Eigen

I have Endnote X2 now, and I like it a lot- the main problem has been using it on my iPad. With the upgrades in X4 and X5 (the ability to collect metadata from a folder of PDFs, and the ability to upload all your attached documents/organization to Endnote Web respectively), I'm going to upgrade and stick with it. Also, the new Endnote X5 allows the viewing, annotation of, and editing of, PDFs from within Endnote itself, which will be great. It's great for writing and organizing references, and now with the ability to back up my library (including documents) to Endnote Web and annotate the PDFs within the program, I'm not going to any of the others. I also really like how easy it is to have one library (I keep mine on Dropbox) that then syncs and opens well on any of my computers. Any changes immediately push through to my other computers, so I'm always dealing with the same references and files on each computer.

Switch topic areas again? You don't need the bio GRE for chem programs. For Biochemistry, Garret and Grisham is the standard I'd recommend.

The other thing I will add is that if you want to ask about your chances, you need a lot more background on yourself- so many people post a GPA and GRE score, and then want advice- those really are the least important parts of your application. Talk some about your research- how well you feel you fit into the groups where you're applying- your publication record and the potential for good letters of recommendation. I will also add that listing schools probably isn't the best way to go about it- very few of us know much about departments at a lot of the schools out there- I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on my area, but there are around 200 PhD granting institutions, and a lot more that grant terminal masters degrees. It's better to ask for general advice on how you fit into the applicant pool, or even relative rankings. Elaborating on my earlier point and what Strangefox posted, when I talk to my boss about his impressions of applications (he's on the admissions committee) research experience, a good idea for what you want to study, having that area fit with someone in the department, and enthusiasm are all what they want to see. If you're picking someone that is going to work for you for the next 5-7 years, you want someone that promises to be a hard worker, and enjoyable to work with. Show enthusiasm for your area and research and it will do well for you.

On the flip side, I know several people that tried this... And it backfired on them. Stipends pulled, damaged contacts, and much lengthened MS degree.

There's also the inherent degree of premeditation. You're planning on stealing a lot from people, lying to them and cheating your way to a free masters. That's quite different from something in the heat of the moment. But yeah, I can safely say I don't lie, cheat or steal. Heck, I don't even cheat on my taxes when I easily could.

Several things: Most schools will not let you work outside jobs if you're getting any outside funding. You can try doing it on the sly, but they can cut off your funding if they find out. Most consolation MS degrees will still require a thesis. Your advisor will have to sign off on giving it to you... And some can be quite difficult if they feel like you've ripped them off. I know people that have had almost two additional years to finish up a consolation MS even with no funding. It's a really unethical thing to do... You're taking fundng and a spot for something you never intend to finish, and lying about it in the process. You're wasting the schools money, and your advisors time and grant money just so you can cheat your way to a free ride. Most advisors have seen this before, and aren't stupid... And there are all kinds of ways this could backfire if you get caught, from not getting the MS in a reasonable amount of time, to losing your funding or having to even pay some back to the school. Not to mention that you won't be able to get recommendations from any of the professors, although that doesn't seem important to you. Depending, there also might be the possibility of losing the side job, if your advisor or the faculty are pissed enough, and have the local industry connections that most do.

There are no specific guidelines. If you want to go outside your past experience, you need to be able to tie how your previous work prepared you for the proposed project. Your PI should at least have done something similar enough that he would be considered able to advise you on your proposed project, as well as have the facilities necessary for what you're proposing to do. Since you aren't tied to what you propose, it's sometimes better to write a proposal based on something in your and your proposed advisors wheelhouses, instead of something more difficult to support that's more far flung. Then you can just do that project when you get to grad school. Some of this may be a bit off the mark for an undergraduate applicant, but from what I understand most still applies. Just like any grant, your proposal can't be so far outside of what you've done in the past that they question your ability to pull it off.

I"d say it"s pretty important that you both have some background in the area. For any grant, they want to see that you"re basing it off if something reasonable, and with no personal experience, it's a hard sell. Your PI should also have experience in the area, since that's what will show younhave the facilities and guidance to complete the project.

You don't mention what subfield you're in, but I think you stand a pretty good chance with those stats. It comes down to your application (SoP, etc), your fit with the school, and the letters. I don't think any of your stats will hold you back, for sure. The only thing that stands out to me is the low Verbal score- it's not the most important measure for chemistry, but a 490 is pretty low- some schools may have cutoffs. You're over a 1200 composite, though, which is the most commonly used cutoff it seems.

I don't even have half of my 16 gb filled up, honestly. But it really depends what you use it for. I don't keep everything on my iPad, I use DropBox to download what I need for the forseeable future, and then sync it back/delete it when I'm done with it. Apps can take up a bit of space, but not much.

Applying for a program in another country doesn't mean he feels the program is more important to him than the marriage- it's just a one-year program, not a divorce! I know lots of people have strong aversions to this, but I think (as was mentioned above) some degree of separation is common in most academic couples. It doesn't mean the relationship is weak, or unimportant- and in fact, some separation can make the relationship much stronger on the other side of it. The most I've had to do (yet) is a few weeks to a month away from my wife, but I know we'll be separating for several years at some point in the future- whether it's during my post-doc, her post-doc, or at the beginning of the job hunt for one or the other of us. If I looked at it as a sign of a lack of commitment or a weak relationship that we would do/would have to do this, then we probably wouldn't both be able to pursue academic careers- the job prospects just aren't there.

It all depends on the school. Many have minimum GPA requirements, usually a 3.0. Your GPA isn't just below the cutoff either, it's quite a bit below. That said, you're looking mostly at masters programs and not PhDs, which tend to be less competitive. At this point, I'd say your main issue(s) are that you don't know your GRE scores, you only have one possible letter of recommendation, and you're only applying to top schools. I'd say you have a decent chance for a masters at a mid tier school with excellent letters and really good GRE scores, but I'd be skeptical about the schools you listed with that GPA.

Woah! Talk about reviving a dead thread :-D On the topic at hand: I've been married 5 years, and my wife is a year and a half behind me in grad school- it was a very different kind of stress for each of us when I was in school and she wasn't. As Starmaker mentioned, when you're in school at least you have a routine and pattern and purpose- we're both a lot busier now, but we have a lot more to share- we have the same kinds of stress, the same time commitments, etc.

We get moony to take the prospectives out to lunch, but we usually pay out of pocket to take them out to a bar in the evening... We look at it as the first gesture towards people who will hopefully be our peers sometime soon.

I'll throw in a few suggestions about the research proposal here, in lieu of my actual proposal: Include timelines Have a specific BI section at the end Use figures- 1 picture really can be worth 1000 words Remember that not all of your readers will be very familiar with your area Make good use of references- not too many, not to few I think the first point is really quite helpful- after a general overview, I broke my project down into 3 specific aims, discussed how I would approach each portion, and how long it would take. The use of figures can be really helpful- I was discussing rather complex supramolecular motifs, and it saved me a ton of space to draw a really good figure, and refer to it, rather than to try to explain it all in the text. This can be especially beneficial if your figure works as a graphic abstract of sorts for your proposal. The reviewers take 15 minutes on average to read the proposal, you want it to be immediately apparent what you're trying to do. You need good references- but they also take away from your space (references have to fit in the same 2 pages as your proposal). So choose a few strong ones over a lot of weaker ones. I know it can seem over the top, but specifically spell out both the intellectual merits and broader impacts of your work. It's how you do it when you write full grants for the NIH or NSF (bold, italics, underlines) and it works here. Don't rely on implicit descriptions of these criteria- be explicit and spell them out. For reference, I was awarded a fellowship this last cycle, applying as a 2nd year graduate student. I'll also note that the competition gets a lot stiffer (and the expectations higher) as you go up- so apply early if you can.

I'm not sure- I've always done it that way, but I'm sure you could brew it weaker. I like it pretty strong, so this way works for me. You also need much bigger containers if you want to brew it weaker.

I would say it's probably worth it to re-take the exam, if you can do that much better on a follow up. For most humanities (you don't specify which you're in) I think the verbal is the most important score- and your 650 isn't bad. You end up with an 1190 overall, which is probably above most of the minimum requirements. But if you think you can get a 1400 or 1500, those will be much stronger, and might help with funding offers. I think your research is more important, but if you're really pretty sure you can get a much higher score, I'd go for it. It never hurts.

I only add anything past my name when it's a "cold" e-mail to someone that I want to put in context. Even then, I just write up the signature on the fly, as it's different in each circumstance. If I'm contacting suppliers, researchers, etc. at other institutions, I want them to know I'm a graduate student, in what, and where I study. If I'm contacting someone in administration within my college, I want them to know that I'm one of their students. If I'm contacting someone in another school within my university, it's usually for something to do with our graduate student association, and I want them to know my role in that, etc. I think the really long all purpose signatures aren't really useful, and have a tendency to annoy more than they help- but that's just me.

I'll also comment on this, for any of you that are going to be or already are grad students- heck with being "allowed" or given the opportunity- make the opportunities! It's not hard to meet prospective students when they're touring the labs, get their numbers and tell them that a bunch of grad students are going out to a bar later that night. Take the prospectives, get a bunch of current grad students, and give them a chance to talk to you and get to know you in a personal setting. Rarely do schools schedule anything for the prospective students to do late at night, so it's a good time. Even if there isn't anything to directly communicate, it's really nice to make some personal connections with the people that might be coming to work with you next year- and for them to have people they can call when they do get to town.

Honestly, I'm just not a huge fan of anonymous ratings systems. I didn't think sites like "Ratemyprofessor" were very good as an undergrad, and I feel the same way about sites allowing graduate students to rate their advisors. As young professionals (graduate students) I think we should be old enough, and mature enough, to either state our opinions about teachers and advisors openly- or realize the reasons why we aren't. Anonymity goes hand in hand with a complete lack of accountability. Instead of encouraging anonymous ratings, encourage graduate students to be honest when prospective students visit. Learn the subtle ways to hint at bad bosses and bad teachers without anything that is straight up. Saying things like "they have an unusual teaching style" or "they're very dedicated, they work in the lab with us until 2 am every morning" or "they have very high standards for their work, and expect everyone else to have the same" are all polite and acceptable ways of communicating information, and they don't need to be done anonymously. Not only that, but both giving and picking up such subtle cues is a necessary skill to gain for the rest of your academic career!

I would say you'd be a fine candidate at most schools with that profile. You just need to package your application to show off your skills. You meet most minimum requirements with your GPA and expected GRE score, so you need to then put forward your research experience as the main reason they want to take you on. The area is competitive, but I know we'd much prefer additional research experience than grades when we're taking in new students (I'm in a bioorganic cancer research group working on drug delivery, so very much the same area).

Basically, you combine coffee with cold water (Room temp) in the ratio of about 1/2 lb of coffee per 5 cups water. Then you let it sit in an aluminum/glass container for about 10-12 hours, filter off the grounds, and enjoy. That makes a concentrate that you usually need to dilute 1:1 or 1:2 with water/milk, depending on how strong you like your coffee. I usually dilute mine about 2:1 when I finish making it, and then add it about 2:1 with milk when I make a cup in the morning- but then I like my coffee really strong. You can also buy setups to make it with- they have a container with a filter in the bottom, and a carafe to drain the coffee into, they cost $35 or $40 each, iirc. You can do it fine without them, however. Cold drip coffee is much less acidic- about 70% less, but the same caffeine. That's because the tannins in coffee won't come out in cold water, just in the hot water you use for other methods. If you prefer your coffee hot, it's easy to heat this after you make a cup of it, and it tastes fine- or you can drink it over ice. It's really nice in the summer, and lasts for about 1-2 weeks in the refrigerator without changing the taste. You can also use it to make coffee ice cubes! Woohoo!

The really nice part about it is that it doesn't take any setup at all- you can do it in a bowl or mason jars. That, and it keeps well in the refrigerator- most other coffee doesn't keep well at all. But you can make up a liter of cold drip coffee (very concentrated, dilute it down with milk/water) and then take it to a refrigerator at school and always have a supply of coffee with you.

I think a lot of it is playing to your strengths as well- I focused more on broader impacts, because my research hadn't yielded the results I wanted for the last year- so it left my proposal a little light on preliminary results for a second year application. For broader impacts, on the other hand, I had 3 semesters of work in science education in local minority high schools, several undergraduates I was mentoring, graduate student association positions, etc. I think a lot of people focus way more energy on their proposal than the broader impacts, but both are equally important- you need a good research proposal, but outstanding broader impacts can put you over the top... And less impressive broader impacts can really kill an otherwise good application- something that I think happened to at least one of my friends that applied.