took me the longest time to realize that (1) life is unpredictable and (2) there won't be ever a time in life when the struggle stops. It sounds silly to me now how I could possibly think that after finishing school and getting a job, things will just stabilize and I will coast on this defined, unchanging trajectory. How could I think that stresses during school will stop when I start working, or that just because I get to that point, be it a specific age or a life event like graduation or marriage, I will magically figure everything out? But I get it. We've been on the school route for at least 16 years straight; everything's been planned out and on schedule; we've done everything right, everything we were supposed to do, so our plan should just fall in to places right? Everything should just work out because we planned it to be so, and because we put work into it, we're guaranteed to get what we want and be all happy and fulfilled by the end of our plan, because that's what it has always been like at school, in class, in projects, literally our whole life! But life is more complicated than that. Just because you did A doesn't guarantee you B. You don't have as much control as you think. There's no hypothetical best time of your life. It's tough to accept - and I don't think anyone can help you realize it but yourself - but it can also be very liberating. The best time of your life can be right now, next month, or always. Life can happen in so many ways for which you can't possibly plan, but it also means that happiness and success and fulfillment have that many ways to come to you. You can't plan for them, but you can prepare yourself mentally for this unpredictability and trust yourself to handle them, or swing it as they say. When I was 19, my friend's mother said that we don't have that much control in life, and I didn't believe her, even when she said she used to think like I did. So now you probably won't believe me either, but I hope you will. For a point of reference, you can watch this mind-opening video by John Green about what to do with your life. It's intially more about how to pick what to study in college but then becomes life decisions and adulthood in general. It has stopped me from freaking out many times when I think my life is not how or where it's "supposed" to be or when I, like you, feel like nothing is happening to me:

Sorry I'm doing this on my phone and there doesn't seem to be an edit option after I accidentally hit Post. Right, continue from the last post, I have friends who also applied to programs in which they can teach languages/get a part-time job to fund their study and move to France for a while. These programs are usually non-program specific though, but if you're interested, you can check out the Micefa website and the French embassy website and start from there.

Have you checked with your school's International Students office (or some equivalent office)? In my undergrad institution the office handles both international and exchange students coming from abroad and American students who wish to study abroad. Even if they don't have a program suitable for you, they have resources and can help advise and point you toward the right direction. Also check with the departments you want to study in (Business and Anthropology I think) and see if they have any exchange programs in place for grad students. I've seen programs set up by faculty members that may or may not be listed at the International office. You can also go independently from your school, but that's usually harder to transfer credits, and most programs I see are usually geared toward undergrads like you said

I'm gonna leave the USA vs Canada thing for people with more relevant experience to respond, for I am neither American nor Canadian. By the way, there's already a post from a Canadian right after the post you're quoting cautioning against generalizing. Also, isn't it hypocritical of you to call out other people on generalizing? I just want to point out that in traditional, before-technology correspondence, we need to write our names and addresses on the envelopes, then sign our names once again at the end of the letter. So using yournlogic it was just as useless, but we did it anyway. However, if you look at the signature and salutation not as a literal mean to know from whom the letter comes but as a display of politeness and respect, then no it's not useless. Non-essential yes, and then isn't all decorum?