wisescience

Nice start for the poster indeed! It said the notification was received on Jan 15. My guess, judging by past years, is that their interviews will go out in a couple waves. If the interview weekend is the beginning if February, then the rest of today/next week is likely the last chance for interview offers. From what I've understood, Emory interviews all admitted applicants. I'd be delighted to hear from them soon should it be a possibility!

Any interview news for Emory yet? I can only suspect the next couple weeks will be quite telling!

If I'm not accepted, I think my contingency plan will resemble the following: Summer 2014: Continue education in EMS, improving my abilities for on-ambulance work; Study for the GRE Fall 2014: Re-take the GRE and reapply for grad programs; continue my RA job and hopefully publish/co-author (assuming I'm enjoying the work); expand my involvement in EMS & Fire Departments Winter 2014: Use the EMS & RA money to fund a 1-2 month trip to a foreign country, rent out a small apartment or room there and dedicate myself toward experiencing the local culture & language, all while writing a short story during my stay. Ideally, I will then seek to get the writing edited and published someday in the future. Spring 2015: Continue RA job and EMS/Fire work, and hopefully hear back from graduate departments Summer 2015: All the necessary preparations for grad school if it's a possibility; another study abroad if the money's there, with a focus on learning a research language or etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBYL95PovYk Calming, rhythmic, and reflective. I hope you all enjoy this one.

wolf whistle

The 163/168/4 should be more than enough. This is especially true if you have a strong statement of purpose (SOP) and letters of rec (LOR) to accompany your application. Additionally, if your prospective schools ask for writing samples, you can demonstrate your ability there. I do not see any harm in contacting departments, but I don't believe it's a necessity for you. It is possible that they will say submitting new scores will put others at a disadvantage, while on the other hand they may look positively upon any improvements you make. Honestly though, it will be difficult to improve from your initial score unless you up the verbal some and give the AWA a harder push... not worth the cost in my mind (but that's me!).

I have been brewing pour-over on a Chemex, and I highly recommend it.

Strong letters of recommendation attesting to your academic and research abilities will be quite beneficial as well. If any of your application deadlines are in February, you may want to consider retaking that GRE. You can binge-study quantitative and potentially improve your score if you dedicate a few weeks to it.

Intriguing. I've so far treated it as the following: Title = Dr., Position = Professor. If an individual desires to be addressed in a particular way, he/she may wish to give a hint by ending e-mails with the desired honorific. e.g. "Kind Regards, Supreme Lord Reverend George Washington III of World History"

On a lighter note, another benefit of Skype is that you'll only have to purchase a suit-jacket/top... unless you have to get up for whatever reason. Also, try not to make your room abnormally super-cool looking. (Yes, we're speaking academically here) Just choose a quiet, well-lit place that is organized but not so vacant/white-washed as to resemble a prison cell. Thankfully, the purpose of the interview is your interaction with your professor and vice-versa, so some of the pressure's off.

TakeruK, thanks for the response! What you've shared makes a lot of sense to me and found it to be quite informative. Cheers.

m-ttl, I appreciate your response. From what you have mentioned, a few thoughts come to my mind. You mentioned that under FERPA one may do the following: This statement appears to be contingent upon 1) enrollment at a postsecondary institution and 2) the institution's discretion in keeping or discarding our documents. Permission from a professor, despite having waived our right to access, does not appear to be an ample exception to the rule. I am not sure, however, whether our rejection from an institution would allow us to view our past recommendations. Does anyone know? When we waive our right to view the recommendation, it appears to me that we are entering an agreement between 1) the institution to which we are applying, 2) ourselves, and 3) our recommender(s). As we have already promised the department that we have given up our right to view the recommendation, I do not see how an offering from a recommender to us provides an honest exemption to an agreement that involves all three parties. If we give up our permission to view the recommendation, its future handling is the responsibility of the other two parties jointly. Regardless of whether we come to an agreement with our professors, its disclosure impacts the institution toward which we've extended a promise of non-disclosure. If our recommenders share their recommendations with us, institutions would then be working under a misinformed assumption that we have not seen our LORs. Here's an excerpt from the current application form to Law School at U Michigan: (Page 8: http://www.law.umich.edu/prospectivestudents/graduate/Documents/gradapp%20FA%2012.pdf) Once we waive our rights, the disclosure of the recommendation is the business of Parties 1 and 3 (the institution and our recommender, jointly). Even so, if our recommenders wish to reveal their writing to us, this decision affects Party 1 (the institution) without its consent. This gives the case for transparency throughout the process, specifically between our recommending professors and departments receiving our applications. At minimum, viewing a recommendation after communicating to a institution that you will not view it goes against the spirit of the agreement. Thoughts? (Edited for formatting)

toss up

If you waive your right to view the letter, you waive your right to view it. Do you not? I'm not catching the gray area here.

For some Chemex users, brewing coffee is both an art and a science.

This is good. I would also recommend you see if any interested professors are free to Skype with you. There's something powerful about that face-to-face interaction. Seize the opportunity if it is made available to you!

I have appreciated many of your posts thus far. Here's a small contribution to the pile: AYER - Circle Down http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK0sbj4dsKE And the kicker, PASSENGER - Let Her Go (Kygo Remix) https://soundcloud.com/kygo/passenger-let-her-go-kygo

The next logical step will be to require recordings from all applicants, each solemnly reciting that "brevity is the soul of wit."

I recommend you put forth deliberate effort toward respecting their guidelines. Also, Polonius' words come to mind: This business is well ended. My liege, and madam, to expostulate What majesty should be, what duty is, Why day is day, night night, and time is time, Were nothing but to waste night, day and time. Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief...

So far so good! From how it's looking, most of us should hear back in the late January-mid February range. This is my first cycle; it's pleasant to know that I'm not alone. How has your break been?