frankdux

if you are applying for fall of 2009 i'd be more concerned with the fact it is mid december and you are still uncertain about 2 of your LOR writers. but yeah, that combined GRE score would probably get your app tossed into the garbage at some schools that use the GRE as a minimum cutoff. not to sound mean, but i can't imagine ivy league schools accepting people into PhD programs with sub-1000 GRE scores.

as much of a douche as ferrero is, he does bring up a good point. the material cost of everything for me has been roughly $120 per school. to top if off, the thought that i actually have post office confirmation on x, y, and z and yet a grad secretary tells me i'm missing x, y, and z is absurdly frustrating and does show a slight lack of order on one end of this procedure. however, it is still best to keep your cool and act like a decent person.

and make sure they got all your stuff. my #1 choice received NONE of my LOR's. (makes me suspicious. like they don't got their s*** together.)

are you gonna take it over? or is there anywhere you can apply that does not require it? i took the math GRE and i think i bombed it. i dont know yet and i don't wanna pay the $12 to find out cause i'll just get it in the mail next week. thankfully 6 of my 10 Applied Math applications didn't require it.

if its an electronic submission that does not automatically cut off after 500 words, then i'd interpret 'approximately 500' as not more than 510 words or so. 650 is noticeably too much.

i'm getting really sick of these "i probably don't even have a shot with my abysmal 3.8 gpa, previous graduate work, work experience, and only 3 publications" threads. get off your high horse!

if you went to Yale, i think you'll be fine. don't waste your time retaking it unless it's eating away at you day and night.

i dont see the harm in name dropping. so why not go back and throw in a name or two in each essay? at the very least it will look like you researched the school that much more. i'm applying to 10 schools and i named at least 2 professors in each SOP.

i'd say just let it go.

...the very first score report i received in the mail in the spring of '07. i sent out my GRE scores and reported my scores and percentiles on many of my electronic applications. after i had my GRE scores sent out i also got an extra copy mailed to myself. and then i noticed my percentiles have gone up by a few percentage points over the past year and a half! on one hand it makes me look better, on the other it makes me look like i filled out my applications wrong. so do i now have to go back and contact all of the admissions offices and have them fix my submitted application for me? or is this kind of thing common? obviously my scores remain unchanged and thats probably more important, so are graduate departments aware of fluctuating percentiles?

don't you still have time to apply to more schools? apply to some above average schools that are still really good but perhaps slightly less prestigious. how about Northwestern? or the University of Iowa?

i would hope you have nothing but the word 'no' to write in response to #3. that would be my reply anyways.

i just took it this month so i wont know my score for awhile. but it wont let me submit without entering a score. this is another one of those online apps that appears to be using the same electronic system that a whole bunch of other schools use as well. what do i do? it requires a numeric value.

actually, i have a followup question: am i able to 'resend' an LOR request (or send a 'reminder') to a professor after i submit the app?

thank you for the confirmation. and best of luck to you.

seems like a lot of schools use a similar online application service. would anyone happen to know if its ok to submit the application even if a professor who you've signed up as a LOR writer hasn't yet actually submitted their letter, but you have them entered in as a writer for you and they're going to do it? in other words, i have one professor who has agreed to write a LOR for me and he's already submitted his letter electronically for the first half of my schools. i'm just waiting for the second half but i know he's gonna take a bit longer cause of thanksgiving coming up and everything. but I'd like to go ahead and electronically submit my application and pay for it so they can match it up with all my other documents that are already in the mail. and so i can finish all of this and be done with it. that's fine, right? i can submit it, but the online app will still accept his letter correct?

sorry, but this doesn't sound like a good idea at all. perhaps you'd like some general tips or a rough outline of how others organized theirs instead?

^^^ no offense, but unless you're Doogie Howser, i dont know how you could call any of those schools except for University of Utah a 'safety' school.

not to pry, but will this professor be able to apply for tenure in the future? does his future look that uncertain? is there no one else who could take you on if he had to leave? (sorry i can't answer your question. i'm just curious about your situation and you might be able to help some of us in the future if we face a similar scenario)

and break it down by number into safety, middle, reach. safety: 1 middle: 4 reach: 4 i could probably use some more safety schools, but i just can't find any that have my research interests. could anyone help me find a somewhat easier school that offers an applied math (or interdisciplinary math, or computational math) program that offers interdisciplinary/overlapping research into astronomy and astrophysics?

huh? you graduated from college when you were 19? and yet, you went to a lousy school? sounds like you'd have been a prodigy if you graduated 3 years early.

thanks for voting, but can someone give me some feedback?

why are you taking the GRE AFTER you've already done a J.D.? I also got a 4.5, but i'm a math person. i felt that i did as well as i could on that section and i was ok with my score.

so i sorta just made a thread about this already but i'd like to turn it into a poll. ok, so a few particular programs require a 4th letter. i already have 3 good letter writers to start with. i have a bachelors in math, and a masters in math education. i want to do a phd in applied math with the goal of being a professor. so i'm covering all my bases with the following three people writing me letters: 1. a math professor from my undergrad 2. a math professor from my grad 3. my grad program advisor who was also my student teacher mentor as well as an instructor of mine in 2 classes. unfortunately i've been unable to establish contact with two other math professors who i think would write good letters for me, and both have already written letters for me in the past. kind of upsetting. anyways, the two people i'm thinking who could write me good letters would be: 1. my supervisor from the year i spent teaching english in japan immediately following my grad program. on one hand, it has nothing to do with math. but on the other hand, it obviously does have something to do with teaching which does have something to do with what i want to do with the rest of my life. (being a prof) also, its a letter from a former employer, which is usually a decent alternative if you have work experience after school. 2. my japanese teacher i had for 4 semesters during my grad program. i got all A's in her classes. also, she has already written a letter for me in the past. again though, it has nothing to do with math, and even less to do with what i want to do with the rest of my life. but at least, she could offer further details into my academic abilities. i don't know. what do you think?

i was reading the school's FAQs and yes, they do allow professional references. I taught in japan for a year so maybe i should get a letter from my japanese employer. that would definitely be something different. my only concern would be that english is not his first language. maybe we could work on the letter 'together'.