JerryLandis

Letters of recommendation are very important, and a relative of mine who is a professor advised that I seek letters from the most well-known people in my department. Just make sure the person actually knows you and would have something positive to say! In my case, it turns out that my recommender who is relatively young and not "famous" is actually close friends with someone in one of the departments I am applying to, a person I could well end up working with if lucky. I had been deliberating between asking him for a (probably very good) recommendation, or asking his extremely well-known colleague for a (decent but not great) recommendation, so I'm glad I chose him now. Or rather, it makes me feel better considering the more well-known of the two clearly forgot who I am and said he'd rather not write me one.

I was also looking at Yale's masters program, but since I'm applying to their PhD program I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to apply to both. I was wondering if they ever offer admission to the MA program to people who are rejected from the PhD program. Anyone know? I don't think getting an MA would hurt your chances, but then I have no experience of this. I know that some programs say they are not designed for PhD hopefuls, rather for those wishing to teach at schools or community colleges (UPenn says this, but I'm applying anyway). In any case, it's common for people not to apply for PhD programs until after they have done a few other things with their adult life, so I don't think getting an MA would count against you. Of course, in some cases it might improve your chances as you'd then have more experience in the field. I am trying to apply to MA programs that include a language component so I can improve that part of my future applications.

I am confused about what specific academic titles mean like assistant professor and associate professor (in the UK you're either a professor or you're not, and you don't become one until much later in your career). I was considering applying to Stanford, where there is only one person who would be considered a match for my interests. I emailed her asking about applying and all, and she never responded. That's all well and good, but the thing is that I don't know if I want to spend the $125 to apply there if I have no idea whether she is even taking on graduate students. She is an assistant professor - does this mean that she would be considered junior faculty and as such not able to take on her own graduate students?

What is "impostor syndrome?" Is it where you feel like a fake because you have to make your research interests sound interesting, new, and deeply important to you, even if it means bullshitting a little (or a lot)? I know what I want to study and am very committed to a specific research area, but I am willing to be flexible about exactly what I talk about in a PhD thesis - hell, I wouldn't even be starting it for 2 years. Nevertheless, I feel that I have to embellish my interests a lot to make them appeal to professors in my field. I know I'm smart enough to do well in their program, but that doesn't make much of a difference - I need to convince them, random strangers who have never met me! I applied early to my undergraduate institution and as such have never experienced the sting of rejection. However, I know that I will almost certainly be rejected from all the PhD programs I am applying to, which is why I am putting a lot of effort into applications for masters programs as well. I have pretty much accepted the fact that I will probably be attending one of these institutions, not one of the places I really really want to get into. I have already told this to my parents, my friends, and my teachers, because I don't want people getting their hopes up for me, and I don't want to be embarrassed when I get rejected. The fact that the economic situation right now is horrible will make me feel a bit better when I do get rejected, because then my family won't think I'm an idiot compared with my amazingly intelligent cousins who got into and completed great doctoral programs. With this mindset, if I do happen to get into one of my PhD programs, I will be ecstatic, but I won't be quite to disappointed if that's not the case. I don't really know what to say about being depressed once enrolled in a graduate program. I feel "depressed" all the time as an undergraduate because of the pressure of work, and because no one around me seems to be bothered by work at all. While I am slaving away, everyone else is lying around watching TV, getting drunk every night, having a great time. I'm always the killjoy, telling people I can't go out with them every time they ask. I think that enrolling in a PhD program could really change this problem, because I'd be around people who also are committed to their work. I've always been a nerd but I've never really had nerdy friends. Masters program, not so much. Everyone I know who is doing a masters program at my current institution goes out all the time, and they are all really social because they are only here for such a short time before finishing their degree, that they really want to get the most of it and meet a lot of people. That kind of environment probably won't be the best for me, but at least it's only a year-long thing. I don't know exactly what it is that is making you unhappy, and I think you should ask people who know you better if attending a grad program right now is the best thing to do. Perhaps you should look up, just in case, which programs allow you to defer entry. As for applying though, you should definitely apply. Your grades and everything look great, it looks like you have a good amount of experience, etc. Maybe applying to that many programs will be a bit difficult, but it's good to have a long list of places to consider. Most of those places sound like wonderful, happy places to be. I would kill to be able to live in Santa Cruz, unfortunately they don't have any relevant professors for me. Good luck!

I don't see how it's that big of a deal if you seem to know what information is included in one of your letters. It is expected that you'll have some idea what's written in them, especially since it's so common to discuss with the writers what they might want to talk about in them.

I think this needs to be rewritten, but I think it will be very good if you keep reworking it. You are a good writer, and have some interesting tidbits thrown in, but you need to make sure they remain only tidbits and fleeting references. Your sentence about being a mailman is good because it is one brief sentence. Try to limit your anecdotal comments, and to make those you keep brief. I personally took a similar approach to you in my first draft - my initial SOP was very conversational, and showed a lot of my personality. I have since removed the most entertaining parts of my SOP, after holding on to them as long as I could justify, and have edited down the unrelated comments that had me going off on unnecessary tangents. There are still sarcastic and anecdotal comments in it, but they each take up no more than a sentence and are integrated into more relevant points. Another thing is that you list all the possibilities that come with a career in your field, but you don't say exactly what it is you want to do. The people reading this will know exactly what kind of jobs people with the degree they offer will pursue, but what they don't know, and what they want to know, is what you are planning for yourself. Also, your mention of your time in the army is kind of awkward, as you bring it up vaguely in the first sentence and leave it there. Maybe you should mention how your army skills would be applicable? As for teaching, you should be careful with your wording about the excessive work. You kind of make it sound like you enjoyed being a student because it was less work than being a teacher. I know that's not what you mean, but you should still try to rephrase that part to avoid sounding work shy. Overall, I think it's good that you're injecting some personality into your essay. I don't know anything about the field, but I imagine that the average structural engineering SOP is a lot more bland and formulaic than the average humanities SOP, and for that reason the people reading your statement may be a bit more receptive to a less rigid, more conversational essay. You should take it as a real compliment that I actually read the whole thing - with most sample SOPs I've read, I quit somewhere in the first paragraph because they're too pretentious and not very sincere. So while I say you should definitely rewrite this a few times (we can all benefit from doing that), you're off to a good start.

I just want to say that your information has all been very helpful, and my CV is quickly expanding. One more question though, for now: Is it okay for me to put the names of my professors who taught each class down in my Relevant Coursework section? I know I can put down whatever information I want to, but is this something that is often done, or is it weird?

So what if you truly are the best student in the world, a genius? Thankfully I don't think I need to worry about that problem. I was once given an informal, unsealed recommendation letter (not for school admission), and especially since it was a stressful time of the year, reading it made me feel much better about myself! Wish I had one of those to read right now... one of my teachers just told me he thinks I should ask someone else for a recommendation! I think it's mostly because he's lazy though, and hates teaching, but it still makes me feel stupid.

Hi again, I've just read your new post. I don't mean to second guess your decision, but since you're applying to a Masters program, does it really matter how relevant the subject matter is? I mean, unless option C is slightly unrelated to the entire discipline... I am applying to a couple MA programs and intend to submit my less relevant but higher quality/more concise essays as samples.

I'm faced with a similar problem. I have a few 15 page papers that received very high marks, and are within my field (medieval history), even relevant to my specific period of interest, but are not directly related to my proposed area of research (geographically unrelated; they deal with completely different kingdoms). On the flipside I have a 45 page paper that is very good but far too long. It is directly related to my desired topic of research, but because it's so long and was not produced under severe pressure like my essays, it's not quite as perfected and would certainly bore an admissions committee. I think that what I should do is rewrite this paper to make it significantly shorter, but I don't think you should do the same thing with yours. From your description, it sounds like you already kind of know which one you should use. You don't sound very confident about your second option (the 45 pager). If you think it's not particularly relevant and isn't entirely successful in its argument, then it probably won't be worth having someone sit through reading it. It sounds like it's major strength is its length, which will probably only hurt you. Maybe you should just talk about having written it in your statement of purpose (or mention it in that CV of yours). That way you'll be recognized for having produced a longer work, but will be able to submit a stronger writing sample. As for the decision between options A and C, I can't really help you because I'm not very familiar with your field. You can, of course, choose to submit both, submitting one to certain universities and and the other to other universities, if those university departments have professors with more or less relevant specializations. I think I will probably end up submitting different writing samples to different universities, that is if I don't manage to make my longer piece significantly better.

Thanks again for the replies. I'm not sure whether I'll include my coursework, as my transcript is actually very clear. In my honours years I am only supposed to take 6 classes, and I think the titles of my modules are fairly straightforward. Do you think it will be weird if I don't add a section about the classes I have taken, or is that more of an optional thing to include? I don't want my CV to be completely redundant, mostly just want to use it to mention my awards, language, and work experience.

It only takes a couple days to mail letters between the US and the UK, and ETS says that it sends out all scores within 2 weeks (maximum) of the test date. I am currently waiting on my scores and am getting very very angry. It is clearly just a ploy to get people to pay extra to get their scores by phone. Shouldn't the extra $30 I spent to take the test outside the US pay for extras like competent shipping?

I had to pay $180 to take it in London. I was charged in dollars, not pounds, but in any case £110 is worth quite a bit more than $110! The Powerprep software they said would arrive 2 weeks after my booking did not arrive until after I had taken the test, over a month later. And I have been waiting almost a month for my scores to arrive. So as an international, I paid more for worse service! Gotta love ETS. Oh well, at least I didn't have to take an experimental section in my test.

Oops, I've also just noticed that you mentioned "Curriculum and Instruction" as one of your sections. I'm guessing that here you would list the titles of your courses and who taught them? Is that really necessary, since they will receive a copy of my transcript with my course title on them?

Thanks to everyone for your help. My resume is already looking much better - I have decided to include my non-academic work experience (maybe they'll understand that working makes it difficult to independently become fluent in 3 languages!), and have added a section for languages. Just another question, what do you mean by "Relevant Coursework?" What would you include in that section, essay titles, the name of your courses, or something else?

I think that having a recommendation from this person could definitely help you, but this would probably only be the case if he knew members of your department while he was there. However, I should warn you that I really have no idea what I'm talking about, just my unfounded opinion!

I know that including a resume or CV within an application is optional, but is it against my best interests not to include one? I have quite a few things listed under my undergraduate experience (class rep, thesis, research grant, publication, awards), but since supposedly I'm not supposed to put non-academic work experience on, I can barely fill up half the page and it looks really pathetic! Should I just not submit the CV/resume, or are there ways to make it more impressive that I just haven't figured out yet?

I have no idea. I have yet to write the final draft of my SOP, or to edit/choose my writing sample. I also need to request transcripts. So many things to do, I can't imagine what it must have been like before online applications! I have also yet to send in my GRE scores, except to the 4 universities I selected on the test day. Does anyone know how long it takes for ETS to send these out to universities? I took the test at the very beginning of October, and my scores were apparently sent out in the mail 2 weeks ago (overseas mail, not sure how long it will take). I will only be having my scores sent to American universities, so I doubt it will take as long to mail, but I want to receive my scores and the necessary info before I request to have scores sent!

Ziz, I think you'll be at a distinct advantage if you have concrete plans for a PhD thesis. Although I have no real life experience in dealing with American admissions folk, I think what you want to do is show that you have specific, well thought-out interests you'd like to pursue, but that your interests are also flexible. After all, if you enroll in one of those programmes you'll have to take 2 years of classes that will be equally if not less specialised than the ones you took in your honours years as an undergraduate. For example, one of the places I am applying to requires, 3/8 of the courses you take to be within your field (i.e. medieval history), but the other 5 are supposed to be outside that field! Much more broad than what is expected over here. As for your personal statement, I'd include both a vague description and a more specific one. You could lead with your example sentence one, and then say, "Specifically, this would entail [insert content of example sentence two]." Of course, what you should probably do is email the relevant professors at the places you are applying to and tell them what kind of research you'd like to pursue. Their responses will give you a general idea of how your research proposal might be received by those who read your application. As for the original poster, I am sorry I don't have much to say that's relevant to you!

I haven't come across any programs in the US that don't require the GRE. People are expected to take it no matter what country or educational system they come from (I'll try to refrain from ranting about that just now). Anyways, 12 months is enough time to prepare yourself for the test. Start preparing as soon as you can, because the months/weeks before the test fly by pretty quickly. I suggest taking a lot of practice tests so you can get used to the test format. Obviously it is helpful to have taken some standardized tests before, but fortunately for you the format of the computer-based GRE is substantially different from that of traditional paper-based standardized tests, and as such the testing strategies Americans have been learning for the past 20 years don't really apply to the GRE. You should definitely get a book to help you out. I used the Princeton Review book. It explains the test and how you should take it, and is written for people who have no idea what the GRE is supposed to be like.

I was really annoyed when I diligently re-learned all the geometry formulas and strategies for the GRE, and then had only one geometry-related question on my test. It was all all algebra. I can't stress enough how much of a waste of my time that test was!

Recently a man in his late eighties completed his doctorate at my university. Not sure what he intended to do with it, though.

I'm 3 years older than you and, despite those extra years of learning, wasn't able to manage as high a score as you did. Your math score isn't amazing, but it's not too bad either, and your verbal score is certainly competitive. Your GPA is also high. I don't know what Columbia looks for but I don't think the competition at UNC-CH is horribly cutthroat - great school though, I'd rather go there than Columbia any day!

Try writing an entirely new "SOP" with no intention of sending it in with applications. Write down what interests you and why, without thinking about whether admissions committees would be impressed or horrified. This can help you develop a more casual, comfortable tone which can make your research interests seem more realistic and less stuffy. You don't have to be too personal, but you can use tone to inject charisma into your personal statement without explicitly stating facts about your personal life.

PPS your language skills sounds really impressive and I'm very jealous!