geographyrocks

I've always had to activate my email. I'm assuming you're at U of L since your location says Louisville. You have to do most of that stuff through uLink. By the by, they also offer discounts on cellular plans. I think AT&T was 15% off your monthly bill if you have any 2 year plan. Of course, if you aren't at u of l then everything I just said was crap. Lol

I'm not really sure how what I said was in any way insulting. If you don't say that you've thoroughly researched a department, how the hell are we supposed to know? Some people aren't aware that there is a lot of information on the Graduate Studies webpage that isn't on the department webpage. Anyway, since I'm not ass, I'll still offer advice even though you seem to think I'm being a jerk: How young is your potential adviser? Since he will just be starting at FL State, will you be competing with him for papers? That's a big thing to consider. I've read several stories where the grad student was pushed to 2nd or 3rd author simply because the professor was still trying to make a name for himself. Something to consider, at least.

I'm not in your field, but I was directly admitted to a Ph.D. program so this information could or could not be useful. 1) I have no idea. Don't just rely on the website of the schools you are interested in to say whether they do direct admits or not. Call the department and make sure that they do direct admits to the PhD program. I learned that the hard way. 2) I have no idea what my in major GPA was (they didn't calculate that), but my overall GPA was 3.91. I came from a small public school where there was no outstanding research. I think the key is to identify the programs that best fit your interests as well as professors. You also need to convince the committee in your SOP that you belong in a PhD program. What I said in my SOP boiled down to: I'm gonna get one anyway so you might as well let me in now. lol

This. If you need money for school, this is your only option if you aren't awarded an assistantship, scholarship, or grant. But start applying for those three things.

I'm meeting my adviser for the first time today or tomorrow and I'm terrified. Of course, I'm seriously suffering from imposter syndrome which is mostly due to the fact that my UG dept was small and my senior year I was the expert in the thing I was studying. My new adviser, on the other hand, is one of the foremost experts in his field. Excuse me while I go have a small mental breakdown...

Relax as much as possible. I don't know how far your move is, but mine was a pain in the ass. 30% due to moving across country 70% due to moving across country with cats.

Did you look at the department website and the graduate studies websites? Those usually give a good indication of what the dept is like. Read the other professors bios and check out the class schedule. And rankings mean diddly squat. I have no idea what my school's rank is, but I do know that my advisor does great research, publishes a lot, and is active in finding grants. Those are the important things.

So...just to clarify: they listed your last name twice? I don't think there will be a problem, but they should fix that for you. Does ETS have a number you can call? It's usually easier to get results that way.

Here's a fun trick. Go check out how much the business department professors make. If it's anything like my undergrad, it'll be 2-3 times as much. Can you tell I'm a little bitter? My dept barely had labs and computer programs... Edited to add: and there were only two professors in my department that made over $55,000 a year. One was the dept chair and the other had been there for 35 years. And we had a temp professor (he was straight out of grad school) that only made $30,000. $30,000! People choose academia because they love it NOT for the money.

Call the department. You're much more likely to get a response that way.

I felt the exact same way. Don't worry. Schools make a big fuss over the GRE, but it really is mostly used as a tool to thin the herd of applicants.

I was recently looking at http://arxiv.org/ and thinking to myself, I wonder if Earth Science has something like this. So what are your favorite or "go to" journals to read? If you use an article finder, what is your favorite? Does anyone have any tips or tricks they want to share?

Look at their website. That should have the information you need about grades and GRE. Most cut offs are 300 combined score with either 3.0 or 3.5 gpa dependent on the program. It's hard for anyone on here to answer with any degree of certainty.

I'm sure my attitude had a lot to do with it. After the first section, I felt like an idiot. So I kind of had a defeatist attitude after that.

I am assuming that you are funding your own education as spring admissions generally don't come with funding. If that is so, are you prepared to pay the $30,000-$50,000 per year that private schools generally charge? I was accepted with partial (half) funding at one private university and it would still have cost me over $20,000 a semester.

I studied for months. Most of my practice tests were >162 for both Q and V. Actual: 160V and 156Q I was one of the lucky ones who had an extra section of math to "test new questions". Did a lot of people get the extra section? I'm fairly certain it was the first section I had to go through as almost all of the questions were unfamiliar to me. All I know is that my Q score was about 8 points lower than it generally was during the practice tests. I seem to be the exception...

I'm taking out the full amount of loans for my first year and here's why: I'm paying off my credit cards since the student loan interest rate is much lower. I'm also paying off my car for the same reason. I also want that extra cash cushion. Graduate school is stressful enough so I want to know that I won't have financial trouble. I plan on paying on my graduate loans starting in the spring since I won't be making a $230 monthly car payment. I also know that the job outlooks for my field are good so I'm not as worried about finding a job when I graduate.

I started getting these after I took the GRE. My best guess is that they somehow received my information from that. I didn't bother applying to any of the schools that sent out the mass emails so I'm not sure whether the emails mean anything or not.

I don't know how other schools do this, but my department has social hours where the grad students and faculty all hang out and do social things. Do you have anything like that?

That really depends on your other qualifications. What is your gpa? What kind of research experience do you have? As for those two schools, if a school lists a minimum GRE score, they generally use that score to thin the application pile. I would still email the department and ask just in case.

Staples, but they can be pricey... http://t.staples.com/Whiteboards/cat_CL166382?fids=4224926734

Thinkgeek.com has some really neat stuff like a lab beaker coffee mug. I also saw a periodic table throw pillow on Facebook the other day, but I can't remember where it is sold.

I did this exactly (although I didn't outright ask for the professor to be my advisor). Not only was I accepted, but the professor I emailed fought for my acceptance and ta position. If I hadn't made that connection, I might be one sad cookie right now. I agree that it felt awkward, but it also got results.

The GRE is generally used as a thinning the herd tool. Your scores are above the herd so I wouldn't worry about it. Your main focus should be your research and LORs which look good. My advice is to start contacting prospective advisors. You want to find schools with a good academic fit. Contact and fit mean a lot more than 2 points on a test.

Don't just ask for pictures, demand them. If they are unwilling to give pictures, they probably aren't trustworthy. Any hesitation on her part should have been satisfied with you paying the app fee. It is perfectly reasonable to request pictures. You aren't being pushy in the least. I wouldn't have even sent in an app fee without pictures. I just went through all of this. I wasn't international, but I was across country with no way to visit. My current landlord went above and beyond. Besides taking extra pictures, he even measured every room for me. The house turned out to be exactly as he said, and he has been a great landlord so far. Good luck!