DerpTastic

I'm guessing you've already applied and don't have time to retake anything, but the GRE should definitely come up, you don't really want a verbal below 150 and a quant below 160. Your writing should probably come up at least a little. (aim for 310 like Geo said) The subject test is a bit low, but probably won't keep you out of a program in itself. 20 schools is a lot, so I would like to say perhaps? You do have a good masters gpa.

I'm not sure if philosophy works the same way, but in my field I ran into many of these questions, most of them asked for the textbook as well. I figure it was more the textbook they were curious about, so they could like up what you learned from and guesstimate how prepared you are. Also, I remember reading a thread somewhere where someone mentioned that a class showed up on their transcript without the exact name, meaning the department probably couldn't figure out what the class was. This could help combat something like that.

Chances are I'll be borderline between 29 and 30.

I'm not sure I would consider it a huge lose for tuition costs. In general, they have a set amount of students they will pay for. The school knows they will lose some students. They still have these students performing research, working as a TA, (hopefully) publishing or helping professors that publish. Either way, the money isn't simply a waste for the school.

I think a lot of people have a bad freshman year. It definitely looks better to have a rough start with a strong finish than a strong start with a bad finish. It is something that can be addressed in an SOP, or if they have a section for comments. It might hurt you, but I don't think enough that you should lose sleep over it.

What are these stats for though? I'd be tempted to say a TA/RA in a PhD program doesn't follow these stats, as it works a little differently, but I can't really comment. Generally, they are constantly replacing people as other graduate. It's not really the same as other jobs, which tend to hire people intending to keep them on long term.

This is also a good point. I'm wondering, in what way do you mean they lose a ton of money swapping people out? In wasting time to train the next worker, or losing an experienced worker for a less experience one? I could see if you had tons of people leaving after a year that it would be a burden. But if someone leaves after 4-5 years, well, they were most likely going to leave after 6 years with a PhD anyway. You don't keep these workers all that long anyway.

If it's illness, probably not. If they end up leaving for another job, you might be able to see that they're not 100% invested in grad school. However, no one would tell the school they're applying to that they aren't all that invested in school. Additionally, I think the amount of people willing to go through the stress and pressure of a PhD program are most likely pretty dedicated to it at the time they apply/begin. Many end up getting burnt out, but that could be years down the road. There might be shared traits for people that end up dropping out, but do you think these tests would be extremely accurate? What if you end up not accepting people who would have finished that have stellar applications? I'm not sure if rates are low enough that I would really be worried.

It is wasted money, but I was more addressing the question of why people go for it if they might drop out. No one thinks, "I bet I'm that 1 in 3 that will drop out". It is true that the money and position could have gone to someone else, and it's quite sad that someone who may have gotten through was denied. However, you never know if that other person would have made it through anyway. The school is (for the most part) picking the people they believe are the best applicants. When they're looking at the top applicants, a lot of them are very close.

I think there are many posts that are getting unfair likes/dislikes in this thread. I'll also throw in that I don't quite understand why MattDest's, Table's, and purpleperson's first posts on the first page warranted downvotes. Overall, I think people have gotten frustrated with each other, most likely from other threads, and it shows in how crazy everyone is getting with downvotes.

I'd be curious as to what the comparison between students who drop out of a undergraduate degree versus a graduate degree in the STEM fields. You could say the same thing, why are these people starting something that isn't guaranteed? Why are they getting invested into something that might not happen? And to be honest, this would be a better question. Most STEM graduate degrees are funded. There aren't many undergraduate degrees that are completely "funded" (I guess this can be considered finan. aid or scholarships). Starting and dropping in a PhD program doesn't really set you back money wise. You shouldn't be in debt from it, although you could have made more money somewhere else. Starting and dropping in an undergraduate degree in general does set you back. Perhaps you will be in that 33% who don't make it, but you're generally funded with a stipend. Most would say it's worth it to give it your all if you need that MS or PhD for your dream job.

I definitely think the flexibility, independence, and opportunity to work with students appeals to me. I figure there will be many intro level classes where the students are uninterested, and maybe even angry or annoyed they have to take the class, but I'd still like to give it a shot. Fears? The competition and pressure for tenure, and the politics going on behind the scenes scares me a little. D;

I'm quite new to coffee, but it's kind of grown on me! For Christmas, my dad and I bought my mom a Keurig, and I've grown attached to using it at home. It's really convenient, but pricey for something I would buy on my own. I'm perfectly happy with cheaper set ups.

I like the way purpleperson put it, especially about using the "let it flow" technique if you get stuck. I wouldn't worry so much about the time as the quality. No one reading your work will see how long it took you to write something, but they will judge it based on quality and content. Perhaps you are a slower writer, but the only advice I could give you is practice, and maybe more planning/structure ahead of time. It really depends on what you're writing. I'm quite a terrible writer myself, so I can't really give quality advice here. Also, I wouldn't get worked up over trying to match what others say for how long it takes to write a paragraph, page, or book. Half the time you're going to get a vague response, like, "I can run a race in 30 minutes". How long was the race? What kind of race? Good luck!

Let's dooooooo thissss!!

You too! Just hit the new year where I am.

(I'm in undergrad) I only had one professor ask to call him by his first name, and it was because he had a last name that was a variation of Hussein. He didn't like the way it sounded, as he said many relate it to Saddam Hussein, and asked us to call him by his first name. I still (along with many) referred to him as Dr. (first name). I would feel a little weird calling a professor by their first name.

This so much! I tried to explain it to my mom, who for some reason can't grasp how it works. D; I also really hate the constant, "So when will you hear back?" "Have you heard back from any?"

Hello! I don't think I'm in any way qualified to give feedback on someone's SOP, but my thoughts are that: In the second paragraph, I think the word "first" and "second" should have a comma after it. In the last paragraph: "... and spending my own money. It was not an easy decision since that money came from my savings and my parents." sounds a little out of place to me. I understand the point, but I don't think it proves dedication, as in generally most do have to spend their money for an education. Additionally, I wouldn't bring up that money came from your parents. It makes it sounds more like you were simply given money, which is not the message I think you intended to convey. "I practiced hard work" This sounds vague and also doesn't really make sense to me. Hard work is more something you do, not something you practice. "Above all I have the aspiration, an aspiration to contribute" Sounds a little odd, might be the way it's worded. It might be that "the aspiration" followed by "an aspiration" is a little odd. In my opinion the last paragraph could be reworked a little. Good luck with your apps!

I recommend CHESPHERGBSLHEAPMEMPSNCSWCSWLCPJF (Chemistry, History, Engineering, Sociology, Psychology, Health Education, Reading, Geosciences, Biology,Speech Language & Hearing, Economics, Art, Physics, Music, English, Math, Political Science, Nursing, Communication, Social Work, Computer Science, World Languages, Counseling, Philosophy, Journalism, Finance)

No you can buy the cheapest, I think I do sometimes. xP My advice is usually if you aren't used to buying something, you don't buy the cheapest or the most expensive, and you'll be just fine.

For people generally interested in the original question, I think when moving to a new place (especially when starting at a new school), there are ALWAYS people just like you. There are lots of new people that are new to the area that don't know anyone. Take advantage of it and don't close yourself off, talk to people. A lot of people are looking for friends at the beginning of the semester. @ Pinkster Don't buy the cheapest laundry detergent, don't buy the most expensive. Buy a variety of food from different food groups. Make new friends, but don't abandon old friends because you're moving or are jealous of them. You don't need single friends, people in a relationship do party and study as well. Don't date because you're desperate for a relationship/kids, it's not healthy and not really fair to whoever you end up dating.

There was a good chunk of my physics 1 that didn't use that much calculus, since most students in my school take calculus 1 with it. However, there are some problems or concepts that just can't be used in algebra based physics, because you really need calculus for it. From what I've seen tutoring, there are some things in the algebra based class where they just tell you something is true, and you memorize it. Since you figured out you need physics 2 calc based anyway, why not take physics 1 calc based as well?

I'm not sure who told you that you need to be in the top few percent for verbal and not the top twenty for quant in geophysics, but I'm not sure I'd take their advice. xP The verbal is very high and you don't need to worry about it. I think 160 in quant is probably decent enough that you'll be okay, although I'm not sure about top programs. I would think the average for most schools is probably around 165 or so. The gre is really only one small part of your application, and I honestly wouldn't worry as much as you are.

(Although this might be trolling, I believe there probably are a good chunk of people that do actually have this belief) I think the term "useless" depends on the viewer. Not all research benefits everyone, or even that big a group of people. But a lot of things are discovered/invented unintentionally. So something important could come out of something you consider useless.