peachypie

For the sake of giving yourself the best chances, if the deadline is December 1st, then have everything including LOR by the deadline. Even if they allow you to have some things filter in later after the official deadline it just means they won't have your "complete" application until after that but they will start reviewing other applications once the deadline has passed. So those who have complete applications then will be seen before yours. It is October yet so get your LORs the information they need to work on it so they have a whole month to get it in well before December 1st.

If you are interested in finding out times of response I'd encourage you to look into the results search section on this website, it has information for university and program going back based on other applicant's entries. You can look to see if anyone has posted for this year, or go back and look at when responses started last year.

I can't speak for CSE, but the GRE scores are a little low for top 20 schools, maybe borderline. Still very much worth applying to but I would try to have more than one tier of schools that you are interested in just in case.

It is totally acceptable, I had an MD right a letter for me. Many MDs have grants and do research in addition to their clinical practice. There really isn't that much difference as long as they can speak to your abilities as a graduate student in your field.

Plenty of people apply in their last year of undergrad and get accepted, so I don't think that should have any bearing on whether or not you apply this fall. Also many people take the GRE just once before applying. Now either you aren't very enthusiastic about applying this fall because deadlines are creeping up and whatnot or is there some reason you don't feel confident about your application? I think if you have done well and have a good GRE score you should apply now. If you don't get in you will still be in the same boat as you were if you chose to wait until next year. There is never a "guarantee" in getting into school so I wouldn't look at it as "if I don't do it this year then I will get in next year." There will always be qualified applicants, each year that will not change regardless of if you have your degree completed or not. Good Luck!

I think you could explore both avenues right now at the same time especially since it sounds like you are looking for a job that could require a lot of lead time to get to the position later. First, I'd like to say that while interviewing you can disclose it if you'd like but its not like you may not also be applying for other jobs so if you get a positive response from them but got into grad school you could just decline the offer. I am not sure what your program's timelines are but for me I had already received acceptances post-interviews for school in January and early February. Even though schools tell you by April 15th, you will have a good idea of what is happening by the time you may be getting to the interview point. However if you get a job offer before knowing I think it would be pretty much a no-no to say you are waiting to hear back from grad school. At this point I think I'd wait to cross that bridge once you get there since it could be a lot of unnecessary stuff to try to tackle a "problem" now that may not even end up being a conflicting situation. Just apply to both, I'm sure grad schools and job interviewers understand that you are looking to take the next step. Applying to anything doesn't mean you have to commit to it or explain why you didn't end up taking an offer.

I think it is much easier to do this special student with undergrad but I see no reason why a graduate program would not want you to do this. There are quite a few instances I have of people taking courses at a University in graduate school (I even took one during my undergraduate degree, so it didn't count towards my UG credits but they allowed undergrads to enroll). I think this could get costly for you if you were enrolling in multiple courses but I think it is fair to contact the department and see if you could take some courses as a special student. I am assuming that you would also like to eventually enter a degree program in this area at this institution? Some universities have special applications that are specifically for "special students" but may require some kind of terms such as department approval, professor approval, or some connection to the university (alumnae, employee etc). Why not though if you are interested in the subject and have the resources to do it.

i did not discuss specific methodologies, I would again focus on why their school is a good fit for you overall, not just for a specific thing unless your field/program has certain things that are of special note or necessary for your future endeavors.

I would say that submitting before certainly won't hurt you in any way. I'd also recommend to submit at least a bit before the deadline since if something comes up or it takes a few days to populate into their system then you'll be happy to know everything is set before they start looking at applications. I submitted most of mine at least a week or so before the final deadline only because I was ready. I wouldn't be submitting the night before they are due only for your own piece of mind (because weird things happen on online applications every so often) and also it just gives you time to systematically go through and take care of everything. I'd work on your applications as much as you can now, once you get to a certain point though you aren't going to be changing a lot. The earliest deadlines are usually November 30th/December 1st. So you have plenty of time, maybe try to get things done so you an enjoy a bit of time off around thanksgiving. Best of luck.

No. How would that enhance your Statement of purpose? is it relevant? the answer is that it won't and it isn't. Focus on why you are a good fit for them and why they are good fit for you. Your friend going there has no relevance and their experience may be entirely different than your own. Maybe you should do the opposite and use the information your friend has on the program to better enhance how you present yourself.

Sure why not? If nothing else you can remind them who you are with your name and mention how nice it was getting a chance to meet them and hear them speak, talk to them briefly about the program. Don't make this something bigger than its not. If you have nothing to say about your interaction maybe they don't either. So if you can say it was great speaking with you, thank you for taking the time to speak with me individually then why not. Be bold, its graduate school.

I would definitely not worry about your chem background, again as others have said it may even help you. neuroscience typically includes a lot of pharmacology and binding kinetics etc. So your chem background should be fine. the thing they are looking for is that you have the ability to learn. Remember getting a PhD isn't about becoming a specialized cog, it means learning to be a good scientist in more than one application.

I wouldn't quit anything until you have something in place, regardless of within the first year or not. you will always have to explain that gap in a job interview or in an admissions application or interview. try to hang in there and find the time to get to something else without giving up first. I know its hard, but you can do it.

most places have the interview dates set long before invites go (i.e. my school already has told us the agenda for february interview weekend). Anyway, you can ask them when it is and explain that you want to make sure you are able to take time off from your work which needs 3 months advance and so you'd like to put in a request to ensure you are available for an interview if one should arise. I think it is fair to say, do you have a lot of places youd like to go? If you have a place that is your top that you definitely don't want to miss then maybe ask off ahead of time? Maybe if you don't get the interview you can cancel that? I am not sure how your job works. Interviews for me were almost always get in on Thursday leave on Saturday or Sunday. Sometimes get in Wednesday night, and sometimes leaving Saturday. But you can safely assume interviews will likely occur on Fridays with thursdays also being an important travel day and tour day as well as social.

Waive them. Never thought twice about, haven't seen any of them ever. Be confident that what they are writing is indicative of you as a candidate.

In my opinion, yes.

Am I understanding that you are planning on only applying to the places that you have has response from professors from? I still would encourage you to apply to programs that have a good fit that you are interested in, even if a prof has not answered you back. I am not sure when your deadlines are but in october now you are beginning to get into the territory that there isn't TOO much time to study for GRE improvement and take the test. i would take it again only if you felt that in the time you have remaining you would have a pretty good chance of increasing the scores significantly. Your scores are not terrible, but not amazing. If you do not have a lot of time to prepare or do not believe you can do much now to improve then I'd focus on writing really good SOPs and do that. Also do not limit your pool of schools and try to cover a variety of tiers that have good fits regardless. You could put all your eggs in one basket even with better GRE scores and still not be guaranteed anything. Best of luck.

I have no idea what your field is, but your quant is fine, the verbal is something to wonder about. I'd retake if you have the time.

Pick the 3 people that can best speak to your ability to succeed in graduate school and can speak to your attributes as a student or potential student. I would say it is fine to go ahead with the 3 grad profs as long as it was all within relevant areas of what you will pursue. Generally they'd like to see who you are now rather than who you were 7 years ago. I did not have any undergrad profs for LORs and used all from my experience post bac.

I think it would be fair to send a CV to the person shortly before you talk with them so they can get a general sense of your background. I wouldn't send a personal statement or the like since in theory that should all come across as you speak with them about potential projects etc and what your interests are currently as to why that would be a good fit for you at this particular institution. Good luck and remember to relax and be yourself. The rest will fall into place.

If its not required I wouldn't worry about it unless you were applying to a top program, and then I would consider it. Even a top 20 or 30 university that says recommended, I wouldn't feel obligated unless I had the time etc. Are you planning to apply this fall yet? I'm confused why you would be taking the subject test in April....? If you are taking it next April and planning to apply for during fall 2015 for starting fall 2016 then you could take it in April or whenever before fall. If you are applying this fall and considering adding a subject test in april there is no point. Almost all programs make decisions for April 15th and acceptances will be going out long before that.

Why don't you just try taking a biology for non-majors at a nearby university to satisfy the requirement? Also maybe e-mail the schools you are interested in to see if it would be ok to complete that requirement in the semester before grad school begins? It may not need to be a phenomenal grade, you just may need it. I feel like by switching school interest solely for requirements is not helpful to you or the school, you want a good fit not a school that has easy requirements for you so that you can avoid doing something you don't really like. It is grad school, sometimes you just have to suck it up.

How did you work in their lab for 3 months and they don't know you? The answer is yes, assuming you do not have better options.

First off the rest of your application sounds pretty decent except for your GPA. So you need to do what you can to show that was an aberration, not the norm. My suggestion due to your financial situation would be to try to take a class (maybe too late for this fall semester but I'd highly recommend doing one this spring AND summer) and show that you can excel in courses. If you can take a related graduate course in a school you may even be interested in great, if not take some of the undergrad courses that are relevant and at the intermediate/advanced level. DO WELL. Use this as an example to show you can achieve well. Having that plus a decent GRE someone will say, this person has the ability they just may not have done it during their undergrad. go from there. Don't apply to an unfunded masters to accomplish this, unless you feel you must. I think the same effect can be had by working and being successful in some courses going forward. If you are able to still add a class this fall even better, the more evidence you give them you can succeed the better. Now with all of this, obviously I am recommending you do this as a way to prep for application season next fall. Thereby starting school in two years. You can still apply to a masters now as you prepare but I don't think it would hurt to take some courses. Even one or two classes with good grades can show them you are ready for school. I am in the field you are interested in, if you'd like any specific answers or whatnot please feel free to PM me. Best of luck.

I did not apply to any programs (PhD) that asked about children. If there were questions and it was not optional I would not answer it personally. It is kind of like a job in that regards that they have no business knowing if you are single or married etc.