coyabean
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Posts posted by coyabean
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GRE 2x = $300
$20/per score report over the four = $140
Transcripts = $55
10 apps = approx. $565
Mailing and assorted costs = $60
nigh on a thousand dollars or so. has no one questioned how this is a financial threshold for poor applicants?!!!! this is CRAZY!!!!
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For reasons that are a mystery even to me Jay-Z and Beyonce are my aspirational soundtrack. All that braggadocio, maybe? I mean when I hear "I don't run rap no more, I run the map" or "I'm a survivor; I'm gonna make it; keep on surviving!" I feel like I am going to PWN this grad school thing. LOL
Oh and don't judge me but Adam Lambert's got some good sugary pop to imagine yourself a superstar to.
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This is not a sentiment I could possibly understand. I don't think you realize exactly what "anything within the United States" means
Yeah see. Working poor is liveable in some cities -- Chapel Hill, Atlanta -- than it is someplace like NY. As a native New Yorker that idea did not apply to me. But I did look and was glad nothing major jumped out at me.
Also I have hair issues. I cannot live three hours away from a salon. lol
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+1, as a postdoc friend of mine at Harvard advised me:
"There are going to be times in grad school where very little will be good in your life. It's going to suck, and you will be depressed. At those times, you need the city, your friends, and your hobbies to make things good. Don't apply anywhere you wouldn't want to live."
That's my thinking on the matter. I am more productive when the sights, smells, aura of a physical location aren't making me suicidal.
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I tried to walk away from this one but it was just too inflammatory for me...
Just because you are white does not mean that you do not have an ethnic or cultural identity. This is one of the major issues in the race debate. The "I am white and therefore I am the default and therefore I have no ethnic identity and everyone else (who is not white) does" is false in so many ways. Also, being white doesn't exclude you from hardships (as an example, please see a large percentage of the Appalachian people.) Don't use the I'm a white boy scapegoat.
Thank you.
Few things get my goat like this line of reasoning.
In the end, if you do not think you are at all unique or cannot offer diversity of thought or experiences to the graduate cohort I am going to say that you should reconsider why you are applying.
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Not sure how it is for other programs but Neuroscience grad apps are not exactly very difficult or time-consuming.
- GRE: alright, study some vocab for a week or two
- SoP: write a two page essay, modify a paragraph or two for each school
- LoR: send your SoP to three profs and they do the rest...
- applications: fill out a few forms online
- send your transcripts.
Seems pretty simple to me. I started and completed most of my apps within a few hours.
The hard part is the waiting, which doesn't exactly require any effort. Sounds like you guys need to chill
You obviously missed the above post where this kind of comment? Is NOT A GOOD THING!!!! It makes me angry...and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry...
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Ok wow.
Thanks for the citation guys.
I did take my SOP down after working through it. I didn't feel like posting each subsequent draft and my OCD wouldn't let me leave an imperfect product out there for the world to see.
I'll PM the OP.
However, let me just say that it worked for me to address because it, honestly, informs my research. If it did not I would probably have chosen to go unlikelygrad's route.
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Yup. People said this to me all the time too..."You are so smart, of course they will want you." Yes, I am smart and I aced the GRE (ducks to avoid flying tomatoes)--but I also all-but-flunked-out of school after my sophomore year, and I was trying to get into physical science programs with no research experience at all.
One person told me, "Stanford and Harvard would be lucky to have you." Yes, but they wouldn't want me!!
There are no guarantees in grad school admissions. I didn't get in to two of my three safety schools (keep in mind that my stats were WAAAAY above their averages), but I did get into a highly-ranked program I applied to on a whim more than anything. Go figure!
...And now that I'm applying for fellowships I hear the same thing. "Of course you'll get funding." Ha. I was actually grateful when my dad told me, "You know, the odds that you'll get an NSF fellowship are pretty low. They like hot shots, and you're not a hot shot yet." Of course it was a bit depressing to think about but it was nice to hear the truth instead of platitudes!
We're still venting, right?
Well I hear the same thing and I'm getting angry. I mean Bruce Banner Hulk angry. On my other online sites I promised not to say another word about the process about a week ago and I have held to it. But recently I did say something about my current coursework along the lines of wishing I had a peer group to read my stuff and give me feedback like I'm ALWAYS doing for others. But I don't have that, for various reasons.
Well someone I consider a friend took the opportunity to go snarkfest on me about how she's so "sorry I'm such a fucking genius that no one can read my work" and how "i'm the most overprepared person for grad school ever" and basically how my concerns are invalid.
I went a little off the wall.
Besides missing the point and taking the opportunity to passively aggressively insult me she did what everyone is doing: assuming my concerns are invalid. That burns my arse!!!! I am smart. I will give people that. I'm not being coy or asking for validation. But I'm smart enough to know how difficult the friggin' odds are!!!! If this was about proving I was smart then, sure, I'd be crazy to be obsessive maybe. But it's not about that. It's about a host of things I cannot control. Funding is down. Programs are being cut and reducing incoming cohort sizes. The job market has a glut of wannabes also applying that maybe would not have three or four years ago. It's just as likely that I'll get lost in a sea of applications and department politics as it is that someone will have the time to even read my stupid file.
So screw everybody for acting like I'm crazy for having concerns. I gave up a lot to do this and if I wanna be concerned about my chances then I think it's a good sign. It means I'm not taking it lightly or taking anything for granted.
And now I will try to be done.
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Yikes! I have a cousin that went to law school, and when word got around that I was applying to grad school she called me (we're not very close) to tell me NOT to go to law school. I'm glad I'm applying to MFA programs, hopefully they won't be quite so scary.
That was another thing. I have three lawyers in the family and a ton in my sorority. Each and every one of them felt it their duty to pull me aside and BEG me not to go to law school. :/
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I think what seems unfocused is if you apply to two different schools with two totally different proposed courses of study. But applying to, say, anthro and af. am. studies is not a stretch. I applied to two programs at one school but I spoke about the same proposed course of study -- that will work in either discipline and would actually use about the same committee members -- at the advice of a prof at the school.
To not appear unfocused don't be unfocused. But if two disciplines intersect at your interests and you can explain how then I do not think it is frowned upon.
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that's definitely a good point. that's why i'm so nervous.
i'm also starting to feel a little funny because at my school there are sample SOPs availible that got people in (to the english lit phd program) and a lot of them don't have fit paragraphs at all. some don't mention the name of the university or any scholars in the department. one of the ones the professors on the committee sounded like they were really crazy about didn't mention the name of the university or a single scholar from my school.
i'm still going to agonize over my fit paragraphs, but i'm beginning to think the committee is going to have the conversation they have about you based on what you say in the statement in general, and that you're not going to bring a whole lot up that they haven't already considered.
who knows though. (clearly not me)
It sounds to me as if those SOPs have been scrubbed for identifying information?
Fit is kind of key. Think of it like dating -- my standard app analogy, btw. Would you want to date someone who cannot remember your name or shows no interest in getting to know you? Same with schools. The fit paragraph is about showing you've done your homework, you picked them for a reason and that if they take a risk on paying you to come there you'll at least pretend to be happy.
So, try to make the fit work. Now, I've found that the easier I found it to write the fit sections of my SOP the more prepared I was to apply to that school. If I had problems writing it then it usually meant I needed to reevaluate why I was applying to that school.
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And I just cannot hold it any longer!!! Every time I see your post name I want to say something very, very bad.
But I have refrained! Is there a prize?
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Just out of curiosity, what other boards are you all referring to?
Man I hate to advertise for them. Just google law school board. There are two majors that will pop up. You'll know them when you see them.
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One thing though is that this board is overwhelmingly positive. A lot of helpful encouraging people are on here, "Oh you'll do fine" "Did you check out this program? It could be cool for your interests" "Next time you take the GRE do this" "You could improve your SoP like this" etc. etc. No one says shit like, "With those scores you think you're going to get in? Are you mildly retarded?" or "Don't apply there, it's second tier and we all know that second tier colleges are training grounds for lecherous perverts who will only ever get non-tenured jobs at community colleges in rural Alaska" You should check out the law school boards my roommate looks at. I don't understand them even because it's all this intense, pejorative slang. Did you know that TTT stands for "Third-tier toilet"? Nor did I. Under their influence, my roommate started to explain to me the immorality of second tier schools offering law degrees. Their students will never be able to pay back their debts, he said, because top firms only hire people from the top 14 law schools. It was ridiculous that this otherwise smart kid didn't even stop to think about what a small percentage of cases those top firms actually handle. While their is plenty of fishing for compliments and preening here, it's not as bad as I would expect; this place has its downsides, but I have been quite impressed by the levels of civility and helpfulness here.
I know EXACTLY what boards you speak of! LOL
In my former life I was planning on returning to school to go to law school. LSAT taken and everything. I had the worst experiences on those boards. They actually helped me decide not to go. I figured if LS was full asses like that I'd never make it. Not because I could not do the work -- I actually think I'd kick arse -- but because I'd end up killing one of those spoiled, obnoxious, myopic gunners with a sharpened debit card to the throat. I had one dude who stalked my email AND my lj to tell me how wrong I was for being black and thus, uh, making his burden harder? Or something. Forget my totally respectable 161. /eyeroll
He went so far as to mock my dead daughter. No lie.
So, yes, this is a much better environment than that. I think that bodes well for the field. I imagine that some of the high scoring posters here would maybe do well in law school? That kind of appendage measuring seems to be rewarded in that system.
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Hear hear! I actually (archly) commented on somebody's post to that same effect, a couple weeks ago..
This actually reminds me of a facebook acquaintance of mine, major attention-seeker drama-queen type of character.
the other day, she put a 'vent' on her status about how her gpa is one decimal under the record for her grade or something... fair enough. except she listed her gpa (on 4.0 scale) as... 4.6
yeah. clearly we in canada don't really use gpas and hence have little to no idea what the actual scale is...
but some poor american friend of hers proceeded to write a weepy comment about how hers was *only* a 3.87.
seriously, this is getting ridiculous! i feel like the "my grades suck soooo bad!" is becoming the academic version of the infamous teenaged girl "I'm soooo faaaat!"
LOL
Yes at that final analogy. It's perfect.
I just refuse to look at those. Let all the perfect scorers commiserate with each other. They don't need me to pile one. One of my all time favorites is "my dad's friend is the admissions director at Stellar Uni and over dinner last night he told me that the wrong stamp will totally ruin my chances. After my dad wrote another donation check I totally broke down crying because I totally used an Elvis stamp on my apps! Should I call them and see if I can resubmit?"
Or along those lines where it's pretty obvious that they are living in a whole 'nother reality that I am.
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I would send a double-spaced, 12pt font, copy, if it was me. I think it would be extremely irritating to read font that small.
Me, too. In one of the zillion of books I've read there is a comment along the lines of readers dismissing statements that are too difficult to read. Maybe "Getting What You Came For"?
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Hello, I am applying online right now to grad school and I have come to a stop. It is wanting me to fill out: all honors, financial assistance, awards, fellowships, scholarships and assistantships received. These are the three things I have to fill out for each that I do not understand:
Designation
Grantor
In Recognition Of
I am putting my scholarships and grants in these places. I was putting the grant and scholarship name in the "Grantor" spot and was putting my name in the "In Recognition Of" spot, but I do not think that is correct. PLEASE HELP ME! Thank you.
I think designation is what (if any) honor was designated. For example, "Rhodes Scholar"
Grantor is the organization that bestowed the honor.
In recognition of would be "in recognition of highest dept. GPA"
I think Designation and Grantor would not be used in every circumstance. Just fill out what applies.
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I think that it would be wise to refrain from referring to an influential professor as, "Professor BLAH". Though you may not have enjoyed his/her courses, this imparts a tone of condescision to him/her and, I might add, academia generally.
LOL. I refuse to ask if you are joking. I feel better about being alive if I just assume that you are.
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Thank-yous are always a good idea in my book.
Also, it is appropriate to call and ask the department coordinator if there is a better, ie more direct, means of forwarding the thank you. If the person's email info is available somewhere s/he could best direct you. I've never had anyone turn down a request to help me thank someone.
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Nothing helpful here from me.. I thought you were talking about "the" Chopin and then realized it was Kate Chopin you were talking about.
Ha! I did the same thing.
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...and that was back in the day when the test was only $105.
Also, I laughed because Harvard Divinity School was the first among the schools listed in the link as not requiring the GRE. For the first time this year, they are requiring GRE scores for applications to all programs. I was at an HDS open house and one student asked a faculty member what she thought of Harvard's reputation for elitism. The faculty member said "the process is totally blind," and explicitly stated that the admissions committee wouldn't know if someone is, for example, a Rockefeller. The whole conversation seemed to me to be an excellent demonstration of how racism and classism are systemic, subtle, and insidious issues. Of course, the process is "blind" on the surface. But attendance at expensive well-known universities for undergraduate studies, likelihood of having recommendation letters from prestigious folks who have some connection to Harvard, as well as things like ability to take the GRE more than once have race and class implications that go beyond whether the admissions committee tries to ignore last names. The denial of systemic racism and classism coming from a Harvard Divinity faculty member was pretty depressing.
Yes, yes, a thousand times YES.
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AWESOME!!!
I, too, had a great late game convo that changed things.
Let's all take this as a great sign. -
Hmmm... I dunno. I'm where I am now because I came here to work with a specific professor. But, he's the kinda guy that would only leave for a higher-ranked program and always takes his grad students with him if they want to go.
That's def the ideal. Some folks just aren't so kind. But there's a horror story for everything! LOL Basically do whatever you can to get in and whatever can to get out and hope God/The Universe/Your Own Ingenuity/Whatever You're Into doesn't throw something crazy in your path, no?
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If you are applying to masters programs, it might not be that bad if it isnt a competitive masters programs. Now, if you are applying to a PhD program, that is when it might get you eliminated very quickly. Email the schools you are gonna apply to and ask.
Hey there. I notice you are applying at USF, albeit different disciplines. Just wondering if you have been there personally, have any feedback on their process, etc. I chose them for their social movements focus and because the common market could make it an affordable master's should i not make it into a PhD. But I know little of the school firsthand.
Advice from adcomm members
in Applications
Posted
The kind folks at Nebraska sent their monthly newsletter today and in it adcomm members discuss how they approach applications. Thought it might be of interest to you guys as well.
http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/prospective/articles/200912.shtml
I expected mostly pat advice but some of the biggest questions asked here are tackled including the one about whether or not to address weaknesses and other biggies. Excerpts:
It is also helpful for the student to be upfront if part of his or her application is not as strong as it could be. For example, if a student had lower grades one semester, he/she should explain why in the letter of intent (perhaps an illness or death in the family). A lower GRE score in one area compared to another could be buttressed with a discussion of course work or a writing sample that emphasizes strengths in that area. Explaining upfront keeps us from guessing and possibly rejecting the application. We are much more likely to consider a student's application if we know the reason behind a weakness or steps you have taken to address it. It is always to the student's advantage to address the weakness rather than ignore it
At our admissions committee meetings, not only do we look at the qualifications of the individual (e.g., GRE scores, grades, reference letters and writing sample), but we also look at how they fit with our department's strengths.
I read letters of recommendation closely and what these letters tell me about the student is of critical importance..
Not news to the obsessive-compulsive amongst us here but it may be nice to hear it from someone else.
Happy Waiting Season to you all.