msocean

Sorry, should have mentioned that I applied to masters programs. A&M said I could apply for a TA position, but would have to pay out of state tuition. UT is still considering...said they had a ton more applicants and a whole lot less federal funding. Waiting...

UT Austin is killing me! They say they don't have a good picture f their funding in marine yet so they don't know how many they can accept. ARGHHHHH!

I've gotten an acceptance (but no funding is going to be given) for TAMUCC. I'm still waiting on UT-Austin. The only applicants who know anything are a few that were in the program as undergrads, working with the same professors for their graduate program. I'm guessing those students know who has committed funding because one of my 3 professors I listed said he didn't have room in his program due to being already commited to one of his undergrad research assistants. At this point though, I'm weighing the prestige of the UT reputation vs taking a gap year to bolster my GRE scores (not bad, but I could do better if I had time to study), look around for programs that are doing research in the areas I'm interested in (marine bio is so diverse macro vs micro, organismal vs cell), spend more time visiting schools and going to some conferences, do an unpaid internship, take a few electives that I didn't get to take...taking a year to just breathe. I have the advantage of still living at home. Also, having been homeschooled I started college at a younger age and most kids I grew up with won't even graduate until 2014 at the earliest. I hate to live here another year, was looking forward to getting out on my own. On the other hand, I'm committing to a field that I will ultimately end up in after my PhD. So I need to be sure it's the right one vs just the prestige of a school name. Lastly, I don't think anyone who is completely rejected this year necessarily has to hang their head, especially in the hard sciences. The funding is just not there this year due to the Federal budget cuts. I work in a lab with ~8 undergrads and I'm the only one who still has any hope left. Everyone else has been flat out rejected on every application they put in. And there are some students in the group who have 4.0 or close, done an REU every summer, are published, have better GRE scores...and they still got all rejections. And everyone who was able figured out that schools are taking about 1/2 the students they have in past years, and with much less funding. So maybe it will be better to wait a year anyway.

I think any funded offers are going to be much later coming this year due to the lack of Federal action on the budget, forcing the sequestor. The NSF took quite a hit in funding as did NASA and the NIH. So pretty much, the professors I've spoken with, are scrambling for funds for next year. In my case, I've received one acceptance but without funding. The other I'm sure has accepted the cream of the crop and yet would like to accept a few more so that they have enough help in their labs. But most of the professors have told me that private funding sources are being hit hard this year and they are still waiting to hear. I'm not sure what I'll do for a year with a B.S. in biology in this town, but I'm also looking at some schools on the quarter system whose application deadlines are still open.

Accepted at A&M earlier this week, but no tuition funding so I really can't afford it. Waiting to hear from U of TX-Austin...waiting, waiting, waiting...