exiled18

While reapplying is true if I defer a year, i don't have to reapply for a semester deferral. its just some paperwork and like a $30 fee or something. The main reason I want to defer is that the extra 5 months of work at my job would net me enough to live off of in grad school for two full years (since I dont currently have any living expenses as I'm living with family, I can save as much as possible). I realize I'm fortunate that the program pays me anything at all, and I certainly don't want to sound ungrateful, but its tough to take a 75% pay cut. You're right though, I'm lucky to even have the opportunity to go-- which I realized after 2 years of rejections.

meaningless-- Glad to know I'm not the only one in this situation. Thanks for the responses. It would appear as though the general consensus here is to ask for the deferral. Since I have to accept or reject the offer by april 15, I will likely accept the offer then continue to push for the semester deferral. Their online system allows for a 1 semester deferral up until class registration, so I still have some time to work on it. While I would rather defer for a year, I dont think there is enough time to convince them before I have to reply to their offer. I was just told by the program that if I want to defer a year, I have to reapply next year. My advisor would have to agree to re-accept me and then hold a spot for me. Since he is not in agreement with my deferring, this seems like a very risky option. I'll probably have to stick with a semester deferral.

So long story short… do I defer school in order to keep my current awesome job that I love (even though its temporary and will end in 1.5 years), or do I accept the offer to go to grad school for my phd? Its always been a part of my long term plan to go to grad school. As a science major (geology) I always assumed I would do a phd or at least a masters. But I applied the last 2 years in a row and didnt get anywhere. It was really tough for me to accept the fact that my science dream wasn’t going to happen, but I did and I began the search for a job. I ended up applying for schools for the third time, but didn’t put any hope in it. After another year of miserable unemployment and depression, I was about to just give up on everything. But by some miracle I got one of the best jobs I could ask for at Google, but with one catch— it was a contract position for 2 years. I’ve been working at my job for 6 months and I really love it. But I just found out that I got into a good grad program with funding. Its not my first choice, but pretty decent. However they want me to start in August which would cut my contract at Google very short. I was told by the department that I could defer either a semester or a year if my advisor approves it. So I asked my faculty advisor if I could defer a semester but he said no for several reasons, mainly early fellowship deadlines, and being out of sync with all other students. I am debating asking him about deferring a year but I’m worried about what he’ll say, and if he hates the idea then it would put us on bad terms. And he’ll probably wonder why the heck I applied in the first place, or think that I’m flaky or not serious about school. I really don't want to give up on grad school-- that's definitely not my intention here. It would be extremely risky to turn down grad school completely since there is no possibility to get a permanent position at my job. As a rule they dont hire contractors long term, and my boss said basically that its not gonna happen. So I cant give up on grad school in hopes that my job will continue. BUT I do love the job enough and it pays super well, so its tough to give this up even with no long term potential. So should I continue to argue for a semester deferral against my advisor's advice, pursue a 1 year deferral, or just suck it up and quit my job?

When you get rejected by 3 schools one week, then run into all 3 POIs at a major conference the very next week. (one of them was actually very interested in my poster, then saw my name on it and scurried away as fast a humanly possible.)

OK, thanks biotechie. Yes, I was indeed wondering if it is appropriate to name drop. But you're right-- advisors will likely know a lot more about me based on who I worked with, since everyone in my field knows eachother. My applications for geoscience only accept a SoP and not a research statement. I wish I could have a research statement, since I would love to discuss my work more than I am currently able to.

In my SoP I have a paragraph where I discuss my past research work (of course). I've worked with some fairly well-known professors and researchers, and would like to mention this-- but is this appropriate? When I talked with potential advisors, they were impressed with the people I've worked with in the past and I think it could work to my benefit. Plus, it might help these advisors remember me and our previous discussions.