Sigaba

Lol, dude you have a serious persecution complex. I'm too busy in lab, working on my PhD, to care about my reputation on this forum.

2 done and paid for...3 done and not paid for...4 to be completed next weekend (they are mostly all done- except for the book review). Even though I am very happy with my apps. and the fact that they have all been or will be completed without a mad dash at the deadline- this whole process and the next 3 months that await are VERY stressful...I have three months to chew on whether I get paid thousands to pursue a doctorate from a top university...or if I have to teach middle schoolers that Columbus was actually an A**hole...

bear123--

IMO, the NP will not adversely impact your candidacy.



Yes, it is too early to freak out about graduate school, but it is not too early to use the search function.

This question has been asked in a variety of ways many times. By starting a new thread without searching, you not only deprive yourself of the guidance offered in previous threads, you encourage a sensibility in which everyone thinks their questions are more important than similar ones previously posed. In turn, this sensibility undermines the overall effectiveness of this BB.

My $0.02.

Man, I go away for a month and look what happens.

I've been acting as a medic for one of the larger Occupys for a little over a month, and visited two others (a large one and a small one). I am supportive, obviously. That doesn't mean that I agree with everything that everybody there says, because not all Occupiers agree with each other on everything! But what I see is an amazing platform for mobilizing people and raising the profile of certain issues. Activists from different groups who never knew about each other before are talking to each other. People who are new to political action are getting in touch with experienced people. We're holding all kinds of joint marches and rallies with existing community groups, raising their profiles in the process. We've had a voter registration booth, and another local Occupy group had an "Occupy the Polls" event on election day to re-elect a well-loved local elected official. People are discussing ideas. And suddenly the media is talking more about issues that we care about.

The people who think that it is nothing but a bunch of spoiled rich white kids trying to recreate the '60s are just factually wrong. Our camp is around 40% homeless people, and there's a significant faction of middle-aged and old people. Heck, most of the Safety guys are middle-aged blue collar townies who probably work manufacturing safety or something in their normal lives. Lots of people who live in the camp commute from there to their jobs. There's a lot of union members. There's a ton of veterans, young and old. I know that not all the Occupys are like that - another one that I visited (3000 miles away) was younger, whiter, and more full of hipsters - but my point is that the demographics aren't as homogeneous as people seem to think.

The Occupy protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful. Even in Oakland, where for some reason nobody was talking about the peaceful protesters that were physically restraining the rogue violently-inclined ones and using their bodies to shield buildings from vandals.

The myth of disorganization has quickly become one of my pet peeves. People think that because there's no designated leaders, there's no structure at all. But at all the large Occupys there's a tremendous amount of role specialization. Like I said, I'm a medic, which is a role that I perform through our Medical/Health working group. We have a wide variety of other working groups, including Legal, Logistics, Food, Safety (makes sure that tents are set up safely, keeps the peace within the camp, etc), Media (which could be called PR), Winterization (this is the Northeast), Direct Action (plans the actual marches and rallies), Community Outreach (builds connections with other local groups), and Sanitation (collects the trash from each tent and makes sure that the camp doesn't get trashy and filthy). The infrastructure is quite extensive.

I think there's legitimate room for disagreement on the park issue. In our case, the city told us that we could use the (government-owned) park, but the non-profit that are stewards for the park has been complaining. This particular park takes up less than a block in a 1.5-mile stretch of parks and plazas. The next park in the sequence is literally 10 feet away. I am not too worried that people are being deprived of enjoying the lovely city parks because we're in a tiny bit of a huge stretch of them. I think that in general, Occupy camps should be careful that they aren't preventing local residents from being able to access parks, but most cities that I've been in have either very large parks or lots of small parks within easy walking distance of each other, and I personally - again, I can understand why some people might disagree - don't see why groups shouldn't be able to have long-term things like this on teeny-tiny fractions of city parkland (and yes, if the Tea Party people wanted to camp on a piece of park too, I see no problem with that - if we ever get to the point where enough groups want to do this that cities are running out of park, then we can figure out what to do about that).

I'd be happy to discuss some of my experiences of participating in an Occupy and spending a whole lot of time in an Occupy camp with any of you who are curious and refrain from going ad hominem on me.

bear123--

IMO, the NP will not adversely impact your candidacy.



Yes, it is too early to freak out about graduate school, but it is not too early to use the search function.

This question has been asked in a variety of ways many times. By starting a new thread without searching, you not only deprive yourself of the guidance offered in previous threads, you encourage a sensibility in which everyone thinks their questions are more important than similar ones previously posed. In turn, this sensibility undermines the overall effectiveness of this BB.

My $0.02.

Why? Are you suggesting that people should change the way they do their work for their peace of mind--or for yours?

I am sure there was an older section dedicated to asking this question, but now after people have received their accurate scores or have taken the test recently... was it really that hard? What I mean is what were some of the strengths and weaknesses you felt you had during the test? I'm not a good standardized test taker, and I know that this is my weakness; however, as far as test content if you could choose ONE section of the verbal and math to pay the most attention to, what would it be? I am needing a 500+ on the verbal section (applying to a dual degree program in Public Health and Social Work) but a combined score of 1000 or more. Thanks in advance.

I am using Gruber's 2012 New GRE book at the moment for studying and I am finding it very helpful. I do have all of the other books except the Manhattan prep books but I plan on getting those soon.

using the term obamacare makes you sound like a complete moron. pretty sure britain didn't call the nhs churchill-care or something equally less poetic.

Wait, hold on! I'm not supposed to help you! Competition!

Um... the SoP criteria uhhh... it said that you should write about dragons. And then you should make sure you sign it in your own blood and send it in an envelope with some powdered sugar. Also, they said that most people should list their favorite hobbies, who their personal heroes are, and they asked me to answer this question in detail: "If you could meet any person living or dead, who would it be?"

I said Jesus, so that's taken. The Dalai Lama is probably still available.

You're applying to MA programs now, right? The Ph.D. ambition is later, so in that case, when admissions standards are even tighter and funding becomes more crucial, you would be able to re-take to get a more comfortable score.

In the present, given the strength of your application in all other regards, do not let a standardized test erode your confidence. Your scores correlate to approximately 1100 on the old scale; hopefully that's sufficient to pass a "soft" threshold set by programs. Additionally, an underwhelming GRE performance can be viewed in better context when the applicant also has a high GPA, so you'll likely get some benefit of the doubt.

Move on. Stay positive.

Hi, I'm applying for this Fall, and was hoping to find out first hand thoughts on the program. Its my number one choice so would be very grateful for any hints or tips that may aid my application. I feel like I am competitive but its all objective.

What were some of your stats like, if you dont mind me asking.

Thanks for the heads up.

I picked writers who can say great things about me; however, I am stressing out b/c it is the one part of my package of which I am not in total control. Thus, I am convinced that they will write something that makes places hate me.

To be a bit safe, you should introduce the Laboratory or a Group that the Professor is a part of first. The risk in mentioning just one Professor in isolation is that that Professor might not be taking new students, or for some reason, he/she might not be particularly keen on taking you. To hedge your risks, unless you are only interested in working with one Professor, you should write your SOP in such a way that it has a wider appeal, and anyone from the Group/Lab is able to relate to your SOP.

Sorry if I offended anyone, maybe I was being TOO sensitive. I just originally read her post as stating that appearing to have children would be a bad thing and considering I fight the assumption of "mom = not dedicated" everyday I can be a little sensitive. Sorry ticklemepink and melusine and anyone else who thought my post was unwarranted.

That was exactly my point it should not matter. But someone said that pictures with children could give the wrong impression and I thought they were a little insensitive. But like I said before I don't want to start controversy. I just wanted to point out that many of us have children and I'm not afraid of letting admissions committees know that. In fact one of my most prestigious awards was an academic award from undergrad given to one academically outstanding nontraditional every year. And I listed this in the awards sections of the application so I'm sure they do have an idea of my family status.

Sorry this is so off subject.

I don't want to start controversy but I think you should be a little more sensitive . Some of us that are applying to grad school do have children. And I don't believe that my Facebook picture with my husband and daughter is at all giving "the wrong impression." I can't speak for other programs but the one's I'm applying to specifically state on there websites that they are family friendly. In fact I wouldn't want to be part of a program that frowned upon women with children because I can almost bet there's a double standard and they don't see it as an issue for the men to have a child. Sorry but this is a sensitive point for me.

Googling my name will retrieve my Master's Thesis and a site about a scholarship I won, with a pic of my professor introducing me at the podium at the ceremony.
and My Facebook is AWESOME
so I hope they'd cyber stalk me
cuz then they'd see my true amazingitude

The best plan is don't publish anything on the internet (including photos, videos, blog posts) you wouldn't want printed on the front page of a newspaper. It really is that accessible.

LizzieB--

IMO, the first thing you need to do is to stop freaking out. As a fellow perfectionist, I understand fully the impulse to freak out, and to freak out some more. But as a person who has been through a number of misadventures (through no fault of own, of course ), I know that freaking out does not help.

Before turning to specific recommendations, I offer the following general comments. I recommend that you use this experience to fine tune your game plan for giving important presentations. IMO, one should always anticipate that equipment is not going to arrive and/or malfunction. Therefore, multiple back up plans should be in place to handle such contingencies.

As far as transportation goes, cars break down and rentals can be hard to find at the last moment, but what about public transportation options or taking a taxi cab? Or dragooning a friend into giving you a ride? What about a time table for travel to venues that allows for the catastrophic?

Even when one has plans B, C, D, and E, the poop can still hit the fan. You might benefit from a better understanding of how you can mitigate such circumstances. For example, as a perfectionist, you may dread saying anything that sounds like you're making an excuse. However, if you know your audience, you might understand that they're going to cut you some slack.

Now, on to specifics. In retrospect, can you point to any events prior to this week that challenge your view that you "usually get along great" with this professor? I ask because the professor's call to Enterprise sounds like an action one would take if there weren't a lot of trust and that your relationship with her is much shakier than you realize. This exercise may lead to an insight that will help you address the professor's concerns, if not to understand those issues. (Bluntly, the fact that she made this call really makes me wonder What's the rest of the story?)

To your knowledge, is the professor under pressure of her own (is she burdened with a lot of coursework, is she preparing a manuscript for publication, is she up for tenure review)? If such is the case, you may be in a situation where you can either try to help her or, better yet, understand that her umbrage is about her situation, to embrace the suck, and to talk things out with her later.

Also consider the utility of going to her office hours, hat in hand, and saying something along the lines of "I fucked up." If the professor wants to chew you out, accept the chewing without hesitation, comment, or excuse. If, after the chewing ends, there's an opportunity for a "teachable moment," take it. If she chews you up and throws you out of her office, then you've got some more game planning to do.

If she doesn't chew you out and wants to talk, do your best to avoid saying things that sound like you're making excuses. Instead, take ownership of what happened, demonstrate that you know how you'd deal with similar events in the future, and turn the conversation to affirming that you've been on track and that you'll stay on track.

No matter what turn the conversation takes, I emphasize the importance of not making excuses or arguing with her. The only exception would be if she says something outrageously beyond the pale.

HTH.

^ Yeah, keep going with the "It's not me, it's them" storyline.

Press on! Focus on what you can control. Use the remaining time to nail your SoPs. Press on!

Press on! Focus on those tasks you can control. Kick the hell out of any projects/assignments that you have to do. Press on!

Keep going. Do not bow your head. Do not stop. Do not slow down. Look forward, not back. Tell your fears to get out of your way.

C'mon! You got what the Ivory Tower needs -- a desire to teach, intellectual curiosity, and humility. There are spots in doctoral programs for the next academic year. Go and get them!

The answers to your earlier musings are evident in this thread.



Your point is interesting, given many of your previous posts in other threads.

Your pathetic efforts to somehow make me believe that you're better than me = FAIL

Edit: By the way, efforts to delete all posts made in bad taste despite them all being immortalized in our replies to you = FAIL ....Bam!

You know what's so amusing about this? Is that really my response to you isn't all that different from your response to me in the first place, I mean it's right on your level so why am I the one with no talent? You tried really hard to come up with some half-witted almost smart ass response to me liking this thread 2 months ago. So I threw it back in your face and you clearly didn't like that...talk about melting...I'm not sure where you get off judging anyone who enjoys this thread, no one has posted here for 2 months and you come by and have to let everyone know how cool you are by posting how lame it is to post in this thread...you're right, that is awesome, and again you've proven that's why all the kids elected you president of their Super Cool Kid Club. Eventually if you dish it out enough you're going to get it right back. I'm not the kind of forum user that gets up on some soap box in an indignant manner wagging my finger to let you know how awful you are because you're being mean to the not cool kids, I'm really just going to sling your crap right back at you, which is what I did and calling it "bad game" is bad form in itself. Just consider yourself lucky that there's no spelling section on the GRE.

A direct answer to your OP subject:
STATISTICS IS A VEHICLE FOR ECONOMETRICS.


Statistics is a means to an end. Most social science fields utilize statistics as a quantitative vehicle to enhance our understanding (e.g. inference) of different phenomena (e.g. research subject). So why someone might forgo the opportunity of exploring different fields as a Stats Ph? Why on earth someone apply as biostatistics or econometrics PhD? Some undergraduate or graduate students have a clear research goal and what they want to pursue (e.g. econ, applied math, or bioengineering could've been their undergrad majors). There's nothing wrong with specialization. In fact, most Stats PhD decide which subfield they are going to tackle in their 3rd-4th year.



LHF