schoolpsych_hopeful

Wow - I am shocked. I'm applying to 15 schools (for a second time) and none of my recommenders complained at all, and instead encouraged me to apply to that many programs. From what I have seen, the forms can typically be filled out in 5 minutes and it takes another 5-10 to submit it (if your not already familiar with the websites). I've seen experienced faculty submit letters at the rate of one every 3-4 minutes (obviously they are submitted the same letter to multiple schools).

If she really doesn't think she has the time, then I would get another person to submit your LOR and forms. I view it as a bad sign if someone doesn't think you are worth spending the time to write and submit 4 LORs and forms (I'm sure she doesn't mean it that way, but it's not exactly enthusiastic support to tell you that it's too much work).

Thanks for the response! And I totally feel you. I have looked over my SOP and resume so much that at this point, unless I experience a major life-altering event that I could write about, I'll only be deleting commas and moving words around. Good luck to you!

Are you close enough to drop by in person? If you can, do so, offering the excuse that you were afraid the email might have ended up in her spam box (which is a valid concern...)

If not, I would wait a couple more days, and then call her. (If the first email didn't get through, after all, the second isn't likely to either.)

Sigh. You still don't get it - my implication was that the ambiguous relationship between % below and percentile meant that those who put the % below number, instead of trying to determine the actual percentile, could potentially be understating their case. Although I meant it tongue in cheek, this is the necessary implication of your own statement. If overstating your case makes you look better, then understating would make you look worse, no?

I really feel as if you still haven't grasped my whole point here - I'm not suggesting that you just add 1 to your score, I'm trying to figure out which of the two potential ways of calculating a percentile they're using. Further, you still haven't gotten it: if you receive a score that says % below: 99 and write 100th percentile, you are not necessarily claiming that you scored better than people who scored above you. This is easily demonstrable. If I score an 800 in Lit, and get % below: 99, then by one standard of calculating percentile, I have scored in the 99th percentile. By another, I have scored in the 100% percentile. By no means would I "be claiming to have scored above [test takers] when...they have actually scored above [me]," because it's actually impossible for them to have scored above that 800. Clear?

Edit: Did you just go through and red all my posts? Catty. Roowr.
Waddle - thanks. That clears it up definitively.

Actually, if you do that, but all of the other 800 scorers report their official ETS percentiles, you still would be misrepresenting your score relative to all of them. Anyway you slice it, you're still doing something unethical.

If it makes you happy, why don't you report your scores the way you see fit with a footnote citing the dictionary's definition of a percentile?

And no, I wouldn't resort to such a thing (i.e. reddening your posts). Did it not once cross your mind that there are other members on this site aside from the two of us? I've tried apologizing so that we can be civil and stop hogging up forum space with this pointless argument.

Just report exactly what your ETS score report says. Case closed.

GK Chesterton, can you please just drop it already? Several of us have given you our opinions. Hotmessexpress was right. Waddle's citation is basically common knowledge and its what hotmessexpress and everyone else here has been trying to convey to you. Bitter posters like you seriously detract from the pleasantness of the Grad Café community. Can't we all just get along?

Edit: I hadn't seen the post before mine. I agree with hotmessexpress about this case being closed. Let's move on with our lives.

Hey everyone! So I was temporarily living abroad somewhere that only offered the paper-based GRE. I had registered for it and everything but ended up deciding to return to the U.S. sooner than I had originally planned. I canceled that registration and have since signed up to take the computer-based version in the States. I know that this is really risky considering that I'm applying to Ivies and other top 10 programs, but I'll be taking the GRE for the very first time in about two weeks. Most of my deadlines are in late-December and early-January. Since I'm taking the GRE on Nov. 22, when can I expect that my programs will receive the scores? Should I consider the option of self-reporting in case my schools and fellowships aren't apprised of my scores by the deadlines? I'm not freaking out... but maybe I should be?

I feel extremely well-prepared (...well, for the Verbal section anyway), so I'm not in the least worried about the fact that I'll probably only get to take it once. I've been consistently getting Verbal scores in the mid-700s and higher on PowerPrep and a plethora of other practice exams. Since I'm applying to Ph.D programs in the humanities, the Verbal section is really the only one that matters. I had a close friend who aced the Verbal and had below a 600 on his Math and he got into 7/8 humanities Ph.D programs, all at Ivies and other selective schools. However, I did apply for some competitive national fellowships so I have to be sure to get something respectable (~600s) on the Math section... Worst case scenario, I have to shell out the money to retake it in early Dec., if anything to boost up the Math a little for the fellowships (but I really don't think it will come to that). Considering that I'll likely only get one shot and that it's so late in the game, am I being too nonchalant here, or am I alright?

Warning: The following is slightly sesquipedalian and may contain trace amounts of grandiloquence. It's definitely not my intention to suddenly sour this post; I'm only providing the following background info to contextualize my situation. Consider yourself warned. I graduated summa cum laude from an Ivy in the "HYP trinity" with the same major as what I'm hoping to study in grad school. My thesis, which I will be using for my writing sample, received accolades in my department. My adviser and other professors, well-known scholars with friends at the schools on my list, will be writing coruscating letters of recommendation to support my applications. Furthermore, my alma mater is on my list of grad schools partly because it's one of the top programs in my field, and my professors have made it abundantly clear that they'd be delighted to have me back. They're very confident in me and have reassured me that I'll get into most if not all of the schools on my list. The friend I mentioned earlier who was accepted practically everywhere he applied had a similar background as mine. These are among the reasons why I'm not so worried about taking the GRE only once and so late. I'm posting under another alias here because I'm more or less well-liked on this site under my main username and I didn't want to ruin that with this post...

P.S. The poll I made for this thread is mostly for fun (and procrastination). Your actual responses in the thread or via PMs would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all so much in advance!

Well, it is Sunday and you've only waited half a day to decide that we all are not interested..

But seriously. First of all, I had a hard time understanding from your post who you are exactly and what your question is. "LOR evaluation from Head of institution" -- are you the head of the institution? I understood you that you are maybe a TA/grad student. So what does this title mean? Aside from that, I doubt most of us who write here have experience writing LORs for students; I certainly don't think I could give advice on that. This forum is for applicants who are in need of letters; you should move your query to Officially Grads if you want input from students who are currently attending grad school. Lastly, and more generally, this question is probably best addressed to your advisor or to some other more experienced professor, not to anyone on a "applying to gradschool" website.

I think that should your peers find out about it, that they will probably suspect something nefarious or at least the thought will cross their mind. That is, unless they know the quality of your work. In my own case, if I were your peer and I knew you were capable of producing high quality work on your own, I wouldn't think anything of it. If I knew you had difficulty producing high quality work, I would wonder. I guess it boils down to how much your peers' opinions of yourself will have an effect on you. Do you value this relationship enough that even though your peers might frown on it you would still be happy in it? As for your career, I don't think it *should* have an impact on your career since no policies are being violated, and ultimately you will be judged on the quality of your own work (perhaps I'm being nave in this).

Well, I don't think you will get rejected for getting this wrong.

But for what it's worth:

Standard practice seems to be, write out the name fully the first time, and after that it's okay to abbreviate within reason. I wouldn't go to acronyms, generally (e.g. UIUC), but switching from "University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign" to "Illinois" the second time (and so on) is basically what I did. Definitely not "U. Illinois," though--if you have part of a word, write it out.

But again--this is not something huge to stress about.

Well, the attitude of your faculty begs the question, "Why did they admit you in the first place?" if they're so staunchly opposed to women as clergy or theologians (I'm guessing from your program: M. Div.).

Be that as it may, you can directly ask the regular professors if they'd be able to write you a good recommendation -- assuming of course that you can trust them to give you an honest answer.

If the answer is yes, then at least one regular professor's recommendation would be advisable. If not, then ask the adjunct for a recommendation.

I'm sorry to hear that such misogyny still exists. Women have proven themselves to be equally adept with men in every human endeavor except for fathering babies and a few athletic areas where a man's muscular build gives him an advantage.

Indeed (I'm sure indulging in polemics is frowned upon in this forum, but here I go anyway) the Catholic Church would have benefitted immensely from the presence of women in its priesthood, if for no other purpose than to serve as whistle-blowers against the astonishing number of pedophiles who've been flushed out of the woodworks in the last 15 years.

Good luck,
John

Several things result in a good "fit" with a program:
- Interests: overlap between your interests and topics currently being pursued by professors in the department. This is the obvious one. The more potential advisers you may have, the better -- you'll have more course options, more people to guide your own work, probably more peers who are working on similar issues. The more specific and developed your interests, the better the adcom can see this fit. Vague generalities will result in no one finding your research interests particularly relevant to them. There is no need for platitudes; just make it clear how your work relates to as many potential advisors in a department as possible.
- Resources: inter- and intra-departmental collaborations, proximity to a researcher or department in another university in the area (but don't make too big a deal of it), library/archives/informants or other (professional) reasons for you to be specifically at location X, special equipment (labs, fMRI or whatnot), certificate programs (e.g. teaching, translation, specialty in X - cog sci, media are relevant examples for my field)
- Methods: professors who use methodologies that you are interested in, even if they use them to study different topics than you are interested in
- Social environment: this is more elusive, but different departments work differently. Some are friendlier and close-knit, some are more competitive. Some have student-student or student-professor collaborations, at some you're supposed to fly solo. At some students (and occasionally professors) meet up for beer and Topics in X late-night sessions, at some you go home to your own life at the end of the day. This is something that you should independently be interested in when you're choosing where to apply, because for example if you're a very competitive person you may be completely miserable in too laid-back an atmosphere, even though professionally you may get the mentorship you need (or vice-versa, over-competitiveness can easily cause some people to feel insecure and out of place). Your character should preferably shine through your SOP, not be written about directly, but mentioning social fit also works if you frame it in the right way.

Usually you'll find the things a program is most proud of directly on its website. Certificates, collaborations, special resources will feature prominently.
For things like methodologies and interests you might need to go on individual professors' homepages.
Social atmosphere is the factor that is hardest to learn about. That you'll hear about from colleagues or professors, but be mindful. The student body at an institution is a changing thing and some rumors (or past facts) may simply not hold anymore. The best way to know about how a department operates is to speak to a current student there.

The more detailed you are, the more elements you can write about, the more excited you sound - the better the fit will shine through.

That raises the horror scenario:

Graduate School's absolute limit: 1000 words
Individual department: no limit

And your application (with 1100 word SOP) gets axed before the department ever sees it. I don't think this may happen very often, but it underscores your point, namely ask the department for details!

Most professors on admissions committees I have spoken to don't really give a hoot about language acquisition unless you have it on a transcript or it pertains to a job, something solid and tangible that says, "I learned this." I doubt putting "I bought and taught myself THREE Rosetta Stone languages" would really help anyone.

I never went to any university that offered "basket-weaving" as a major, and what of those of us who are actually applying to liberal arts departments? Many fields require degrees in liberal arts, it's not as flakey or useless as you imply. However, putting in a hobby of learning languages with an expensive computer program rather than pertinent fieldwork experience or project that would mesh well with the professors in the department you're applying to is a huge mistake.

If you're trying to sell something on here, I suggest maybe you look into some kind of online sales tutorial next time.

Good for you for planning ahead! You're at a huge advantage by thinking about grad school this early.

I think most people take time of between grad school and undergrad to get more research experience if that area of their resume is lacking. Personally, I took time off because I wasn't really focused enough on one particular area to apply to grad school. It's not impossible for someone to be accepted straight out of undergrad.

Your credentials are impressive. Research and clinical work/volunteer experience are really important in a clinical application. I'd say you definitely have a chance to be admitted to a clinical program. This might feel far away, but start thinking about the GRE. Plan to take it next summer, when you aren't taking any classes. Give yourself lots of time to study, and study hard. Most clinical programs will want to see a score around 1300 combined.

When looking for schools to apply to, you should focus on research match. Apply to schools with faculty whose interests match yours. Talk to your thesis advisor and the grad students in your lab for advice on where to apply. "Fit" is much more important than program rank.

I wouldn't worry. Official scores from ETS take 10 to 15 days to arrive at the institutions you choose on test day, so your scores will arrive well before December 15th and you will be fine. Even if you need to retest, you can do so once per calendar month, meaning if you had to retest you could do it on December 1st (assuming you can get an appointment for that day) and still get your second scores in on the deadline or one day late. While one day late might be a problem, many programs only require unofficial scores (received at the testing center as soon as you complete the test) on your application as long as the official scores are received soon thereafter. Check with your individual schools to see if they require the official score report by the deadline or if you have some wiggle room. Even with the strictest of rules and no wiggle room, your Nov. 20th scores will arrive in plenty of time. The only possibility of a problem is with strict schools and a need to retest, which is a pretty unlikely combo since you already delayed once to give yourself preparation time (I bet that means you'll be ready on the 20th). Best of luck!

Regards,
Taylor Dearr

I simply try and answer everyone's questions. The fact that similar questions show up repeatedly is a symptom of the fact that people have the same concerns. For that reason we try and develop comprehensive answers to those common questions. I'm sorry that it bothers you, but I am really just trying to be as informative as possible.

Regards,
Taylor

While looking up a few things for I stumbled upon some information that I thought deserved a topic of its own. This is only about HUMANITIES/SOCIAL SCIENCE not Engineering/Physical Science/Biological Science. You guys can start your own club (naw, just kidding, that stuff just already has it's own spots: Wendy Chao has an updated list of high Biomedical stipends for example).


Source: Princeton's Annual Report on the The [sic] Graduate School 2008-2009, table 10

Further comparable stipends:
Chicago | $19,500 | $3,000 for 2 years | $103,500 (source)
Northwestern| $20,928| $??? for 3 years* | $94,640** (source)

*It's unclear if 20,928 includes summer, judging from results page post from last year in Economics "15k + 5k summer; TA years 2, 3, 5" it seems like it does. Also from the results page: one person had 4 summer funded, some people just listed "summers funded", several had three summesr funded
**Assuming 15,928*5 + 5,000*3. Admittedly, this is the least definite of all the numbers. If it is 20,928*5+5,000*3, then the total five year stipend is $119,640.

Unless noted, the figures were for 2009-10, the last round of admittance. Between 2008-09 and 2009-10, Princeton's stipend was raised by $750 dollars. Between 2009-10 and 2010-11, Columbia's stipend was raised by $500. That seems to be normal year to year. Between 2007-08 and 2009-2010, Chicago's raised by $500 (though it had been considerably lower before 2007). Not all departments pay the exact same. For example, the language departments at Chicago pay slightly more (see first Chicago source). Princeton, in addition, has Presidential Fellowships available to underrepresented minorities (including women in science and engineering, see table 8 or 9 [i forget] in the Princeton Source above). Slight variations are possible other places as well. This table only tries to collect the standard offers.

These charts all divide between summer and the school year. Some schools don't do this: Yale for instance advertizes a yearly stipend of 25,500 but that includes five summer.

There are more stipend numbesr available from the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/stats/stipends/ if anyone sees a particularly noteworthy one in the Humanities or Social Science, post it here. NYU's is probably up here too, perhaps Duke's is as well. I just wanted to start collating the data.

I am a Nigerian planning to write GRE this december. am planning to go for m.sc geography in the folowing schools; Udelware, Uwisconsin Madison,Penn State Uni,Univ of Idaho and USak (canada).
Please I would like to know if there is anyone with info on required GRE scores/or how well do i need to score and other things I should know.
if u care u can reply to olusolaadeyemi@hotmail.com

Two of my recommenders had the same problem with Univ of Denver. I called the admissions office and they gave me an email address that the letters could be sent to, along with instructions that the recommenders should mention in the email that they were given permission to do so by the lady I spoke to. So I would definitely call the admissions office at UPenn and ask them if there are any alternative means of letter submission available given the circumstances.

I have a theory that when we're faced with a process that seems huge and unpredictable, we respond by focusing on the tiny little details because they're the only things we can control. This makes them seem important when they're really not. Like envelope selection. I worked in a university office at the mail desk once upon a time. When I got a reference letter, I would rip it open and staple the envelope to the back so that if there was any question about where it had been mailed from, there was proof. Nobody but me, lowly mail desk me, would ever look at the envelopes.

So I would recommend ones made out of paper, that will hold other pieces of paper.

Not getting into grad school seems like the end of the world. But it can truly be a blessing in disguise, as I've learned. It took me three rounds to get in but now I am in a program that's a great fit, and am glad about how things worked out. Here are some reasons why not getting in was a good thing for me:

1. I got to work in my field and gain professional experience. I got exposure to how the field actually works - grants, publications, department politics - which is a huge advantage going into a graduate program.

2. I came in with hands on skills. Because it had been my job to analyze data, I already knew the basic methods, and was able to jump right into a project in my new lab. If I had come straight from undergrad it would have set me back 1, maybe 2 semesters in terms of productivity because I would have had to learn from the ground up.

3. Working gave me confidence in myself as a professional in the field. Because my job required self motivation and self management, I know I can successfully work independently. I can set my own goals and be confident in my level of productivity. Some students seem to be constantly questioning whether they're doing too much/not enough, but I know from my experience what the expected pace of my work is in the field and am able to follow that.

4. This is a big one - because I worked instead of doing an MA, I don't have student loans from prior graduate work AND I was able to save money. This means that I am in a much less financially precarious place than my peers. I have enough savings that as long as I live moderately I don't have to worry about having money for food or bills. I won't graduate with any debt. I can't emphasize how huge this is, considering one of the main stresses my classmates complain about is money.

5. Having experience with raises and promotions gave me the confidence to negotiate my financial package. I was able to get a slightly higher stipend than is usually offered, which allowed me to afford a decent apartment in a good area. Unlike students who are living in on campus graduate housing, I don't have the stress of having limits on the number of visitors I can have or RAs giving me a hard time. This also helps with my stress level.

6. My experience also helps me feel more comfortable navigating the relationship with my adviser. I know that I wouldn't have been accepted into the lab if they didn't like me or think I was capable. Other students seem to second guess themselves a lot and get paranoid about their advisers not liking them. Having worked for professors in the field before, I know not to read into things like short emails (they're busy!).

I really feel that had I been accepted straight from undergrad I would not have had these numerous advantages. Now, going straight to grad school is certainly do-able, it just means a sharper learning curve and being pretty broke. Plenty of people take that route and are successful, but there are many paths to success, and I am happy with mine.

I'd also suggest to keep it short and vague, and I think that "medical condition" sounds like a good choice of words.
The adcom doesn't need to know the specifics, the important thing is that you briefly say that you previously had a problem which affected your grades but it's now under control and you are doing well at your new school.

If you can keep this out of the SOP, that will be great. Most schools have space for you to tell them "anything else you think is relevant to your application" or some such.
Otherwise, keep it down to 1-2 sentences which reference the problem in the past tense and stress the current upward trend in your grades.

No they don't show you the combined score, just verbal and quant on separate lines.

I had a similar experience (did way better that I thought I would) so I was nervous to get my official score report. I just got it yesterday, and it's the exact same score I saw on GRE day. Congrats on your score!

Hi all,

Looking for programs to apply to next autumn. My top choice right now is Harvard's Doctor of Education Leadership program, which seems really perfect for me, at least right now with the goals that I have currently. But if I don't get into that (which is sort-of a long-shot...I suppose...) I will likely attend a program that will get me a PhD in English...unless I find something that seems to fit my goals better. Ideally, I'd like a program that would incorporate my interests in English, Philosophy, and Education, and I think the Education Leadership program is absolutely perfect, given my goal to found a charitable (but classically-driven) boarding school for economically under-privileged but academically motivated students.

As far as my credentials go, I'm currently at USC majoring in English and Philosophy. I'm a junior (graduating in 3 years) with a GPA of 3.685 (which will be going up, I'm positive). As far as extracurriculars go, I kinda wimped out last year (my freshman year) and mostly just did volunteer editing work with a smattering of other community service, but this year I've got a lot going on, including church, college newspaper, and lots of community service, specifically community service tailored towards education leadership. I'm in an honors program and I plan on either teaching English abroad or doing an exchange program this summer to boost my language skills.

So, anybody got any hot tips for me?