geobsessed

Congrats!! I think it means your chances of getting in just went up, and you're on the short list for admission! You should definitely go, and put on your best face, expect a casual interview. They're feeling you out to see if you'll be a good candidate.

Ugh oh man! Well I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Ugh that sucks, I am so sorry! I just found out I may need oral surgery, like I have the money for that right now... ugh! Hasn't been my week either but I'm trying to keep my chin up! We can do it!!

Yes indeed. If I don't get full funding, I'm willing to take out a small amount of loans if I have to, as right now my loan debt isn't that bad at all compared to most, and with my degree I expect my return on that investment to be pretty high. But if I don't get any funding... all the schools I have applied to are out of state, and I am just not willing to go into that much debt.

Congrats to all who have gotten offers, and condolences to those who haven't yet gotten any! I've applied to 3 schools, and so far have one offer (not funded though, poo, and to me a non-funded offer is no offer) and am eagerly awaiting hearing from the others. I feel like I have a pretty good chance of getting into both, and a great chance at getting into one of them, but the waiting is kiiiiiiilllllinnnng meeeeeee. I just want to know! Also I have senioritis really badly right now. I have an exam tomorrow that I really haven't studied for :-/ so I guess I need to get on that instead of compulsively refreshing my email and logging in to check my application statuses.

Hello everyone, I am currently an undergraduate senior and soon I will be applying for MS grad programs for Fall 2016 admission. I have a question about some communication protocol here, and am looking for some advice. A program at the top of my list has a research group led by two PIs. Earlier in the summer, I reached out to one of the PIs via email to introduce myself, to ask some questions about the program/group, etc, and it was well received; after a few emails, I think the PI is very interested in me. I asked if it was okay if I contacted the other PI, and I was told sure, go ahead, that they both often co-advise grad students and everyone in the group works closely. I did that, and the other PI responded also very favorably to my inquiry. Both of them have told me about specific projects that they are working on and how many grad students they are expecting to take on to work on whichever project. I'm now in this place where I'd really like to attend this program- it seems like a really good fit for me academically and personally. Both of the PIs are doing interesting work, overall I'd love to go there, but I don't know how to handle the next step of communication. I wish to convey that I'd really like to be a part of their research group, and that I'm interested in pretty much all of the research both of them are doing, and that I would be happy working on any project they have. However, I fear that this would make it look like I'm not focused enough, which honestly, I don't feel like I am. I honestly would be happy to work on whatever project they have, because I would be interested in any of it. Would this hurt my chances of being admitted? Would it be a good idea to be forthright with both of them and say something like "I would really like to be admitted to the program and work in your group, all of the research the group is doing is interesting to me"? Or should I be more committed to one project? It seems silly to commit beforehand to a project when I haven't even been admitted, but I am unfamiliar with how this works, and I do not want to step on any toes by saying I'd prefer one project over another, especially when I really don't. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

GeoDUDE! thanks for your reply. I'm looking to get into a PhD in the earth sciences as well! I have a few followup questions if you do not mind. It would not be a big deal for me to visit some of the schools I am interested in; it is also very important to me that I like the area that I will be working/living in so I'd like to visit my top contenders if possible. However, I am not familiar with this process- I didn't know they would pay to have you travel out! Would that be something that they would offer, or would I have to inquire about that? Also, they would write a grant for me? I didn't know that was a thing either. Would I have to have a really specific project in mind first or would I be able to tell them my general interests, then they could write it based off a marriage of my and their interests? Again is that something I should ask about or would they take it upon themselves to do that? What if I don't know specifically what I would like to do? For example, my main interests are sedimentology/fluvial geomorph/watershed science. I have found a few researchers doing really fascinating work but I don't feel confident enough in what I want to do specifically to say "I want to do a project where I test/study/measure a, b, and c, in order to find out more about x, y, and z", when in reality pretty much almost everything at the intersection of these three disciplines is interesting to me.

Hello all, I will be graduating in Spring 2016 (it seems so close yet so far away!) and I am wondering if now is too soon to start emailing potential advisors for Fall 2016 admission. If so, when is a good time to start? It would be nice to visit a few places in the fall and be able to meet with people I've already built a rapport with. Additionally, other than studying for the GRE and researching potential programs, is there anything else I can be doing now to prepare? Thanks!