Eigen

For prof's you've already chatted with, I'd say it depends on how you contact them. E-mailing them to talk about their research, see if they'll be at some conference, ask for some recommendations for good articles in an area... All of these are fine, imo. Contacting them to talk about yourself or your admission, not so much.

It was interesting, my wife was chatting with a professor the other day who sat on the addcom at Berkley while he was there as a post-doc... He said that he found it very noteworthy that the indicators that people talk about most (GPA, GRE, etc) seemed to play the least role in acceptances. That the adcomm as a whole was more interested in looking for mature hardworking individuals. When he asked about it, they told him that almost no one fails out of graduate school because they can't hack it academically... They drop out because of stress, lack of interest, etc.

I think you can practice over and over again to get a high grade... Just like with the other sections. But it's not necessary. The wife and I both got 5.5s going into it almost completely cold. I think too many people overthink it. Also, I think most people taking it (and doing well or not) think that it's used as a measure of your writing ability as a whole. It's not. It's a measure of a specific type of your writing ability. The school also gets samples of your writing in SoPs and writing samples you submit. The major difference is that some people get significant help polishing those pieces, whereas the GRE is assuredly your own work. Quite helpful to put a gauge on how well you can frame a quick argument.

Also note that if you have iTunes, you can use iTunes University to access almost all of the lecture portions (audio and video) and take them with you. I'll also note that listening to TED lectures is a great way to pass time- some really good stuff in there.

Technically, the 70s was from 32-41 years ago. Gotta count the s in there I mean, so long as we're nitpicking

I see you're in epidemiology.. It's a bit out of your immediate area, but MIT had a great genomic medicine course I took a few summers ago- really nice introduction to the clinical use of genetic microarrays and their future potential. You could also pay $8 for a month of Netflix instant watching... And devour some old movies and TV shows there. They have quite a lot of stuff, including some good BBC stuff...

I spent the waiting part of my application year reading papers. Great way to get ready for potential interviews, grad school, etc. That, or use the Yale or MIT open courses to work your way through graduate courses in your field, or related fields. Plenty of things you can do to get ready for graduate school and pass the time.

That's often how it goes. I spent hours preparing for an interview with one prof... He answered a few of my questions, and then we talked about baseball for 30 minutes. Better over-prepared than under, though! And congrats on the interview invite.

Then you get it as a bonus, you lucky thing!

Because it builds character

I'll tag in here... I just read a paper in a pretty good journal that had several PLoS 1 references in it... And citations are what really drive reputation- as more "high rep" journals get open access citations, the viability of open access pubs will go up quite fast.

My wife's in a similar situation. She's supposed to be starting TAing two classes, but she still hasn't gotten details on either one! I know a lot of the people in my department are in similar situations, with schedules still being shifted about and such. And as to the "which is more stressful".... Really? As was said, this is the forum for people that already went through the "waiting for results" period.

A friend of mine who has a TAship in English teaches two sections of freshman English lectures for it, if that helps.

Remember, though, this isn't the school making an early conditional offer... But a single professor. Basically, it seems that the school hasn't made offers yet... But really, most professors have enough clout to get any student they want, assuming that student will be working with them. So this prof is saying that if you assure him you'll come, that he'll talk to the Addcom on your behalf and push your application through. He knows he'll really only be able to push like that for one app this season, and so he doesn't want to use it on you unless you're sure you want to come work with him. Basically, it's a quasi-back door admission. You want to work with him, he wants you to work with him, if you give him your assurance, he requests that they formally admit you. At least that's how I read the situation, based on similar ones I've seen.

Not going to comment on the open access part, but on the impact factor: For sub-area publications, an IF of 2-4 is fine. The more general the publication, the higher IF is needed to be "good". For example, Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters is a good journal for medicinal chemistry... IF of 2.8. We're quite happy to get publications in it. Even the American Chemical Society subdiscipline journals are small IFs- Biochemistry is around 4, Bioconjugate chemistry around 4, Medicinal Chemistry around 3, even the Journal of Organic Chemistry, which is a very good journal is only around 4.5. If they'll appeal to a broader audience, then we go to the Journal of the American Chemical Society (IF 8.5), or an even broader audience to Nature or Science. But for most routine research publications, in a subfield journal (genetics, medical genetics, etc) those aren't bad IFs.

Eh, a 4 really isn't that bad. From my understanding, no one really cares much about the AWA score. The writing samples you submit are a far more important measure of your writing, because it actually lets them see how you write- it's not a black box type score, it's an actual sample.

I'll echo that grades can be changed quite late at most schools... But after the semester in question, it's not just a matter of a prof changing grades, and often has to go through at least some level of administrative review... ie, have a very good reason for being changed.

I'm a bit confused.... Can you clarify a few points? A ) When did you finish the paper? B ) Did you really not check your e-mail until now? Because as I see it, you didn't finish an assignment... Then lied about turning it in to buy yourself some extra time... If you honestly did not receive his e-mail until now, then tell him that. Otherwise, don't make the situation worse by the possibility of academic dishonesty charges.

If you want to be in academia, you can get all the "work experience" you need there. Outside of that, I'm not sure I can be that helpful. But if you follow the normal PhD -> Several Post-Docs -> Faculty position line you don't need any outside work experience.

One thing that makes a big difference is how well funded the PhD programs are. Funding during masters programs is much harder to get! I'd assume your fields should be decently funded for a PhD, which makes it more financially stable to pursue the degree. As far as age goes, one of the 3rd years in our department is 31, and my wife is just starting her PhD in her late 20s. Kids are definitely something to consider, but with a MS, you'll probably be able to do a shorter PhD program (hopefully), letting you finish by 35 or so. Having children in a Tenure Track position might not be the best, but it's certainly doable with spousal support. My boss had his first child last fall- he was two years into a tenure track position, and his wife was just starting. He says they don't get a lot of sleep, but they're definitely doing ok.

I'd say just a heartfelt e-mail thank you is appropriate. I think going much beyond that might look like you're pushing a bit. Keeping good relations with departmental secretaries is great, though! Make sure you do something to let her know you really appreciate it.

First, I'll mention that there are probably a good many people in your position. It's not the most common, but it's not that unusual to start grad grad school in your late 20s. Second, letting us know what field you're in would be a big help... It certainly changes the dynamics, especially the finances.

Maybe my new one will be a little less obscure

Sorry. An eigenfunction is a mathematical construct frequently used in quantum mechanics to solve the wavefunctions of atomic and molecular systems. Basically, if you operate on an eigenfunction with a linear operator, it results in the return of the original function plus a constant termed an eigenvalue. Accordingly, finding eigenfunctions for a given operator makes working with the operator much easier.

If you think about it in terms of my user name, it makes a bit more sense. It's a morphing image of the wavefunctions of a vibrating drum head.