Ferrero

I agree with Frank that if you can, you might want to go back and insert some names. Now -- lest you make another mistake -- in graduate school, most of your professors are on a first-name basis with you. So you want to use their first name. Do not address them by any title or you'll come across as a sycophant.

You need to re-take. You can mix-and-match your general and writing scores. Just send the 6.0 and not the Math/Verbal.

Well, I wouldn't just sit back and let them reject you either. You are paying them after all, aren't you? You should get your money's worth. Make a trip to some of these departments you applied to. Saunter around campus, then saunter into the DGS's office. Ask him if the ad. com. plans on taking BOTH schools into account. If he says yes, OK then. If he says NO, we will only take your BAD GPA into consideration, then you need to swipe his papers off his desk. This will get his attention...then you grab him by his shirt-collar and tell him that HE works for YOU, and that YOU want both schools looked at. He'll get the message...then when the acceptances start rolling in, you can thank me.

Columbia says 500 words, this is a totally ridiculous requirement for someone in liberal arts. What should be the focus here? I am thinking of devoting most of it to future research and professors I can work with.

What might be a good approach would be to take your girlfriend with you to the interview. Explain that she's a student there, but not in your professor's field. Then tell him that if you are admitted, you would repay him for his kindness. Wink and nod suggestively.

Not sure why this is being painted as an either/or option. E-mail one while CC'ing the other, asking them to collaberate on a "joint" letter of reccomendation, where one writes one half, the second professor the other half. Stress that they need to make the tone of the letter as even as possible. This way you have the prestige of the Ivy League reinforced by the personal insights of a plebeian (for lack of a better word).

Confront it squarely, with no hemming and hawing. Describe what an inexcusable instructor you had, and how you won't tolerate hooligans like that at your next institution. Heads will give a smart nod in the committee room, and you will be admitted.

Care to say that to my face?

Let me suggest a different tack. These schools go through hundreds of applications when deciding who to admit. If you can't find a third recommender, ask your mom or pop. It will be unique, and though is *formally* prohibited by most programs, puts a personal touch on your application. These committees are tired, weary, fried, and so emotive, maudlin even. If they read a letter that testifies to your lifelong ambition to be an academic (and who better to testify to that than someone who has known you, lifelong?), and the many obstacles you have overcome to reach that point, they will likely be moved and give you the thumbs up on a close decision. Never underestimate the power of emotion on an audience (see: Palin, Sarah).

Yes, the upside is you get to advertise yourself, putting a face to a name during the bull sessions in February when you're up against equally qualified applicants. The downside is if, like me, you make a poor impression. I arranged a meeting with 4 faculty at once and tried to negotiate a promise that they'd all adopt me as an advisee. As I was leveraging from a position of weakness (I hadn't been admitted yet), I thought I'd equalize things by locking the door of the conference room. This was a bad idea; campus security had to unlock the door and I was escorted off the premises. On balance, though, I think it made me stand out as a committed student and was a good opening anecdote for my statement of purpose.

Claremont is indeed a safety school for many applicants, as is SUNY Buffalo.

Great. Always glad to be of help.

In order to elicit the best letter possible, you need to meet face to face. I think then the best mindset to employ is that of a hostage negotiation: you have a very specific list of demands (what you want them to highlight in your letter), and they need to give them all to you or there will be consequences.

You have alighted on a fine procedure, you best of men. But I would be much more subtle to begin with. Drop by their office, chewing on an apple or confection, and casually mention you'd like another letter for any additional schools. If they are reading papers, or defer your request because they are "busy", call him/her a devil and leave, slamming their door. Go to the computer library and e-mail them an angry tirade, CC'ng the faculty, department head, the dean of the college, and as many students you can think of. Keep selecting "reply all" to each successive reply you get from him/her. This will assuredly expedite the letter-writing process, which is critical if you decide on a school closer to the deadline than we are now -- time is, quite literally, money. Report back.

Well, here's what I'd do. First, I'd kick the wall, maybe rattle off a few punches on a tree outside. Then I'd phone ETS and -- with a voice straining for composure -- DEMAND they send GRE scores, and that they be there by next week. If they say they have indeed been sent, call them dirty, lying, devils. :twisted: At that point, you should qualify your demand by telling them you want your scores there next week free of charge. This way you are leveraging your situation. They will give in....and if they don't.......PM me. 8)

Yes, I have them all on my person. Would you like them

I think you will be competitive at the slate of schools you listed. It is good you have some back-up M.A. programs. I think you will land an offer from one of those Ph.D. programs. It will come down to fit.

Well, if it is anything under the sun, I would write about the time you had a life-changing experience that made you want to pursue the field you're applying to. Get creative -- conduct a personal interview with yourself and then cite it using the Chicago Manual of Style. Use a unique Old English typeset on parched paper so it reads like an interesting fable. You want your application to stand out as much as possible and convey the impression that you are unique amongst hundreds of other applicants. To this end, appending a glamour shot might be a boost -- if you're not ugly.

Most programs have a threshold score of 1000. You should check where you're applying to see if that applies.

To the poster above, that approach will only make one look simply weak and defensive. Applying to grad school requires grit and determination, not milquetoast excuses. Throw a howitzer at the professor and move on with the rest of the SOP. I am incredulous you'd advise this applicant to go out of his/her way to diminish him/herself in any way.

Just volunteer yourself to the organizing committee(s) to be one. A referee basically acts as a go-between when verbal spats break out on panels, determining who made the better point, won the debate, etc. They also are permitted to blow a whistle when someone goes over their alloted time.

Send 6 LOR. You don't want to be wondering in 6 months what might have happened if you did.

Have a back-up plan just in case. E-mail him again politely, reiterating your question about whether he'll pen you a LOR. If AGAIN he doesn't respond, visit him in his office and act belligerent but firm. Swipe his papers/books off his desk and say you are here for a reply to your email. THAT will get his attention.

Alluding to it only calls greater attention to it. Address it squarely and combatively. Doing so will communicate a level of seriousness. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out that there exist poor, petty teachers. You may note parenthetically that you don't expect to encounter -- or tolerate -- such childish behavior at your future institution.

Don't be hesitant about using strong-arm tactics in your essay or in any communication you have with these schools. Include something like, "If you discount applicants based on their undergraduate majors, do you also discount them based on race?" Put THEM, not YOURSELF, on the DEFENSIVE.