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!

Hmm. What you say is absolutely true. This,however, raises another question. I was reading this popular book by Asher on writing Graduate Admissions Essays. The book talks about not mentioning everything you've worked on in your past, but instead focussing on a couple of projects and exploring those to depth. That's the framework I decided to adopt while writing my essays. Personally, I'm a fan of what you did, namely, writing a few lines on every project you've worked on. But this might sound like a repetition of the resume. So, what's a good strategy to follow? My guess is that it'll boil down to what I have to delete to fit my job details in the SoP. If it fits in with changing the grammar on a few sentences, I'll put it in!

Its not exactly detrimental, in fact, it would even help support one of the skills on my resume. However, this skill is very indirectly related to the research I want to work in. For example, assume that I presently work in a company that works in making CAD models of dishwashers, and say I want to join a program in `planetary sciences' where I may have to occasionally design a CAD model of a spaceship. So `dishwasher != spaceship', but being able to CAD something still counts as a skill right? But mentioning that in my SoP won't exactly help or hurt, will just occupy space. Furthermore, I have barely just begun work in the organization, and I cannot really say much about my job, or the complexity of the projects I have worked on. So, since, it really doesn't add anything, I think I'll leave it out. I was just worried that not mentioning what I'm doing right now may raise red flags.

Thanks fuzzylogician!

Hi Everyone, I graduated in Spring this year, and started work as a full-time around mid-June. Therefore, its been about 5 months since I've joined my present workplace. I am planning to apply to doctoral programs for the Fall of 2014, and am in the process of preparing my SoP. I was wondering if I should mention my current job in the SoP, since its not directly related to the topic in which I wish to pursue my PhD. Since I've just joined the company, there isn't much I can talk about except discussing some minor details, that are not relevant to the topic of my future research. I'd rather write more about my old research in the limited space I have. But I don't want to leave that out only to find out, that mentioning your present status in the SoP is a must. Therefore, will not mentioning my job make the admissions committee feel that I'm trying to avoid talking about my job? Or that I'm thinking about a PhD because I'm unhappy/ unable to perform well at the job? Thanks!

Loric and 123hardasABC: No, I completely agree with your solution and I think I will call the professors. Thanks a lot guys!

Loric: Wouldn't a phone call be like invading their personal space? (I'm not sure how acceptable such a phone call would be in the university culture.)

Although I do agree with your idea of emailing more people around the professor. I might try that. Although, again, how formal should my email be? Should I include a resume, or any elaborate details about my research? Or should the email be partly informal and to the point?

Lisa44201: The people who have managed to visit labs, were in the same field of engineering, though not the same major, and not the same lab either. However, the way they told me that they did it, was simply by mailing a professor. 123hardasABC and Loric: I'm afraid that if I persist OR email too many people, that might irritate them into not considering me.

Hi Everyone, I've been trying to find other threads that try to answer similar questions, but I haven't found anything yet, so I decided to create a new thread. Please feel free to redirect me to an existing thread if this question is too repetitive. I will be applying to some PhD programs in the United States for the Fall 2014 semester. I've been trying to schedule appointments with professors for visits to their labs. Usually, I also contact the lab staff or the professor's assistants about my visit. However, some programs merely ask me to contact the professors themselves about scheduling visits. I'm usually very particular about my emails to professors, and try to keep my requests brief. I also don't elaborate my current research too much, and I don't include my resume in the email. But I have had almost no success in getting replies from professors. I've talked to people in similar situations and they seem to have more success than I do. Therefore, there probably is something missing in my emails. Could someone give me tips about what I should include in my emails so that I maximize the probability of getting a reply?