Unimpressed3D

Hi, tudor. I think asking for an extension from the school that already admitted you is a much safer bet than asking other schools to hurry it up already. And two weeks seems like an awfully short time to me...especially since it's so early and most schools get back to you in February or March. Congrats on being admitted to your second choice school! Best of luck!

Thanks. Just as an update: I called UPenn back just to confirm they'd accept the scanned, uploaded scores instead of the official report from ETS, and they said yes! They said that while it's "encouraged" to submit the official ones directly from ETS, they will accept scanned scores and my application will receive full consideration. To clarify, this is for the English PhD program.

Do most PhD programs accept this? In lieu of having the scores sent directly from ETS, I mean? It would save a ton of money, that's for sure, but I hope it's accepted. Or is this just a way of getting the scores to them faster, while they wait for the official ones from ETS? I'm trying to figure out if I still need to send GRE scores to the schools I didn't choose on test day, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! UPenn already said they will accept scanned, uploaded copies from the ETS page, though.

Thank you! You bring up some great points. No, I certainly don't think it would be prudent to broadcast this to all and sundry. I'll leave it out.

I'm applying to English PhD programs, which I know want you to focus on academics and research interests. So my first SOP did just that, delving in deep. However, I noticed that it didn't boast my accomplishments as much as others I was coming across. I figured those are already listed on my CV and available elsewhere. I can't find a way to bring them in without cutting a lot out, anyway, and then it just sounds like empty bragging, which I tend to avoid. But there is the issue of a blot and some possible cause for concern on my transcript. I'm not sure how to explain that, since the truth is frankly pretty weird. Half of it is illness-related, which one of my profs is already going to address in his LOR, but there's another dimension to it that has actually been a big influence in my intellectual development. OK, so I guess since I'm asking for advice on the matter, it wouldn't be very polite to hide it. Bit-sized confession: I used to belong to a cult. I had what we'll just call extremely disadvantaged beginnings. There was hard-line traditional religion involved. And then I experienced a series of traumas in my early twenties, which left me in psychological devastation, on top of which I was mentally compromised by the meds required for my illness, which started at 19. From what I've learned since, recent trauma is relatively common shortly before cult recruitment. Anyway, so I ended up in the cult, tried to leave twice, went back, and finally broke away for good. Even then, I had to deal with the fallout on top of physical illness. My experiences and what I've learned through them play a tremendous role in how I approach things, of course, but I can easily see how that might be viewed in a negative light. I'm not sure whether to bring it up at all, but just citing "illness" to explain W's - and one F, the result of refusing to do a final project because of "objectionable" content, without so much as communicating with the "heathen" instructor - seems too much like just making excuses. Even though I really was physically ill, I'm not sure how it would come off to an adcom. But I'm very leery of bringing in religion at all, never mind cult involvement. I don't want to seem crazy, and they don't (and obvious can't) know my whole life story in order to understand the whys and wherefores. Should I just not mention it at all? Acknowledge a bad decision without explaining it? Maybe my SOP was fine to begin with, but I don't know if an F is something for which an adcom wants some kind of explanation if they're expected to overlook it. This was at the community college level 3 1/2 years ago, if that makes a difference, and it was in a BS class (for me, anyway, in terms of relevance) that had nothing to do with my major. Parts of my application are really strong, and I graduated from the cc with honors before transferring to my current university, where I have a very high GPA and I've had only one B. My GRE score was 166 for Verbal, and I had a paper accepted at a conference this year. Plus, I belong to three honors societies. Will this outweigh an F? If I should explain it, should I say less?

Thanks. Did they say yes? How did the approach work out? I guess I'm just worried about getting off on the wrong foot, even though they both seem to like me. I'm pretty introverted and nervous about approaching people for favors in general. I'm trying to remember it's part of their job, but...

I've got one prof who's all on board, but the other two...I have no idea how to approach them. I think they're both well enough disposed toward me, but I get really nervous about approaching people. Any ideas? Is it best to bring it up in person, or is it better to give them some time to formulate a response by sending an email? I'm not even taking a class with one this semester, so I don't know his office hours. Plus, I don't want to ambush anybody.

Oh, I see. Thanks. I'm thinking of wandering into Women's or Gender Studies, which isn't far removed from where my research has tended to go, anyway. I guess I'm kind of leery of limiting myself without knowing what it's going to be like "from the inside." I certainly don't want to attempt changing my focus, outside of a discipline, once in a program. I think I could be happy with literature, too, with the right concentration. Finding that is proving tricky.

Thanks. I did know about that one, sorry I didn't mention it. I've actually already taken one out for undergrad study, and yes, the interest rate is pretty high. However, I'm willing to take that on, because right now, I don't see any other way to go forward. I've heard there are other types of unsub government loans, too, but for some reason, I wasn't offered any. Maybe they're offered for grad students? I will look into federal options, though, thanks for the reminder...

I don't even know if I'll need one, but I'm trying to see what my options are, just to stave off fears of not being able to attend at all. I haven't even looked into grants and scholarships. I know it might be shooting myself in the foot, but I'm coming out of a dark place in my life, and just need to reassure myself that grad school is possible at all. I realize, too, that I might get a terrible interest rate and all the rest. I still just need to know that it's a last-resort option. What I'm finding on the internet so far seems...slightly suspect to me. I wonder if some of these companies are even legit. I'm planning to visit my university's financial aid office, but it was no help at my old college. I have a 4.0, did AmeriCorps and service-learning, and I just had a paper accepted at a conference, but I also have (quite a few) W's on my transcript due to ongoing health problems. I don't know what my chances are of getting funding at that rate. I don't know if it's realistic or not, but I just find it hard to believe I have a chance in the competition.

Awesome. Can I ask what school you went to? The ones I've seen require an undergrad in a psych related field.

I'm trying to decide if I should bother doing this (not to the exclusion of applying to programs in my own degree area, of course). Sorry if it's in the wrong section, but I'm trying to get a general impression. I'm a Literature major (senior year), but I switched from Psychology, and my primary interest is still there. It comes through loud and clear in my papers, especially one I just had accepted and read at an academic conference. My prof told me this would look great when it's time for grad school, but what if I jump into a different discipline? Just to be clear, I'm sure it's next to impossible to get into a PhD, PsyD, or Master's in psychology itself; I was thinking more in a related field, like counseling or something. I'm not sure what my options are, or if it's just not a good idea. I'm also toying with the idea of sociology or even communication. My AA had an emphasis on communication, actually.

I agree that it sounds like a good idea. I'd personally be very hesitant to do something like that - kudos for trying. They'll probably think well of that, actually.

I have the same problem. I'm applying to English (Literature) programs, and I frankly don't care much about math. I basically let it all slide out of my head after I finished my math pre-reqs. Same with science. It's tedious even to think of getting myself to hit those particular books again, but I'll do what I need to do to get good scores on this test. Good thing we can take it more than once.

Bruce Hornsby's "Mandolin Rain."

Roommate from hell. I'm at the end of my rope. She's now eating my food, on top of everything else. She's openly malicious, ignores everything I say, and lies through her teeth. I've got some serious health issues, and she's done things that I've repeatedly, pleadingly told her aggravate them. She would deliberately wake me up every night (it was obvious eventually by the fact the noises were loud enough to even penetrate earplugs, repeated, and she always claimed not to know what they were afterward...and her malice came out in all its ugly glory as the weeks went on). She likes to hurt people. But the landlady is a bitch, and does squat to stop it regardless of the fact that she knows about my health, and that I told her long ago. She even extended the little monster's lease! She was supposed to move out at the end of June, and instead I'm stuck with her until the end of July. I got so worried about my health that I rented another room for the month. I would've moved out entirely, but my funds are extremely limited since I'm not able to work right now, and between the cheap rent and the location and (former) safety in a generally unreliable neighborhood, I think moving out would be shooting myself in the foot. Especially since the other rooms are already rented to other people for August. The landlady is now ignoring my calls, too, so I'm not sure if the little shit is at work spreading her lies again there, too. I am still looking around for available rooms, but between my health and my life being in severe disarray at the moment, I don't think I can handle that. I'm on my own, so I don't even have anybody to help me deal with all this shit, and the general state of my wider circumstances doesn't exactly help. Strange first post, I know. I suppose I should write something optimistic here to ameliorate it...but I can't think of anything, and frankly, the "positive attitude" thing would be bullshit here. A sense of humor and a healthy dose of pessimism is usually enough to get me through things, though my health problems sometimes drive me to the edge, but this little monster is just so malicious and openly trampling on me...I don't know what to do about it, and I feel like doing something crazy every time I'm around here. I'm trying to stay away as much as possible while she's there. Hope to god that's enough.