CC2014

My wife is going to move to wherever I get in but we are facing the prospect of a prolonged period of long distance. When she did her masters - prior to us being married - we did a year and a half long distance. She then got a job in our current location and we both moved out here. As I had returned to school at this point, I finished my UG out here and it has worked out well for her career and my education. But now, we're at a point where if I want to continue on this path I need to go to a place with schools that will have programs for me. She's been incredibly supportive through this whole process and I have tried to limit my selection of schools to places where I could see us living for 5+ years and she would have ample room for professional growth. So far its worked out well but of course it all depends on where we end up and what the job market there is like. Its a tough process, but I am fortunate to have an incredibly supportive spouse and as we make the decisions together I'm confident that we'll end up in a good situation. Oh, we currently both commute 45mins - 1 hour in different directions. We live in a city in between our two places of work (I work at the school I just graduated from so its been like this the entire time) so I feel that has prepared us a bit in case we move somewhere where we once again have to find a place to live in the middle.

I always considered Scripps a long shot for me. its a pretty amazing place. If I don't get an offer i won't be crushed. Hopefully we hear from them soon, though! I'd like to make a decision sometime in March so hopefully I hear from them before then.

Ouch! I hadn't heard anything from Scripps either and they're way up on my list. I wasn't super optimistic to begin with but now I'm more worried. Are you applying to their Marine Chemistry program? What about your friends?

All the good email conversations I've had have been with professors I've known in person. I've gotten way more details out of them. I had good exchanges with others, but not nearly as good as the ones I've met in person. I had never spoken with the professor I got the offer from prior to my application and him reaching out to me. I had some good emails with him (obviously?) afterwards, however. I wouldn't say I had built up a good email relationship with many people at the schools I applied to, though. It was an awkward process for emailing them and if I didn't get a return email I usually didn't pursue it. In retrospect, that was likely a mistake as I know professors get busy so I should have emailed more.

Undergrad Institution: Medium-Large School decently well regarded in earth science Major(s): Envi Sci Minor(s): Geography GPA in Major: 3.6 Overall GPA: 3.25 Position in Class: Not sure - GPA isn't as high as many people in class but I was more involved in research than many people Type of Student: Domestic male minority GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 161 V: 161 W: 4.0 Research Experience: 2+ years of being involved with research projects in two departments plus a senior honors thesis that will be submitted for publication Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental Award, two first place presentations at conferences Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 job on campus involving research, 1 technical position on campus Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Special Bonus Points: Minority applicant Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Applying to Where: University of Washington- PhD - Atmospheric Science UC San Diego Scripps- PhD- Climatology Texas A&M- PhD- Atmospheric Science [Accepted with Full Funding on 1/21] Utah - PhD - Geology (specific professor here) Notre Dame - PhD - Earth Science UC Merced - Ms - Environmental Systems University of Cincinnati - Ms - Geology

How is everyone coping with the wait? There are not much in the way of results so far.

I'm applying to several earth science programs but I will likely wait until I hear from more of them before I post my profile. I want to do it, as I feel it will help those in the future form an understanding of who gets selected (although a very incomplete and imperfect one) but I am a bit gunshy until I hear back from all of my apps.