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The email says "in review" meaning the admissions office has sent my materials to the specific department. I am not sure what this means though.. whether the admissions office has control over all materials or how additional materials get updated. This is Columbia's engineering program. They required three, and I submitted four. The missing letter comes from #2. #1, #3 and #4 are in. I didn't think they would consider my application complete without the second letter...

I am freaking out. The official deadline is tomorrow and I have already submitted my online application. So have three other recommenders. But I have a fourth recommender, and he happens to be one of my most important recommenders. His letter has not been submitted yet, but I got an email earlier today letting me know that my application is now under review. What do I do? I have emailed and called with no answer. I scoured the website and found a quote along the lines of - once the application is under review, we will not accept any additional materials and will not change anything for you. Oh my god. I really need this recommender's letter. Oh my god. What do I do? Will they still consider it if submitted before the deadline?

I have applied to PhD programs in engineering in the US. I have been early in applying to most programs (deadlines range from mid-December to mid-January). I have not contacted any professors prior to applying, as I have been told by many that it would largely be a waste of time. Instead I reached out to several grad students and read/skimmed through many recent published papers by faculty. In my statement of purpose, I talked about at least two professors that I thought had interesting topics for research and why they interested me. I tailored this part of the statement for each program. My question is, is it appropriate to contact faculty post application submission? I would like to say hello, let them know that I have applied and that I would be interested in working with them if I am fortunate enough to get in, and ask them to keep me in mind if they are looking for students. I thought it might be a good idea to just put myself out there. Who knows? Maybe they'll recognize my name once they start going through applications and give it another good look. But I also do not want to annoy them. I recognize that these professors are busy and that they get many of these emails every day. I want to be considerate of their time too. I also do not want to come across as being arrogant or silly or needy.. What is your expert advice? Would you recommend that I sit tight? With my application already out of my hands, I understand that there is nothing I can do now to improve my chances. But I am always hoping. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Go for it. I am applying to engineering programs, so obviously the requirements will be very different.

Does a bachelor's thesis count as a "major publication"? Or are they looking for articles in published journals? (Applying from bachelors directly to PhD programs..)

I've noticed that writing samples could be uploaded under optional materials, but typically schools don't require it. Would it be helpful to upload a part of my senior thesis? Are writing samples read if they aren't one of the required materials?

UC Berkeley's graduate admissions webpage says 1-2 pages, single-spaced, 12pts. Department's admissions webpage says 2 pages max, double-spaced (had to dig pretty deep to get this information... it's not on the online application). Which guideline do I need to follow in terms of formatting? And length? I'm finding it very difficult to cut down to 2 pages double-spaced, but at the same time, I don't want to give the impression that I don't know how to follow instructions. Emailed the department but no response.

Question about major GPA on CVs: - Transcript does not calculate or record GPAs. - I had many Bs in my coursework for my major in my sophomore year, but recouped my GPA by acing most of my junior and senior year departmentals (the higher level coursework). - My department calculates major GPAs by a specific guideline... as the top x number of grades taken during junior and senior years, excluding lower level coursework, etc. etc. - By the department guidelines, my major GPA is pretty high. To give some credibility to the statement, I graduated with departmental honors. But I am also afraid that anyone looking at my transcript might have doubts because of my departmental grades from sophomore year. What should I do? Can I list my departmental GPA as calculated by my department's guideline? Or should I just take the average of all the relevant coursework and list it on my CV instead? That might bring my major GPA down significantly. My department confirmed that they will not calculate/provide GPA figures on my behalf. I have searched for the document that outlines how to calculate departmental GPAs online, but it seems they have removed it because I graduated a while back... (I calculated my GPA right before graduation and kept that same number on my resume since) Advice? Thoughts?

Agreed, but could that be more applicable to humanities than engineering? I have a paragraph on why I want to study X at university Y, but it's hard to elaborate much further beyond why it interests me and what I think might be interesting topics. After all, part of the reason I need graduate education is that I don't yet have the mathematical/computational depth from my undergrad studies. Also, by story telling, I don't mean my entire life story, but my motivation, past research and professional experiences that lead up to current research interests and my decision to pursue graduate school. All college onwards. Thoughts?

Hi everyone, I am an applicant to engineering PhD programs in Operations Research. I've shown my SOP to two people so far, and received very different feedback. Hoping to know what you guys think. 1) Story telling: you already went to a top school, was a top student, have research experience and professional experience. You don't need to try as hard to sound smart -- instead, focus on what you learned, how you felt, why you did what you did etc. Tell your story. 2) Theme-based structure: do less of chronological/narrative story telling, group your experiences by themes and concisely deliver your messages. Focus more on writing about your potential research topics. Obviously there is no right or wrong answer but I am not sure which approach to follow. My current SOP looks more like #1 and my letter-writing professors didn't have much comments... but I also understand what #2 means. What are your thoughts?

TakeruK, Thanks for all of the advice. My thesis advisor is still in academia as a lecturer. Although I haven't asked, I do not think he is on the tenure track yet. I will submit all four letters. Appreciate the input

Hi, Thanks for your suggestions!! Over the past couple of weeks I've talked to all of my potential letter writers, and I am hoping to get some more of your advice. I'm keeping the numbers in line with what I've posted previously. 0. Thesis advisor - I expect a stellar letter. He was a postdoc, however, and is currently at a different university. He taught some of the core classes for my major while he was at my undergrad institution and advised many theses during his time there. He has a PhD. 1. Industry manager - I expect a stellar letter. He has a master's degree. Knows me well, and knows how I have grown over time. The job I have currently is not research oriented, but a very applied version of the field I am looking to enter. 2. One class (A) - Assistant Professor. She left my undergrad institution but is still in academia. She said she's happy to write me a letter and that she's happy I am going to graduate school. She also mentioned, however, that I will have to feed her a lot of information - she knows I took the course and did well, but we haven't really kept in touch since. She also told me to consider speaking with full professors at my undergrad institution, because it might be strategically good to get a letter from someone well known and well established. I think she'll write me a good letter and I have the confidence that she'll try to be helpful, but I don't know if she will have specific examples. 3. I was unable to get in touch with Professor #3. 4. Two classes (A and B ) - full professor and very well known and respected in the field. He is still with my undergraduate institution. He said he would be happy to write me a letter. When I asked if he would need any information from me, he said no, I'll write based on your experiences here, and that he will reference my past papers/projects/peer evaluations etc. He also said that he gets lots of such requests every year. All four meetings/calls went well, I think, but other than my senior thesis advisor and my industry manager, I am not exactly sure what to expect from professors #2 and #4. Should I include all four in my application? Or should I take out professor #2 given the limited insight she is able to provide regarding myself? Thanks in advance to reading this and providing insight!

Hi guys, hoping to get some advice and insight here. I have a Bachelor's + a few years of work experience, now applying to PhD programs. I've noticed that schools ask for CVs/Resumes. Two questions here: 1) How are regular job application resumes different from PhD application CVs/resumes? Do I need to keep with the 1 page rule? 2) What is the level of detail/depth that needs go into CVs/resumes for PhD applications? 3) Are CVs recommended or resumes? Granted, I don't have enough publications etc. to write a CV... but still wondering. Apologies in advance if this has been discussed in an earlier thread. Thanks!

Thanks. AWA scores came in strong at 5.5. I'm done!

Thanks everyone- I was considering retaking because the average verbal scores for most of the programs I had been thinking of applying to had been in the 161-162 range. 163 seemed a little on the edge to me. It seems I should focus on the rest of my application. Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it.

Any advice or comments highly appreciated -- in dire need of help!! Who should I ask for letters of recommendation? I've been out of school for the past two years and have been working full time. As a college student, I never considered grad school -- I thought I was going to be, and wanted to be, in the industry... until I changed my mind recently. So honestly I didn't really bother developing relationships with professors while I was in school. I was a good student, but considering how large classes can often be, I probably didn't leave any significant impressions (while I did go to office hours, I was never one to raise my hand and ask probing questions during class). I graduated with high honors and a senior thesis, so I can safely say I've secured my thesis advisor's letter. Now the problem is with the other two letters... The field I'd like to enter is operations research. 1) Current managers -- If I ask, I am positive I will get very strong letters. Both think very highly of me and helped me get a promotion rather quickly. But neither has a PhD. The managing director has a bachelor's, and the director a master's. Will this be a problem? I've seen someone say, how can you ask someone without a PhD (who has never gone through that process) to comment on your ability to work towards that degree? 2) Professor I took one course with -- I got an A in the class my junior year. The professor has seen me outside of class on a few occasions (guest lectures etc.). I've asked about getting a master's degree once. The professor advised that I should go for a PhD if anything, but at the time, I think I said I was more interested in being in the industry (why oh why did I do that...........). I was going to ask her to be my thesis advisor until I learned that she was going to be on maternity leave my senior year. At the moment, she is no longer affiliated with the university. 3) Professor I took two courses with -- One of the two professors I have taken more than one course with. One A-, one A. Regularly attended office hours, but nothing outside of that, as in, he might recognize my face but not my name. I did enjoy both courses very much. The second course I took with this professor actually motivated me to think about going back to grad school. I took this course senior spring, right before graduation, and looking back, I really wish I had taken this course sooner. It might have changed my career trajectory earlier. The professor is really someone I wish to emulate. 4) The other professor I took two courses with -- One B, one A. I would go to this professor as my last resort (that is, if he would be willing to write a letter for me). Both were large classes and I highly doubt he remembers me. I had a lot of fun with the project in the second course. As part of the course I had to submit an extensive report of the work I did for the project along with peer reviews, and I am hoping that he has retained those copies to base the letter off of. The first course was rather... disastrous. I am not sure if I will get a good recommendation letter from this professor, even if he agrees to write for me. I am just sad that no one else could attest to my work on this one project. There are a couple other professors I have gotten an A from here and there, but no one that I've really had an interaction with. They most likely do not remember me. Any thoughts? I would highly appreciate any feedback or comments you may have. Thanks!

I was hoping for V 165+, but ended up with 163. Q is 170. Not bad, I know, but wondering if I should just forget about it or take it one more time. Only decided to apply to grad school two weeks ago, so that's when I registered for the GRE. I guess that's what I got with two weeks of cramming while working full time.... Applying to top engineering PhD programs, aiming for MIT, Stanford, etc.