coyabean

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.

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.

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"?

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.

LOL. I refuse to ask if you are joking. I feel better about being alive if I just assume that you are.

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.

Ha! I did the same thing.

Yes, yes, a thousand times YES.

AWESOME!!! I, too, had a great late game convo that changed things. Let's all take this as a great sign.

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?

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.

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.

This. "childlike curiousity" is a huge no to me. Just a simple I am excited about/positive I can contribute to XYZ's department mission while fulfilling my commitment to my own research. or something.

GASTRONOMY FTW!!! Oh wow. I have been misguided in my scholarly pursuits.

And what I've heard is that you don't want to go to a school to work with ONE person. People leave for better opportunities, because of fallouts, because of any thing. Knowing you have more than one person you could, theoretically, work with is smart. I've heard horror stories of students stranded when the one superstar they work with leaves. No one else wants them and they can't really transfer and, just a mess.

Anyone NOT interested in bumblebees and lions is not my kind of person nyway!

I shall cuss for you! Cussing being the more southern and vile cousin of your swearing. It's a skill I have developed.

No need to manufacture questions. If you have them, great. If not just periodically check in and keep them abreast of your app's progress or your own research. If you see an article that might be useful, forward it. I have google alerts set for the profs I want to keep tabs on. If I see they've given a talk or published or something I send a little note. Just your normal relationship building kind of stuff, especially if you're really interested in that program and/or think your own work will interact with their's at some point.

You're right! I'd forgotten about Vandy.

Me and the BFF are on the phone crying over this now! It basically takes all the stupid memorization out of the test. Seeing as how I'm a critical thinking versus memorization type person chances are good that I'd do better on this one!! A calculator! Of course you should have a d@#! calculator. Stupid, stupid ETS.

YES! I did the same and just REFUSED. I've published. I was a copywriter and training manuscript writer for years. I write, damnit. I refused to write that crap. I got a 5. Probably could have done better, but if a department cares more about that score than my CV and sample then so be it. I'd be frustrated working with such people anyway. Hmph.

As a general rule I say always go with your own voice in your writing. Having said that, I really like this person's edits. I'm sorry. The first is less about active/passive to me as it is just more clear. Clarity in writing is always appreciated. And I don't understand your issues with number two; I think poorly educated makes more sense. What is lower-educated? Unless you define that in the statement as a particular grade level or ability I think poorly educated is better. It suggests that one can go to a school but still not be fluent in matters of the educated social class, yes? And the final one is just how it is done. I'm not sure why faculty members would be ON someone's program? Again, though, in the final analysis do what you feel comfortable with. If you have to defend something let it at least be in defense of your own work.

The prep owner says it is scored by the computer to give a score range and then that range is narrowed to a score by a human. However, they have something like 4.5 minutes to spend on each essay. :/

I don't know about you guys but funding the application process has been part of the turmoil. In light of Emory's free app I thought it might be beneficial to collect a list of other free apps? Perhaps it could gain sticky status?

I took a GRE prep class this summer and the guy who owns it use to work for ETS. A whole 'nother set of probs if you ask me, but I digress. He says that since the AW is still relatively new there has not been enough time to plot it's correlation to grad school persistence, degree completion, attainment, etc. As such most schools are still wary about it. The only time it seems to help if, like me, you're a bit low on one of the sections (quant) and the school has a GRE guideline that says something about being above the 50th percentile on 2 of the 3 sections. I want to say Utah has that. Then it can be used to compensate for your weakness. But, even then if you have a killer sample and SOP what I've gotten from my faculty interviews is that it doesn't matter. Nice if its high, a non issue if it's not. Plus, I'd LOVE to talk to the people supposedly grading these things. I got a 5 and I still feel cheated. I pulled out an Audre Lourde reference for goodness sakes! I use to write for a friggin' living! I'm published! A 5? Crazy. Probably for something like a spelling thing or typo, too. I think its insane to test writing ability on a computerized test and not have any of the tools we use in a digital writing world. I can craft new ideas and explain them, so what if I always have to spell check for "consciousness"? Especially in a timed environment. But that's my personal beef.