123hardasABC

I didn't address my low GPA but if you feel like you need to, that would be the place to do it.

Yes. Yes. Yes. You should also make sure that the department accepts physical letters because I know some schools don't. Please check with the offices.

So much waiting....

I just got an email reply from Emory. It looks like they pushed it back to the end of the month. Thank you for your interest in Rollins School of Public Health. We have not processed any applications yet. We will begin to process them by the end of this month. We will let you know when we process your application. Thank you for checking with us. Hope this information was helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact us again if you have any further questions.

This varies by school. Your best option is to email the admissions office and ask them.

I'm gonna give you my honest opinion, but please bear in mind that this is just my opinion. I think you need to take a few years off before thinking of applying to graduate school. A bad undergraduate GPA won't break you (hell, I have one too) as an applicant, however, it doesn't look good when it's paired next to an empty resume. What I recommend is you take a couple of years off and build your resume -- find relevant work, internships, and/or research, etc. If your financial situation eases up, you can take a few graduate courses as a non-matriculated student or get a graduate certificate. Doing well in these classes can show graduate schools that you can handle graduate-level classes. It also doesn't hurt to have graduate school professors vouch for your academic abilities in your letters. What you can do right now before you graduate is maintain good relations with your professors and advisors. You may need them later as letter writers. You can also try to see if there are any professors willing to take you under their wing in their labs/research. I realize I was all over the place in my response... In short, take some time off and work on yourself: get some experience and build a resume....then kick the GRE's ass and get into school. You'll make it. It'll just take some time. Believe me when I say this. I graduated with a bad GPA and I only did slightly above average on my GRE...but I took a year off, worked, did research, volunteered, and cranked out some minor publications. And I'm very hopeful I'll get into graduate school next Fall. Anyways, good luck. You got this.

YAY CONGRATS!

Oh...that doesn't make me feel very good. I just shot them an email. I'll update you all when I get a response.

Not a peep.

No one gives a crap about AW...regardless of program. Just send in your awesome 2013 scores.

Yeah....no. A score report is the whole deal. If you've taken it multiple times and you report all your test scores, some schools may consider your best mark in each section per test, but they'll also be able to see all your scores. You should ask the school for a more detailed answer.

I wouldn't worry about it. An average is an average. If you scored below a school's acceptance average, guess what! So did other people. Just focus on the other aspects of your application and good luck! The rest of your profile sounds solid. You'll still be competitive.

Jesus, you've been through a lot.... Anyways, I really hate these diversity/personal history type essays.... My best advice is to focus on this bit: Please discuss how such factors would contribute to the diversity of the entering class, and hence to the experience of your Stanford classmates. While you should tell your story, be careful not to make it sound like a pity story.

If you want to apply this cycle, I don't think you have the time to retake the test. Just send in your best scores and apply. The rest of your profile sounds strong. While the scores you mentioned are low, the GRE alone does not dictate whether or not you will get in. The rest of the application heavily outweighs it.

If a Macbook Pro is in your price range, a PC of that equivalent price will run most things under the sun. Do the ol' test-out-laptops-in-Best-Buy/Fry's/etc.-and-buy-on-Amazon/Newegg-for-cheaper trick. I do recommend Lenovo and Asus above all. Their computers generally have a good balance between computing power and portability+battery life. And MSi if you're in the market for something more powerful.

I've called professors before. It's not "invading" anything. Just be brief and courteous. "My name is _____. I'm interested in _______ and would like to tour your lab." Calling professors shouldn't be a big deal. They're just professors, not kings of the world.

I emailed other people in the lab: mangers, post-docs, even the undergraduate help...anyone who has direct contact with the professor.

5 million years later, I hear back from BU saying they received my application.

I noticed in class profiles that most programs are female-dominate. I'm curious; why is that?

I'm not familiar with the grading of the old GRE, but I've been told by a few admissions officers that they don't care about the AW portion so long as the score is at least a 3. Because of that, I didn't study for AW and just winged it. My guess is that since AW has so little weight in the overall GRE score, very little people bother to score well in it.

Dude. Just chill. I've scored both better and worse on my practice tests than I did on the actual GRE. It's no big deal. No practice test can predict your real score so don't let them get to your head. Take the day off before the exam to relax and get a good night's rest. You'll be fine. Good luck.

It should give you an option to review your exam after you finish. It also only scores the timed exam.

I recommend Lenovo and Asus laptops if you're looking for a good priced laptop that doesn't sacrifice quality. Newegg has a pretty good selection http://www.newegg.com/Laptops-Notebooks/Category/ID-223

Oh my gosh! Congrats!! Fall 2014 is shaping up to be an awesome time. I'M SO EXCITED FOR EVERYONE!

This depends on the school. I recommend you email the admissions offices of each school/program and ask.