HrdyWordy

I know PSU used to say they receive 100 applications and they admit between 5-10 each year. 10 is a very high year, I think the average is closer to 5.

I ask myself that all the time, and I live in the North East...

Both Dr. Milners are great! Very different, but equally awesome. Claire is very friendly and always busy. George (the dept head) is an amazing prof, he really brings the material to life. And he's a perfectionist, which I like. I know Joan from colloquium, but I don't know much about her research. Dr. McClure is doing some really interesting research in Croatia, and if my focus weren't Bio, I'd love to work with her.

Hi Laurissimo, Mind if I ask who you're hoping to work with at PSU? I know quite a few of the profs in the Anthro department

It *is* hard! I log into gmail and see my POI logged in... I just want to tap out a quick chat. Restraint!!

I've been to Austin twice for work. I loved it. Great funky vibe, lots of good food, music, and hangout spots. I just really enjoyed the time I spent there. I hope you have fun!

I wouldn't shy away from a professor who doesn't respond, but I would be more likely to accept an offer from a school where I had a strong POI and a building relationship with that POI. I can't imagine working with someone for 6+ years without knowing that we would at least tolerate each other!

#1 I don't think you're out of it. It depends on where you applied, if you've got what they're looking for, FIT, etc... This was just one example of one school. #2 If you had a relationship with the professor and he wanted to review your app, regardless of your scores, he would let the Admin know and she would pull it out of the pile for him to review before it was dumped due to lower GRE scores. At that point, he would make a decision about whether or not he was going to go to bat for your application based on everything he knew.

I was told by a prof where I did my undergrad that any score under a certain amount wasn't even considered, discarded by the Intake Admin. He appreciated this method because it wasn't too stringent and it helped with the review process. And if this prof had an applicant in mind, he would pull their application early, before the GRE culling. Their magic score was 1200 in the old system. It's not published ANYWHERE on their site and never disclosed to applicants, but I believe this is a very common way of dealing with a large number of applicants. Perhaps in years when the applicant numbers are low, they can afford the time and effort to comb through every application.

Me, too. And neurotically checking email, seeing my POI logged in to google... Gah!

Thanks for the advice. I do have 3 of those. Great to know. Not quite the big sigh of relief that comes with the acceptance letter, but feeling a little better about the process.

This is a question I've asked myself a thousand times and the only weak point in my entire packet. I'm hoping I don't perish because I haven't published, yet.

I cited 6 sources, but my focus is Bio-Anth, which tends to be more technical on SOP.