bsharpe269

I am applying completely based on fit, not rank. I do hope to get a TT position after graduating but in my field it is really important that I come out of one of the top labs in the country. The rank of the school itself (or department) is faily meaningless. I am applying to 10 schools and all of them are known for focusing on my subfield and all have very respected professors in my research area. Each school has at least 3 PIs who would be a great research fit. The programs are all interdisciplinary so there aren't ranking lists like there might be for history or math or something. By looking at related areas though, the rankings would probably look something like: top 10: 2 Between 10-20: 2 Between 20-30: 3 Between 30-50: 3 My interest in the programs is unrelated to their ranking and completely related to the research coming out of the programs. I have 4 schools in mind that are tied as my top choices right now (visiting will probably change this) and 2 of the programs are in the 20-30 category and 2 are in 30-50.

Definitely include the paper in your application.

I would go with the one that knows you better, especially since she does have her phd now.

Maybe this depends on how well you know your LOR writers but I dont think I would ever give mine a list of things to include in the letters... that comes off as sort of rude to me. They know how to write letters, they do it all the time. If they know you at all then they should already know your research interests and reasons you want to go to grad school. Now if you have something specific that you want one of them to mention for you for then that is completely understandable but I still think you would discuss this with them in person and let them address it however they feel is best. When I met with my LOR writers a few months ago to officially ask for letters, I brought my list of schools to the meeting and just discussed the process with them in general. I have been keeping up with them alot throughout the process, getting their edits to my SOPs and all. Now that we are closer to the deadlines, I emailed them a final list of schools with due dates. I guess you could give them a CV but that even seems a bit pointless to me even because you don't want them discussing your past volunteer work or whatever in the letter... you want them detailing specific things that they have whitnessed from you that make you stand out as a student. My opinion is that you should just go talk to them with a list of your programs and discuss anything you need to in person.

Alright, well the first thing to realize is that this is very normal. I definitely have a bit of a crush on my PI and have discussed this with my one of my close friends in the department who also has a crush on hers. I might even go as far as saying that it seems like *most* students have some sort of feelings towards their male advisors since we admire them so much. It is hard to admire someone of the opposite sex so much without any addiitonal feelings creeping up. The important thing to be conscious of (which I think you are) is that it is simply a crush and will never turn into anything more. I agree that you should be aware of the amount you talk about him around others unless they are close enough to you that you can explain the situation and make it clear that nothing is going on. You are right that if you talk about him way too much than others could take notice and suspect and it could turn into a bad rumor. Aside from toning down the talking Im not sure what advice to give. I think that this is pretty normal and honestly, my opinion is that an innocent crush that is never acted upon can be kind of fun. No matter who they are on, crushes can definitely be distracting from work. I guess instead of beating yourself up about something that you cant help at all, especially when you have stayed in the boundries and done nothing wrong, focus on just not letting it interfere with your life. If you catch yourself daydreaming then try to get your thoughts back to work. Im not sure if seeing him more or less often would help you focus but I would adjust those sorts of things that you do have control over so that it doesnt impact your work greatly. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss/vent about it further.

I would send a follow up email. This is important and it is completely reasonable for you to double check.

Real Analysis is hard for everyone. It is a really tough course. Do the best you can! One grade will not ruin your application.

I agree to retake even if it means contacting schools and asking if you can send a screenshot of scores or something and have official reports arrive a couple weeks late.

Unless otherwise stated, I would always assume that page lengths are in single spacing.

Apply... You're already in the process anyway. You don't have much to lose. In your SOP, make sure you explain that you could only afford to take the the test once and that anxiety got the best of you and that the score doesn't reflect your academic abilities. Good luck!

First of all, I think the most important thing is that whoever you choose can write raving letters, detailing specific examples of your intelligence and dedication to research. This should be prioty 1. So now, does the name of the person recommending you and their job title matter? I think it does. Ideally, you want your letter writers to be professors in your research subfield, so the PIs you are interested in working with will recognize the names. A letter from a professor who they have seen speak at a conference for example is more credible than somone they dont know. A tenured professor is more likely to be known in the field. Also, a PhD is a research degree so having letters people who have proven that they are capable of producing worthy research (tenured professors) is important in my opinion. There are definitely exceptions since occasionally, an assistant professor may have been on a big, well known project in grad school. Even though I think letters from tenured professors are important, I really doubt that not having them is a deal breaker. If your LOR writers know you very well, have mentored you through research, and can discuss examples related to why you will be a great reseracher then I think their letters will be better than a mediocre letter from a tenured professor.

Happy Birthday! I am just finishing mine up too! Any desire to swap and give eachother feedback? I will submitting under biophysics. One little note, have you checked out any of the winning statements in social sciences? All of the funded statements that I have seen used the entire 3 pages to give as much information as possible. It might be worth thinking about adding some more to it (though on the other hand, no need to make it unnecessarily long if you cover everything you need to).

Your quant score may be an issue. Since you dont have many science classes, a really high quant score (>165) might be able to reassure the department that you have the potential for quantitative work. I know you want more feedback but I think the best we can all say is to give it a shot... some departments may not consider you due to the lack of science work and others may not be bothered by it at all. If you don't get in then increasing your GRE quant score and taking the bio subject test might be two easy things to do that could increase your chances a lot. If you really want to get in this cycle then I agree that mixing your school list a bit more might be a good idea since most of your schools are very highly ranked. If you would rather apply again next year (if need be) than rearrange your list then that is completely understandable too. I think you have a shot.. I dont think you will get rejections across the board due to the lack of science work. Good luck!

Retake the test! Nervousness can kill your scores. My first attempt ever at the GRE: 150V, 151Q The scores I will be applying with: 162V, 168Q Being nervous during the test or a bad test taker or whatever can result in scores that do not reflect your abilities. You dont need to consider a mastesr or any of that stuff. Retake the test and focus on calming yourself and taking off the pressure. Do you truly think that your scores are an accurate reflection of your intelligence... (the answer is obviously not given your GPA and experience).

I would just ask professors for LORs like normal right now. It is polite to follow up with them after you get decisions so if you dont get in anywhere then I would follow up with them in the spring and let them know that. You can mention that you really apreciate their willingness to submit LORs, mention a few things that you are going to do to improve your applicaiton, and say that you hope they will be willing to resubmit letters next year. Honestly though, if you have weak enough relationships with your LOR writers that you worry they will forget you by next year then that will hurt your application in my opinion. If you do take a year off and apply again then I would majorly work on improving your relationship with professors so that you can get stronger letters. This is a very important part of the applicaiton and the letter writers should be able to say that you are one of the best students they have ever mentored. Good luck!

Just wanted to let you know that I have a similar circumstance. My undergrad gpa is 3.28 due to pretty bad ADHD. Now that it's being treated, my masters GPA is 4.0. I actually asked one of my LOR writers to address the undergrad GPA for me because I think it sounds a bit better coming from them and then you don't draw attention away from your achievements in your SOP. In your case, one of your LOR writers could put a really positive spin on it and say something like "he is such a great student despite dealing with health issues... Blah blah." There are so many different ways to handle it and there isn't a right or wrong answer. That is one possibility though!

I think it is perfectly fine for him to ask this of you and great experience for you. I think Eigens response was perfect.

This is so completely normal. Sometimes, research all goes perfectly. Sometimes, you just get a lot of questions from data that you can't really make strong conclusions from. Try your hardest and put a lot of time in but in the end, luck also plays a role. If you had been working on the project for a year without results worth publishing then I still would tell you it was normal and not to worry...

Keep in mind that the early questions you missed are factored into that so it was really off for me. My ranges were something like 152-157V and 157-162Q. My actual scores were 162V 168Q. Use the questions for practice only, not score prediction. ETS predicted my scores perfectly.

My scores are fairly similar (tiny bit lower) 162V, 168Q, 4.0. I have always been complimented on my academic writing and scored higher when I took the GRE before my masters so I was also very surprised by the score. I decided not to retake.

Apply! Those are above average scores. Dont psych yourself out of applying. Everyone is nervous but just give it everything youve got and if you dont get in anywhere then you can improve areas of your application and reapply next year. If a school likes your application in general then I highly doubt that they will snub their noses at your above average scores and throw out your application.

I think it is fine to include if it is your main research experience. The point of the SOP is to supplement your CV, not to basically tell your CV in story form which I think too many people do. If you want to talk in detail about this experience because it is related to your research interests then sure, discuss it. If it isnt that related and you are just going to write a couple sentances about it then leave it in your CV. Basically, focus on going into detail on a couple things that really influence you in your SOP and discussing research interests, not skimming over a bunch of stuff and restating your whole CV.

I agree that more details are needed. What specific things at your new program are bothering you and how do they differ from your MS and your expectations?

You definitely shouldnt ask a professor who doesnt remember you. The grade you got in a class is completely irrelevent. it also doesnt matter if you were inspired by their classes. You should ask professors who know you really well to write you letters. If a professor doesnt know who you are even then they can basically write only a one line letter stating that you took a class with a them. You want letters that can discuss in detail what qualities you have that set you apart from the rest of the applicants and cite specific examples where you showed these qualities. I hope that helps!

I actually think that I would avoid sending the score if it isnt over 60% at minimum. If you end up with an average score and have great grades then I think this could lead the program to question your grades and assume that As are easy to come by at your program, since an average student is able to get them (average as judged by the GRE score). On the other hand, if your grades arent great and more mediocre then I think the mediocre GRE score would confirm that you are only a mediocre student. I guess I dont see any good coming out of submitting an average score the program will not wnat to admit average students. I think it might be better to leave them wondering what you would have gotten then to give evidence for being only average.