geographyrocks

A huge deal. I was told that getting a letter from the chair of my UG department really helped. And everything lyrehc said.

Ahhh I misunderstood. In that case, I agree that the journal probably doesn't matter. If they print your article, THEN it matters.

I will probably end up applying, but I haven't even read over everything yet since my focus has been on NSF.

I completely disagree. Being under review (no matter what journal you're submitting it to) means that you took the time and effort to write the paper, adhere to journal guidelines, and submit it. I think the key here is effort. A lot of people don't even bother trying. As a side note, I've had a paper in review for about 9 months now so don't bet on that 3-6 months.

I don't know if this will help, but I read something recently that really changed my thought process: Grad school isn't about the classes. The classes can be helpful, but your focus should be on research. Basically, the professors are no longer in charge of your learning. You are.

I'm another Mendeley fan. You can sync it across all of your devices so you always have the articles you need. You can highlight. You can take notes. I've found it to be much more useful than just using excel.

All good advice (especially the toilet training!). I tried that once and my female loved peeing in the toilet. Her poo went behind the couch. Cleaning cat poo off of carpet is a really crappy process. He he I punned. What you're going through sounds a lot like what I do so here's what I tell myself: Calm the hell down! Are you calm now? Take a deep breathe and let it slowly. Are you calm now? Good! Cats are pretty easy to take care of. I have three cats who have been with me in various apartments, and I never received one noise complaint. If you travel and can't find a friend to catsit, there are professionals who do that. Sure you have to pay them, but they're generally great with animals and it's pretty easy to check if they are legit. Your cat won't go crazy when you travel. However, expect some cat style payback in the form of puking in a shoe or ignoring you for a day or so. I'm crazy and neurotic, and I've been a slave to cats my entire adult life (and most of my childhood) so I think you'll do just fine!

Thanks for that, but I don't really have any desire to study either Remote Sensing or land use change nor do I have a background in either. They probably would have laughed my application out the door.

You say nothing about which facet of physical geography you are interested in. Physical is a hell of a lot different than general or social geography. Areas like urban planning and social demographics use statistics. If you wanna jump over to the physical side of things, you will have to use and understand both upper level Calc (differential equations, linear algebra). You will also need to use and understand physics. Statistical analysis is only one of many different venues of data interpretation. Additionally, did you take a general stats class or a research specific stats class? I ask because the two are different. The basics are the same, but geography (or analysis) specific stats goes into more detail on how to actually analyze data while the general stats class that I took really only discussed the basics of statistics. What exactly are you interested in? On the plus side, 74% on the GRE should be fine. I had a 65% (YIKES!). While my undergrad was focused on the physical side of geography, it was in a department that was about 70% social. Edit: AAAANNNDDD I just realized the original post is almost two years old.

I'm also taking three classes. One is a seminar that I was initially excited about. After the second class I realized that I need a serious review in the subject matter which I've been doing this weekend. My second class is my major focus area so I'm actually a little bored. I realize that a review is still helpful, but I find myself almost nodding off as I could probably teach the class. Also, he likes to switch around from PowerPoint to Internet sites to writing on the projector and/or writing on the whiteboard. All of the switching is frustrating and distracting. He's a recent phd graduate (as in he graduated two years ago) and this is the first time that he has taught this particular class. I feel like I should say something to him, but I don't know how he would take the advice. My third class is an intro to a program that I will need for research. It's a beast of a class that meets three days a week along with a lab. The kicker is that we don't actually use the program during the lab. The lab is simply a lecture that sums up the other lectures. I find this to be idiotic, and I think they missed the point of having a lab. The best way to learn a program (or math or science) is by doing and asking questions. Instead, I'm at home doing and asking Google questions. I'm not having much trouble so far, but that could change as the programming gets more advanced. The thing I'm not used to is being in classes with students who are knowledgeable and actively participate. The students at my UG didn't seem to care...not even in the graduate level classes that I took. I guess that's the difference between a state university and a research university. I really need to up my game. Anyone else experiencing a culture shock?

I had the same problem. I managed a 156 which was good enough to get me in...but I was pretty upset since I could score +160 when untimed.

I had the same experience except that they let me take in one piece of candy. The kicker is that I had to unwrap it in front of them and then place it on a tissue that they provided. Then THEY took it into the room and placed it by the computer. Lol smh

Like Geodude said, if your email is too generic, they likely won't respond. But also remember that classes are starting for many so they may be behind in reading their emails.

The way GRE scores are evaluated are generally as an absolute cutoff to thin the application pile. The standards are 300, 310, and occasionally 320 for the top tier schools. Schools will generally list their absolute cutoff on the website, but they may have an internal cutoff based on the number of apps they recieve and the mean GRE of the applicants. In other words, it's hard to know if your scores will make the cut. If you think you can get higher scores and can afford it, I would say take them again simply because of the programs you're looking at. GRE scores are generally the big mystery. The rest of your application looks great (speaking as someone from outside your field). Hope that helps a little.

I didn't get most of my syllabi until the first day of class. And half of them don't say anything about specific coursework or readings. It's something I guess I have gotten used to.

You'd have better luck asking here: http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/65-social-work/

Things to check out: Writing center (as others have mentioned)-most schools have one Graduate studies: they can point you in the right direction and generally offer seminars on things like writing Graduate student association: similar but different than graduate studies Classes: most universities offer classes on scientific writing or academic writing Other advisors: if your adviser doesn't have anything to offer, ask other professors (especially those that publish a lot) Not all graduate programs are created equal. At my university, we have all of the things I've listed available to us as well as writing classes within my department. When you had orientation, did they not mention any graduate resources? If all else fails, there are a lot of helpful websites out there as well.

If you do decide to buy one, definitely look at thrift stores. I bought a 2 drawer cabinet with keys for $15.

Fuzzy covered most of it, but conferences will also often offer some funding for students to attend. Make sure to go to the conference website and check everywhere.

This won't be program specific information, but this is where you'll find the most people asking and answering questions. There is a lot of work that goes into applying for a NSF grant. You'll also find a lot of information just by googling.

Have you looked into this? http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2014/general-student-travel-grant/ D'oh! Just realized today is the 15th and the applications were due the 13th. Orientation this week has my brain frazzled!

For some reason, I love unpacking. I think it's because I look at it as opening presents. I also take the one room approach. Bedding is already out, so that's taken care of. So now you can either go to the kitchen or bathroom. Those are the bext two important rooms. Then I find everything I'll need to look presentable in public. I always leave decorations and knick knacks for last. The most important thing is music. Crank your favorite tunes and dance around while unpacking. It makes it WAY more fun!

Ours was about the same except we only toured the building and not the entire campus. We had safety training as well and he specifically mentioned that incident. After hearing all of the stories, I was pretty glad to be on the non-Chemistry side of things. And imposter syndrome is basically when you are afraid everyone will find out that you aren't actually smart and you just tricked everyone into thinking that you are. It's the benefit of being an over-achiever. Caltech has some good stuff on it https://counseling.caltech.edu/general/InfoandResources/Impostor

Maybe this will help ease some fears: I had my department orientation today, and it has made me so excited that I can't stop talking about it! I had/have imposter syndrome pretty bad. I even apologized to my advisor today for acting like a spaz yesterday because I was so nervous, and he told me that I acted completely normal. It's funny how so much of this is simply in our heads. Anyway, I hope everyone has as much fun at their orientation as I did! We are all totally gonna kick ass this year!

I REALLY want to go, but I don't have anything prepared and I can't really afford it. Ssynny: does your school have conference funds? I think mine offers up to $500, but you have to present. I need to look into it more.