Anne00

Made some changes for better or worse.... also, provided some questions that might help you flesh out your intro and conclusion... My burgeoning interest in the study of civil engineering can be attributed to my father, whom I used to accompany zealously to the construction site of our new house. These trips, which I valued dearly, imbued bricks, mortar and steel with something more than the inanimate. I feel like you are either trying to express that your relationship with this field of study is connected with the relationship with your father or that repeated visits almost led to a metaphysical connection to building material. Can you add a line to tie the above to the below? In which ways did you persevere between these trips and the exam/or college? My perseverance proved ambient for the germination of my interest and its culmination in success in India’s most competitive engineering examination, IIT-JEE. Seems like you’re trying to say ‘my hard work proved a good environment for the growth of my interest and led to my success on the exam’. Kind of wordy. Is there a more direct way to say this? I acquired great insight and knowledge during my under graduate studies at Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi (2005-09) with an emphasis on Structural Engineering. Since then I have built upon my strong foundation by working as a Structural Design Engineer in various multinational companies. I successfully maintained an overall CGPA of 8.94/10 with core competence in *******. My major project on “Analysis and Design of G+5 Residential Building in Varanasi” led to a summer internship at one of the most prominent design firms in Dubai. During the summer of the second year of my collage studies, I supervised the construction of Australian Chancery in New Delhi. My academic excellence coupled with strenuous internships gave me the requisite skills to present a paper “****” in a national level technical festival “Shilp’07” and to publish a Technical Note no ***** titled “Improved Expression of Compaction Test Parameters” in the “Geotechnique”. I believe that the University of *****’s focus on***, ***, *** and *** engineering will enhance my knowledge of structural engineering. This knowledge would allow me to conduct research, a long-term goal of mine. My engineering career took off with a job in Reliance Infrastructure Limited, India’s number one corporate house, where I contributed to the design of structures and foundations for ultra mega power plants using Indian codes and standards. I also contributed to designs for technological structures, pipe racks and foundations of oil and gas refineries using American and European codes when I worked for GS Engineering and Construction and Technip KTI Limited, both multinational companies. Currently I am designing petrochemical refineries using Russian and British codes with Chicago Bridge and Iron Inc. I was named Best Employee of the Month by GS Engineering and Construction, as well as Chicago Bridge and Iron, for my outstanding performance; specifically, enhancing the accuracy of analysis methods and designing of structures. After four year field career I want to pursue research in *** engineering. As I believe that knowledge if combined with character can empowers the poorer. Did you come from a poor background? Can you tie this into your trip with your father and love of engineering? Did those trips empower you? Did they build character?

I am not sure if this will help on the closing issue, but I returned to my "hook" and explained how it influences my future. My intro was centered on saving an endangered language program at my public HS. I closed by indicating I was proud of that success but now after some time in the world, I understand other languages are becoming extinct from this earth (not just HS curriculum) and that student's whose ancestors spoke that language carry a cultural weight I've never had to experience - either they learn it or shoulder blame for the cultural loss. And so, I would like to participate in the preservation or renewal of those languages. I think the intro sounds less cliche if you can show whatever story you told had a profound effect on your life. Not in just a 'I want to study this' way but in an 'I want to act this' way. How does the story bring you full circle as a person? The closing of that circle is your conclusion... If any of that makes sense.

Haha. Yes, my friend and I threw up a little over the nonsense and made fun of the writers and footnotes. However, there was some advice that I was able to incorporate in my more matter-of-fact style. 1.) Like in a resume, use action words. To "like" something is very tepid. You have to express your passion. 2.) Open with a hook. We all got interested in our fields somehow and many time for similar reasons. So you have to express your similar reason in a more interesting way. Find the quirk to your story that will enthrall the reader. 3.) Weave a story. It doesn't have to be flowery but it should flow enough to encapsulate your life and personhood. Anyways, if you still need someone to read yours, I can take a look. I however have nothing to swap. I am not applying for Cal and have already submitted my personal statement to my program of interest.

Here are samples from Cal's English department. I like that the examples are footnoted to indicate why the reviewers thought these were particulalry good essays. Although I am applying to Anthropology, I did use these samples as a guide. http://ls.berkeley.edu/social-sciences/diversity/apply/personal-statement-1

Have you determined whether the Universities you mention have a minimum Verbal requirement for Computer Science? That should determine whether you have a chance or not (based on GRE scores alone). If you don't meet the minimum, then it's in your best interest to study for the verbal and retake the test.

Hey, just wanted to put my two cents in. I almost exclusively studied with Barron's 500 vocab cards. I think knowing so many words (what they really mean, as opposed to how I use them) helped a lot. There were subtle differences that meant the difference between success or not when I took the test. I would invest in the flash cards and if you can go through them all, great! Otherwise, learn the words. This was the advice given to me by my friend who also scored very high on the verbal.

I think all will be fine if you can tie in how your previous degree relates to the anthropology degree sought. You have great scores and you're published. Just show the school that you would be a good fit and how your previous degree enhances that fit. If you're really worried take a couple of Anthro courses this year and maybe mention that plan in your statement.

Don't give up. Retake the test. I just got my official scores and aside from verbal (167, which is what my program cares about), they were not pretty. I got a 4.0 on the analytical writing portion as well. I just can't do what they want in 30 minutes. If your grad application gives you an option to submit a writing sample, do it. I think the school would put more stock in the sample in front of them than in an unseen timed test that is reviewed in 3 minutes or less. Do the programs your interested in require both a high verbal and math? Knowing my program only highlighted one in the application process, I used my limited time to focus on that. Maybe the same is true for you. If so, you can retake the test next month and use the next 4 weeks to focus on the score that needs to be raised. As I said, my program required a high verbal, so I aimed for that. I bought the 500 flashcard vocabulary and memorized the words and their definitions. Then I took multiple practice verbal tests and tried to learn from my mistakes. My math on the other hand was very low (147) as I haven't had a math class in over 10 years and only use the basics. I imagine though math would be the "easiest" score to raise because there is no subjectivity in the answers. Either you get it right or you don't. However, that means you have to study (and remember) the equations for the test. You can actually print out an 80ish page math workbook from ETS - GRE. If I had more time, it seemed like it would be quite useful in learning math concepts and equations from scratch.

I am no one to give shmoozing advice I hate, hate, hate cold calling/emailing people. That being said, I looked at ASU's page yesterday and it seems they warmly encourage you to get in contact with faculty about research interests. I don't think you should be too intimidated. However, if I contact anyone, I'll be happy to let you know how it went to ease your nerves.

Hmm, thanks for the advice. I'll will think about it but I might have to do some Jedi mind tricks on myself to do it.

My recommendation, although I am no expert, would be to limit your adversities to the ones that had the biggest effect on your achievement, for better or worse. For example, if you earned your 3.75 GPA while supporting your wife through cancer or being homeless, I would say simply "Despite such and such, I maintained a GPA of 3.75." Or conversely, "Although I was serious about my studies, the adversity made it near-impossible to achieve my academic goals. Nevertheless, I overcame this difficult period as evidenced by my rebounded GPA" or something like that. I personally weaved a story of my strengths and how they correspond with my research interest, while dropping subtle hints that I overcame a lot to be the successful person I am. <- not trying to sound conceited but I don't think any of us should sell ourselves short. Hope that helps. Good luck.

I'm not planning on contacting any POIs. I've done quite a bit of research by reading the Anthropology Department's website for UofA and I've read either journal articles written by the professors or in their area of interest. I have no real questions and so emailing/calling them seems disingenuous (for me) but I'm weird about networking type stuff. That being said, I still have to research NMU and ASU. If a genuine question or concern comes up, I will be sure to email someone.

Hey, everyone. I will be applying to grad programs for the Fall 2014 semester. I don't have too many schools on my list: UofA (my 1st choice) and UNM. I had thought of applying to Cal (I completed my undergrad there) but I can't stomach the cost of living. My interest is in Southwest Archaeology and trade. I've actually been out of school for awhile (since 2006) but I'm itching to go back. I just took my GRE and hit my target verbal score. I am so relieved! I took it 10 years ago and timed out before I could finish. I was so nervous because back then I was too poor to retake it. I have been doing a happy dance this weekend.