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LittleMac

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Everything posted by LittleMac

  1. 20, starting a Ph.D. program in the Fall.
  2. Congrats!! I'm a little concerned because I haven't received anything about my acceptance to MSU aside from it being on my portal (with a .pdf of my decision letter on it). Is it weird that I haven't been e-mailed or given any information about my acceptance yet?
  3. Maybe not that kind of joke, but I think a small bit of humor is a potentially good thing to have. I added humor in mine, but mostly light humor (not really "jokes"). It's not particularly easy to distinguish yourself from the masses with many other techniques in the SoP alone. There are going to be tons of people with so many different, amazing, and impressive accomplishments, but if they're all worded and presented in similar, extremely serious manner, they probably blend together to some extent. The SoP is pretty much the only place where your personality can come out (aside from interviews), and I took advantage of that. Of course, it's a matter of personal preference, and I can understand why most people opt to leave it out. Simply put, I would be misrepresenting myself and my character if I didn't add at least some light humor.
  4. You definitely want the best letters of recommendation that you can get, so I'd suggest going for a "good" one as opposed to the neutral. Though I am curious (in general, not this specific instance) isn't the whole idea for a letter of recommendation to be good to begin with? I mean, the person writing the letter is supposed to be recommending you for the program... So, I find it kind of odd that the recommender would use the language "neutral". I assume he or she just meant that the letter would be fairly weak?
  5. Sorry if my questions seem rather naive, but this is my first (and hopefully final) try at applying for schools @__@ I understand these questions are very broad and that different schools will have very different ways of handling everything, so I guess I'm just asking these based on everyone's knowledge/experience. 1. It seems like certain institutions seem to be really on-the-ball about getting back to people - is this typical? Like, hearing after only 2 weeks or so? I was *shocked* to see MSU's decision come out so soon, especially considering I submitted my application basically at the deadline (January 2nd) and it wasn't even entirely complete until the 9th (Transcript Troubles, Vol. I) 2. Is it odd to not be e-mailed concerning an acceptance (yet seeing your status showing as accepted on the website/portal), or should I be waiting for the acceptance letter goodies in the snail mail? MORE TO COME
  6. How absurdly difficult and time-consuming a 500-word essay can be.
  7. Acceptance to MSU yesterday Waiting on FSU and UF. Looks like within the next two weeks FSU may start handing down some verdicts.
  8. Video games, Food Network, and lotsa cooking and baking.
  9. I can see why the GRE is useful. Especially for people with weaker GPAs, the GRE can really be your saving grace by showing that you're either pretty darned smart, or were very determined to study your butt off for it. That being said, I'm pretty sure it was the weakest part of my application. Of course, it favors people who have more time to study for it, which I did not have - I have been applying for programs after 2.5 years of undergrad, and I was studying abroad and working during this past summer... and the summer before that I was thinking law school. I shouldn't make excuses, though - I still could have done better and studied over a longer period of time. Overall, I really don't like standardized testing and I think it's a much weaker indicator of a person's capabilities than the other components of a candidate's profile. But I also see why it's in place, especially if a school sets a minimum.
  10. I was originally planning on applying to 5 schools, but only wound up applying to 3. All Ph.D. programs except for one application in which I indicated that I'd like to be considered for the MA as well (if they didn't consider me for the Ph.D.) I was pretty concerned that I only applied to a few schools, but my anxiety has been quelled as I've been accepted to the highest-ranked school on my list. Yay!
  11. I think if you were planning to contact a professor with whom you'd like to work, it should have been done before you applied. He or she may see it as a thinly veiled attempt to influence the admission decision for you, as the above poster mentioned. I don't think it'd necessarily hamper your chances (in fact, I have a hard time believing it would), but I also don't think it'd help your chances. I'd probably err on the side of caution and not say anything unless the e-mail is truly relevant or of vital importance.
  12. One of the programs I applied to didn't ask for a CV or Resume (in fact, they said explicitly that they won't review any documents beyond the ones that are required). I uploaded it anyways since I figured it couldn't hurt. Though, they did have two essays as opposed to one Statement of Purpose, an academic statement and personal statement, so there was a lot more room to flesh out what was listed in my CV. I'm assuming they did it like that for a reason.
  13. Good evening all! I received word today that I have been accepted to Michigan State's Ph.D. program in political science. On their site, it says funding decisions are made in February - but how exactly does that work? I was never told I had to fill out any extra forms for funding or tuition waivers/assistantships (aside from specific ones that I don't plan on applying for just yet). Typically, am I automatically considered for funding if I apply and an accepted? Or is there something else I should be doing?? It's just a bit unclear to me. The application was due January 2nd, and though I completed it a few days before, they did not receive my transcripts until the 9th, so I assume my application wasn't fully reviewed until after that. My decision letter was dated January 23rd - does this mean I was a strong candidate?? I have heard that can be the case (especially since MSU does decisions through March). Thanks for any insight!!
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