ShadowFairy

The bolded is an entirely separate matter of which the main cause was beyond your power and actually had very little if anything to do at all with your standing (based on what you told us). In fact, I'm pretty sure you can also come up with more compelling reasons other than 'my advisor was rejected from tenure'! 'I needed a change in environment because I initially thought this would be good for me.' 'Your program struck me as the exact perfect fit and I could not pass up the opportunity to try and apply.' You can briefly say why you decided to apply to XXX, because your advisor was rejected tenure but don't expand it beyond that. Professors understand it happens, so a couple of sentences should suffice. Mention it in a separate essay or another response survey or even when they decide to contact you about it, but your SOP should not be the place where you want to explain yourself. 

I don't think so, your professor not getting tenure means that his track record didn't meet the standards for that particular institution over the course of his (seven?) years on probational period. Since you're currently only a Master's student, I would suggest to writing your SOP in the most pragmatic manner as possible - your SOP focuses on your research and future career goals, after all. If your PI's tenure dismissal didn't affect your grades/research aside from leaving you advisor-less, no need to mention it unless otherwise, am I right?

Yes, definitely broaden your interests when it comes to that, e.g. instead of talking about solar energy you can talk about renewable energy and how you would like to make a difference in providing cleaner, affordable technology to other countries. Of course, you should emphasize solar energy as your main focus.
I would definitely try to bring up my verbal and analytical writing scores. Score AT LEAST a 70% rank in verbal and a 4 in writing.
Your TOEFL scores seem fine, but I would aim for at least a 25 in all categories if you want to get into the higher ranked mechanical engineering schools. Not urgent.
By the way, are any of your publications related to your specific field of interest? Are they published in international journals, where coverage and exposure is greater? Your answers to these questions could count for a lot too. For example, a publication in an American or European journal sometimes holds more value than that of a Middle Eastern journal where researchers do not often search the literature database.

Good idea! I'll do that over the long weekend. 
I've already sent him an email about it--he did not reply. He was also supposed to meet with other students today (he was on campus), but he never did it. There is a student that hasn't actually met with him for months (she was on maternity leave), so I'm just waiting for my turn. But I might as well start an abstract on the proposal while I wait.

This. Listen PhD will only be 4-6 years of your research career (I have professors who are almost 70 still researching so 4-6 years is nothing to the decades of research you will do after). Worst case you do hydro for 4 years and then can move on afterwards. Or you might enjoy something different than solar and might switch as well.
Being open will most likely give you the most opportunity, "fit" is an important aspect of an application too.

I just want to what <ian> said, though, that contacting potential advisors and letting them know of your application can possibly help by making yours stand out from the rest. It shouldn't hurt you as long as you are polite and sincere about it.
 
Regarding your last question:
As an undergraduate applying directly PhD programs (Master's for Stanford), I had no publications under my belt. And I still got into a few very good schools (including Stanford too, actually). You might be gauged a little more due to your Master's degree and because you are an international student, but from my discussions with various graduate students and professors, you are generally not expected to publish prior to your admission to wherever you apply. So, my answer would be zero. Publications basically translate to research experience, and if you can describe yours well enough to make an impression, then having accepted publications should only be an extra plus.
 
If you are being rejected from every school you apply to, then like the others said, take another look at your SOP, personal statement, LOR's, and standardized test scores. Those count for a lot more than what you might be giving credit to publications.

Yes, definitely broaden your interests when it comes to that, e.g. instead of talking about solar energy you can talk about renewable energy and how you would like to make a difference in providing cleaner, affordable technology to other countries. Of course, you should emphasize solar energy as your main focus.
I would definitely try to bring up my verbal and analytical writing scores. Score AT LEAST a 70% rank in verbal and a 4 in writing.
Your TOEFL scores seem fine, but I would aim for at least a 25 in all categories if you want to get into the higher ranked mechanical engineering schools. Not urgent.
By the way, are any of your publications related to your specific field of interest? Are they published in international journals, where coverage and exposure is greater? Your answers to these questions could count for a lot too. For example, a publication in an American or European journal sometimes holds more value than that of a Middle Eastern journal where researchers do not often search the literature database.

Yes, definitely broaden your interests when it comes to that, e.g. instead of talking about solar energy you can talk about renewable energy and how you would like to make a difference in providing cleaner, affordable technology to other countries. Of course, you should emphasize solar energy as your main focus.
I would definitely try to bring up my verbal and analytical writing scores. Score AT LEAST a 70% rank in verbal and a 4 in writing.
Your TOEFL scores seem fine, but I would aim for at least a 25 in all categories if you want to get into the higher ranked mechanical engineering schools. Not urgent.
By the way, are any of your publications related to your specific field of interest? Are they published in international journals, where coverage and exposure is greater? Your answers to these questions could count for a lot too. For example, a publication in an American or European journal sometimes holds more value than that of a Middle Eastern journal where researchers do not often search the literature database.

First and foremost, retake the GRE; even though you might not be an English native speaker, there is still a benchmark for applicants to achieve in terms of standardized testing for some of the schools you're applying to. With your recommendations, a strong SOP, and if your papers contribute well to a specific issue in your field, I'd say you have a decent chance to make it into your list.

Ahh, been pretty busy lately so I forgot to check back till now. Nah, I feel ya. I tend to over-plan things often as well, and I can't imagine moving in a few days before just to begin looking for a place to live...! Unless you want to live like a hippie then you should definitely give at least one month in advance to search for a place to stay.
Thanks, CBlone! ^^ I'll keep the forums updated on my journey as I'm writing this.
You need to be more assertive and let your supervisor know that it's urgent. A better thing to do is to start an abstract of the proposal and take it to your supervisor for his opinion and feedback, which should lead into a discussion of your proposal anyhow. In the meanwhile, you can always ask your labmates and have them comment on your idea too. Don't make yourself into a victim if you haven't been trying your hardest to go see whoever you need to, or if you feel you've been having an unproductive time because of it.

This is a great thread. It's a shame that not many people post more on here as opposed to making the same threads over and over.
 
I am in need of advice for writing SOP's when mentioning why I am interested in the department/why is it a good fit for me: should I include specifics about some of the research (by faculty, ofc) in the department I'm applying to? And how specific should I be? Would it be considerate to mention facilities which you would like to work in and have been quite knowledgeable about for some time? Maybe mention a paper that really garnered my interest by one particular faculty member?

This is a great thread. It's a shame that not many people post more on here as opposed to making the same threads over and over.
 
I am in need of advice for writing SOP's when mentioning why I am interested in the department/why is it a good fit for me: should I include specifics about some of the research (by faculty, ofc) in the department I'm applying to? And how specific should I be? Would it be considerate to mention facilities which you would like to work in and have been quite knowledgeable about for some time? Maybe mention a paper that really garnered my interest by one particular faculty member?

Dang, so many competitive applicants in the Aero department as well.

You guys and gals are going to do great. Good luck to everyone with admissions! I'll keep updating my application decisions as time passes.

Playing video games is a surefire way of keeping you busy enough. Especially in single-player campaigns where the estimated completion time is around ~40 hours or so... Or is that too childish for a sophisticated young adult who has aspirations about going to graduate school and changing the way we look at a particular field?

Playing video games is a surefire way of keeping you busy enough. Especially in single-player campaigns where the estimated completion time is around ~40 hours or so... Or is that too childish for a sophisticated young adult who has aspirations about going to graduate school and changing the way we look at a particular field?

Well, first of all what do you think?
 
To me, it would show that you have not given your SOP a thorough proofreading, which says something about how much you really wish to pursue that program at that particular school. It's sloppy and careless and strongly implies that you were basically recycling another SOP and tailoring it simply to this program. Yeah, we all do it to a degree, but we don't try to make it obvious.

Definitely take out the introduction to your field in your case. Experiences from childhood are for the most part redundant because if you're applying to that program, it's automatically presumed that you have already developed an interest for it.
 
I think adding experiences that contribute to the interest of your intended field of study can only work to your advantage, and I like how you've done a narrative of your school/career leading up to your decision and reason to apply to the program. However, you could expand on the impact of your work done during your time in Business School, since I could hardly call that a stand-alone paragraph.
 
There are also a few sentence structural errors that make the passages read awkwardly or demonstrate sloppy writing IMO. Example:
 
"Although my official declaration to pursue a career in HR occurred during my third semester at Hough; my on the job experiences further convinced me to pursue a lifelong career in HR by returning to graduate school so that I may become an HR Business Partner for a multi-national organization preferably in the tech industry"
 
Semi-colon should be used on two independent clauses (sentences that can stand on their own) whose ideas or points really relate to one another, and putting them together can strengthen the idea behind the statements. Also the second clause can be dramatically shortened for clarity.
 
Finally, don't make requests to the program in your statement ('allow me to....') or make cajolery ('I will savor...'). Those make you sound a bit presumptuous and a little desperate. Talk about why it's a good fit for you and what you can contribute to it, whether in discussion, diversity, mindset, idea-sharing, etc.
 
My comments may be a little stingy, but I hope they do you well!