Chubberubber

How I wish I was in your shoes shadowclaw! Nevertheless, I learned first hand how important it is to thank your SOP throughout whether they're involved or not, 'cause it's not obvious that they'll be willing to make such changes (often drastic ones) just so we could chase our dreams...

I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty confident that UK schoold know what Americans mean when they say "college". I think you're fine...

Congratiolations!!

Write your own home's city, state and country, since that's where you were located. If you were doing work for specific branches of those companies, then you can say which branch of the company it was (something like: "data analysis for duff beer, springfield headquarters"...)

I think the answer is a clear cut "Yes". You have relevant work experience, which you've gotten paid for. As you said. don't state that you've been employed by these companies, but under the section "Independent contractor" of your C.V, state which companies you've done independent work for.

Oregon Ducks

My wife is very invested in my applications, and throughout it was kind of a family-project. I only applied for a couple of programs because we had to be very specific about location (with a little baby, we figured we need to be close to her family), but in return she really helped me a lot writing the application. prepare for inteviews etc. I think in general it's important for SO to be invovled in the process since it will affect them one way or another so communication is key from the start...

celery. and rasins (and all other forms of mommified fruit...)

swedish fish

You won't. If this professor asked to interview you he already likes your profile, so don't worry about "why me" and just be happy it is you! As I said, I can't help with the field specific stuff, but perhaps you want to post your question in the CS forum? Or maybe a moderator could move this thread there?

First of all- congratulations! You should be proud of yourself for getting an interview, and the fact you got this far should boost your confidence going forward! I can't help you with the field-specific stuff, but I'll try and address your other concerns: 1) Definitely be prepared with research specific questions- both in the research this particular POI is doing and some ideas of your own. You probably don't need to have a full research proposal ready, but a solid idea of what it is you want to focus on is pretty crucial. 2)Especially since you don't have research experience (and you're right- they do know that), being able to "prove your worth" with practical knowledge can't hurt you. 3) You should focus on being confident yet humble, be able to explain what draws you to this particular program and why you think you'll flourish in it, and have some questions ready for the professor (obviously- check that your Skype works and that you have good internet connection before the call). Hope that Helps!

Is that because out of all the professions, academic researchers are the most likely to also have to work at coffee shops to secure adequate income?

There's also always the option of looking for events that serve food. There must be at least 4-5 of these per week, so that's like 35-50$ right there!

Are you more interested with research or with conducting therapy? If you want to be a therapist then you also need to concider licensure- in my country it's very hard to get accredited without having your MA/PhD from a local university... As Spunky said- funding is almost the end all and be all of international PhD applications. Maybe there are some EU-wide scholarships that could help you secure funding for education iin the US? It's hard work, but finding possible funding avenues is crucial (unless, of course, you want to marry an American! ) One last thing- it ain't over 'till it's over! As a member here told me once- you only need one interview... Have faith!

Another thing is that you can make up for the 3.5 AW with a really well written statement of purpose and possibly with submimtting a good academic writing sample. That would show them that you can write well.

Since you're applying for masters' programs, I'd imagine you won't be expected to write well enough to publish just yet so I'd go with the 3rd score.

Yeah, I never realized how much of a difference culture makes. I am just so worried about coming across as rude or bothering that I would often assume what the answer for a question might be rather than just asking it... I didn't go to office hours because I didn't want to bother busy professors...

Since you're talking about an MA program, the first answer you need to ask yourself is: Am I hoping for a career in the field or in academia. Once you've answered that- look up info on which program is better for each career path: for academia- look in journals/ databases and see where the leading researchers teach, and for field work- look at the credentials of the professionals you are most impressed with/ organizations you'd like to work for. Additionaly, I think being more specific about the way you want to create a more sustainable world and promote clean energy might help. Are you interested in hydro-power? Solar? Wind? Something completely new that I've never heard of? What I mean is- nerrow down your interests and see where are you more likely to be able to persue them in terms of fculty, intership options etc. Hope that helps and best of luck!

Or, for that matter, a 50-word e-mail...

Thanks for the clarifications GeoDUDE!. And just to be clear MathCat- I never said that women have less of a motivation to succeed or that they themselves are worried about appearing too smart. I said that by-and-large, society tells girls (explicitly or implicitly) that they shouldn't be as smart as boys since society is male-dominated (it shouldn't be, but it is). You could, but more often than not- you won't be facing the same hurdles. We're not talking about individual cases, but rather about a general trend, or descriptive statistics. However, I agree with you that we shouldn't use "minority", "disenfranchised", and "un-privileged" interchangeably.

Everything GeoDUDE! said. Plus- and this is true for women as well: Throughout their lives, priviliged males are constantly being prepped for exams like the GRE. when it comes to women- while girls are still less encouraged to exhibit their intelllectual skills (sometimes for fear that being "too smart" would scare off potential husbands) and are guided more towards cooperative studies (often in humanities), boys are told very early on that school (much like anything else in life) is a contest they need to win. Parents still pay more attention to boys' education and academic skills since many think (consciously or unconsciously) that it's more important for guys to get good education since they are the ones that need to evetually support the family. Obviously I'm generalizing here, and I still think one would be better off as a priveliged woman rather then a disenfranchised male, but males are generally more proveliged than women within a given socio-economic cohort. Of course I don't think women are any less intelligent than men nor are they any less capable. I'm only saying that society treats them differentlly in a way that harms them when it comes to standardized tests. Basically what I mean is that the GRE is good as a predictive test within each "group of equals"- I do think a priveliged male with good GRE scores will probably do better (by and large) in grad school than someone of the same background and worse GRE scores. Same goes for women and minorities. I do NOT mean, however, that the GRE has any predictive value when comparing a priveliged person with a disenfranchised one or when comparing man and women. I trust universities to be able to make that distinction, and we all know that even the most "prestigious" institutions don't take the applicants with the best GRE scores. I don't think they do that merely because they want to be "nice" or PC, but rather because they know that potential (especially academic potential) should be assessed within context.

Don't have any specific data but I would give hundreds of academic institutions the benefit of the doubt, and assume that there must be predective value to the GRE in terms of success as a grad student. It stands to reason that minorities and women (let alone people with learning disabilities) will be less successful in this kind of test due for reasons outside their control. That's why you usually give your gender (and if I'm not mistaken your race/ religion' etc.) while you're taking the test and if not then than in your SOP/ diversity statement/ personal history statement etc. That means that minorities are not being compared to people of a more priveliged background, but rather to people of similar background. I think most universities know that a member of a minority with a 158 Q is probably more capable and more impressive than a non-minority person with a 163Q. My GRE scores definitely accurately represent my capabilities- I'm good at verbal reasoning, not so much with quant, and I can't write very well in English under tight time constraints (English is my second language). I would be very surprised to hear that someone who was good in math her/his whole life would consistently get low scores in quant and the same is true for verbal and AW (obviously there are "glitches" and that's why you can take the test more than once). Finally, it is easy to forget but GRE really is just one part of the application and it really does vary from school to school how much weight is given to it. If you don't think your GRE accuratley represents your ability and you really don't like the idea of it- would you really enjoy your time at an institution with the opposite view regarding graduate education and training? So let the GRE heavy institutions/ programs take the GRE impressive students, and be happy that you have a chance at going to a graduate school with a more holistic approach that sees you and your potential the same way you do!

Thanks alexneuro! I was thinking exactly what you said internationals think... Now I feel a lot more comfortable about asking questions!

I Agree with rising_star. Seems a little late in the game for that... Though I'm sure you are really interested in working with this professor, before you send the e-mail I'd think twice whether sending it now won't come across as an attempt to merely influence the admission decision , thus making your genuine interest to be precieved as less serious than it actually is.

15 min. is pretty short for an interview (in my experience- I might be wrong). The most important thing to know is who will be interviewing you. I it your POI? Another prof. at the department? An administrative? If it's a professor- I'd come prepared with maybe 1 or 2 questions about their research, and if it's an admin then 1-2 questions about the program. In any case, I think it's very important to talk about why this particular program interest you and what are the programs unique advantages to you (whether you're asked about it directly or not). I think it's a good way to basically talk about why you are the best fit for the program without being too obvious about it...