maelduin

Hah! Great observation. I suppose that could be true. I think I'm going to send them the mails though. I feel I'd appreciate the gesture, so maybe I should just go with my gut on that one. Thanks!

I just wanted to poll here and see what everyone thinks about this particular situation. I have had a pretty wonderful experience with some grad students in some programs. Would it be strange to send them an e-mail informing them of my decision (not to attend), while at the same time thanking them for their help? Some were actually incredibly helpful.

Kev, Thank you for the update! This really helps. Hopefully I hear some developments soon.

Kev, Yeah, no news yet. In fact--I'm not even sure what website I should be checking. What website did you use!? I applied through that applyweb applet, but I didn't get anything else to direct me to a different site and that website doesn't seem to update anything.

Kev, Eek!! When did they get back to you about it? Rather, how? Maybe the CFC only really accepts people with full funding packages?. It could be that the person you wanted to work with there couldn't find an applicable project to get you in under that would allow you to research without financial burdens. Really sorry to hear about that though.

Interesting. Yeah, I didn't get any kind of information from the graduate school specifically yet. I hope that information comes soon. I hope your Penn State decision works out!

Did you call/e-mail the coordinator to find out more?

Kev, Did you hear back yet from UM?

I was just wondering, I have been told I'll receive a stipend, but no definitive amount. Is it bad form to ask what the amount will be?

Thanks! Actually there's no definitive outlook yet from UBC, just good vibes. I probably spoke too soon. But I'm really thinking that UM might be the better school. It seems like it has a much more intimate and focused atmosphere. When I visited UW it was a lot of the same feeling. A small--dedicated building with really friendly staff. I think if you go there, you'd definitely enjoy it.

kev0476 thank you for the response! Essentially I'm weighing it against a program at UBC right now in Canada. I'm going to be joining the M.S. program in Systems Ecology if I were to go, and I wanted to get a good feel about the overall reputation of the school. Where about did you find information regarding the program specifics? That's awesome that you were accepted to UW. I applied--didn't get in. I went for a short visit though and fell in love with Seattle.

Just that last qualifying statement he had up there: FYI, many of my fellow graduates with similar GPAs are still unemployed while those who underperformed academically, attained very well-paying jobs. But yeah, bit convoluted, and honestly shocking. I'm a bit skeptical about graduate schools giving more money just because you're in a hard situation. But I suppose extraordinary things could happen. I just think that unless there is someone at that school who has a real vested interest in this potential grad, the probabilities are slim.

Hi everyone! I was wondering if anyone can give me a reliable look into the reputation of the UM Forestry and Conservation school. I've looked all around on the internet and I find some promising things. The school itself isn't very highly ranked, but this department seems rather strong. Does anyone have any experience with it or has anyone heard of it?

Rvict, I think he means he had a very high GPA with no real usable knowledge from it. Rather his good grades didn't actually describe his aptitude and therefore prevented him from good employment opportunities.

Everyone, thanks a ton for your responses. This helps me put myself a bit at ease. I think, first, I need to wait until I get both packages enumerated to a degree that I can weigh them against each other. One offers comfort, and likely a much more intimate approach to my schooling--the other a far more diverse school with more resources and likely more renowned professors. I'm not sure how much the renown matters in my own approach to education, but I suppose as some of you say there is some too it. I'll keep looking into things and trying to make the right choice. It's definitely hard!

I'm currently debating between two schools. One feels right, there's a lot about it that says so, but primarily the intimate nature of the program, the response from the POI, the project that's been introduced to me, and so far the mention of concrete funding (if only for 1 semester so far). Then there is the other school. By all accounts it's much higher ranked, and has a much stronger international reputation. The program would allow me to study in Central Asia for a few weeks, and I would be able to get a Master's in a quite well renowned institution. The more renowned school is more expensive, especially the cost of living in that particular city (and I'm bringing my wife who won't be able to work right away). I'm wondering, does rank of school matter that much in the long run? Will a better known school give me a better edge in the competition if I continue on towards a PhD? Any input would be great! Thanks.

Hello Everyone, Like many of you I'm in the process of trying to decide my future as an MSc student at a variety of different schools. So far I have received an offer from one school along with an RA position. I'm waiting to hear back from UBC in regards to another program I have applied to. I expect to hear back in the next few weeks, but I had a question regarding Canadian funding. Generally I see that schools in the States will provide students with a stipend, sometimes health insurance, and often a tuition reimbursement/waiver. I know that not all schools are the same, but for the information I have now that seems to be the case. Looking at UBC--a GRA position would be considered a fellowship, and not a stipend in regards to payment. I was wondering, do Canadian schools offer tuition waivers like schools in the states? Because I'm waiting, and have an actual offer, this could help me quite a bit in making a decision. Thanks in advance!

So, I just recently got this e-mail regarding the TA/RA positions for an upcoming grad program, and for some reason I got it into my head (stupid though it is), that I might not have clicked the little box that said I was interested. I know this is ridiculous, because I don't see why I would ever have done that. But, just to ease my own mind and assuage these pangs of doubt, do you think it'd be OK to e-mail the grad coordinator there just to double check? Or do you think that really it's not worth doing since what's done is done and unlikely to be changed? Thanks in advance for any advice!

As someone that has JLPT level 1 and has spent 5 years living in Japan, I have to say I don't think a 6 month program and that amount of self-study is really going to get you to a very proficient level in that time frame. Japanese is a language, like many others, dependent on cultural references to communicate effectively. I think that you'd have hard time calling yourself proficient/fluent without a decent amount of time spent in the country. And, no, I don't think 6 months is enough. I would spend time in Japan doing something that allows you to study intensively, but for a longer period of time. Then again, I don't know your abilities or your skill in absorbing a language. For reference though the following are a must: Kanji in Context (the full series plus reference text) Intermediate Japanese (Writen by McGloin I believe) Anki (study every day!) Lang8 (You can use this to study Japanese with Japanese people while helping them learn English) Once you get to a level of proficiency where you can start reading even a little bit, do it and just keep doing it. I hope this doesn't come of as arrogant! Let me know if you need any other suggestions for helpful texts!

I'm going to agree with Geographyrocks that that sounds like a pretty surefire way to get yourself off the shortlist and into the reject bin. The adcoms likely reviews hundreds of applicants and appreciate patience. Stop sending e-mails. Hope that those PIs ignored your entreaties, and definitely do NOT send additional information. 9 times out of 10 they'll throw it out, or as geographyrocks said regard it as desperate. This is a game of chance. You've no choice but to leave it up to that.

Hiya Krystasonrisa, I really don't think you should look at the results page too much. I do as well, but I assume that a lot of these things come in waves, and you shouldn't be too worried yet. But, I'm waiting on results for Master's progams so my situation might be different. You could always try to call?

Hello everyone. I'm writing my personal statement right now for the 2014 fall year of school, or for future programs in general, I suppose. I have a question. In my first year of undergrad and through a portion of my second year I failed two courses and did poorly in a third. This had a number of reasons, but mainly they were two: I underwent a surgery, and my father was placed into a home for long term health-care (and later passed in my senior year). After I took some time from school, I re-entered and raised my cumulative GPA from a 1.5 to a 3.1 by graduation. My last 3 years averaged a 3.7. Under the right situations I think I have a very strong profile for graduate studies. I'm just wondering this; how to I explain this discrepancy without sounding like I'm making excuses? Thanks!

GeoDude, Thanks again. I'll try my best, once I get to that point to do so. DO you think it should be written about/explained in detail? Also, just out of curiosity, for the schools I listed as my interests do you think any of them are unreasonable? Would it behoove me to take the GRE again and try to score higher, or should I concentrate on the rest of my grad package for now? This place is wonderful btw for people who have little knowledge about this process. I spent so many hours searching on websites and I get better answers here in minutes haha!

Thanks guys! I'm heading out to the University of Washington actually this week! I'll probably try to get a few questions in to their forestry department when I get over there. And GeoDude, yeah almost all the programs pretty explicitly state the last 2-3 years of your GPA. At least the ones I have been looking at. And I'll be submitting my full transcript, of course, I'm just putting up the stats for reference. My overall GPA was a 3.1 and a 3.8 Major GPA, but I had a pretty terrible first two years with surgery and my dad going into hospice essentially so it was a rough time. I wonder if that's an explainable thing.

That's the biggest problem I guess. I've got a Major in Japanese and East Asian Studies in my undergrad, so in all honesty that's not very applicable to what I have going here for applications. Do you think I'll more or less be just rejected without any field work whatsoever? I was thinking I'd maybe try for the MF at Berkeley which would likely give me their 8 week field study course regardlesss, might take more time to graduate though. Is there funding in Forestry? It's a passion I'd like to follow up on, and I'm willing to work hard to get into it. What would you recommend for temp/seasonal field positions? I've been looking but I don't know how I can find work like that right away. I was considering working for a year, and then trying for the fall of 2015 for school, but I have a to be wife to work with on all this too! Thanks for your input wanderingalbatross!