peachypie

I definitely agree that once a letter is written is can be easily changed for additional schools provided the layout for those school's is not drastically different than the previous ones. I think considering the due dates are not until earliest 12/15 and there is a month and a half that it is ok to ask for additional letters. I would send a quick email shortly though stating that you have found a few additional programs you would like to apply to and were wondering if this person would still be able to submit before 12/15 considering the recent family loss. I think it would be nice to give this person an out if they are really struggling with the loss of a parent and also gives you the knowledge that they can say "yes, I can still do it" or I really don't think I am able to. If they say no then I'd quickly contact additional writers. My guess is that the person would be able to still submit for you before 12/15 but I think it is nice courtesy to give them that added option and understanding. Hopefully you have a backup that you can use. If so, I'd also explain the situation to them (Apologies this is coming a bit later but one of my writers recently had a family emergency and is unable to submit letters for additional schools, would you be willing to do so?) kind of thing.

There are no other available test times in the month of November? You should be able to get a spot within two weeks would be my guess. I'd try very hard to try to get a spot if you can and submit it. Sometimes schools will ask for unofficial on your application and then await your final results. ETS is pretty quick, so if you can take it by Thanksgiving then ETS should get it to them shortly or soon after the earlier deadlines of December 1.

Describe your research, what are you hoping to do with a PhD, why a PhD, why this program. Those are the big ones. Also I found that the more confident you are and the more you can handle those big questions the more they lay off of you. I didn't have any scary interviews even though I was warned so and so would be tough and kind of intimidating. If you go in and they know you know your stuff they back off and just love to chat with you. Be pleasant and honest. I always answered where else I had interviewed and which other places I would be yet. I did not give any indication of what my top choices were but always explained what about their program makes me interested in them. So tell them the list and say, some of the things I am looking for are x,y, and z which is why your program is of interest to me. Remind them, you are interested in them too! Other than that just go with the flow. If you have any weak points be prepared to answer them and give an explanation for them. Once you go through the first one and get the jitters out you'll realize how fun it can be. Remember that they already like you or they wouldn't bring you out to see them. Now you just have to show them that you are what you say you are, and that you can do it. That is really what they are looking for. Best of luck!

Can you accept the job and still go to PhD program in the fall? No one says you HAVE to stay for over a year if you end up getting an opportunity to do something else unless you sign some kind of contract. I'd be surprised if you were given a 1 year minimum contract considering it sounds like you are new to the field. You can continue to apply to PhD programs and submit them and see what happens come this spring. If you don't feel like doing it when the interviews come in then you can also decline that at that time. It also will give you a chance to see what working in this place is like, if you like it enough to stay and realize you can make a good career with it. If you decide it is not for you or now you know you want a higher degree you can follow through with that. If you don't get into a program also, you still have a job and you are gaining experience. I wouldn't limit yourself at this point, as long as there is nothing binding you for a certain time period than see what happens. Relax and have fun, this is the time that you can make such big changes and risks in your career. Don't limit yourself at this point. Best of luck.

You are the best person to find a university that works best for you both in a matter of interest and application profile. Part of graduate school is doing research, I would urge you to take the time to figure out what universities you are interested in before asking people to evaluate a good mix. Maybe put together a list of 10-15 places you are interested in and then ask people what a good mix is based off of your applicant profile. You know yourself better than any of us, so only you can say what a good fit for you is. We can only help in evaluating but not generating this list.

I would reach out to them specifically if you are interested in working with them and are asking more to see if they are taking on students or possibly taking students as well as information about the research they do. Only contact them if you have actually something to say, or would like to establish some kind of communication with them. during interviews is when you would like to talk more in depth about the research they are doing but it is not something you need to bring up at this point, unless you feel really compelled to do so. I didn't really contact anyone ahead of time but in my SOPs I did mention the people at each institute I found most aligned with my research interests. I don't think that reaching out necessarily means you get an invite to interview or preference for so unless you have a really exceptional case. But I am not a PI so take that with a grain of salt. I guess overall I'd say don't force it unless you have something you want to say or ask about specifically. Think about all the applicants touching base with all the PIs they are interested in, if everyone did that it would be such a mess and the PI may not have any say in admission committees or what not. Now if your PI that you are interested in working with is the ONLY person you would want to work with there then maybe find out if they are still actively taking students since that may impact your decision to submit an application. However, I'd caution you to apply to anywhere that only one person is of interest to you. Best of luck.

I am not sure since I had graduated prior to applying. However, my guess is that many of those programs will want you to give your current transcript for application and may ask you to turn in a complete transcript after you are done. I think as long as you don't fail anything there is little that would make them rescind an interview or offer. They may ask you to bring a copy of your updated transcript to interviews or it may be a good idea to have one available when you go to show if the question comes up. Just as they would give you an offer and interview prior to knowing your spring 2015 grades they will do the same without your fall 2014 grades. A lot of times I think they offer you with the intent that you perform ok in your final semesters. If something goes really wrong when you submit your final transcript for enrollment purposes they may bring up the issue then.

I think you have pretty good chances at some of those schools. GRE verbal is a bit lower, but not terrible. That should be rectified by the master's gpa and the good LORs. Sounds like you should have good luck!

You should probably retake the GRE since both your GRE and GPA currently are low. I feel like you can get away with one of them being below average but not both.

The emails to your LOR go out almost immediately after you press the submit button, or "send to LOR" or whatever once you have reviewed the information. I have no idea about what schools can see from GRE. I thought it was only what you asked ETS to submit to which schools. But not sure since I only took the GRE once.

I think you should see this as a bigger picture of overall fit. Show what you hope to do with your graduate education, what kinds of things are important to you and how you think you want to fill in the niche of the field. Show that the program you are applying to has elements that allow you to build on that area of research, that they too also have similar goals in mind of how to give progress to the field. Essentially you want to show that you can get on board with the types of things they want to do. This shows that you would be happy to work with people in the field there since they are building foundation where you want to and it also shows them that you want to contribute to their overall goals too. Doesn't have to be specific but needs to hit the big "aims/goals" of the program. I.e. as a microbiologist, if I wanted to go into say vaccine development...I'd pick a school that may have vaccine programs and centers associated with them, or a school that has many collaborations with vaccine development focus. If it is a good fit program, it won't be hard to find aspects of the program that show you would fit well there.

2 things. 1. yes you should do it again and 2. retake the GRE! If someone told me this was why, and to be honest your verbal is low, then I'd try to change what I could. You have the time if everything else is to take the test again and you should. Doesn't mean you have to send those scores...What could it hurt?

If you don't feel in your heart ready to go into a program right away...do not do it. Getting a year or even 2 years of experience after UG before grad school, ESPECIALLY in lab-based programs is a very positive thing. Many of the interviews I went to were heavily occupied by people who had already graduated from UG and were at least working. I'd encourage you to take the year if you aren't feeling 100% ready and dip your toes into true full-time research. Nothing in UG research is equal to day in and day out research in a lab as a job. If you do feel ready you can go ahead and do it. Also taking the GRE now is fine since you can use it for a few years. So you can start the process but wait a year too. Also nothing on the GRE was from my college education, its a standardized test that tests you on algebra aka high school math. So do it when you feel ready. A PhD is not something to rush into if you are not ready to do it. IMO. Also...the deadlines for micro programs begin end of November, and early December for most of them. If you are not sure now, you don't have a ton of time to crank out a GRE, get letters of LOR, do the research of where and submit apps unless you do this nonstop for the next month. By now you would at least want some idea of where you are interested in going as well as talking to people you want letters from since you'll need to submit near Thanksgiving...and they need time to write them! Best of luck!

I don't think it is wrong to use the addendum, but I think you need to actually state something more than. I had a "Whoops", all better now. For example, since you say you don't really have the trend of uGPA going up, then where is your evidence that you can perform better? You should point out what the issue was, how you have corrected it, and the evidence that shows it. What you wrote there just says that you don't think its accurate reflection but you have zero supporting evidence to show for it. You say you became more independent, emotionally strong, and more mature. How? What did you do that gave you that, how did it reflect in your academic success? Also I'd leave out the "when I left home for the first time in life"...most undergrads leave home for the first time in their life as a freshmen...what makes your situation more excusable than the person who got a 4.0 while doing that? That sounds like a cop out excuse. If there was a tragic event, you should at least give it credibility by stating what it was. Basically your whole statement is wishy washy. I'd re-write with more fact based and let that reflect why the total cumulative gpa is not an accurate story of what you are doing now.

I went to 0 open houses. Everything I needed to know I figured out in interviews. If you are near a school and can afford (time and money) go for it, but I wouldn't put too much energy into these things.

Get a job in a relevant field. If you are research oriented (sciences) get in a lab. Also you should re-evaluate what "easier" schools means to you. In grad school it isn't like there is as much of a "safety" school.

I feel like a common app would just end up being more of a burden, it would end up like Med school apps where they have a common one (that is expensive) and then you still have to do 2-3 additional apps as you go through. I didn't mind the applications since some schools are looking for different things. A lot of times to its hard with the variation in programs that each university has. Not all PhD programs require the same types of information, so I think considering the complexity and the sheer number of individual programs, its not so terrible. Just good practice to learn how to effectively work and manage your time. Gets you ready for grad school!

A generic email from gmail or whichever is totally acceptable. Not everyone who is applying is 1. in school yet 2. has a job with a work email etc. So it is quite common to use a personal one. Also you will get emails before you are officially enrolled to the email you used during applications. I was getting emails into the summer to my personal email regarding my program up until the school email address was created for me. So you definitely want something that you will have access to if you graduate or leave a job and go on a great vacation before the start of your program! The only thing I would caution would be using a personal email that sounds childish or inappropriate... i.e. Babygurl937@whatever.com should not be your email. If you have one like that, just make a new email address with a generic or initials etc variation email. Like J.Smith1@whatever.com.

I'd give it a bit of time, revisit one more time in the next week and submit if you feel satisfied. Not much will change between now and November 15th anyway unless as others said, you know something is coming through. Submit when you feel ready, but I'd submit no later than 2-3 business days prior to the deadline in case any matters arose that you need to discuss with someone at the program or contact ETS etc. Also a lot of schools give you a "we have all your materials and everything is set email" and it feels good to get that information prior to a deadline so if something is missing you can correct it before the deadline. Sometimes those "we got it" emails can take a few business days to come back to you.

If you don't get very good response in this thread, check the neuroscience programs in the results search section on the top of this webpage. You can select according to program/school and some users submitted their stats (GRE/GPA etc) just mouse over the diamond if there is on there. Best of luck!

I'd at a minimum mention them in your CV in terms of work experience. If you'd like to mention them in your SOP (and you most certainly can), then I would use them as evidence for how it has helped you decide or enhanced your ability or decision to pursue your degree in material science or mechanical engineering. It is one thing not to include your high school job as a movie theatre employee it is another to include the jobs you held while you were in college or what you have been doing following your graduation and whatnot and things at least in the general field. Remember holding a job isn't just about the material you work with every day, it is about the ability to succeed, work in a new environment, work independently etc. So there are skills and valuable things you learn in a job that doesn't only happen when you hold a position in the field you wish to pursue.

You could maybe push it into end of November or latest I'd say December 1st as a final. Some schools know it takes a bit of time for the GRE scores to filter in during deadline times so they aren't super hard and fast. But if I were you I'd try to get it done before the Thanksgiving holiday.

I'd agree that your profile looks pretty solid so I would not stress about programs, however sometimes it is just a matter of numbers. If you are concerned and have the time, energy, and resources, I'd look into applying to other programs with your research interests and good fit. It is really hard to get "cold-hard" acceptance rates and don't forget that some of acceptances will be affected by interviews as well. So even great credentials do not equate an offer if you go in and make a fool of yourself in interviews. Best of luck!

I am not sure about how your program is set up, but in my field there are other separate programs that are similar in scope to some of the work in my program's field. In our situation we are allowed to rotate in labs (or with PIs) who are not in the program but could possibly join the program. Any possibility you could try to pick an advisor in the physics department? Sometimes the profs are open to a collaboration with a prof in another program as well and let you take your focus of research there too. Again it depends on how your program and departments are set up but if it that closely related my guess is you'd be able to select an advisor and either have them join the Astronomy program, if necessary go for a collaboration (co-advisors maybe) in each?

I have not been in this situation, but I also thought ahead that what if I were not to get into a program. My thing was that I absolutely felt it was necessary to get a PhD so I was not considering an MS. If you are not really wanting a terminal masters as opposed to a PhD not to mention it would be odd they wouldn't let you do a MS with the intent to continue on. I think you need to sit down and evaluate what it is you want and if a terminal masters is acceptable to you as an outcome than select accordingly. I'd caution you to hope for a funded masters, typically if they are going to offer you a masters it will MAYBE come with some funding but very rarely is it entirely funded. If that is something that wouldn't work for you, then again select accordingly. Personally, from what you have said... I would go with not accepting a terminal masters. I however am not sure how a committee factors that into decisions of who is extended a PhD or masters invite.