browncow

Why can't you take a course in the summer or fall? I am probably setting myself up for a lot of disagreement here . . . I also don't see why you need a course to work on reading skills in a dead language. Most of the books you can buy for dead languages are designed for self-study anyway. Sure, you don't have the outside validation to go on your application, but you say in honesty that you have some language proficiency. The application won't tell anyone whether you've brushed up on your past coursework or not.

From what I've gathered it's not very important to the application. I can't offer perspective as I have a math background, but as someone who has tutored math to others who do not enjoy it, I can say stress and attitude are a factor in how well you do. Don't give up during the test! I would suggest taking a few more practice test sections and trying to focus on your test-taking approach rather than getting every question. Work from what you know how to do to, and try to eliminate wrong answers. Step back from the numbers that look intimidating, and you will find some questions you can answer intuitively. An example I've seen is the proportional area of a smaller triangle within a larger triangle. If you don't know how to work through formulas for area -- and even if you do -- it's probably faster to solve this by just thinking about how many times you would fit one into the other. You have a fair amount of time before you start applying, and it seems your focus would be best spent shoring up other weaknesses, e.g., languages, that actually have a bearing on how you will do in the program. It's my view that the standardized test is one of the less important factors in general, as long as the relevant sections are not abysmal. The most relevant section is writing, and mine was so-so. It takes 30 minutes for me to write an email I am happy with, and only when I started the test did I remember that I use a completely different keyboard on my own computer. Things worked out anyway. Good luck!

When in Harvard Square

xypathos, that's exciting that you've had so much interest in your work. Sounds like a great fit. I also have a hard time separating name from program at times. Getting into "Harvard" is the only thing I feel unqualified giddiness about. Thinking about the actual program makes me anxious about fitting in to the cohort, making the most of the next two years, living as a student again, managing my time, paying for school, and on and on. Part of me just wants to shout, "I got into Harvard! Goal achieved!" and run away. I have to remind myself that I did, in fact, apply for the program and I do want to go. Perytion, you'll find at least one other West Coast transplant at HDS Perytion and Averroes, are either of you going to the open house?

Part disbelief, part anxiety about the reality of going back to school after many years. While I also want to celebrate, I've actually only told a few people who supported me through the process. I want to be blabbing it all around town but don't feel the "why?" and "what are you going to do with that?" and "how are you paying for it?" are useful voices to add.

From your clarification, I can see why you're upset and appreciate that you are venting and not trying to insult others on the forums. I just want to point out that -- like most of us -- you've posted enough information about yourself to be easily recognized by any of the schools you applied to as well as your future cohort. It's not the best foot to lead with. Much of admissions is also about "fit" more than passing judgment on your achievements, and "fit" is not about passing judgment on who you are but finding a match for your interests, goals, and perspective, some of which might be shared by other applicants. Congrats on Candler and Vandy, and I hope you find yourself content at whichever one you choose.

Not to mention the post above is disrespectful and diminishing to those who were accepted.

^ It's in the email.

Just got admitted to HDS with an aid decision to follow within 2 hours. I feel like there is more information I should add, but I'm busy shaking.

I have never done a school interview, but based on my professional experience I would recommend a suit. At my last job interview, I wore a suit and heels to a coffeeshop, and the interviewer wore jeans. Yes, it felt a little weird, but you can take the jacket off and there's really no downside, compared to being the one in jeans while your interview wears a suit. Going into a professional program, you are likely to encounter people with professional backgrounds, so professional standards are best.

It's important to distinguish between jeopardizing your mental health (danger of self-harm) and just having a hard time. A good dose of non-dangerous depression is pretty standard for a year abroad and kind of what you signed up for. Quitting looks bad to employers, especially for a short-term commitment, and 9 months is very, very short to any employer or person over 25.

This seems pretty straightforward to me. Positive trend --> comment on your improvement Negative trend --> explain Flat --> comment on your consistent hard work Break down by major or whatever else might be useful.

I am applying to a school which will not process my application if any letter writer submits one second too late. I've sent a reminder with date and time, but any suggestions for how/when to begin signalling greater urgency? At least one of my writers is somewhat disorganized.

I see, I didn't realize you'd already sent a reminder. Good luck, then. Doesn't seem there is much else you can do. You might try calling the school to get a quick answer if anyone is in the office.

I would recommend finding out as soon as possible what impact a late letter will have on your application AND following up with your recommender. Regarding the school: I am applying to a program that has a firm deadline for all materials, so one letter short means my application gets scrapped. Not something you want to find out a day after the fact. Keep in mind that you probably will not get an answer from the school on New Year's Day if you get an answer during Christmas break at all. Nobody sits down to look at applications the instant they are submitted, but for some schools it is a matter of policy and seeing if applicants can follow the rules. Regarding the recommender: You don't have much to lose by sending a gentle, polite reminder where you thank your recommender again. People who are busy are likely to appreciate you taking responsibility for keeping track of a timeline, within reason. It's two days before the deadline, with a time difference and an upcoming holiday. The only more reasonable thing than following up now would have been to send a reminder a week ahead of time. Think about it like a professional situation where you've asked your boss for a favor. Or think of being the boss and doing your intern a favor. Would you appreciate your intern acting like an assistant and keeping track of this favor for you, or would you want to be worrying about it yourself along with all the things you are supposed to be doing for your own boss? Would you appreciate your intern reminding you before a deadline when you still have time to deliver, or coming around later saying oops, you were late?

Thanks for your advice, Takeru. I found some things to elaborate on that I think stay a little further away from just the CV.

I sent him CV, SOP, transcripts, papers, and a photo. My concerns are that he won't have any different angle, and the fact that most of his format deals with things, e.g., my professional life, that he doesn't have any relationship to and which I would not have expected him to write about.

A professor who is recommending me called a few days ago and asked me to provide two pages of information in a fixed format that he can then pick and choose from to write his letter. The trouble is, 3/4 of what he's asked for (including GPA, major academic achievements, professional history) is already covered by my CV and SOP, not to mention my professional recommender. Though he agreed weeks ago to write for me, the call made it clear he doesn't remember who I am, hasn't read the materials I sent him, and won't have time to do so. Any suggestions on how to steer him away from picking out a list of CV facts? It's too late for me to look for another recommender, and I've been out of school so long anyway that a well-written letter from a nice guy who knows adcoms is as good as I had hoped for.

Curious as to why you want to do this study abroad in Paris? If your school doesn't have an exchange, I think it would be hard to find a one-semester program. You could do a one-year certificate or masters, but it would probably work best as separate study, not for transfer. The French are not big on interdisciplinary, though, so you would need to put together and translate your documentation to show that you have prerequisites and a substantially related degree. I assume you've already checked out the American schools like AUIP?

Café com Leite, it is one of those situations where one of three letters is allowed to be professional, but that's not necessarily preferred. I am returning after several years of work experience, so I think a professional letter is appropriate and will go with the overall professional tack. Thanks for your response, and happy holidays to you, too.

Is your masters program so rigid that you can't take calculus as an elective at some point? I do think a community-college course is judged differently to some extent, especially if, say, the Ph.D program is substantially quantitative, and the only quantitative work you've ever done is at community college. If you do go to CC make sure you get an A. Alternatively, UC Berkeley has some basic math courses online that are affordable and for undergraduate credit.

Thanks, Henry Hudson. The day I'd set myself as a deadline to move on, I got a yes to my second academic request! I'm very relieved because beyond the two, sad to say I would have been grasping already -- either professors/TAs to whom I didn't stand out at all, or professors from STEM fields (I'm applying in humanities, and my professional recommendation is also STEM).

This belongs on your CV/resume, and you should send your study abroad transcript. I don't know if I would harp on this item in a SOP unless it is part of some larger explanation of what happened with the rest of your GPA?

Criscy, as NeuroGirl suggested, it's best to go through the problems you can readily solve first. That not only ensures you get points for all the problems you know how to solve, but also gives you some confidence and reassurance and allows you to come back to a problem with fresh eyes. If you get stuck on one way of thinking about a problem that isn't working for you, try working on another problem you have marked and come back to the first one again. Keep in mind that only some of the problems test mechanics, like solving for X or interpreting statistics. The rest (again as NG says) is reasoning. I'll take a stab at an example which I hope will be clearish. Before the ETS comes to get me, it is NOT a test question I saw. It is a completely modified question using the same kind of reasoning as a test question. Let's say you are given a parallelogram, which I will leave you to imagine. In the upper right corner of the parallelogram is a little parallelogram (p) that shares its top and right side with the big parallelogram (P). You are told that the top of p is 1/4 the length of the top of P and, I don't know, the height of p is 1/4 the height of P. The area of P is 80. What is the area of p? A. P and p are similar figures because they have the same proportions and the same angles. B. The area of a figure depends on two dimensions. It doesn't matter whether you are looking at a triangle with area (1/2)bh or circle with area pi*r^2: it depends on one dimension multiplied by another dimension. C. So to get the ratio of P to p, you are going to end up with the ratio of one dimension (top of P:top of p) multiplied by the ratio of the second dimension (height of P:height of p). D. Plug and chug: ratio of each dimension is 4:1, so the area is 16:1, and 80/16 = 5. Alternatively: If you are so panicked you cannot think of anything mathy, this problem can also be solved simply by drawing your figures proportionally and looking at how many times you can draw the little figure inside of the big one. I don't know if there is any practice book that suggests playing tangrams for the GRE, but not every math solution needs to look "mathy" or follow a prescribed method. I hope this helps. If not, I will lay off and wait for those with questions to post their examples.

^ Congratulations!!!