eklavya

Let me see if I can help you, as I went through a similar process when applying for my BS in the USA - US schools wanted official copies of my high school transcript, which I did not have, because in my country there is no such thing as 'official' high school transcript. And the same issue prevails in some undergraduate institutions. So what I did was I asked the schools I was applying to, if I could send them unofficial copy now, and if I get accepted and decide to attend their institution, I will bring with me an official copy. Most schools agreed. Even last year when I applied to PhD programs from within the States, many schools asked for unofficial copies and gave me admission with the condition that I present to them an official copy when and if I attended their program. Since there are real people behind the application system who are monitoring the process closely, you should be able to convince them of what I did. If they demand that the transcript has to be official, then make it as official you can - which is simply printing it through your registrar's office, putting in an envelope and having a school official sign across the seal. I hope you will be able to do this. If it has to be translated, then put an original in an envelope in the manner described above, and have a translator translate it for you, along with a letter/form that verifies that the translation process was fair. And no, you don't have to have a degree by the time you apply. You could be working towards the completion of it such that by the time you start your program here, you will have received your current degree. In this case, only send the transcript that covers classes up to the point of application. Good luck!

sorry, can't help much. but one suggestion from me: also contact current grad students in the department. many departments don't release the numbers you are seeking (for whatever reasons). however current students in the program will/should. i would, if some prospective student were to ask me about my program.

well... unless you order ETS to send scores, the schools aren't going to get em - old or new. so in that regard, whatever you tell ETS to send to the schools will be sent - again, old or new whatever you make them send. tho, the general consensus on this forum is that if you send both scores, the schools will usually look at the highest numbers in both (or more) scores. so you might be okay sending in both scores. to be on the safe side, i'd send only the best scores

i say take it till you are satisfied and confident with your scores! one of my friends took it up to 3 times to increase his scores, and increased he did! he got into the top schools in his area with his scores, albeit i doubt it was only his gre scores that helped him.

yes, this much research is enough yea, it does. i did it myself.. took a couple of months at least to go through their bios, current papers, focus areas, and such. but it was completely worth it. not true! you can, and should mention few professors you envision yourself working with in that department in your SoP. in sciences, it is pretty common to name names and explain why you want to work with them. didn't happen to me, and i think it's not very common. but if you have read the papers, it gives a lot of things to talk about when you meet people in person. it also tells them that you did your homework very well, and might/will be impressed with your dedicated passion.

please search! see how many helpful threads i discovered by typing a word and hitting that 'search' button? hope this helps!

your numbers are good, and i honestly believe you have pretty good shots are getting into a good program. but your question 'am i competitive' is difficult to answer because it entirely depends on the strength of the applicant pool for each application season. depending on the curve of gpas, gres, research experience and so on, your chances of getting in varies. i strongly recommend you to contact few professors in several schools whose work inspires you to be a scientist, and see if they are taking any new students coming fall, and if your resume is able to impress them. i've discovered that writing personal emails to the professors, and being serious about your desire to do research plus showing respect for their work garners a lot of positive attention.

As long as you have updated endorsement on your i20 and use that to reenter the States (with a valid F1 visa), you will be perfectly fine. The 'enter US in no later than' date usually has no bearing on you reentering the country, except your very first time... if I recall correctly, you can't enter the US more than 2 months in advance, and of course, can't enter after that date has passed. Sorry to hear that you had to cancel the trip. Hope you make it next time!

few of my friends have done this on their trip to mexico and back, but they also took their i20s with them... just to be on the safe side. and i recommend that you do the same. the additional endorsement is nothing but a signature and new time stamp from your international center and shouldn't take more than few minutes to get. but, given that the semester hasn't started yet, they might need to change the 'enter US no later than' date, or something similar. it shouldn't take more than a day to make the change, imo. but whatever you do, please follow the rules and guidelines as directed by your international center. we int'l students have a LOT of rules to follow and one slippage could lead to disaster.

now, now. i did that all during my undergrad and masters so i feel your pain. though, you can't argue that you (and i) are amazing when it comes to fixing machines, acting as pseudo-boss and stuff!!

one who orders things in the lab, takes care of equipments, provides training to every new face, handle safety stuff and all the 'background' stuff that happen yet grad students and post docs are unaware of/indifferent to

2.9 miles, according to google maps. i bike to school, and will continue to do so till it starts snowing. then i'll take a bus (stops 3 blocks from home) and about the same distance from the stop i get off to campus. as someone told in their post, i too prefer to leave my grad student life back in campus when i go home, hence a little distance (but not too far) was what i had in mind while searching for an apt.

technically yes, as this is the widely held belief. but put yourself in your professors' shoes and ask the question - do i really want to take a student who is showing gre scores 5 years old? my advice to you is don't worry about something that's some 5 years down the road. if you want, you can start preparing for it now, or few years later. why do you want to take gre now and report it 5 years later anyway?

being an international student, i can add to the fact that they do not ask for your passport/visa on domestic flights. at least i've never been asked to show them my passport. i've even gotten away at many airports by showing my university card. although, as said above, it depends accordingly to the person at the desk. so carry a state id/license and your university card with (color) copies of your passport and visa. that should do it. i personally don't like to carry my passport everywhere i go because if i lose it, i'm screwed.

the whole point of owning a pc is to keep it personal. so whatever pirated stuff you have downloaded, no one is going to know/care about it. but if you are caught downloading stuff from unauthorized p2p sharewares, that will most probably put you in risk. there are ways to do it undetected, but the risk factor is huge. so don't do it unless your life depends on it.