Lyapunov

@roll : I've applied to the Biomech group.

Thanks Stressica, That's great and scary at the same time! - Yash

I'm guessing Stressica could answer this one best, but does the Media Lab send out all accepts and rejections on the same day ( March 29) ? Or are any of the rejection emails sent out earlier?

Thanks a lot roguesenna, VirginanFeminist and 7volt. I really appreciate the quick replies! Yes, I can totally understand the fact that contacting the lab at this point is far too risky! As far as the rejection is concerned, I'll be sure to contact the professor after the admissions season is over and this entire thing settles down. I'll ask for tips on improving my application, and hopefully, I'll get accepted the next time!

Hi everyone, I'm really sorry if I'm resurrecting an old topic but I didn't find any topic like this in the last few pages so I decided to post this question. I'm waiting for a reply from one of the universities I applied to for a PhD., and have been rejected by another one. I felt that my application was really apt for the lab I got rejected at, and feel that the professor would've at least interviewed me if he'd seen my application.( I don't know if she/he viewed my application before they rejected me) I heard from a friend that contacting the professor at this point might help in this case. But I don't want to end up spamming the professor's inbox. Will contacting the professor about this actually help? Can I get her/him to look into my application again? Also, as an extension to this question, would it help to email the professor at the other lab ( from which I haven't heard back yet)? Or would any contact with the lab look like I'm trying to improve my chances, and touching base with the lab at this time be too risky? Thanks! - Lyapunov

Thanks Physwimic and TakeruK. TakeruK: Yes, I am applying to two different and quite tangential fields of research. I've worked on both topics equally and was therefore planning to apply to universities that have worked on any of these topics. Since the program I'm more interested in applying to is the one I tried to start second, I guess my best bet is to ask the admissions department to change the program on my online application.

Hi Everyone, I'm planning to apply to two different labs at UC Berkeley for my PhD. Both these labs fall into different departments of engineering. I started an application for one of the departments, and haven't submitted it yet. When I tried to create a new application(using the same email address) for the second department, I was told that I couldn't submit two different applications at a time. I was then told to email their admissions office, which I did immediately. But I haven't heard from them yet. I was wondering if someone else was in a similar situation, and if so, how did you get around it?

I totally agree with you all! Yes, getting straight to the point would maximize the probability of getting read by the intended person. Thanks a lot for this. I really appreciate the help!!

Ah, I see. I was afraid that sort of an opening line may be too abrupt! That's why I was trying very elaborate opening lines. Thanks a lot!

So an abrupt start to an SOP is okay, is it? Something like ' The XYZ lab at the ABC university has done excellent research on MNOP. If admitted, I would like to contribute to the XYZ lab, and work on adding PQR functionality to MNOP." Will this do, or is it too abrupt?

So an abrupt start to an SOP is okay, is it?

Hi TakeruK, Thanks a lot. Yes, my field is definitely like yours and it would be quite meaningless to have this section in the resume. Plus, it was overshadowing my Publications list, so I'm definitely taking it out!

In that case, I'm definitely removing it. It does look slightly fancy and out of place. Thanks semicolon2013 and TakeruK! TakeruK: I agree with the format you suggested, namely starting with research goals and interests. However, I'm not able to find a formal start to the SOP if I'm including research in the first paragraph. Just to be clear, my SOP has the following format: Introduction. (Limerick followed by a line about what program I'm applying to) The next 2-3 paragraphs about my interest in this topic and projects I've worked on in this field. The Second Last paragraph talks about which lab I'm interested in working with, and what I plan to do if admitted. What are my broader goals in life. Do you suggest that I bring point 4 to replace my Introduction( point 1)? Also, any suggestions about how I could start the SoP? Thanks!

Hi Everyone, I was planning to open my SoP with a limerick on the topic of my proposed PhD major. Its an intelligent, mathematically accurate limerick, that may invoke a chuckle out of someone familiar with the branch of science. But I was wondering if it would be appropriate to start with a humorous limerick, or would it be too informal for an SoP? I'm slightly unfamiliar about how formal/ informal an SoP's introduction should be. Thanks a lot! P.S: Again, this limerick isn't insulting or obscene in any way.

Hi Everyone, I'm guessing someone may have asked this sort of a question before, but I couldn't find a thread similar to this one in the search, so I decided to post on this topic. A couple of my UG projects have been covered by the national media of my country. I was checking out some academic resumes, and found a "Publicity" section in a couple of them, where the concerned writers had mentioned such media articles on their previous projects. But these were resumes of professors or post-docs, not applicants. I was wondering if explicitly adding this sort of a section on my PhD application resume would be a good idea. I have already added links to a website where my UG projects are listed, and the website also does have links pointing to the articles. But I don't know if explicitly mentioning the articles in a dedicated section would be considered appropriate. Thanks!