geographyrocks

Hey ssynny! I'm guessing it was Stony Brook that you heard back from yesterday? I'd say you're either still being considered at CU or on a waitlist type deal since they've sent out a bunch of rejections already. Considering that UCI asked for clarification about your GPA, I'm guessing you didn't really address it in your SOP? That's a good sign that UCI asked for clarification though.

My new (very unscientific) theory on applying to schools is it's 40% fit, 10% credentials, and 40% chance. I give chance such a high percentage because you could have the most amazing application in the world, but it doesn't mean squat if there is no funding or no advisors available for your field.

I don't think there is any definite time of day although most of the emails I've received have been in the evening.

What programs are you applying to? People might be able to give you a heads up as to whether anyone has heard back or not.

I feel more lazy, but I haven't had the chance to actually be lazy. I apparantly have this innate need to succeed. It also doesn't help that I have 3 research papers to write along with finishing my senior thesis and 2 research projects to complete in the next month. That doesn't include my normal work (which I've been slacking at for a while now) or my "hobbies" which always end up taking up gobs of time during the spring. If it wasn't for spring break, I don't know that I could get all of this damn work done in a month.

It is important that the papers come from peer-reviewed journals.

This last part I can answer. Yes, publication in undergraduate-level journals count. You have to go through all of the same processes as any other journal. Just don't expect it to be a quick process. I'm still waiting for my submitting paper to be reviewed...4 months after I submitted it. However, any paper that is submitted must conform to the standards of research so I would contact someone knowledgeable in your field to see if they could give you some advice. You could even contact the professor of the Directed Studies course. I'm sure they would help you out.

I was just looking at carrying cases for posters. I like this idea WAY better!

Oh my goodness! I've changed my mind! I want to go to THAT school! lol

Ditto. That would be extremely hard to turn down. And bragging is fun...as long as you're bragging to others that were accepted. I'm hoping that those with only rejections so far are stirring clear of this thread!

You kid about the coffee, but I seriously looked at coffee shops while I was researching cities. 1. Research interests match perfectly. 2. POI contributed to a famous report (rock star POI whoot!) 3. Location (If I hadn't been accepted, I still would have moved out West. Goodbye ice!) 4. Cost of living is low 5. Job prospects after graduating 6. Jobs for significant other 7. The best cinnamon roll in the world is served across the street from campus. Okay...that didn't play a large role, but I'm now seeing it as a serious perk!

Awww crap! I forgot that happened. My numbers could be completely wrong now! Here's what they say: $57,500 for undergraduates—No more than $23,000 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. $138,500 for graduate or professional students—No more than $65,500 of this amount may be in subsidized loans. The graduate aggregate limit includes all federal loans received for undergraduate study. Effective for periods of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 2012, graduate and professional students are no longer eligible to receive Direct Subsidized Loans. The $65,500 subsidized aggregate loan limit for graduate or professional students includes subsidized loans that a graduate or professional student may have received for periods of enrollment that began before July 1, 2012, or for prior undergraduate study. Sooooo they've taken away the graduate subsidized loan completely and HAVE NOT raised the limits for unsubsidized graduate loans. At least, that's how I'm reading it.

I laughed and screamed and laughed and cried. I wasn't sure what my reaction was going to be when I was accepted, but I definitely didn't expect that!

I really wish this was true, but it definitely isn't for my field. I was actually rejected from a school that I was "overqualified" for and had a great fit. Just because it worked for you does not mean it will work for others. I just don't want people to have false hope. All you can do is create the best application possible and really hope the stars align. And by "stars align" I mean: your POI has room for another student, your POI has funding OR your POI can convince the school to fund you through TAs, you aren't up against 30 applications that had an app just a tad better than yours, the adcom wasn't in a terrible mood while reading your app, etc. Something that isn't mentioned often on these threads is to look at the current graduate students and who their advisers are. If you see that Prof A has 5 grad students, there's a good possibility they won't be signing for another one.

A thousand times this. I've read countless articles that say there is little to no correlation. A test cannot predict who will do well in a graduate program because it's not just about learning or how much you can learn. You have to apply the knowledge. You have to be patient with research. You definitely have to have drive and perseverance. Those are all things that the GRE can't test or predict.

Ask you PI. It's an advantage to both you and him that you get research experience. Look up nearby Universities. The university I currently attend has graduate REU programs, I believe. Also, Google is your friend. https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/

"Your application materials and letters look really good -- you were easy to promote as someone that the department should bring in if we can." - From my POI at my top choice. Hearing that from someone you consider a rock star is just about as amazing as something can get.

There are limits to loans for undergraduates and graduates. There are as follows: Undergraduate Subsidized: $23,000 Unsubsidized: $34,500 Graduate Subsidized: $65,500 Unsubsidized: $73,000 The graduate limit is undergradate + graduate so you can take out an additional $42,500 in subsidized loans for your graduate study. So maybe that notification is saying that you've reached your UG limit of $23,000, but that doesn't (or shouldn't) affect your graduate limits. That is the way that I understand the process.

I was just rejected for the Masters program at UNR. Color me confused.

Well, you did ACCEPT their offer when you told them that you were planning to continue your studies with them. Ooops...I just noticed how fishy this thread is. The question was asked on 2/22, advice was given 2/22, and the above response was posted 2/22. It's impossible to accept advice a week before you get the advice... Weird...

Wolf whistle

From what I've seen, it's very common with scholarships. I have no idea why.

I've seen you post several times concerning your postdoc experience. I think this is taking preparation to the extreme. You haven't even been admitted to a PhD program yet. Also, the professors are not going to care that you choose to work with another professor. You are not the only person applying to the program, and I'm willing to bet that you won't be the only person emailing them either. As long as you send an email politely decling (which you can find advice on how to write those on here), you should be fine. Here's what I suggest: 1) NO bold face. This is considered rude. These are research professors who have quite a bit of intelligence. Putting words in bold face is like telling them that they don't know how to read. Responding to potential students is part of their job but not the only part. Send them an email. If they don't respond in 2 weeks or so, send a follow up. 2) Contact the professor that you are interested in at the school you're interested in. If two people collaborate and you're interested in working with either of them, email both of them. Do not send one email to multiple professors. Even with the best of intentions, this could look like cold-mailing. And someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you have to apply to postdoc positions so a graduate student that worked with Professor X would have to apply to work with Professor Y with their postdoc. They would have an advantage, but I don't think it would be a sure thing. I also made contact with the professors I wanted to work with, and it was invaluable. You can find tons of advice online. I sent a paragraph or two that contained my stats and accomplishments along with the research I'm interested in and how it fit with the research they were doing.

You could send her an email now, but what if you change your mind? Even if you don't change your mind and know you won't, she might have the same thought that I did. I doubt that you will continually email back and forth for two years meaning she might even forget about you during that period. To preface my advise, I want to note that I do not have experience with this. You could email her now thanking her for her time and advising her of what you're currently doing. In a year or so, you could email her again advising her of the research you have performed and how you are doing in your program. That will be about the time that you would start applying for graduate schools anyway, so it would make sense. You could also her ask her at that time if she thinks she'll be able to take on more students.

Yes, it is. I think maybe when you realize this is when you've matured! lol Maturity is a tricky thing. It's hard to define what mature is for everyone because it's subjective. I was mature in some ways at 10, but that comes from an "interesting" childhood. I started paying bills around 16, and that was a growing up experience. I thought I was emotionally mature at 18, but I look back and know that I wasn't even close. The other hard thing is separating gaining mature from growing older. I watched a commercial last night that I thought was incredibly dumb. Then I realized that I just don't relate to it anymore because the actress was maybe 15. I am no longer the age their target audience is. On the flip side, I eat cereal whenever the hell I want because it's awesome. Pancakes for dinner? Hell, yeah! I did a little dance when I received my first grad school acceptance. I also sometimes laugh at fart jokes cause they're funny. I think I only started feeling like an adult a year ago. You're only 23. You have tons of time to feel like a grown up. Don't rush things. It'll gradually happen, and you won't even realize it.