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I tell prospective students who want to come in the summer that they're more than welcome to visit. I know that summer is usually a more convenient time for them. However, I do warn them that they might only get to talk to lil' ol' me because faculty and students are often gone in the summer.

From the other side... Stellar applicant came for a visit. She seemed to be a bit into Kawaii culture or similar. The committee members, who fancy themselves as worldly, were flabbergasted. They apparently had never been exposed to it. (Step out of your office, guys, and it probably won't take you long to find an Asian student into "cute") I think they thought she was on drugs. So dumb whitebread me with no PhD has to explain the subculture to them. She turned us down but the committee started really valuing my input after that.

Normally I'm big on making sure your communications with your school/department are professional. However, this was just an honest mistake. Just send a light-hearted "oops" email. As someone who gets a lot of email correspondence from prospective graduate students this would probably make me remember you, but in a POSITIVE way. "Oh yeah, I remember Kingwd. His emails were always so professional except for that funny one. It was so diligent of him to apologize for it. He seems like a good dude." Anyway, even if I did get something like this, even without an apology it is not something which would rise to the level of the decision makers. We all make mistakes.

I will tell you what I tell all of our applicants. The GRE is only a small part of what we look at when making admission decisions. A better GRE score will obviously be beneficial but your grades in relevant coursework and letters of recommendation from professors in your field are more important. Hopefully someone in your field will be able to offer a more definitive answer.

Dear faculty: Please do not tell me what the new students need when they arrive. Half of what you tell them is wrong. I know the school/government requirements.* I know how to get them registered. I know what they need to set up their housing. Beyond all that I know that they're sometimes lonely and scared. I know that sometimes they just need to spend an hour in my office talking about whatever is on their mind. *Also, don't complain to me about the rules. There is no special trick to change the immigration and/or SSN rule you don't like.

We do not review applications until after the deadline. Applying early or the day of the deadline has no bearing on your application. However, I cannot speak to this generally.

I like how this person phrased it.

Almost every single PhD and MS student (international and domestic) in my department is on an assistantship. Right now we only have one who isn't but I think her family must be wealthy or something because she said upfront she didn't need funding.

This has happened in our Department before. We understand life sometimes gets in the way. If you're a top prospect we'll defer you for a year.

Yes, I know contacting professors is varies by department and discipline. In fact, after reading Grad Cafe* I wonder if we might be in the minority. That's why I made sure to put in our welcome email and FAQs that it is not necessary for us. I think your question was completely appropriate. I often get emails that simply say "I would like to begin the application process. Can you show me how to apply?" I'm not saying don't ask questions. Just make sure you can't find the answer on the website. We have one area that is horribly ambiguous on our website because committee can't agree on an answer. I expect to, and do, receive lots of questions in this area. *That's why I read Grad Cafe, to find out applicant expectations. It's not just to post rants about applicants.

You're right, I was disgruntled. I probably shouldn't use this as a place to vent frustrations. However, they are still good reminders for applicants.

In my opinion, that would be fine. However, my department doesn't do interviews.

Oh wow! I was a topic of conversation. (I was having a blissful summer free grad student hand-holding.) Yes, that comment was a bit rude. I probably should have left off the last two sentences. However, that doesn't change the meaning of my post. If my grad chair believes someone is not qualified they won't always respond.

In no particular order here are some things that I've seen this week that applicants really need to stop doing. 1. Tell the grad secretary to "reply quickly." I reply as quickly as I can. 2. Not follow instructions. Do not send me your application materials. You received an email with instructions on where to upload them. 3. Email professors asking to work with them. That instruction email above told you not to do that. They will just forward me the email and tell me to deal with it. (I know this varies by department though.) 4. Ask if you can apply. How did you miss the "APPLY NOW" button on the website? If you cannot follow simple instructions I WILL tell the grad committee this. They want to know this information because applicants like that become grad students who take up an inordinate amount of their time. I've seen poor behavior during the application process doom applicants that the committee was on the fence about. I've also seen the committee take a chance on applicants who have demonstrated competence during the process. I'm doing us both a favor by posting this. Someday I'd like to write a long post on this topic but these will do for now.

Exactly what this person said. Most of the time the professors forward me emails like this so I can respond. Most professors have very little to do with the admissions process and even if they did, an email isn't going to sway them.

Nope, that's not what I'm doing. The committee is interested in things beyond what is in your application (e.g., how you interact with people and how well you follow instructions). Many times I am in a position to provide that.

My grad committee values my opinion because I spend A LOT of time communicating with prospective graduate students. If an applicant's English is poor or they have a hard time following instructions the committee wants to know that. Being able to follow basic instructions really comes in handy during grad school. On the flip side, I will tell them if I had positive interactions with a prospective student. I sit in the committee's application review sessions. I often hear them talk about students who might take a lot of extra time. Student's who can't follow instructions are high on that list. Just follow instructions, do some basic research and we'll BOTH be happy.

I just skimmed through this so my apologies if you've already tried this but...have you considered taking a different AD than lexapro? ADs work differently on people. Also, just because you're "happy" on it doesn't necessarily mean that you're on the right one. They can make you zoned out without even realizing it. Just my $.02.

In my department's committee letters from people the committee members know carry a lot of weight. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard, "I know Professor Doe and trust her opinion." They'll sometimes call them up to get the "real" scoop or call someone in the student's department even if they didn't write a letter.

"Perhaps a professor has more important things to attend to than your less important reference letter" Not perhaps, they DO have much more important things to do than write you a letter. With your attitude towards professors I'm not surprised that they haven't written you a letter. Perhaps it is for the best.

They make far, far, far more money than you do. Plus, they don't need anymore "junk" like coffee mugs. A sincere, handwritten note is just fine.

Yes, almost daily but I get paid for it so...

You've probably already done it, but I would not contact the department chair. Chances are he does not know who you are. Contact the grad secretary instead.

Let me get this straight: You are upset because someone told you that you're not qualified for admission? He did you a favor by taking time out to respond to you. I tell people all of the time that they're not qualified for admission. What makes you a special snowflake? You'll need to grow some thicker skin if you want a PhD.

In my department we have a pool of funding that is allocated until it is gone. The individual professors have very little to do with providing funding so that's probably why you haven't heard back. I know it varies by department and discipline but if students contact a professor it just gets forwarded to me to respond. Right now in my department we have zero students who are self-funded (MS and PhD). I cannot recall a student who joined the program without being funded. We know you need funding and we'll do our best to get it to you.