Lauren the Librarian

Thanks for the reply. I called the department and they confirmed the correct score (most recent/highest). That's a relief. The other department had the scores from my third (and not fourth) attempt at the GRE and it wasn't an average. My best guess for why it had the third score is that is has something to do with when the online system "sent [my] application to the graduate committee for review". I'm glad I have the right score now (of course), because the program I'm applying to requires a Verbal score of 630. My previous score was 570, but my most recent/highest was 680. See why I would freak?

I like your parable. Life isn't fair. But it doesn't mean we can't get pissy about it.

That would be wonderful if this were a local, in-person forum. And there are plenty of times I wish I could say I go to XX school and am studying Y-can anyone help me?. But this is a digitally-saved, world-wide forum and there are some creepy people out there. There is also the eternity thing, and adcom thing. But for me it's mostly a privacy issue. In order to discuss some issues honestly, I've had to retain my anonymity. I've had my privacy violated on the web in the past and I've since learned my lesson. But I'm not worried about getting scooped by anyone academically. But I am aware of the world-wide public nature of this forum.

Today was orientation for new students, faculty introductions, food, advising, etc, for a program I applied to for Spring 2010. While my academic advisor and I were going over my application (so he could get to know me a bit) I noticed that my reported GRE score was not my highest nor my most recent score, nor even the first score (I took the GRE 4 times). I know the school received the later (and highest) test score because the university website showed the score in late August before the application deadline of 1 September 2009. I got in to the program anyway but it worries me because I've applied to another program and thought maybe they have the wrong score too? Eeek! I guess I can call the new department to see what my score is reported as. But I'm wondering if anyone had a similar experience?

Beyond cool. Even better. Totally counts as unique. Just admit it, you rock.

Wow. Did you register at thegradcafe just to respond to my post? I was going for inspirational; I didn't think it'd be inflammatory. I do live in the real world. I have had a number of "hardships" I've had to endure. Maybe you'd like to hear the downside of it? My family was abusive (so I left). I had no support and was emotionally stressed to the point of crying every day and failing my high school (AP/honors) classes. I was bright but had no future, or a future only of mediocrity. So I made the best choice I could: I joined the military. I volunteered to be SHOT by enemy combatants in a combat zone. I didn't fit in with the military mentality, but I gave my best to serve my country and get a little support. In return for my service, I got a pay check and money for college. Some of my non-college educated buddies spent thousands on strippers and alcohol, I saved my money because I knew no one was going to take care of me if I failed. I had no one to depend upon but myself. I toiled away being bitten by mosquitos and sleeping in a dirt hole for 7 years while all my smart friends went to grad school and now are faculty at top 10 universities. I tried not to beat myself up for being a failure and lagging so far behind everyone else. However, I was getting older every day, yet remained academically the same as a high school graduate. So when I had the opportunity to take a break, 8 months, I took it! I used my savings from the military to get a cheap apartment in a good location and take a breather for the first time in my whole life. I sat and did nothing because for the first time in my life no one was screaming at me, I had a roof over my head, and food in the fridge. When it was time, I took my college fund from the military and used it for community college. I worked my butt off, got straight A's then transferred to a state school. I then applied to another state school, a public ivy, where I will be getting my masters. I intend to apply at one of the original Ivies someday and get my PhD. I'll be past 40 by then, but I no longer care about being behind by peers or taking longer than all the smart people out there. Maybe I won't have as long of a list of publications as my high school buddies when I retire, but I'll still do my part and contribute to the academic literature. I did the best I've could what what I had and made a darn good life for myself. I no longer dread the future because I've changed my outlook. Some people figure it out when they're younger, others need a bit more time and experience to see things clearly (like I did). I now understand that I only get one life, and I'm going to make sure every moment counts for something good, whether I get into an Ivy next year or never. FWIW- There were plenty of my combat buddies that had advanced degrees such as JDs, PhDs, MAs, BAs, etc. They military was repaying their student loans -up to $60,000 at the time- in addition to their regular paycheck for their service. You might want to look in to that.

I didn't mention it either. It wasn't recommended to me to re-apply but I did it anyway and got in the second time.

Reading this thread necessitates me contributing to this thread lest I lose myself in despair. Heh... -GRE V680 (630 required), and a 4 AW which I am so proud of. My previous attempts were 3s (yes, plural). -GPA 3.5 (minimum 3.0, and not that far away from the 3.7 average) -Advanced study (3 years+) of a pertinent foreign language (minimum 2 years required) -Very interesting and well written SoP. (I am told it is graduate level quality and would be an A- if it were graded.) -Very clear and specific research interests. -I am bright and curious. -No publications, but I am mature and sure of my plan to go to graduate school. -I have already been accepted by another department at the university (dual degree program) so they know I would definitely be attending their program if accepted. -My LoR's were good enough to get me into the other department despite my uneven undergraduate grades. I know I'm in the top 50% of applicants, confident I'm in the top third, and think I have a good chance of being in the top 25% or better. (20-25% acceptance rate)

Yes. Yes. Yes. I actually did do a "Walden" a few years back for about 8 months. It was awesome. For a number of reasons I couldn't be in school. So with my savings I found a (subjectively) super cool apartment in a great sub-tropical beach location with a nearby library, aquarium, arts center and! a pizzeria with fabulous cheesecake. I sold my car, bought a bicycle and took everything real easy. I spent my days sitting on my back door stoop looking at trees and listening to birds. My only work was Saturday mornings at a famer's market where I got paid in vegetables. I taught myself basic Japanese (reading and writing) and read at least 5 books a week (checked out from the library) on Archaeology, Anthropology, History, Medicine and Biology. I tried Physics, but I discovered I need some guidance for that. I finally got back to school when my situation changed a bit. I'm glad I went to school but that time I spent was one of the happiest in my life. I can truly say that I can do "nothing" and be perfectly happy. Of course, I'm not rich by any means, but this is why I think I'll be a good PhD student. I can spend all my time researching and get pittance for it, just enough to eat.

I applied to one masters program. It's really competitive so it's very possible I won't get in. If that happens I'll apply again next year. And the next... and the next... until they take me.

Are you sure that's what a 'P' meant? I'm not doubting you, but I had the same thought until someone told me that a 'P' was at a minimum a C, and not a C- or below. If it really is a D, then I don't really know what to say, except make sure your portfolio is strong!

I like option B, mentioning it somewhere else. My undergrad record is all over the place, with Cs and Ds and B-s, but also some 4.0 quarters (atleast once a year). I was juggling family and school and sometimes I had a bad term. I tried putting the explanation in my SoP, but it detracted from my strengths. But since it didn't feel right to ignore it, I asked one of my LoR writers to mention my hardships and put a positive spin on it. It worked and I got accepted in to grad school. If you wanted to keep it in the SoP, I'd recommend trimming it down. It's not bad, but there's just too much of it wasting space where you could be talking about how cool you are. I'd recommend something like, "A diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder last year, for which I sought medical treatment, was a welcome relief to my own questions regarding my uneven undergraduate record. I now have a firm grasp on my limitations which has led to an increase in confidence in my academic future."

Thanks for the reply. I figured as much. My husband is a self-taught IT guy working in an IT shop with guys that know much less than he does despite their degrees. It's especially annoying because he is paid significantly less than they are because he is on the non-degree pay scale. He found a dual BS/MS CS program from a top ten school and will do the 'work fulltime/school part time' gig until he finishes. Then it'll likely be an immediate 40% or more pay raise. I would hate to have him work for the next 7-8 years on a program that doesn't measure up. Anyway, I think he'd shoot himself rather than do research.

I'm 30 and will be starting my masters program in a couple weeks. I hope to get a dual masters with a couple of "extras" thrown in there and I probably won't finish for 4 years. I plan on getting a PhD, which I wont start until I am 38 or 39. Tacking on another 4 years will put me with a PhD at 43. I've already had the kids I'm gonna have, so that's not a concern for me. I do think women especially need to think carefully about when or if they plan to have a family. While men sometimes help out, it's a human universal that women take care of the children, so plan accordingly. Another example of an older graduate student is my best friend's dad. He went back to school to get his PhD in Economics when he was in his 40s. He's now a very prominent economist publishing national and local governement forecasts. He gets interviewed on TV and has a number of articles in national magazines and newspapers.

I've talked to hiring librarians (public) and they've said the graduates that have been interviewing in the past few years out of San Jose are "surprisingly" well-qualified compared to their peers. I don't know the sample size, but they seemed to agree that San Jose is an under-rated gem. At the (UC) library I interned during my senior year there was a San Jose grad student interning in the special collections department. She said she liked the program because she could go half-time for a 3 year program and either on-line or on-campus allowing her to get precious work experience under her belt. Some of my UC professors (not familiar with library science) poo-poo'ed my suggestion I apply to San Jose, recommending Berkley instead. Take that for what it's worth.

I'm looking at a terminal Masters in Computer Science degree program for my husband that doesn't require a thesis. Both the school and the department are highly ranked. But there is no thesis (nor report) required. Does anyone know how the job market responds to that? Is a Masters in CS good enough, or do employers ask about the thesis as well? He's a technical guy and probably won't be getting a job in research anytime soon.

Totally useful. Good link!

This is awesome. Thanks for the link. I played with the "randomize" button and found how different fonts and colors suit my SoP better than others. Awesome, awesome...

Will do! Earlier today I finished "Founding Myths" by Ray Raphael, a researched examination of the American Revolution. I loved it. Now I'm on page 27 of 184 pages of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "The Caged Virgin," religious and political commentary on Islam. So far it's heavy and has a narrow audience. But I am finding it a worthwhile read. I figure I'll knock that out before "The Faith Instinct" by Nicholas Wade arrives by mail from amazon.com this week. Gotta get my fun reading in before spring semester starts!

My school has an online LOR system. As soon as the letter showed up in the system, I sent a quick, "Everything updated, thanks!" email. Then when the decision came in I emailed a "Got in, Thanks!" email. Previous semesters when I was rejected, I made office hours appointments to dicusss why I sucked so much. As soon as I find out yay or nay for the current semester (third round of applications, but different program) I will send an email off with the info. I am only applying to one program, so I don't have to mull over which school to go to. However, when and if I apply to multiple programs I will probably send out a "Responses are starting to come in, so far 1 yay, 1 nay. I'll send you a final email when I've made my final decision" emails. I figure it's polite by keeping them in the loop without overwhelming them with contact.

I wish I could suck all your info on Turkey out of your brain and use it for my own purposes. I study radicalization processes of Muslim immigrants in Europe and the US. Turkey is so fascinating to me because of its (modern) secular framework. I haven't met a lot of terrorists from Turkey, but I have from other countries, and I think there might be a causal relationship. I intend to look critically at public policy, cultural mythologies, and even at the religion of Islam as justification for militant ideologies. I was honest about that in my SoP, but I labored on my word choice. It's a competitive program, so I could be rejected for any number of reasons, not just the controversial nature of my interests. I hope my scholarship shines through and I become a welcomed member of the department. Go, me!

Nope. Not patronizing at all. But that sense of foreignness is what I'm up against with the adcom. Like alexis said, it can be really sticky depending on the department. Two weeks ago I happenstance met one of the top professors in the department I am applying to. He seemed delighted by my background and encouraged me to make note of the (prestigious) language school I attended on my application. However, I made sure to stick to "safe" topics like grammar and language learning aids. I avoided all talk of the military aspect of my service and even stayed away from my particular research interests which might be considered controversial. I want to come across as versatile and prepared for graduate study. But there's also the risk that I come across as a militant looney. I was fortunate during my time in the military; I never had to kill anyone. But plenty of my friends did. I've let some of that history slink into the past; I'm focused on the future anyway, so it's easy enough for me to do. But the adcom's very real "liberal bias" might not take kindly to my contribution to the slaughter of their bretheren. I'm an excellent candidate for grad school. But I have to get past the committee first. And no amount of "polishing" is going to erase how I spent nearly a decade of my life.

I'm sure it will, Ma'am. (Can't help it. I sat up straight as soon as I read you were an officer.) I don't have mad skills anymore and that's what makes me feel so weird to have it on my CV. I didn't go anywhere near that stuff on my SoP.

First off, LOL! It is awesome when personalities start emerging from these faceless posters. As for the internship, I was working in the map lab at my university library. My absolute favorite project I worked on there was processing series of maps in Arabic. It combined by cartography skills (geography major) with my knowledge of the Middle East and Arabic, and threw it all together with my love of and desire to work in libraries. It was a hopeless project that noone was ever going to get to because it required a unique skill set. That is, until I came along and said, "Ooh, ME! Gimme, gimme!" You got me! I actually tried to put my military experience behind me when I became a civilian again. But I got turned down for Information Studies for Fall 2009 and was forced to reevaluate my plans. I realized that I should get "proof" of my experience from the military in the form of a masters in Middle Eastern Studies. Most special and technical libraries require multiple masters and/or Ph.Ds anyway. I applied to a school that has a dual masters program for Information Studies and Middle Eastern Studies. I got accepted for the Information part for Spring 2010 and am waiting to hear back for the other program for Fall 2010. I was never an officer. I joined as a puny private out of high school (to get money for college and all that). When I got out and went back to school, I decided on a lark to learn Japanese (never studied a Far East language before.) I was only taking 3 classes my first quarter during undergrad and I found I had 5-10 hours a day to watch Japanese soap operas on youtube, supplemented with readings and rote memorization of hiragana, katakana and kanji. I also had a friend in my 2nd language accquistion class (also a linguistics major) who was a Japanese foreign exchange student. We met up for a couple hours outside of class each week and took turns practicing our conversation skills. Tell me about it! All my experience is really hard to define, especially because I've never been to the Middle East! My experience is in Muslim immigrant communities in Europe and the US. I am so glad I had a higher word limit for my SoP or else I would have never been able to sell myself and those experiencs to the adcomm. They didn't want to see my CV (Information people, yes. Middle East no. Weird.) On the bright side, since I'm already at the school, I can always apply again next year if things don't go well this time around. I totally hope you get in to where you want to go. The whole Turkish Studies stuff is awesome. Columbia provides hardcore funding, too. Berkeley might fall into a financial abyss in the next few years (boo California) but the faculty is still top notch.

Sounds that way, doesn't it? The truth is I didn't choose to get certified. They told me that's what I had to do (I was a responsible/mature person in my unit). Mind you, I studied my butt off and was the top student in my class, but I couldn't care less about it now. On the other hand, I am choosing to be a librarian. I've done a few internships in special libraries in the past year and am starting an Information Studies master's program next month. I have been fascinated by your posts and your academic plans. I'm applying for something similar and can appreciate the difficulty in translating your experience into an employable skill or academic credit. You have an unusual insight into the people there, at the same time more and less than a Bachelor's degree in Turkish Studies. You might be missing direct study of the history and culture, but you understand their thoughts, minds and customs on a much more intimate level. It's hard to market skills like that. Learning languages outside of an accredited classroom is also difficult to explain. I would recommend (for your own sake) taking a placement exam at a university. I wish I had done that. I studied Japanese intensively on my own a few years ago, and am fairly confident that I achieved a proficiency around 3-4 college level semesters. If I had taken the placement exam while at the university (usually free for students), I would know for sure and I could put down my level with complete confidence. To error on the side of caution, I tend to say I studied "some" Japanese or not mention it at all; I would hate to overstate my abilities.