sjoh197

I doubt anyone will remember the SOP you used last year. However, seeing as how you were rejected on all fronts (this happened to me as well) perhaps reusing a large portion of your SOP is a poor choice of "attempting greater success". I completely rewrote mine from scratch... without even looking at the original... and when I did, the results were leaps and bounds better than the one I had written the year before.

I can't eat out much... due to major dietary restrictions, and I certainly can't eat at the typical campus food selections. I have classes that run till 7PM twice a week this semester, and I will be bringing a snack to eat, and then having a dinner already prepared for when I get home. I like to either crockpot something, or make a big batch leftover meal, like a stew or soup or stir fry. Something that reheats well. I have some pinterest boards with lots of good dinners and lunchy snacky stuff if you'd like some extra ideas. https://www.pinterest.com/sjohn19999/dinners/ https://www.pinterest.com/sjohn19999/lunch/

Is your partner ok with that? (referring to me going for my phd)

You should just stare at it until it makes him uncomfortable. Maybe even squint a little.

My mother and stepfather were religious whack jobs, and my step father was very emotionally and sometimes physically abusive. After my mother divorced him (I had already left home) she quit religion and became more "normal". We have a great relationship now, but I still get that weird "police what you say" mentality sometimes. Its hard to disassociate your parents from your childhood overlords into becoming your friends.

I love planetary geo and cosmochemistry. I study them on my own, since my uni doesn't offer planetary courses.

checked their rules and such. They'll actually have campus carry in August. But I certainly dont plan on that lol. I talked to some people about that particular bus and was pretty happy with the responses. My partner and I are going to check it out very soon and ride it closer to dark together. With all the terrible things in the news.... Coupled with my severe anxiety and panic attacks, it makes it really hard for me to be out in public alone lol. In other news... The gem and mineral show is coming to town this weekend. Yay. And it will be our 4 year "together" anniversary on Saturday.

You can't drive to any of the bus stops here and park. The nearest park and ride is further away from us than the university. The area that I'll be walking through is pretty safe most of the time, but the bums seem to multiply at night. I think if I'm on guard and just have some mace and stuff with me, I should be fine. I'm a middle of no-where mountains kind of person... so being in the city just makes me paranoid all the time.

I'm taking thermochronology with my advisor, remote sensing, and advanced tectonics & sedimentation. Nobody I know seems interested in what I'm going to be doing in grad school (except my partner). So its nice to at least tell somebody, even if its just people on the inter-tubes. Lol.

Nah, it would defeat the purpose. I'd have to drive away from the university... And I'll only be 3 miles from it anyways. If I start to feel uncomfortable, I'll just have my partner make the <2 minute drive to the bus stop.

Yeah, I was mostly hesitant due to safety concerns. But the area I am going through is pretty safe. I have to walk a half mile from my bus station to my apartment. About a 20 minute walk. And I didn't really want to do that after dark (like 5:30 in the winter lol) But I'm going to have mace, and a taser, and a knife, and a My kitty personal key chain lol.

Well... I've been on the edge decision wise over using public transit, or driving to the university... mostly because over time, the cost would be about the same. However, I just found out that the uni just started a program that subsidizes your metro fare, giving you $30 a month on your metro card, or about 20 days of 1 ride there and 1 ride home, so long as you join the program. I think that might change things a little. Also, I talked to someone there, and they said that the particular bus I would have to use is pretty safe. Since a lot of the area around the uni is really sketchy, I don't want a bus that goes through those areas Lol.

Apartment living can be really hard on dogs... and even more hard on neighbors if your dog is loud. We have some dogs at our complex, and most of them are tiny little dogs... but there are a few "regular" sized dogs that have made such a racket that they turned me from a dog "liker" to almost a dog "hater". ( But not really, I do still like well behaved non-bark-all-the-time dogs). There will always be those assholes who will call the cops on you instead of trying to get the apartment manager to sort things out. And it will add unneeded stress on both you and the dog.

There's a really good thread in the Lobby... the sub-3.0 acceptance thread, that has lots of great advice on what to do in your situation.

We had a PhD student get kicked out of the research group for crushing up an entire array of field samples.... when he was only supposed to take off a small chunk of each sample and crush that. It's the only time I've ever actually seen someone get kicked off a research team.

From some decent programs (to my understanding) Michigan state If you are applying to the Criminal Justice masters program and your overall undergraduate GPA is 3.2 or higher (or you have already completed a graduate degree), you do not need to submit GRE scores. Florida State Most Students accepted into our program have GRE scores between 148 and 160 on both the verbal and quantitative tests. Please note that the GRE score is one element of your application and the program considers the entire file in making a determination of admission. Rutgers Average GRE score breakdown 150 verbal 149 quantitative 3.8 analytical writing A lot of other programs don't even seem to state a minimum. I think that since you have passed the 300 minimum that is common place in grad admissions... you should weigh whether you continued effort will actually be rewarded with a much higher score, or if you will just inch up a point or so. If it is the latter, you would likely be better off spending that time and energy beefing up the rest of application.

It's such a pain when the information that you get is inconsistent. lol

That's really interesting that you got in because I literally copied that above statement (Students must also take and submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). There is no minimum GRE score to apply. However, most incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students are expected to have GRE scores (quantitative + verbal) above 1100 or 300 on the new GRE scale.) from the department website yesterday. When I applied there, a gre score was required and you couldnt submit the application without it. http://geology.okstate.edu/people/2-uncategorised/38-graduate-apply I guess you should use that inconsistency to your advantage and apply there again.

Where did you get the idea that Oklahoma state doesn't require the GRE? They do require it. Students must also take and submit scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). There is no minimum GRE score to apply. However, most incoming M.S. and Ph.D. students are expected to have GRE scores (quantitative + verbal) above 1100 or 300 on the new GRE scale.

Not only can you work to keep up old friendships... but also don't forget that there is nothing stopping you from forming new friendships too. Despite letting go of, or losing some people, you will be gaining new friends, partners, acquaintances, and more importantly experiences. If you are truly good friends with someone, your friendship will withstand the distance. Any friendships that don't last, weren't meant to be.

I do know that UL lafayette has an okay masters program for people going into petroleum and decent connections as well. Certainly not top-notch, but you are not going to find anything close to top notch that is going to ignore GRE scores. However, UL has like a 285 score minimum. If you're dead set on heading face first into petroleum, especially without awesome scores and credentials, this could be a place to get your foot in the door.

This is why despite being in The oil city.... I did not apply for oil, I don't want to work for oil, and I think that actually helped my chances, rather than hurt them. You do have a better chance with the masters, but think about it. What's the competition. You have a bunch of other people who have been laid off, with more experience than you. You have other people graduating with geology degrees because they started before the major glut in oil. Also... saying that there's always teaching and environmental... Think about it. Are these things you actually want to do. Why put time into a degree that may defer you to a job you might not want. It would be different if you truly liked these prospects... but if they are just "there's always".... you are taking quite a gamble.

My mother was in pissed off denial after I moved, for like 6-7 months. I always told her that I was moving away the minute I graduated... and she never believed me. And then I moved before I had even graduated... which just pissed her off even more lol.

I had almost the exact type circumstance you currently have... while applying for my PhD. You are more than free to message me if you have some specific questions. Also... there is a really great thread, the sub 3.0 gpa thread, that has some really great advice on how to tackle presenting less than favorable grades and such. Some schools have a specific area/attachment to address your personal "issues". If the places you are applying to do not directly have this... there is nothing wrong with addressing it in your SOP. However, if you put it in your SOP, you must keep it short and simple. I used a single sentence to explain my situation. And then I moved on. If you dwell on it, it takes away from the purpose of your SOP, which is to explain your intentions, not your past. At the same time, there is nothing necessarily wrong with talking about it with your POI either. I briefly spoke with my POI about my concern that my application could get overlooked due to my few early semesters with failing grades. It is also important to draw away from your academic shortcomings by emphasizing all of the "great" things you've done. This is why it is really important to just briefly mention your grade situation... then move on. I hope that your applications go well. I know that it can be really hard to overcome a low gpa.

I present the kitty approved <$80 craigslist combination workspace. It will be so much nicer when we move in 3 weeks.