BongRips69

I would guess that LadyL's unfortunate encounter was the exception. I'm not sure on what planet I would image such a response, it's terrible. If the faculty/staff at the school has even an ounce of decorum, they will understand that you are not making your decision in a vacuum. I don't think it usually costs any more to have a second person in a hotel, so that shouldn't be a factor. I would ask in the context of, "do you have any activities which he/she may attend?" and only discuss financials if they bring it up.

I visited some prior to acceptance (on my own dime), and have acknowledged the acceptance... but there's not much else to do. I've had a few phone interviews, but those were initiated by the school. I also read and read and try to mentally place myself in the school, then write down questions based on this exercise. I'll probably send a round of questions before making a decision.

I received an email on 01 March.

Better safe than sorry. Wear khakis and loafers instead of jeans and sneakers. A polo is a good choice, but could also wear button up shirt (no top button) or nice sweater.

I got a reply from JHU this morning; received an offer with IGERT fellowship! My stats: 800Q/560V/5.0A and 720 on subject exam. I guess I was worrying for nothing!

The OP private messaged me, but I'll reply here. I don't know much about biology research. Don't actually know much about UCI, applied based primarily on proximity to family. Sort of wish I would've tried for one of Caltech's applied/mechanics programs. Did you apply to JHU AMS or their biostat program? There is some bio stuff in the AMS department. Check out the image processing group: http://iacl.ece.jhu.edu/ Check the AMSC webpage for their bio group. If you've been accepted to these programs, you should really direct your questions to them. They accepted you... they obviously want you there! Email potential professors and current graduate students. You may want to direct your messages through the graduate coordinator.

Thanks for your reply... any chance you'd care to share your stats (GPA, GRE, subject GRE, etc)?

15 March... one full month from the 15 April deadline sounds like a reasonable time to inquire. Do so only once, ask a very specific question but don't expect any specific information or answers.

Looking at average past behavior only allows you to predict average future behavior... see: the gambler's fallacy. From your perspective, it's a random process. I like the tactic suggested by someone on this board: pick a date past which you cannot stand to wait, if you don't hear anything then send a simple email to the graduate secretary inquiring about your status. This prevents you from pestering and gives you peace of mind.

This.

Yeah, I'm not trying to be too negative. The overall point is there are many factors that should draw you to a school besides comparison to "rival schools"... as if mathematics is akin to some battleground. I just thought it was weird that the security aspect pervaded many of my discussions with graduate students as I toured campus and asked about housing in the area. I didn't experience this elsewhere.

Where do students in the program usually go? A large portion of graduate schools is building your professional network. Although it's possible to do something radically different than those before you, the odds are you'll get a job through somebody you meet at school. The big question is, why would you want to apply to an aerospace program, take aerospace specific classes, meet people with connections to the aerospace industry... but not follow that path yourself? In general, the degree is probably similar to many EE and ME degrees, but with a little more specialization. But even control theory is wide open. You would be eligible for many engineering type positions in government and industry. You could easily be a software developer or maybe even hardware developer. In general, it won't limit you... but in practice you will have to expend extra energy to make contacts outside the field.

Anyone have any experience with the new GI Bill? Any horror stories about not being paid? Any other advice? Besides plugging in zip codes of schools into the DOD housing allowance website, I haven't done much in the way of really digging into the application process. I've been accepted to some programs, so I figure I better do some research. Assuming I'm starting in the fall, is there anything I can do now to get the ball rolling? I didn't complete my initial active duty commitment, as I volunteered out under the AF's recent force shaping initiative. I did manage to complete 30 months, so I believe I'm eligible for benefits at a 90% level. But for how many months? Do I get all 36 months of benefits, or only 30 months due to my active duty time served. I'm anxious to plan out a budget and would like some concrete evidence of eligibility. So do I actually have to be enrolled in a program to begin filling out forms? Any info from someone who went through the process would be much appreciated! Though I'll also try to answer my own questions for the benefit of others.

I tried to balance out some of the down votes!

Guess I got swayed by the two programs to which I applied with the word 'statistics' in their name. I guess they're not really true statistics programs.

Mind sharing your stats? I applied to this program and didn't hear anything today. Seems like all the posts on the results page were from international students. Any Americans get notification today? Oh yeah... and is it possible to tell anything from the online login for JHU? I suggest everyone check out www.mathematicsgre.com and share their stats!

As a general rule of thumb, I try not to initiate emails with professors... it will often contribute to the nag factor. Doubly so if you've been rejected. I would definitely shoot and email to the graduate coordinator and ask. Just don't expect a helpful response. This process is capricious, there's no way around it. If your background was deficient in some way, you probably would've been told sooner.

This thread is awesome.

Here are some rankings if you're into that sort of thing: http://www.stat.tamu.edu/~jnewton/nrc_rankings/area31.html http://www.ams.org/employment/groups_des.html More pertinent questions would probably be: are they doing research in which you're interested, where have past students gone afterwards, do you like the location, etc. For instance, Baltimore is not the safest city on the planet and security is very prominent on campus. It was sort of weird when I visited (applied mathematics, separate department)... and I've even been to Baltimore before.

But now I basically have a PhD in dealing with bureaucracy!

I don't mean to harp on the subject GRE... you're background looks good. Actually, it's pretty similar to mine (substitute work experience for your MA). So I'm mainly just trying to give you advice on things I didn't take seriously enough! I've already got some acceptances for math/applied math PhD programs, so you definitely can.

If you want "top 20", then most likely you have to take the exam. Look at the webpages of departments in which you intend to apply. They will spell out admissions requirements. As for studying for the exam, I focused most of my time on the subject exam. I scheduled the general exam for one month afterwards. This was plenty of time to get an 800 on the quant section, but I should've memorized more vocab words. About both of these tests: great scores alone won't get you into a school, but poor schools will keep you out. Most schools don't post minimum scores (or even averages), but a few top ones in pure mathematics suggest not even applying if you're under 80%. They get a lot of applications and need to cut somehow. Again, check out the following link to get a feel for scores required for a particular school: http://www.mathemati...c.php?f=1&t=357 Here's a list of previously published exams courtesy of UCSB math club. http://www.math.ucsb.edu/mathclub/GRE/ Here's the current practice book from ETS: http://www.ets.org/g...tics/index.html http://www.ets.org/M...actice_book.pdf

Oh yeah, and don't expect a 95% percentile on the subject exam!

I would suggest deferring graduation until Spring, unless you have a job or apply to programs which offer spring admission. The only piece missing from the description of your background is the subject GRE score. I'm not that familiar with stat programs, but it's my assumption that many (especially top 20) require the subject mathematics GRE. Taking more analysis is a good suggestion, as it will prepare you for this test. It consists mainly of calculus, analysis and algebra (linear, abstract). I'd check out over at www.mathematicsgre.com. There's a thread where people post stats and acceptances/rejections. You should get a good feel by browsing over there.

I actually got my current job when a recruiter found my resume via Dice... so I guess I can't be too mad at them.