ssynny

Tramp trade

So guess what! I sent him one last email letting him know that I was free to talk whenever since the deadline is pretty much now and that all materials, including recs, need to be submitted by then... and he called me this afternoon! It was a really nice phone call and reminded me why I asked him for a rec in the first place lol. He thought he still had a couple more weeks, so I'm glad I sent him that email.

I liked this last time and helped keep my mind off apps! Tennis shoe

So I guess I should start worrying if he doesn't submit. Both schools said their deadlines were hard deadlines for all materials including recs.

I never meant I was worried about him wanting to talk to me. It's nice that he does. I'm worried that he is looking to talk a day before the deadline. I gave him all the info that you mentioned in october, including my SoP for both schools later on. The deadline is now and he took this long to get back to me (not a single email to me since september) and is not responsive when I try to contact him. I still wanted a rec from him since I loved his class, did very well, think he's a great professor, and was praised by him for doing a good job the whole semester. The info that you provided is great and I found similar suggestions on other threads in the forum when other people were asking about how to request a LoR. But I literally sent him 2 organized pages of info to help him know me and my interests. It's looking like either I'll get an impersonal rec or none at all. Is there anything else I should be doing to prevent these things from happening?

Hi all, I sent out all my emails asking people to write me letters of recommendation in September for Jan 15th deadlines. I know and worked with 2 of the three writers for a couple of years, but I took a chance with the third and went with a professor who knew me well only in a classroom setting. When I asked him if he could write me a letter, he said sure! Fast forward through a few months of me sending him info and materials with no response. But I wasn't expecting a bunch of responses anyway. I sent him an email on Monday letting him know that the deadlines are this Thursday. After all these months of emails, he sends: Hi, Thanks for the reminder. It had fallen off my radar. Maybe you should stop by for a second so we can talk? That will help me write the letter. Okay, great he finally responds. But I'm not at the school anymore.... I immediately reply and tell him I'm not there and provided him with my phone number and Skype ID so we can talk. No response. I called his office today and left him a voicemail. No response. It worries me that he needs more info to write a good letter, but I can't get in contact with him! Can I do anything before the deadline to help this situation? Idk if calling again tomorrow is worth it... I know a lot of people say you really just need 2 letters in on time so committees can begin to evaluate you, but I only have one letter in so far. The other guy is being a butt too

If you aren't convinced the school is what you're looking for, then don't apply. Save yourself the time and money! Ask yourself if you were offered admission to that school, would you actually accept? There's nothing wrong with only applying to a few schools, or even waiting until next time so you have time to look into programs more closely. Good luck!

I'm actually only applying to two schools and still have not finished the SOP for the second one . I'll probably be done with it soon though. What sucks is that I emailed my POI from the first school to tell him I submitted my app, and then he tells me that he needs to check with the school to see if he has funding for a student.... We've been talking since early August, had a phone interview, had a skype interview, talked about projects I could work on, timeline of events/field seasons etc. He said he had money for like 3 students, so I hope this gets figured out .

1) do you have coursework in physical science? I'm not sure if you're pursuing a masters or PhD, but getting another degree in physics is excessive with the 3 you already have. You will be fine with good grades in science. 2) don't worry about the B+. It's not a terrible grade and it's ok that you've only taken one class. You'll just want to show why this is the best area for you in the sop. If you're still worried about it, maybe get the epistemology professor to write one of your recs.

You'll want to definitely mention why you want to go back in your statement. A big part of the SoP is why that department is a good fit for you. Especially because you left, you need to explain why even though you transferred to another school, in the end the first school is the right one for you. When reapplying, they ask you to include transcripts from all schools attended. You would definitely need to upload your transcript from your current school on that part of the app, but you should find out if you need to request transcripts from the school you're going back to. Due to privacy issues, a lot of times departments cannot access your records without your permission. Good luck!!

Oh that's tough! I think you're doing the right thing by emailing your POI and telling him that your flight arrives too late for the dinner, but you are definitely free for the interview. The dinner is not as important as the actual interview, so I would not worry about offending him. You're probably not the only one who can't make the it anyway. Would you still be able to meet up with the grad students after you get in?

Oh you're totally fine. It's not an important part of the app. Good luck!

That's really exciting! Congrats! To prepare for my phone interviews, I had to do a ton of reading. Find out what sort of work this person does and read up on their recent papers and recent projects. From what they've done, try to find something in particular that interests you and look into that topic in more detail. The goal of this interview is to see if your interests match up with theirs. If they do and this person likes you, they might help push your app through. Good luck!

You guys are a bunch of smart alecks hahaha! I kept the conclusion very brief in the end saying what I hope to do with the degree and reiterating that it's the ideal place to accomplish said goals. Thanks for all the help again

I'm surprised no one caught that, but I wouldn't fret a ton over it. As you said, it's not your SoP where you're being judged on your writing. Did you talk about this missing experience at all in the SoP? And obviously I would fix that now before you try to submit your resume in the future

Maybe they thought the fit wasn't the best. There are so many potential reasons as to why you didn't get in.

Like TakeruK said, talk about how the school you're applying to will help you achieve said goals.

What if a school only lists upper division gpa requirements and only asks you to report upper division on the app? If my upper division gpa is well above their requirements but my overall is below that, would it matter?

When you go for an interview and use the bathroom after your POI invites you to lunch and notice a giant stain on your shirt that's been there for who knows how long......

Does anyone here wanna swap SoPs? Or just even want theirs looked at? I thought it would be nice to have input from other earth science people.

Yeah. Masters programs for those schools tend to stick pretty close to their cutoffs with the volume of apps they get, but like I said, admittance is not impossible. ZebraFinch is right. Apply to less competitive schools or re-take.

So I can't address all of your questions, but here are a few: You can cross interpersonal boundaries in a personal history, but it's not recommended in a statement of purpose (though a little is inevitable). In the personal history, they want to know that you can overcome obstacles and are a mature and responsible student. Are you applying with the intention of paying for grad school yourself? If you are, as long as you can show that NOW you can pay for grad school, I wouldn't worry about the past. Just be sure to emphasize in your personal history that yes you had all these hardships, but you overcame them and will make a great grad student. I hope this makes sense. And good luck!

Hello, I know most, if not all, of those schools require a combined GRE score higher than 310. The other parts of your app are strong, so I really recommend taking the test again if you're set on those schools. The deadlines are pretty close, but you should really just try it again. Magoosh and Kaplan have short term study programs (even as short as a week) to help you boost your score. With that said, it's not entirely impossible to still be admitted if your adviser wants you. Good luck!

If I took a year off, would I still sign with my undergrad university?