newms

Thanks again. Yeah, this seems to be it. I'll look up those discussions.

Ok, I went and checked the Personal Statement information for the other school that requires one and it says "Your personal statement should include information about how your background and life experiences, including social, economic, cultural, familial, educational, or other opportunities or challenges motivated you to pursue a graduate degree." So now I'm a little confused since this would seem to suggest more that just academic experiences from the undergraduate level.

Thanks for the advice. This is what I was thinking, so it's good to get confirmation.

charge card

I had a meeting with a prospective advisor last month, so I can give you some advice. The fact that they are willing to meet with you is a good sign! - some profs don't encourage applicants to email them. Basically, come prepared to talk about your research interests - what you have done and what you want to do. Also, come prepared to ask questions about the program and the prof's current research, since a lot of times their websites aren't 100% up to date. I thought about bringing a CV myself and decided not to, since I could always email it to the prof after if he asked for it, and he's going to see it anyway in my app. He didn't ask for my CV, just about my background. You can bring it if you want, as well as the paper under review, but I wouldn't suggest you offer it - just have it in case they ask to see it. Definitely talk about the paper though. My meeting lasted 30 minutes - so 45 mins is a good amount of time. All the best!

Hello all, A couple of the programs I am applying to requires a Personal Statement in addition to the regular Statement of Purpose. One program describes the Personal Statement as "This should be a discussion of the journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree." My question is, how does one go about this statement (it has a 500 word limit)? I assume it should focus on your journey from the undergraduate level, right? As in, you shouldn't make any references to this being your dream since you were a child? Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated

foreign affairs

hair extension

covert operation

intelligence quotient

artificial life

second place

I am interested in blogging for this application season, if you'll have me:)

nanny state

Firstly, don't panic! I think what is useful to remember is that they are not looking for someone who is an expert in the field, but rather someone who is inquisitive, so don't be afraid of asking a silly question. I met with a prof last month and he encouraged me to ask him questions via email about the literature in the field and he told me I could ask anything basically, so we could both get an idea of how we think. That said, you don't want to ask a question just for the sake of asking a question. Maybe what you could do is reply by email and thank him for offering to take your questions and let him know that you will be in touch. Then take a week or so and read up on his work and the program at that school and make a note of questions you may come across. Then you call him, remind him of your email discussion and just ask him about those questions if he has the time. Hope it goes well!

It sounds like this should probably be in the Biology forum. It also sounds like you'd have a great application with your research experience and publications. The fact that your GPA is on the upswing is a good thing and will mitigate your lowish GPA. Your LORs sound good and since the most important parts of your application are your research experience, SOP and LORs I think you should have a good shot, but ask in the Biology subforum.

thought police

deep thought

Firstly you should know that applying to the very top universities is a crapshoot and that your chances of admission are low even if you are an exceptional applicant. Last year MIT had over 2500 applicants. Each of the schools you mention above probably admitted less than 5% of applicants (in some cases much less than 5%). So statistically, your chances of getting into any of those very top schools (if you only applied to those 4) you mentioned would be less than 20%. That said you seem to have a good profile, but what the very top universities look for is quality research experience, so your journal paper will look good on your application. If I were you, in addition to those very top universities you mentioned, I'd make sure to apply to some top 20 schools as well, just because getting into top 5 schools is so hard.

In my area, Computer Science, I don't know of any school that requires the subject test. Some schools recommend it, but none I know of requires it. In fact I've heard that the very top schools pay no attention to it at all. I think around 2,500 people do the Computer Science test each year (worldwide), so its not particularly popular among the thousands of people that apply to grad school each year in Computer Science.

How much notice do you have to give them? You seem to be going through a lot and if you had some time before you had to give them notice, I would use that time to settle my thoughts and make sure I was 100% sure if that was the right decision. I agree with rising_star - if you can go the year it might be best - especially in order not to burn bridges, but if you're sure you want to leave, then you should do what's best for you.

A few comments: 1) If you have a GPA on the lowish side (which yours would be for a top 5, top 10 school) admission committees like to see improvement over time. So the fact that your GPA has been increasing is good and may be redeeming. 2) Research experience at a lab is good - even if you didn't get to publish a paper. If you have a strong LOR detailing your lab experience and you are able to detail what you did in your SOP that may be good enough (depending, of course, on what you actually did) 3) You don't have to be an "expert" on the subfield you are interested in. (Of course, being an expert in the subfield would be great!) You do however have to have a strong idea of what it is you want to do and why you want to do it. You will have to show how you fit in with the programs you apply to, so it would be good to have a good grasp of what exactly is currently happening in the subfield. 4) The fact that you go to an Ivy won't impress the admissions committee - they'll be more impressed with your research interests, your research experience and the quality of your SOP and LORs. 5) I think you would get into quite a few top 20 schools as DrFaustus666 said. I also think you should apply to a few top 10 schools too, as you may have a good shot there too as well, depending on the details of your application. I hope this helps!

Yeah, this isn't really a crisis - more like a surplus of options. If you were in the sciences, I would suggest you ask the prof who observed you as a research assistant for a year - it wouldn't really matter whether you had a warm relationship with him as long as he would be able to attest to your research ability. However, I'm not sure if this would be the best option for your area.

raw file

raw deal