RockSniffer

I need to put something similar to a parent lock on this site and university admission sites. This is killing my productivity on a level that I cannot even describe.

I am in Scotland now. Thinking of getting a single malt whisky from a distillery. ...along with a card.

It is considerate to withdraw for other people's sake, but I don't understand why you'd do the initial application if you wouldn't go there no matter what... Was it for having a safety net?

How come?

Kudos! How flattering it must be to hear "top candidate"!

New Mexico! Good on you Also... I think you have a thing for mud. I don't know what gave me that impression.

That's what I was thinking... So admissions start before the deadlines in some cases. Weird, but makes sense in a way. So I should be paranoid and check my e-mails like a maniac.

Some universities' deadlines are in May! How does it work? Acceptances always happen after admissions close or they would actually start getting back to you prior to that? Also, yes, even when busy waiting is not fun.

Alright, here goes nothing. Undergrad Institution: One of the high ranking universities from a small country Major(s): Geophysical Engineering BSc, ongoing part-time Petroleum Geoscience MSc Minor(s): Geology minor during BSc GPA in Major: 3.10/4.00 (... boo) Overall GPA: 2.84/4.00 (yes, I'm cringing) Position in Class: Top 5% (if everyone's GPA is low, maybe they will not notice?) Type of Student: International, female GRE Scores (revised): Q: 162 V: 154 W: 3.0 (ugh...) TOEFL Total:112/120 Research Experience: BSc dissertation project, nothing published. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: One mentionable award from work, and was on the Dean's List whilst BSc a few times Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked for a major oil & gas company for the last 2.5 years, solid internships prior to that. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: ... Drilled wells in an exploration setting, finished all the training from what my company had to offer. Experience, I suppose. Special Bonus Points: Application-wise, nada. I can, however, lick my elbow. I'm sure that'll do wonders for me. I am still depressed about the GPA thing. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Very worried about the low GPA. Slightly worried about "working and part-time MSc was a challenging combination, so I decided to do a full time MSc" argument. Applying to Where: Colorado School of Mines - MSc - Geophysics University of Oklahoma - MSc - Geophysics University of Calgary - MSc - Geophysics

Hey Hanyuyue, sorry for the delayed response. I see that your deadline was 1st of Dec... I agree with rricenator's suggestion regarding SEG. You never know who you'll meet. People always remember your face or the event if you run into each other in 2-3 years' time. It worked for me, so far. The oilfield is a small world and I keep bumping into people I haven't seen for ages. There is the annual meeting in Denver in the last quarter of 2014, for instance. SEG is not the only group/society out there. There is AAPG, AGU, BGS, SPE. Most of these will take you as a student member with no costs or a minimal entrance fee. There are many graduate schemes, offered by operator and service companies. I will suggest you to try your luck with those after you get your MSc. I'm sad to admit, if you are American or British, your chances are greater than other nationalities. However, it doesn't mean they will just accept you with open arms. I would recommend doing internships with operators or slightly smaller geophsysical companies during the summers to increase your chances. Attend seminars, show your interest in your CV that you didn't spend the past x number of years doing whatever. Go to career days. I swear by them. It's how I got my internships, my current job. Those recruiters are there to hire folk! Even if you don't get hired in the end of the process, it will be a great opportunity to see how the interviews go. I recommend using glassdoor.com, to learn what to expect. See what Baker Hughes, Schlumberger do when they hire graduates, for instace. To answer your question about Leeds/Imperial... To be honest, I don't think much of Leeds in respect to geophsyics. Imperial has a mad petroleum geoscience department though. Some lectures are given by guests from Shell, BP, Schlumberger. You get to make connections and learn about the sector directly from the people who work in it. I can't stress enough how much this matters, when you compare it to a lecturer who has no connection to the industry. Logging tools change every other month. There are new technologies. These being said, I don't know how a Masters degree form Leeds or Imperial would put you ahead when you return to the States. Based on what would you think Imperial is any better than other universities in USA? Going international to UK may not be the solution. Regarding the petrophysicist question: By itself, yes, there will be little advancement within the job. You will get amazing training though. Putting that aside, normally there is a fixed-step training programme that companies love to assign you. Normally people won't be doing the same job for over 5 years. Unless you insist on staying in your current department, there is always a grading system. For example, one can start as a field engineer (data acquisition), move to a support center (helping the field population, quality check data etc.) after a few years, then move to consulting (interpretation, where the petrophysicist would be), then maybe assistant domain champion etc.. I have not met anyone who got hired as a petrophysicist directly, normally, like I said, you would go through other steps to get to an interpretation position. It's all a big race. I am currently working for one of the 3 major service companies, if you want further information, I can gladly help you persoanally. By no means, I am an expert in anything, I've been doing this for about 2.5 years.