peachypie

I don't really know much about a Masters in Counseling but I will say you should still apply. You can't let one situation or set of people discourage, go out and do what you intend to do. Deal with some of this anxiety if and only if you are unsuccessful in your applications and go from there. Look at this as a fresh opportunity which is completely independent of all the above things (previous application, friends, outlook on counseling vs health field) etc. Put your energy right now in determining how to put together the best application. take one step at a time. Best of luck.

I don't know how much weight is given in a diversity statement but I treated mine as critically as i did my personal statement. for example I presented a well thought out and written statement on diversity and my individual impact. I'd say that I spent a decent amount of time writing it, however mine was shorter than a SOP. It was only a one page statement (I think that is what the limit was that was listed?). Anyway, I would treat it as just as important as any other portion of your application and another option to show why you are a good candidate.

I wasn't sure if you were asking what you should take with organic chemistry or with biochemistry? Either way i'd say that taking organic is important to do either before or at a minimum with biochem. I wouldn't do biochem followed by ochem. If I were taking 2 of those three concurrently I'd go with organic chemistry and biochemistry and do the cell bio later. that is just what I would pick. I think you can go in whichever lab is of interest you and I think that at this point you certainly don't have to worry about the lab you are in so much as it is of interest to you and you do research. It sounds like both of the labs will incorporate interests of yours that you may elaborate more on later as well as the most important is learning how to work in a lab and do research and build some skills and techniques. no one, and I mean no one will tell you that you can't apply for a virology-focused program because you were in an A Chem lab that focused on molecular biology. now is the time you want to be figuring out what you want to be interested in, so try the lab you think is closest to what youd like to do in school and afterwords, you either find out you dont like it or you do. Either way it will help you decide your next steps when you are preparing for graduate school. Best of luck.

I think you would have a good chance, so I would definitely recommend applying. remember even research experience as an undergrad isn't considered to be very heavy research experience compared to working in a laboratory as a job. So your summer research into fall research gives you the research experience you need and doesnt put you too differently than undergrads with a semester or two of a research project. Best of luck.

I'd also agree with bsharpe, I'd retake. You want either your GRE or your GPA to be able to speak to your abilities outside of the lab. A higher GRE score is easier to get then a higher GPA at this point, so try to improve on what you can. You have time so I'd use that if you can improve scores.

I would guess that the sake of reapplication itself would have no impact, however, if she reapplied with no additional items to her application such as experience or whatever it would likely yield a similar result as original. I doubt an application committee would barely realize it was a reapplicant unless it was noted somewhere by her and even if they did it wouldn't be looked at negatively.

remember you are a student and its about learning. As long as you improve as you go I'm sure they will be fine with what your first assignment is. As people mentioned its important to get a baseline for people since everyone is coming from different universities and have different backgrounds and what work is expected of them. Its easy to get a feel for the students this way, don't look at is as a way to determine future success though!

Though I worked between UG and my application, I did not have any LORs from my undergrad professors. I wanted someone who could speak to my research (however I am in biological sciences so we typically built relationships with professors we worked with in laboratory). However, I think the way you need to look at is, who can best give you a recommendation for the program you are applying to. Were these courses relevant to what you are hoping to pursue in graduate school? Do the professors have insights into your ability to be a part of the subject matter you are going to study? If so, definitely have them write you a letter. Your requirements for selecting LOR writers should be there ability to speak about you personally and to the work you can or have done, as well as the relevance of what they are involved in being part of your future direction. if hte course was for trig and you are applying for social work it doesn't really shine for a LOR, but if its on interpersonal relationships and psych then maybe so! Also consider if you are involved in work (work supervisors often when in your field are great because they know working knowledge of the field) or any volunteer or other programs you may have been involved in. Best of luck!

I don't think it is worth it to retake the gre. Your scores are already "good enough" and adding 3 points isn't going to get you in or out at this point. A letter of recommendation would have more sway than those points.

6-10 or even 8 in a specialized science field is actually a pretty good sized class. I'll be one of 5 in my incoming class, as biotechie mentioned it is going to be specific to the department and the amount of funding coming in. thus depending on who gets funded and can support students a class size may flux from 4-10 from year to year. From my experience of interviews etc it seemed that most schools would offer 1.5-2X the class they want assuming they get at least 1/2 of those offers, they typically interview 2-3x the number they will offer to. So I'd guess a class of 8 would send out 12-16 offers and interview maybe 20-24? Also I learned that sometimes if a school offered 12 and all 12 accepted than sometimes they try to even out the next class size so instead of offering to 12 they'll offer to 6. It swings year to year and there is no way to predict unless you can speak directly to someone involved in admissions which I dont think as an applicant you'd need to know that info unless you are curious during in person interviews and can ask the students taking you around. I'd apply to at least a handful of schools that have your research interests. Many of those "offers" are to people who get multiple offers, for example i was offered admission at all my interview schools and obviously could only accept one. Best of luck!

If you aren't able to get in contact with anyone you can also try looking at their student profiles or information and see how many from each class are listed? that may be a way to see if funding is happening or not and what the health of the program is. If nothing else you should never put all your eggs in one basket and if you are interested in attending a school I'd apply and go from there. Once you are admitted to a program you can talk more to current students about the overall health of that program too.

You'll be fine. I took mine in mid-November as well given I wasn't concerned about my scores since I knew from practice tests that I was going to score competitively so I went in with the knowledge I would not be re-taking it. All my scores got in on time or early. It won't take 6 weeks to go from ETS to school at the latest for all of my schools they got my scores within 2 weeks and most were within a week of my requesting the score report. If you take it in October you'd even have time to retake the test and get them out in time assuming your earliest deadline are in December. Good Luck!

Yes. It is what interests you, so name it. Plus I think schools appreciate you taking time to research their faculty and potential advisors so they know you actually are interested in their program. I would make sure not to list only one however as this appears kind of narrow and not flexible with research, which is not a good look to have going into interviews.

I don't think its necessarily a bad thing or something you need to identify in an SOP. However, if you do feel the need to address it in your SOP I would use it as an opportunity as evidence to support why you picked the next lab or why you feel this work helped you decide and narrow/focus what you'd like to do now. The research itself is great, it shows that you know what real research can be like which is important for a school to show. If you want to talk about it, use it to show why you are pursuing what you are now and what were the things you learned you liked about these different opportunities and how that will prepare you for graduate school. Based on the rest of your stats I'd say you will be very competitive so make sure you take time to lay out what you need to in the SOP and maybe even get some LORs from some of those former labs as a way to show that you left on good terms and were seeking other ways to learn. Best of luck, and On Wisconsin!

I wouldn't worry about it as long as you give your recommenders 3-4 weeks to submit before deadline. mostly that means you should have information to them by November for the earliest schools. Once you are done with your GRE begin to put together a more substantial list if you haven't already. Don't worry about your peers schedules. I as geodude mentioned was applying to thinks maybe 2 weeks before deadlines (they were later deadlines) but I made sure I got my favorites done. I seriously started working on them in October and submitted most of mine a week before the early december deadlines. Then I added some with a bit later of deadlines as long as my LORs were able to accommodate. Best of luck.

First off, I'd recommend maybe waiting until this coming spring to touch base with some professors. You'd be after the current year applicants and it would be more natural that you are thinking 6 months ahead. then you can touch base again in mid to late summer as you are beginning your actual applications months prior. I am not really touching the research situation that this regards but if there is someone you'd like to work with this next summer then by all means contact them whenever you'd like. As for organization, I found it was key. I got a binder or you could even use a notebook and make tabs and I wrote down each school. Then made a checklist for each school since they may all have different "to do" items at different times. For example, some just want an unofficial transcript during application and others require you send an official one. I checked off these things and the dates that I did them so I knew it was done. This is also where I would scratch the profs I was interested in and do a short summery. I would rank maybe 10 or so, that way I can go back and read them more in depth if I'd like to review my most interested ones. Also kind of nice for when the interview emails came and they asked for a list of your interested faculty. Just get a system that you can put in place easily and follow. It was nice to have a section for each school just to keep track of the passwords and usernames I used. Things start to mush together so its good to have it in easy reference for any "when was that deadline again?' moments.

I wouldn't email or call at this point. You have at most of a week left and it sounds like you have other schools so if you hear something from them prior to 4/15 then all the better. I'd just be ready to make a quick decision if you suddenly hear back. It is always good to figure out which school you have first of the ones you've been accepted or outstanding. Then go from there, and hopefully you don't have to wait until the nth hour.

Do what feels comfortable and natural to you in the context of the communication you have had with the schools and faculty etc. I wrote a very general reason for my decision saying that my research interests best aligned with another program at this time. Most programs either ask you in your declination form or may follow up with you and ask you why you chose another school. To them it is important to know who is their competition and why they aren't getting the applicants they are pursuing. think of it as similar to you wanting to know why you didn't make the cut. You can make it general but also provide a reason, everyone always wants to know "why" in a situation like this. The schools are no different. Best of luck. Be gracious and polite and tell the truth, that is most important.

unless you can outright pay for your masters now without loans, I would take the funded masters overr an unfunded anything. You can always apply to Purdue or many other schools for a funded PhD after your masters.

i think if they said within a week and you haven't heard from them for a month it is fair to "touch bases" with them again. from the other side of the spectrum when I was making decisions from schools all of them reached out and touched bases with me during that time. Also the later it got the more the frequency was that they were touching bases with me. You may not realize but the schools could be waiting on hearing back from applicants and I can guarantee you if that is the case they are also waiting to hear from them. I think you should make an ultimate deadline of if you haven't heard anything you make your decision. The later it gets the less likely you'll be hearing good news but there is always a chance. I'd consider what programs are your top choices and be ready to make a decision of your current schools and the ones you are waiting on. if you have an offer from a program you'd take over another one of the two outstanding, then i think you could put that out of your mind. Now if both of these programs are your 1 and respectively I'd be ready to take #3, or see where you stand with 1 and 2 and tell them you are very interested but as they know as well, everyone needs to make a decision in the next 10 days, schools included. Remember it is more important to you about how this all plays out then the schools so don't be worried about checking back with them now. 10 days out they should have a pretty good idea of whether or not they are going to be able to offer you a spot or not.

take a funded PhD over a masters that you have to pay for. Research track is about what you do in the school more than which school per se and it is important to go to a school that has a fit that offers you to pursue what you want to do. Don't get hung up on the name of a school especially since from a cursory glance i wouldn't think that much more of Rutgers than NC State. Best of luck!

Getting a PhD is hard enough that it is a decision you want to feel 100% about. I wouldn't recommend doing a PhD at a program you have no desire to attend. A masters is fine if you felt excited to go but it doesn't sound like that is the case either. Also I would assume you would want to still go on to a PhD after a masters and i just don't think that would be the best move either (why waste the time and money?). If you are real with yourself and think that in the next 6 months or so you can better your application while gaining more experience and that you would have a good chance of getting into a school you actually wanted then i would consider waiting and applying again. I would also think that contacting some of your dream programs and asking them how you can better improve your application to be more competitive would be a great step to find out why you didn't get the programs you desired. I think your gpa is good so that would mean all other facets would in theory be something relatively easy to fix (take the gre again, write a better SOP etc). best of luck.

I live in the Atlanta area now and moved here from another B1G school. I am not sure how familiar you are with either area or school. I'll tell you this, GA tech may be a heavily dominated male campus so if by social life you include dating it may be hard to date AT school. However you are located in the city of Atlanta, if you can't find stuff to do near campus or anywhere else in the city you are trying not to. What I know about Purdue (caveat: I did not go there but know of multiple people who did for both grad and undergrad). No one says they love west lafayette after they graduate. Everyone who was there can't wait to get out. they all move to bigger cities (chicago, atlanta, minneapolis). I drove to Purdue once...if I blinked I would have missed it. if you don't mind the limitations of a school that essentially is the city meaning everything social will eb closely related to students and people involved in the university then by all means. If you are more than happy to move off campus to seek new social things I think Atlanta opens up a lot more possibilities for you. I know some people here who went to GA tech or are going there for grad school. I'm not at all affiliated with the University but know multiple people who went there or go there, and clearly they are out having social times in the city.

My funding was included in my official acceptance letter which I received shortly after hearing the "positive news is on the way" e-mail from my contacts. So within a week of my unofficial acceptance or with the official acceptance letter.

I think if you are very serious and dedicated to one program this certainly can't hurt you. If you have the ability and time and money to do this then it won't hurt you for this program or any other program you would be applying to. either way it will make you a better applicant, assuming you do well that is.