shinigamiasuka

http://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94-instructions So it's after arrival.

Nope, no problem at all. A lot of people do that if they arrive early.

>>Inb4 why more PhDs is important in some other countries: 100% with Crafter here, but I'm going to add a few points with my country as an example. Bangladesh hardly has any research opportunities currently. It's us with graduate degrees and research experience from abroad who can help improve this dire state. Lately, there's been a rise in the number of people pursuing graduate degrees abroad. When they come back, they're going to be entrepreneurs, create bridges for collaboration with the universities they graduated from, help improve the education system, initiate new research, motivate future generations, better the economy, improve infrastructure, etc. I hope to be a part of a tech and research boom in my country. Being a young country, they're also building new universities (e.g. my undergrad school opened in 1995)--both public and private--to accommodate the rise in population and %literacy, so the number of TT positions is far from saturation. I'm sure there are many countries just like mine that would benefit from more PhDs. So yes, taking fewer PhDs is not the answer. It's not only about STEM fields, it's the same for humanities and social sciences as well. There's a bias towards STEM fields and the others are seen as "lower"; we need to improve that. Also, there are some fields (within the "soft sciences" primarily) that are either completely absent or provided at too few universities compared to their actual demand. Additionally, where you study also influences you thought and approach styles. We've been staying to ourselves and using only our resources for too long, hence the education system hasn't quite changed in a very long time. I hope the current rise in interest in abroad studies introduces some diversity of thought and ameliorates this.

Your V could be a little too low for these unis; try 150 at least or above. I'm not sure how a 10-point GPA scale works, so can't comment on that. Review and reevaluate your SOP. This could be one of your weaknesses. Does your resume/vitae contain at least some research experience? Are you sure the LORs aren't just general ones some professors give, but proper ones that bring out your strengths? Try contacting the grad admissions offices and see if they help you get a better idea/direction. And finally, we can only help offer advice on how to make a stronger case for yourself, and point to possible weaknesses; we're not adcoms so we can't provide any evaluation with full certainty.

Good luck to you too! Fingers crossed we both get it this time.

research lab

Shamelessly advertising the uni I'm joining this Fall: University of Michigan

I don't know if you've noticed, but it's open now.

The main embassy's in Riyadh, and going there would take a day from where I live now--Makkah. It was only logical to apply at the Jeddah consulate. Yes, I found it totally unfair and can't find a good reason why she rejected me. I've scheduled another appointment now for July 8. InshaAllah, hope it goes well.

Not sure if you see this in the first-world countries, but back in my undergrad school (in Bangladesh), a lot of students as well as professors preferred using their old non-touchscreen (and sometimes b&w) Nokias. Later on, cheap smartphones (like Gionee, locally marketed as Walton) started getting popular. About myself though, I use a Nokia X7 from back in the pre-Lumia days. Looking to upgrade, just haven't gotten to yet. If anything, it still works so...*shrugs*.

No, the world needs more genuinely humble people like yourself and the PhD student you described. Constantly check if you're starting to have feelings of arrogance in the way you deal with matters in your daily life. Always be grateful with everything you have, and moreso for the progress you've made. I may be a bit naive here, but I thought we're doing it to advance, learn more of, and work in the kind of field we're interested in? And speaking of academia, that also means passing the knowledge and equipping future generations to carry on working and advancing.

I'm going from a locally known but internationally unknown undergrad school to a top 10 and internationally top 20-30 program and I'm already feeling it. It's why I've been taking free online courses/MOOCs, but have now come to realise that I need a break. I haven't truly stopped studying or taken a proper vacation since I finished my undergrad thesis in September last year. It's one of those times I pity myself and yet can't help it either.

Have you thought of an interdisciplinary field like computational social science? Just suggesting. About your profile though, it seems you've got a good chance at faring well at admissions for a master's at least.

What about a layover at Toronto, Canada? I'm looking at flights to Detroit (primarily) or Indianapolis and Air Canada seems to have a lot of fights.

A lot of universities don't allow you to apply to more than one program in an application season. I hope he keeps that in mind when he's applying. He's most probably going to need to have full sets of separate application packages in that case--which is like twice the work per university--and each of these applications is going to be treated as separate. It's better to see the strengths of the different research areas at each university and apply to whichever suits him and his interests the best.

I say either stick with A or not attend A at all. Why did you defer B if that's your target? Is it an offer for MS? Is it funded? Funded offer > unfunded offer.

Yeah, I need to reapply. The VO wasn't "satisfied" with the information I provided. She only asked 3 questions: 1. how long I've been living in Saudi Arabia (I'm an expat; born here though) 2. What my dad does 3. What his salary is. Didn't ask for the bank statement at all. My dad's income can pay for 2/3 of the amount on the I-20, but we have enough savings to pay for the rest. This is completely unfair. So mad right now, ugh...

Unrelated, but I just got rejected today. :/

Hi! This is on behalf of a close friend. My friend is a 3rd year English Lit major who's really thinking of switching fields to Psychology after she graduates. Thing is, she doesn't have any experience or coursework (her uni doesn't offer any) aside from self-learning. She's going to sit for the Psychology GRE subject test obviously, and she's been doing pretty well in her studies as of now. Without having done courses on psychology, I doubt it'll be easy getting a funded offer. However, having experience as an IELTS instructor part-time (which she's been doing since the beginning of her undergrad), she could probably get herself a TA in the English or ESL departments. Now, assuming she does well (or adequate) on her subject test, how competitive is she really as an applicant? Also, what would you advise her to do right now besides reading books on psychology? Anything will do, I'll relay them to her. Thanks!

I think the second date goes with the parent's sign. You'll just need to provide your city, state (if applicable), and country in that line.

Next time he's not busy enough to talk to you about your progress, ask him about it and be frank but polite. Hopefully that might crack the ice a bit.

Yes, the standards and expectations are quite different. From my limited knowledge: There's an international pool, and there's a domestic pool of applications. In the international pool you have applicants from all kinds of universities, with different grading systems. The admissions office needs to sort out the top applications from among this, which is actually a lot of work. In engineering, it's usual for the average successful international applicant to have higher Q scores and lower V and AWA scores compared to the average domestic student. As for GPA, there's more to it than that; the reputation of your undergrad school in your country matters (may not always be the case, but a lot of time it does), so does your place/rank/percentile in your graduating class. For domestic applicants, they have a better idea of the undergrad schools and how well the students do, and how they compare to their university. And yes, the GPA (as far as I've seen) of the average successful domestic student is slightly lower than their international counterparts. Stress on "slightly" because the ones getting in with lower GPAs are very few in number compared to the higher ones.

- Take the GRE again and aim for a Q of 160 or above (165 or above recommended). - I'm not sure what 53.8% is. Is it your percentile? Or is it your average marks in percentage? If it's the latter, then this converter calculates it to be 3.0. A 3.0 is actually pretty low, so you'd have to complement it with a) excellent GRE scores (~330 or higher), related work experience (which you have), and (recommended) c) publications. - A TOEFL score that's above the universities' minimum requirement is usually fine. 99 is an okay score. If you want to improve it, then go on, but this isn't really important. - Reevaluate your SOP. - Have a look at the LORs that were sent for you. Do they bring out your strong points? Are they thoughtfully written? How well do your recommenders know you? - Contact the schools like TakeruK said.

They charge for receiving too?? That sure sucks. :/ Also, why would they need to see credit card history to get a phone plan?

4. It would be a tough shot applying for a PhD without research experience. If you can afford it, go for an MS. However, I still suggest you to contact professors in your department for possible research experience. Take an undergrad thesis as well. You're only starting your third year right now, you still have a lot of time to think about this. There's no need to start worrying already. When I was in your place, I didn't even know if I wanted to pursue graduate education. 3. I'm from overseas and I still got into grad school in the US, just like thousands of others. The Midwest has a lot of good schools too (plus you'll be eligible for in-state tuition in case you didn't get into a funded program). 2. Better have some rather than none, yep. My undergrad thesis and personal research areas (digital electronics/computer architecture) don't match with the one I'm going to (solid state and nanotechnology). 1. Like I said, you have a lot of time. Study hard and do well in the last two years so that you can hopefully raise it (aim for A/A+). You may even want to consider applying after graduation (like I did). The higher courses weigh more than the earlier ones. Also, since some of the courses pulling your GPA down aren't relevant to your major, the grad schools won't weigh them equally. You should talk about this in your SOP, though. Additionally, apply for summer internships to enhance your resume. Finally, stop worrying! And no, you won't remain a test engineer, that's an entry level job, LOL. You'll later get senior engineer posts with time and experience. My dad is an electrical engineer too, and he's never been to grad school. He's the chief engineer in control of a tv channel now, so yeah... Most engineers do well in their careers without a graduate degree. The only reason you might want one is if you're going to a research-oriented job. Engineers with service-oriented careers usually end up doing an MBA. Only a some consider an MS in engineering, but that's usually due to a work requirement. Some others like myself hope to become industrial research scientists, so I'm entering MS now so that I can get into a PhD afterwards.