GeoDUDE!

I respect the fact that you want to maximize your chances to get into graduate school, but also know that graduate schools don't want robots. I know that is hard to see now. Think about what your JR and SR years are going to be like: upper division classes, 2 labs. Where is the time for yourself? You should focus on getting better grades than your freshman year, working in 1 lab, and attending a few parties. If you are not having fun in college, and having fun doing research doesn't count, you are probably doing it wrong ( I suppose some people may really really not want a social life). If the 1st lab doesn't work out, you can switch! Remember, you still have 2+ years of college left! Undergraduate research is undergraduate research: topic isn't as important as the process. Grad schools just want to see you getting your feet wet. The most important thing you can do to get (and be successful) in graduate school, no matter what discipline, is become a independent thinking adult that is aware of what he/she needs to be happy. The nature of the question "Should I work in both?" suggest that you are in the mode of checking graduate admission boxes for the sake of checking those boxes. There is plenty of time to do that after college: if you don't get in the first time you can do a masters first. You never get another chance to do undergrad, those life experiences are unique and irreplaceable.

If you are in the sciences and only work in your primary field it puts you at a disadvantage to people who do more than that. For example, my dissertation is subduction geodynamics but currently also have projects doing computational seismology and experimental volcanology. These were started by internships and classes.

I've heard of it happening before, but its not like if you dont answer the phone that second you will lose out.... make sure to check ur messages !

Both Caltech and UC Davis have accepted student days (where they pay for you to come out) so don't worry about that. So does MIT/WHOI. Not sure about the others, but I guess they would too. They are usually late February and march, as thats when decisions come out. They tend to only invite accepted students in geosciences. Take those visits seriously, was not expecting to end up where I did.

you should apply anywhere you want irrespective of GRE scores, people with low GREs do get into earth science programs (though, of course, its a bit rarer). From what I remember, you do not know your scores when you submit (after the test, but before the score is calculated). Someone can correct me though, as I took it 3 years ago.

I disagree with this premise heavily, most notably because for this to be true you have to set the objective level of what constitute success as a researcher very high. In my mind, if there is a long list of scientific tasks to do, and you can check just one of those boxes, you have succeeded. Doing something, and saying it doesn't work is just as important as the discovery of Penicillin, and is in fact, the basis of modern scientific inquiry. My first project as a freshman was looking at optical properties of matter by sending certain wavelength light at the material, and sure the results weren't interesting, but they were cataloged (and eventually published). Any time you are collecting data, or doing an already established methodology, chances are the project will succeed to some degree. The level of work required by someone doing a PhD generally involves much more uncertainties (and rightfully so). A seismologist may have to leave an array of seismometers out in the field for years only to find that his data is corrupted at the end of it. Doing this work as an undergraduate, to some degree is important, because you need to be able to make an argument about your potential as a researcher, but there are other successful ways of making that argument besides doing undergraduate research, for the reasons stated above. In fields where there isn't much undergraduate research, that is because it is hard to design simple, sort term projects. One of the great things about my field (earth sciences) is that it is relatively easy to design these things.

If you just started your MTS, don't even think about it (is that Masters of Theological Sciences?). Take courses, do your work, see if there are topics that interests you naturally. Discuss this with your advisors, see where it goes. If you are curious what types of questions are answered in a PhD, read dissertations. I'm sure you have access to the ones form harvard.

I don't know what a good PhD topic would be in your field.... a dissertation does not need to have a hypothesis. You can answer "What if?" questions with a dissertation, but you have to give it some legitimacy. Are you currently a PhD student? The questions you are asking are a bit alarming for someone already in graduate school. Perhaps someone at your school can help.

A good dissertation topic fills a gap in literature by answering a question or addresses a misconception in a way that has never been done before.

Thats the approach I used.... got emailed back from every person!

If you have any questions about UC Davis (or you end up getting in and visiting) let me know, in a pm please.

I don't think it matters at all(most of the time).... people overestimate the importance of undergraduate research experience, but most professors know its canned, designed to succeed so it wont put off the undergrad. Most undergrads face little adversity in their research because of this, and you become more experienced, you'll realize often the most interesting questions come along with their share of frustrations.

I'm a graduate student and I'm judging you. But on the real, change the title so it more accurately connotes what you want.

I agree with Takeruk, but I'd also add that nice black/ dark blue jeans also work, as long as they are tailored(or fit very well). Getting a few sets of tailored clothes, that fit perfectly, really do add that zip that you want at a conference (or on a date, tbh).

I'd honestly submit the 2nd one... a 4 is a an OK score where I would consider 3.5 terrible.

Find papers you like and contact the authors. Thats all you can really do if you want to do something that specific. If all you are about is atmospheric modeling, and are interested in many aspects of the atmosphere, then it will be much easier to find schools. You currently have a lot of schools on your list... so its not as if you are having trouble finding any schools at all.

It depends, at geology conferences you see people in polar tech/ hiking gear. Its all field dependent. Ask your advisor!

I think a problem you may run into unfortunately is that you do not have a degree in physics. You need to have taken advanced undergraduate courses in classical mechanics, electric and magnetic fields, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics. Your PGRE i think will need to be high because of that. Astrophysics is a broad field, with many schools having strong programs. Look at the places you want to live, chances are they will have a strong astrophysics program, as almost every major city in the US has one.

To answer your question, of course international students have a tougher time getting into public schools. Why of course? Because international students can never establish residency, and therefore cost ~2x times the cost of a domestic applicant. Thats why only exceptional international students (most times with a MSc in hand) get into PhD programs. That being said, they still get in, and you have good grades, gre's and come from a heavy quantitative background (earth science undergraduates in USA tend to not have the math chops to really do atmospheric science). Goodluck!

I was too busying worrying about graduating both times I applied. To be fair I only waited a week after I sent in my final app to hear about an acceptance. So my advice, get busy. Make friends. Don't talk about it with others. Just live life.

I think your professor is right,especially if it is electronic. I think it is super strange that you saw your letter beforehand. I have never seen one of my letters. There are clearly ways to legitimize a letter if they feel its inauthentic.

There is a financial approval too, and sometimes background/special needs check. There are a few other things, I have actually only heard of one case were department has accepted a student but was rejected by the graduate school.

I guess that is a coincidence that they are both female, or it could be i'm just always instinctively on the prowl (hahaha) .... but the biggest reason is I don't want some of the information on the departments I know about to be searchable. There is enough information on the internet to identify me, so some things I want to say I don't want to necessarily be traced to me (not that I'm saying anything bad, I guess, it just gives me more peace of mind). The only reason I post "i'll send you a pm" is that just incase they don't realize that they got the pm from me in the first place! Either way, I find it a better way to communicate larger patches of text without it getting lost in the backlog of a thread. Is that ok with you?

I'll send you a PM

Because programs don't usually let you defer, it screws up their funding! If you were to apply, it should be at 1 school you are definitely going to with a POI that has already committed to you with the understanding of the department. This might be possible since you have funding (does marshall go beyond your masters?).