bsharpe269

Which one has faculty that fit well with your research interests? Also, is there a large gap in price?

Visit! That is a perfect reasonable thing to do and if they are sensible at all, then they will understand.

This situation completely sucks but I agree with your reasoning. I bet that these things happen fairly often. OP, let us know when you hear back! I really hope you hear good news!

What is your undergrad gpa? A 3.3 is almost at the level that you would be kicked out of many programs. Most grad programs I see either have a gpa cut off at 3.0 or 3.3 (though I am in a different field so this could vary). A 3.3 in grad school is closer to a high 2.XX in undergrad. I dont think that this will rule you out of all universities but I think that you would probably want to apply to mostly lower ranked schools (of course, throw a few reaches in there too). Also a peer reviewed publication is awesome but with a masters, I think it is fairly the norm to come in with a publication. I recommend that you really focus on picking schools with a perfect research fit. I would make your research goals very clear in your SOP and apply to schools that fit that goal perfectly. I think that if you apply to a large number of school (like 10ish) with a perfect research fit and get great recommendation letter then you definitely have a shot.

I agree with the people who say that it doesn't matter and research fit does. You'll be accepted to the "top" schools who your research fits well with and rejected by those who don't fit well.

Regardless of the program, I think that if you work your butt off then you will stand out. I did mediocure in college but study all day every day now during my masters and am top of the class in a large program. I think that if you set your mind to it then you can be top in either. Being top in a big well known school will mean more than being top in a small, new program. Also, if you work hard and make a large effort to speak with profressors regularly and help them with research then 1 year should be enough to get to know professors. I will be asking for recommendation letters only 1 year into my program so that i move straight from teh MS to PhD.

The advatage of RPI is probably better known and respected. The advantage of UNC Charlotte is that it is a really nice campus is a really nice area... much more to do in the area and better weather. Hard choice!

I think a python class could be really useful

I know this is a tough decision but if I were in your shoes then I would go to School # 2. My reasons why: 1) you would be miserable the entire summer it sounds like before classes really get going and you meet people at school 1. After that, you still wont be quite as happy as you would near your boyfriend and friends. 2) School #2 is still amazingly ranked and for an MSW, I don't see how prestige will make a huge difference (and even if it did, you will have it still from school #2) 3) I am saying this in the nicest way I can but it needs to said: You will not make good money at all with an MSW and 100k in debt to go to an ivy will only result in your spending your entire adult life trying to pay off a debt that will be nearly impossible for you to do. The rule of thumb is that you shouldnt take more than 1 years worth of loans out for education total. I almost want to say even that School 2 is too expensive to consider for what you will be making after but it is at least better than 1. It being shorter will also take away from loans so you are talking a 50k difference. That is a TON of money. I would go with school 2 and have no regrets. You will get an awesome education, in a town you love, with people you care about. It sounds like the perfect situation!

Can you defer at Emory for a year and reapply?

I would go ahead and bring it up now. You started as a freshman when you didn't know much about your interests. Switching labs is completely normal.

If it were me ( I am writing this while thinking of the superstar in my field who I would die to work with) then I would follow the superstar where he is going. Being associated with his name will matter SO much more than any school name unless you are talking about a difference in top 5 vs top 200 sort of thing.

The reason people say that it is better to switch schools is that you get twice the connections, perspectives, and experiences as you would otherwise. Connections really are a big deal in any job, including academia. You would be a big disadvantage here. Most people will know their undergrad professors well plus a whole other set at another school. Also, if you will be working with the same PI as undergrad then you will not be exposed to many new ideas in grad school, just continue with ones you already know. Thats my perspective at least!

Did you guys follow your POIs on places like academia.edu before inroducing yourself through email? Are there any other popular sites like this that you used to follow their work?

I'd go with Upenn. Going to a new school and meeting new people will give you more perspectives and connections. I think that in almost all situations it is better to go to a different phd school than your undergrad one.

This is what your SOP should focus on. This is what makes you unique.

For engineering, a gap if your education (work experience) would be very helpful. I agree though that it is not worth asking them to reconsider. I would take another offer or apply again next year.

Just wanted to pop in here and ask what your interests are? This is one of my type choice schools and will be applying next season. From what I hear it is a really great program! I am really excited about all of the research going on there.

The main job of professors is to do research so you definitely need a lot of research experience to get into good phd programs. If you can get a couple years of research and a publication or two then you would have a very strong application.

Is your goal to become a researcher or to teach or work in industry? I am trying to get a bit more information since a phd program is a research degree so im wondering why you are interested in a research degree if you havent tried it out to make sure you like it. If you think that you may want to do research as a career then I definitely recommend getting involved in research now. You can talk to faculty at your school about working with them. I will also be applying to phd programs with a masters degree and most of the phd programs that I have looked at mention that they expect that people with a masters will have publications. For example, I do around 30 hours of reserach a week plus classes. I will probably have 1-2 publications out of this reserach plus I have a conference paper from undergrad. To get the research that is expected for a phd program I think that you will probalby have to do a year or two and try to get a publication or at least some presentations before reapplying. good luck!

I recommend reading as many papers in your field as you have time for (I try for at least 5 a week or so). Nothing really helps as much as this. You will learn the langague that is typically used, the format, etc.

The above comments are great. I am working on my masters now and have not met people outside of the department at all. Of course, you will not be limited to only those 8 people since you will also get to know people in other cohorts as well as undergrads in your department. I have become good friends with people in both years of their masters, undergrad seniors who are taking advanced courses, and phd students in all years. I have not made much of an effort to do things outside of the department though (and I dont have time to at all!).

If the quality of instruction remains the same then I don't see why employers would value the degree any less. I bet the online students are expected to take proctored exams that are the same as the ones you are taking and complete the same coursework.

It is actually completely normal (at least in my field) for grad students to be first authors and papers and for professors to follow since usually grad students are the ones doing most of the work and the professor just advise. Edit: I just read above that he designed the study. In my field, that would probably give someone the right to first author. In general, I think that the person who comes up with research is often listed first and then the people who help 2nd. For example, I would expect to be first when we publish my data because I came up with the idea and ran it by my professor and he gave me the go ahead to do it. I hope this helps you decide!

IF you did not do well in your intro physics classes then an average at least or strong physics GRE would probably help your application quite a bit in my opinion. You would probably have to put quite a bit of time into preparing so you would just have to think about whether you have the time to do that and also whether taking it would take too much time away from research which could help your applicaiton even more. You can always give it a try and then just not send it to any schools until after you get your scores. Since you did not major in phsyics then I think that anything over 50% even would be impressive on yourresume since you lack many of the classes that other students taking it would have.