geographyrocks

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It looks like the UC Berkeley Geography department has sent out a bunch of rejections today according to the results page.

Congratulations! Did you apply for the MS or Ph.D?

As far as I can tell, U of Washington has been quiet so far. I know a few other people are waiting to hear back as well.

Can you imagine what people unfamiliar with geosciences must think when they see someone with an interest in mud? And congrats on your acceptances! Hopefully, you'll hear back about funding soon!

Heh...tell me about it! As soon as I'm able to, I'm going to start using Web of Science. There is no problem using the search engine when I'm looking for specific articles (for a lit review), but I'm not able to search through sites like ScienceDirect via the proxy my school has. I'm not sure why, but it always goes from free to paid as soon as I try. It could also be that I haven't spent a lot of time using it aside from looking for specific articles so I haven't figured out the tricks yet. This site is such a great resource!

Tangible Interaction Design - just saw that one on the results page.

My safety school (safety meaning that they still have a program that I'm interested in, but it's a terminal Masters) has an April deadline, but I don't plan on applying unless I get rejected by all the schools I'd like to attend. I've actually also wondered how they would have time to get back to everyone with a deadline that late.

That's a great resource! I use ReadCube to organize the articles I already have, but it is a very tedious process to find articles through the school I go to. I basically have to search for each journal I want (or scroll through their list of journals), go to each journals site, and then search for articles that are interesting. It can be very time consuming.

Agreed. I mean, that IS where the money is. They look like rock stars compared to the salary I'm expecting With a PhD. But I love what I do. I love what I do. I love what I do. *repeat chant every time I look up salary statistics* lol

I've also wondered this. Another question: How do you go about finding articles? With SO many journals to choose from, how do you find the most relevant journals/articles?

I've developed an obsession with checking my email even though I KNOW that the programs I applied to usually don't send decisions until at least mid-February. It's going to be a long two weeks. Followed by an even longer two weeks if I don't hear back by mid-February.

I'm on the environmental analysis side of environmental studies. I'm starting to think it would have been better to have an atmospheric science undergrad, but I can't change that now. And although I'm on the science side, I may go to policy in the future. The science part of my brain wants to do nothing but research while the humanitarian side of my brain wants to change the world.

I noticed that someone was accepted for Earth Sciences at Scripps on the results page. I wonder who that was...

Unless you're contacting the schools to let them know that you want to withdraw your application, NO. Not only is it rude, you also run the risk of them placing you firmly in the 'no' pile because you already have an offer. I think it's only appropriate to start using acceptances as leverage if you're trying to get additional funding. However, you have to have a yes before you can start negotiating.

From what I understand, most students are turned away because there is no funding for them. Therefore, if you come with funding and are at least a moderate choice, you will get accepted. Of course, I'm sure it depends on fit as well.

What they said. I've actually seen someone say they "bombed" a section and it was a 165. Their definition of bombed and mine are very different!

Congratulations to both of you!

Be sure to use the TurboTax Freedom edition instead of the free edition (that is, if you qualify for these). The freedom edition allows you to file state taxes for free (if your state is listed). The free version does not. I've used TurboTax for years, and I've never had a problem.

Maybe this is a little extreme, but when I had problems with a professor submitting LORs, I scheduled a meeting so that I could physically be there when he submitted them. Of course, this professor is the type to forget his last name if he's not reminded a couple of times a day. He's basically in an admin position but has no organizational skills to speak of. It really helped because he couldn't get distracted while I was there.

Who knows how they admit people in his particular division, but I do have a story about a person who was going around bragging about being admitted as a Masters student in the department I'm in. I thought to myself, how strange seeing as this person has under a 3.0 and no research experience. When I was talking to the graduate advisor, I found out why he was admitted: everyone was admitted. The program is is brand-new so they were basically forced to admit students they didn't want to. It is pretty easy to get frustrated when you work your butt off to get in while other people just seem to coast in...especially if that coaster is a know-it-all braggart.

I feel like every weekend is the longest weekend ever. If I ever needed proof that I lack patience, this would more than suffice.

Congratulations GeoDUDE!

Or you can join us on the Earth Sciences forum: I'm also applying to PhD programs straight from a BS.

Well, I spend a lot of time going from optimism to pessimism. When I'm not doing that, I'm fretting over whether I included something in my SOP (the other day I was convinced that I totally left out the work I'm doing on my senior thesis). Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night convinced that there is an email waiting for me. I think I'm taking obsessing to a whole new level. I wish my classes were a tad harder this semester so I'd have something to focus on other than "the wait".