blah0016
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Posts posted by blah0016
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I got honorable mention
. I thought, that honorable mention meant that you were technically qualified, etc. but just didn't have enough broader impacts. However, my application was really heavy on broader impacts--I've done a ton of service work related to and not related to my project, education, development work abroad, leadership positions, working on undergrad education, etc. I really focused on the broader impacts criterion in my application.so, is honorable mention not mainly just a 'not enough broader impacts' thing?
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Thanks! The weird thing is they have not even rejected me officially so far. So i am guessing i might on the waiting list. BTW do u think it possible that they put me in the Master slot cuz one of my friend (PhD of BME) was notified to be considered as Master in the rejection letter. Well, it might be different in two different majors but the positive answer may let me grab a hope.
Thanks again
Hi Madelorc,
I got admitted for Mat Sci Ph.D. and I talked to the department. They said ~Jan 20 that most of the decisions have been made and they only had 10-15 more slots to fill. One thing you could try is calling the department and asking about the status of your application.
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I got admitted to MIT today. I was super surprised because I had prepared myself for the worst. There is definitely still hope. I hear they do roll out admission offers over some time period. G'luck!
Blah--congratulations, my friend! I am very happy for you.
What were your stats if you dont mind sharing
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Hahaha! MIT support group!!!!
Yeah, myself and a few people I know are reallllllly fucking bummed. I did research at MIT over the summer in the MSE department, I have publications in JACS and one first-author upcoming in PRL and conference presentations at the APS and TMS, but my GPA was a little low (3.6 cumulative, 3.81 MSE - is that low?!?!). BLARHHGHGHGHAHH
That being said, it seems like results are still trickling out http://thegradcafe.c...q=mit+materials.
Also, worse comes to worse, hopefully a successful fellowship app can still pull us through.
Dude, you have amazing stats. I don't have stats as good as yours, but I too did research at MIT DMSE this summer and have a first-author conference proceedings, a conference presentation, and a 2nd author upcoming. I also have a faculty contact at MIT. But apparently that isn't enough.
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I talked to an MIT MS&E graduate student whom I know, and he said that there are 2 rounds. According to him, the vast majority of people get accepted in the first round, but in the case that any of the first rounders decline that spot is given to people in the 2nd round, which may be in late February or even in early March. The grad student I talked to had an MIT MS&E friend that got accepted that way.
I hear you, blah. Emotionally I've been in shards since seeing the first round of acceptances on results search.
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I'm in the same boat. I'm applying to MSE grad schools as well, and so far I have gotten admission to Northwestern and Berkeley, denied at Stanford. I haven't heard from MIT
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I've gotten admitted to 6 different places and I am deciding between 2 schools among that 6. How do I kindly tell the other 4 schools that I am no longer interested in their program? Would this cause any hurt feelings? Thanks!
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Hey everyone!
I applied to Ph.D. programs in Social Psychology. I applied at Northwestern and really wanted to work with this one professor. We had been emailing over the summer and throughout the fall semester. Our research interested matched nearly perfectly, and I feel that I have relatively good stats for the program. I am pretty sure that the program has sent out interview invitations, and I am really sad and kind of shocked that I did not hear from the researcher.
I was thinking about emailing him (since we've emailed before) and just asking about it - telling him that I was really looking forward to possibly working with him and loved the program at Northwestern. I just wanted to ask him if he had sent out interview invitations.. etc.
Is it weird to do this?? Should I not email him or is it okay to do that?
Thanks!
It might be better to contact instead the director of admissions for your program. You can find this person's name by asking the admissions secretary. My friend was in a similar situation recently--he really wanted to work with a particular professor at a certain university, and had emailed back and forth, etc., but did not get accepted in the first round of admits. He contacted the director of admissions for the program by phone, saying he had not heard from the program but was interested in the program, and was wondering the status of his application. Emphasize in the phone call that it is your TOP CHOICE and you would definitely come if admitted (only if this is true). He ended up getting admitted to that program shortly after. Contacting the director of admissions is actually fine, they don't mind and it shows interest in their program. But the POI could be awkward, unless you just want to update them on your research and reaffirm your interest in their research (to remind them you exist).
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Update: I met with one of his grad students, who suggested against talking to him about it in person, but rather to send him an email update. In the email I updated him on the status of my current research, and emphasized that though I have gotten into other programs, his program/work remains my top choice. I also mentioned I have submitted my application to his program, but have not heard back. He replied saying he would email the admissions committee to check on the status of my application, and to let him know if I hear anything from them.
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Is there any advantage for a Master student to apply for a PhD program in the same school? But since my program is only one year so I would like to begin the PhD program after graduation from the Master program. That means when I applied for the PhD I have only one quarter grade. My graduate GPA is high so far. But my undergrade GPA is not competitive. And my GRE is OK. I only applied one program. So now I am kind of worried about that.
I believe you would likely have quite an advantage. since you have likely taken courses with the professors on the admissions committee, when your name comes up on the committee they'll be far more likely to review your app because they know you. If you grad GPA is high, stress that in your app; it'll definitely matter more than your undergrad grades since it's more recent. whats your GRE score, if you have >700 Q you'll be fine. Never apply to just one program go for at least 8, in my opinion
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If I were you, I would read 2-3 key papers (skim) and know the main points. You likely won't have to mention them, though. She will expect you to talk about your interests and accomplishments and how your background fits with her work, and how her school/program/group is especially suited to your interests. She'll likely do most of the talking...that's at least how my solicited phone interviews with professors went, and they tended to be extremely informal. The profs were very nice and the convos were very short. To clarify, I sought out these interviews, so it might be different in your case. Good luck!
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I don't believe this is the case for mathematics. While its true that the quant score won't differentiate, the mathematics subject gre is very difficult even for math majors and differentiates just fine (whether what it is differentiating between is relevant to a mathematics research is debatable though). I'd assume the case is similar for other sciences, like physics, where the subject gre is important.
i agree, makes sense, i've heard stories from chem majors that would fit with that
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I think so. What you say sounds right, but I would contact the admissions secretary for your program to be sure.
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I disagree with the statement that "verbal is just as important, if not more" based on what the admissions person said. You've acknowledged that you probably won't be considered with a quant score below 750, but you definitely don't need a 750 verbal score to be considered (I mean, maybe at the highest ranked program in the world or something, but not generally). He can say that they look at the verbal scores more and directly compare them more, but you still need that even higher quant score to just make it to the point where they're going to look at your verbal score.
a 750 verbal score is a lot better than a 750 math score. a 750 math score is 84%, and a 750 verbal score is 99%. this was a top-ranked engineering school btw, ranked #1 in nearly every field. i think most eng schools consider everyone with gre math >700, and then in that pool, they tend to favor ppl with higher verbal scores. but all those ppl with like 300 on the verbal section but 800 on the math section, might be screwed.but if you get >700 on verbal, you are in a good area
thats my opinion, at least -
This seems suspect to me. I completely believe that the GRE quant doesn't explain much variance in student performance, because the distribution is so skewed, but that doesn't mean it isn't important to do well; it might even be more important, if, for example, so many people have 800s that the only way in is 750 or up.
It's obviously important to do well on the quantitative, too! If you get below a 750 you prob. won't be considered. But verbal is just as important, if not more. And, I don't think the GRE is a good indicator of success or anything...I don't agree with the adcom member who told me that, just to clarify.
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I just talked to the director of admissions at a top engineering university (top 5), and was stunned to hear that the verbal GRE score was more important to the university than the math score in admissions. He said "Pretty much everyone has a good math GRE score, so the verbal GRE score is the most important. We find that there is a strong correlation between success in our program and the verbal GRE score." Wow! I certainly didn't know that.I just wanted to share this with any science students out there, the message seems to be that you need to study at least as hard, if not much harder, for the GRE verbal than the math. Perhaps it is opposite for humanities programs.
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Yes, I do this for every one of my applications, and have found many mistakes. Once, I accidentally submitted the essay for another school to the wrong program, but managed to contact the secretary and change it before the application got sent to the adcom for review.
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You can ask if he has played a role in admissions before and how faculty have a role in admissions even if they are not on the adcomm. you may start with vague questions, and he may end up offering information if he feels comfortable. the adcom will probably ask him his view about you anyway......
in my case, i am working with one faculty at the school i applied to, and he is not on the adcom. however, he said the committee will likely ask him. so i don't think it is a complete loss even if you don't actually ask him.
you may luck out, and he may say he will at least shoot them an email about your candidacy. that would be great for you if you can get that done. also, try talking to the existing grad students and see what they think about this idea of approaching your prof.
Thank you so much for your reply. I will try that this week and let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for your valuable input and to everyone else who replied as well.
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I did put in my SOP that I have communicated with him, but I know for a fact he is not on the admissions committee, so I don't know if that will help my application be considered. Also, though my Upper Division GPA is a 3.95, my overall is <3.5 which is the program's cutoff. He originally said, around 2 months ago, that he would look at my application (not sure what that means), but I am afraid he forgot as he is quite busy.
When I met with him, he also suggested that I talk to a few of his students. I am planning on meeting some of his students this week and then meeting him informally in person, mention that I met his students, am very interested in their work and in his research. I am considering telling him that I already got accepted to some other schools, but his school/research program remains my top choice.
Katalytik--how would one try telling him indirectly?Sounds interesting...
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I have a faculty contact at my top choice school who has expressed interest in working with me as a student if I were accepted to the program. I have a low overall GPA, and since my program is a top program, I am worried about not making the first round of cutoffs. Could I ask my faculty contact to send an email to the director of admissions at my program, saying that we have communicated and they would be interested in working with me if I was accepted to the program? Or is this going too forward?
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Hi, I'm applying too, but I didn't get notified either. I contacted the person in charge, who said that the majority of decisions have already been made =(
Changing Qualifying Exam Committee Members
in Coursework, Advising, and Exams
Posted
I was planning to take my qualifying exam in September 2012, in engineering. I picked four faculty members. Now I want to delay my exam for a month because I don't feel ready, and want to change 2 members of my committee because 2 of the current members are refusing to meet with me, not responding to emails, etc., not telling me what types of questions they will ask.
I want to pick two people who I know care enough to meet with me regularly and tell me at least some of the types of questions they might ask so I can feel more prepared and study better.
The exam hasn't been officially booked yet, but I did set a date that works with all 4 current members in September. How can I go about telling those 2 committee members that I'm changing my committee? Is this all right to do? Is there a diplomatic/easy way to do this? Or should I just stick with the committee I have now?