ssynny

Ahhh you're amazing! Thank you so much for the information! Definitely helped a lot! Where did you go? I'm trying for France.

Hello all, As the title suggests, I'm not entirely sure how this NSF GROW funding works. The only part I'm 100% certain about is that NSF gives us a one time allowance of $5000. Here's where my questions arise: 1) It says the host institution pays some allowance too. How has this worked for anyone who has done GROW? Is it by the international NSF-like counterpart? 2) Do your abroad mentors end up paying for your analytical costs? I know I want to look at Ca isotopes and that's about $300/sample 3) I would stay on tenure. Do I still get my ~2700/month? Thank you for any insight! The NSF website is a bit confusing and I just want to be sure I'm not assuming something that I shouldn't be.

Well, you can find a lot of general dos and don'ts all over gradcafe. Relating to earth sciences, I have always been told to not be very specific with what research you want to do. Obviously don't say something vague like "I want to study rocks", but don't be as specific as saying something like "I want to study the bedrock of the Quabbin Reservoir to determine the influence of aluminosilicates on chemical weathering over the last 100 years". I totally made that up, but I hope you get the idea. As with any job application, you want to emphasize how good of a fit you are and how you plan to make great contributions to the scientific community. Don't focus all on you and how grad school will help you with your goals. Why should they want you? Papers, posters, talks, etc. are really good, so don't forget to put them in your paper, maybe as segways to what you would like to study in the future. But don't keep talking about how awesome you think you are, and how smart you think you are, and how you've done all these amazing things, because it makes it seem like you think you're the shit and you already know everything there is to know about everything. Good luck!

Definitely try! If you think it's a good fit after doing all that research, then definitely go for it. Your sats look good, so just focus on writing great SOPs tailored for each school. Good luck!

Maybe you just didn't want to talk about it a lot, but I really think you should have a much better idea of what you want to do other than "something related to the environment in anyway". There's so much research going on in earth and environmental science that even narrowing down to water issues would be good. Do these school focus on research you're interested in? If you really have no idea, it's not too late to do some internships are work in a lab for a year. Best of luck though!

I sent it in late April/early May. Ohio state does require a GRE and uses it as a cut off like most schools since they get a lot of competitive applications. Not sure where you heard that they don't require it :\. I don't know of many schools that don't require the GRE to be honest.

Oh really?! I'm really excited to be there

It was your first try! It's okay to not have an ideal score. Just think about what parts of the test you struggled with. Was it the passages, the vocab, certain math problems, or even the time of day you took the test, what you ate, pacing yourself, etc. I also worked a lot when I took the exam ~50 hours a week. I took the two days before my exam off to catch up on sleep and do a one day review of material. I wouldn't give up on applying to the schools that you want, but as others have said, apply to a range of good programs, not just top schools. I hope this helped and I look forward to your update!

Starting a MSc in Earth Science! How is summer time Columbus?

I got home from my (night shift) job and was skyping the bf about all the fun stuff we were gonna do when he came to visit the next day. He fell asleep on me, so I checked my app status just 'cause and there it was!!! Best way to start our weekend together and celebrate Americaaaaa!!

I'm in this boat right now too! I'm still waiting to hear back on funding and I'm terrified that they're gonna tell me early August and potentially expect me to pick up and move my whole life in a week's time. Hope we all hear back soon!

This is the bag that I just bought: http://www.timbuk2.com/d-lux-laptop-messenger-bondage-bag-sleeve/157.html I picked a messenger bag because they look nice, and are very easy to bike with (give more over the shoulder visibility than backpack). I spent days upon days looking for a bag and ultimately decided on this one. It has a decent amount of pockets for organization, a place to store your phone/wallet without opening the bag, has a well padded laptop compartment in case the bag falls hard, its weatherproof, and it has a zipper on the back to quickly access the laptop and rest of the bag. I'm really excited to use it for school! Just a heads up, this bag in medium was REALLY hard to find.

Same! I keep thinking that I found the perfect place, and the reviews are 1.5 or 2 out of 5.... I know people really only post reviews when they've had an extreme experience, but the stuff they're saying is concerning (bugs, thin walls, etc.). Any specific recommendations for apartments in the places the previous poster listed above?

Thank you! I'm really excited !!

For anyone who reads this in future seasons, I did in the end get a late acceptance. Don't give up!

For anyone who has read my adventures with applications over the last couple of years: I got in! I sent a late application to OSU and was accepted! So relieved and excited to take the next step in my career .

Haha and they're not even grammatically correct

That's a great fortune cookie! Haha I usually get random stuff that makes no sense.

Hi all, After being rejected from both of my schools this year (well I guess I'm still technically waitlisted at one until the official acceptances from the other people are in), I started looking at options for next time around. I started compiling a list of schools that I was interested in applying to and came across a bunch of job and message boards. And you know what?! There's a ton of people looking for PhD and Masters students in the US and around the world!! So here's my advice if you're not giving up: 1) Start looking into programs now, don't wait. Make your list now, but don't be afraid to change it along the way. 2) Don't be afraid to contact some people at smaller or lesser known departments, especially if you know someone with connections. If they don't reply, give it a couple of months and try again. 3) CHECK JOB LISTS. ex) AGU careers, MET job list, ES jobs net, GSA Today, seismosoc.org, AGI, etc. There are all these sites for pretty much every discipline of earth science. Most have job boards too with TONS of people with money looking for graduate students. You just need to look! Especially at this time, schools (even prestigious ones) are looking to fill empty spots or get students for those proposals that were accepted late. Check these boards and you might be pleasantly surprised. 4) Keep in contact with POIs, even if you weren't accepted. If you developed a good relationship with them, they are often willing to help you achieve your goals and send info/opportunities your way. And don't be afraid to ask them for info either. 5) It's okay to work a random job if you have prior research experience in the meantime. POIs know that things don't always work out as planned. And sometimes you have to stray from your path in order to reach your end goal. My POI even worked as a sheep sheerer between his undergrad and masters! But make sure you have at least some experience under your belt before you start working odd jobs. These are just some of my suggestions that maybe some of you have yet to consider. Of course you don't have to agree with them and they may not apply to everyone, but I learned that if things haven't been working out, it may be time to take a different approach and try new tactics. Good luck everyone ~ssynny

That deadline is really only for first round candidates maybe even second. Most schools let people enroll for the fall until like July. If on the 15th, the person declines or chooses a different school, then in a lot of cases they just go down the waitlist. The deadline doesn't matter at that point.

I guess I'll reapply. I keep hearing from professors that I'm very competitive, but clearly it's not enough. I'm gonna pursue my dreams but maybe I'll actually apply to more schools. Only did two this year and rejected from both. I'm glad you heard back from VT!

He hasn't replied yet :\

I didn't even talk about admissions and unfortunately it's not a small department... Hope my chances aren't still crap.