Applemiu

I would not do that, because your clothes are going to smell. Stick to ecigs.

Cautionary tale: at the end of a Skype interview with a top-tier program, a friend of mine was told: "We are looking forward to working with you". Not much interpretation needed, right? Soon thereafter he was rejected.

Maybe he does not answer because he knows that now he is late... he is thinking he will write it tomorrow or something like that... I am sure he is in good faith, probably just a procrastinator. Did you send the reminders from the universities websites and an email? You can write something like: I just wanted to remind you about the letters... I sent the requests again so you have all the links ready in your inbox... thanks a lot etc. It is important that you send the requests again, so the universities can see that you are trying to get the letter (not every day of course). Hope this helps!

I am very sorry for what you are going through. Probably he is very busy, or a procrastinator... I am sure he has the intention to write the letter, and he just puts it off every day... Anyway if the letters are a bit late is still perfectly OK, don't worry about that, the problem is how to make him write them.

I think that post-bad might be useful because they are structured and usually offer help with the admission process - but I would check what are the outcomes for the alumni. Be careful about expensive programs that look good on paper but that have poor outcomes.

I agree! Don't worry about that.

I am glad you agree. I think that full disclosure may make sense when you contact a POI for the first time, like "I am really interested in XXX university because of your work, Dr. X's work, and Dr. Y's work". The tricky part is that you knew about the new POI only later on. I think it is very important to be honest, but an email right now could sound dismissive.

If I understood well, are you thinking about emailing the "close enough fit" POI to tell him/her about the "perfect fit" POI? IMHO, don't do that. He/she won't like that "however" too much. I really appreciate your honesty, but I believe it is a little misguided in this case. You are rushing and making assumptions, and that's not how the application process works. It's perfectly OK to contact more than one POI at each institution. Plus, the "perfect fit" POI won't be there for the interview (that's a little bit unusual). What if you don't end up collaborating with him/her? On the other end, if you get in (even with another POI) you can usually add a second advisor or collaboration. My point is that there is no need to tell your POI about your interest in another POI at the same institutions right now. If they ask you "why this university" then you can say, well I am really interested in your work and also in this other person's work. Something like that. Again, it is OK to contact more than one POI, and not all of them are, in theory, a perfect fit, but that's not something you write in the email. Likewise, each professor is in contact with a number of students, and some probably seem a better fit than others, but he/she does not write that in the email. This is not hypocrisy, but just that, in the end, you really don't know till you meet the person and get to know him/her better. Remember that in the end "the person is more important than the project". In the meanwhile, try to get to know better the new POI via emails. Does he/she plan to do Skype interviews?

It's weird, I think you need to contact someone there.

I agree. Go forward with the application.

I sent you a PM.

I sent you a PM.

IMHO you should not worry. I was myself 15 minutes late for another university because of similar issues. We still pay $100, so I hope they won't discard our application for 5 minutes (or 15).

I am not sure you can characterize this behavior as just typical of ADD.

Maybe "Cookie" is the professor's online alias!!!

Not always, but sometimes to "work for free" means to volunteer just 4 or 6 hours a week. It depends on the lab, so check that out.

I would apply across the top 20/ top 30.

I got mine with two days notice! This is a good thread:

I started with 6 and my advisor (Recommender) suggested to go at least for 7/8. I am at 9 right now (and I will stop there).

I would do some research first, then apply for both Masters and Phds. Consider that masters are more similar to Applied math/research, while Phds in Stats are more theoretical.

Just got back from NYU! It is 1000: Use 1000 words (two pages single spaced).

I sent you a PM.

Hi all, I am back with my questions about SOP length! Anyone applying to NYU? The general application websites says the length should be two pages double-spaced maximum (about 500 words), but I was wondering if that could be different for the Psychology Department, since the standard is a little bit longer. I emailed someone but did not hear back yet. What are you guys doing? By the way, I also contacted Rutgers, and they really want 500 words max.

It seems to me that staying in the same institution is OK if you are working with the top scholars of your fields; otherwise it is better to move.

Thank you guys! I was wondering because some programs give a 1000 word limit (1.5 pages single spaced) or 2 pages single spaced limit, while others (e.g. NYU and Rutgers) give a 500 words limit, that's half of that. It seems that the consensus is to go for a longer statement in case nothing is specified. Last minute update: I just got back from Brown: Two pages (single spaced, readable font) is what I recommend — anything longer invites readers to skim and look only at keywords. And UPenn: There is no maximum length, other than the system won't allow files that are too big to be uploaded. Usually the statement is 2-3 pages in length.