MathCat

Average 4:17pm, local time of university. This is based on my sample size of n = 2.

By this do you mean that the prof definitely did what s/he is accused of? I think it would depend on what the charges are. I understand why you might not want to post this, though. Some charges would probably not change their opinions, even if known - e.g. some sort of civil disobedience. If it's something like sexual assault, I would probably not ask for that reference. Also, if this is as big news as you have made it out to be, there's a fair chance others in your field will have heard about it, but perhaps not the details that the charges were dropped.

"Official response" does not mean an acceptance. It could be an official rejection, too. However, based on the rest of the email, it sounds like they are very interested in your application, so you probably stand a good chance!

Being an international student certainly can make it harder. Usually an international student costs more for the university to fund, especially for publicly funded universities in the US. There are also often a limited number of spaces available to international students. Your credentials may not be viewed the same way - for instance, some countries have big problems with corruption in their universities, so your grades could be almost meaningless. But really, I think the premise is uncommon. Even if your test scores and experience are the same, your personal statement(s) and letters of reference will not be, and those will play a big part in the decisions.

Or there's the reverse problem... I got an early Canadian offer with funding that has a deadline to decide before my top choice US schools will start making offers.

If you had completed your degree already, you would know your final year grades, and could put them there. If it's still in progress, I guess you could either say it's in progress (if possible) or give the average of the last year you've completed (I would do the last 2 semesters in this case). If you are really concerned, email admissions and ask what you should put there. When I emailed one program (not either of these ones) to ask a similar question, they told me it wouldn't actually matter what I said, since they just look at your transcript anyway.

Have you been admitted? I'm also curious about this, as I've been admitted and invited to visit, but I have not corresponded with any specific professors prior to my acceptance.

It means you're most likely in. It is still subject to the final approval of the school, but I think it is usually just a formality. I believe somebody recommended by the department for admission usually only gets rejected at this stage if there is some school cut-off that they do not meet (e.g. TOEFL score too low).

I would only mention a reason for your GPA if you have a really good reason. It should not sound at all like an excuse. Also, I don't think it is necessary to mention that you would be willing to begin in the Masters - most schools that would consider that will offer it to you themselves, I think.

I agree with isilya. You could accept an offer after only corresponding by e-mail, but I wouldn't recommend it. You won't know if you like the culture or location from that, and there are a number of 'soft' factors you can better gauge when you are there in person. It also might give you a chance to talk to current grad students about the program, and people might be more candid in person than in any kind of official correspondence. There are many stories on here about people attending a different school than they had thought they would after visiting. If you can manage to go, I think it is a very good idea to do so.

If you got rejected from every other program, would you still not attend that school? I would just caution you that an interview is not an acceptance, and things are uncertain.

I checked, only one school did that. I guess I will apply for an OGS at the others if necessary. The deadline is quite late (there, at least), so I don't need to worry about it now. I'll PM you about which school didn't need a separate application.

Well, I have not been offered anything from the second school I would be visiting, so I can't expect them to fund the visit. And I don't want to lie to the program that invited me, but I am worried about how they will feel.

That is interesting. The programs I applied to in Ontario just used my NSERC CGS-M application for consideration for OGS, they said. At least... I hope I didn't mess this up.

One program that has offered to fly me out for a visit of the department. They will cover my plane ticket, hotel, and transportation. Would it be inappropriate for me to add on one extra day in a nearby city (at my own expense) to visit another school? This would not be an official visit, but I have an old friend who is now there who could show me around. It would not increase the costs this program is covering in any way. It feels a bit wrong to be looking into another school when this one has paid to fly me out there, but it would be very expensive (and time consuming, as it is on the other side of the continent) for me to visit that second school at another time.

You haven't given numbers, but most schools have strict minimum requirements for TOEFL scores. If you don't meet that, you are wasting your money to apply. If they list a minimum required GPA or GRE, it is also likely a waste of time to apply if you are below it. If it is merely recommended, I suppose it is possible, but you would probably need truly great recommendations from your professors on top of a good SOP.

I would probably wait until after he's submitted his letters.

Unfortunately I agree with geographyrocks. Your scores may get you immediately disqualified from many programs, especially your TOEFL. Read the program and university websites for information on minimum required TOEFL scores. These are generally strict, so if you don't meet it, you don't have a chance.

I would definitely say option 2, if you are funded or money is not an issue. It will also open doors to PhD programs outside of the US, that require a Masters for entry, if this interests you.

No, it takes a week for you to even get your final score (writing score takes awhile). It will show nothing before then. Relax, it should be fine to be there for Feb 1.

Keep your GPA up, form good relationships with your professors, and try to get research experience. But also realize that you may very well change your goals between now and graduating. Only one person I know is graduating with the degree that they had planned on when they first started. All the rest changed majors around 2nd or 3rd year as they were exposed to new things. I'm not saying you will definitely change your mind, but keep an open mind to the possibility.

I would think your background motivates your decision to do that research at that school, and thus should be included. It is (at least for me), exactly the 'why' they ask for in this prompt. I would have submitted the same SOP for both prompts, with some edits to reflect my reasons for each program.

I did this too. I like it better than a gift card, because it lasts longer and it also doesn't have an immediately obvious dollar value on it.

If you've already started an application, it might mean that they are genuinely interested in whatever information you've entered. But this would of course depend on how much stuff you uploaded. If it's missing transcripts, SOP, and LORs, it's probably not that significant...

Did you write the GRE and allow them to enter you into their search database? It allows schools to search for potential applicants so that they can recruit them. I've gotten several of those emails as a result. You could contact the department if you are seriously interested, but I wouldn't apply just because you got such an email. It might mean nothing.