CornUltimatum

One of my friends did her Master's thesis over xenocryst distribution. She also took a lot of courses over petroleum, had a few internships and what not. She was very on top of her game academically - and she was the only person I know of who landed an oil job at my University last Fall. I assume that while her thesis was not totally relevant she highlighted aspects of how she performed the research and how that experience was relevant, or something of that sort. It's certainly ideal to have a thesis pertaining to energy (oil), but if your options are limited, and the project is fully funded (congrats!) there are other things you can do to bolster your background.

I just got an email inviting me to an interview/recruitment weekend from New Mexico Tech! I am SO pumped! Now I just have to look around and see what resources are on here about how to prep for it!

I was doing some creepin on one school I applied to, in the results section (Idaho State), and I notice half of the notifications are sent out by snail mail rather than by email! Do other schools prefer this method? I also was hoping to get some word on possibly an interview or whatever around this time. I'm definitely a bit nervous as two of my favorite programs (Nevada - Reno, and ASU) are typically active at this time given their history. ASU has already sent out some acceptances, but since I haven't gotten a rejection notice, I suppose I'm not "out," yet. Nevada has so far been seemingly inactive... I check back here every day to see if someone got a note from them, but radio silence so far! I was talking to a graduate student at my University earlier, and apparently all of their acceptances came in around late February - the last week of it or so.

It's extremely rare, even with an amazing application, to get accepted into all top programs you apply for (all top 15!). I've done a lot of creeping around on this site to get a handle on how acceptances can be dished out. I've even seen people get rejected at lower ranking schools, but then get accepted for higher ranked schools. As far as your basic qualifications go, they're perfectly fine. Concerning the research experience, or your SOP, you may not of aligned as well as some others did at that particular program... That's not to say they were bad. These programs have massive applicant pools in most cases, and you surely were seriously considered, but there was probably one applicant who studied in some ruins or something, which were more relevant to the research at that one program. It's splitting hairs at this point. (Also my only specific knowledge on graduate studies for history come from attending this reception and talked to this History professor on his work in some South American Ruins... I don't know how typical that is). So, how you've faired so far is not necessarily an indicator of what is to come. Other people have mentioned a lot of other reasons why you may not of been accepted, it likely has little to do with how good your application is.

Bed bugs

Relevant to earlier discussion concerning usage of GRE schools and predicting graduate sucess is this article I recently came across: http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7504-303a "A standard test for admission to graduate school misses potential winners, say Casey Miller and Keivan Stassun." It's worth a read!

Ancient Aliens

Yes, I saw the Arizona State acceptance! Still the selection process over there is very "professor," heavy. Also my POI there told me a while back the review process can take "months," so they may not of sent out all of the notices yet (good and bad). I also applied there but have no word on what's up so now I'm a bit worried none-the-less. :| Congrats to that one person though!

Thinmints of course! We had three boxes of those.

I wasn't stress eating for this past month... that is until girl scout cookie season started. My SO got 5 boxes of sweet, sweet goodness.

Folk Dance

It's been quiet on my end. I suppose we're still in the "no news is good news," phase, but the wait is driving me nuts. My earliest deadline was December 15th, for Arizona State, but I don't think there have been any admits or interviews yet for my program (geological sciences) either so I don't think I'm on a waitlist yet? I haven't been rejected. I'm definitely a little envious of people who have at least heard something... Well either way, I expect many of us will be hearing some news soon.

Wow! That'a a huge improvement, it gives me hope. Do you mind me asking what resources you used to study? I was using Magoosh, but I noted there were several kinds of problems on the GRE concerning the quantitative portion that it did not include - it seems like an incomplete tool. Also anything that can help me disect how the test is set up would be immensely helpful. I haven't begun jumping into studying for a restest yet since I'm doing some other things at the moment, but I'll be revisiting this thread again down the road.

I'm fairly sure it's the nature of a forum is why people complain. We all need to vent sometimes, whether or not it's productive, I suppose you could say it is productive for self esteem. Forums can be a good outlet for that since many people can empathize. Like you said, it is high school material, so people who seem to otherwise perform well (or exceptionally) are going to be understandibly frustrated when they under perform on the GRE. Also I know why the GRE is important, it's not just there to be an unfair barrier. The GRE is the only flat-comparison programs have to compare students. How letter grades are given vary across schools. Some As are harder to earn than others, so a 3.5 at one school may not mean as much as a 3.5 at another. Anyways, a 310 is a good goal? Like a 155/155? I just wanted to at least get above that 50% margin for quantitative. I appreciate all of you guys' comments though. Seems like the GRE is definitely deserving of some focus and concern - and I should keep pushing forward if not everything goes well. Good luck this season though! We're in Febuary so I hope some good news is heading our way.

Allrighty guys, we're coming up on February and we should finally start hearing some news. I'm pretty excited!

My policy is to always be transparent in situations like this. You don't want to potentially burn any bridges. I always let potential employers know if I have any imminent plans - moving, summer employment only, only can work for six months, ect. and as long as it's not some sort of mundane thing I've never had it hold me back before - on the contrary because I plan ahead I've even had them support me along certain paths. Communication is important, even impressive to employers. Let's say you get the job offer and begin working, and then get the graduate school offer and resign and go to graduate school after working there for four to six months, you could of potentially annoyed your employers for investing their time into training you for you to only up and leave a short while later. This can even lead to a bad reputation which can be hard to shake off - especially if the job is in your professional line of work. However if you are transparent from the start, they could even support you, possibly write you recommendations later, offer your job back later, and so forth. They would know how to work around your particular situation. Would the jobs you apply to possibly benefit from your additional education? If so, pitch that. Say that it's highly possible you could come back to their company after graduating - then you may even have a job lined up post graduation! Who knows.

Running Water

I have applied to six schools and have yet to hear anything. I'm not too worried though. You should check out the results history for each school for your degree on here because they vary a lot - it should also give you a good idea if you've missed the first wave of decisions. In general, Geology and Geoscience, for instance, start getting decisions in February - with UT sending some out in Jan. Very few offers in general are made in January, though. In fact, February is pretty norm, only schools with very early deadlines start sending out acceptances and rejections through January. I don't think you have anything to worry about yet.

There are a lot of things you can do with a geology degree, you just need to be a bit flexible. Do you have any GIS experience? Geologists are commonly employed in GIS work for the government and other business. UPS, FEDex and so on are companies that commonly employ geologists with GIS experience. If you can, see if any local colleges offer a GIS certification as it can make you more flexible. AND it can still be used for an oil career later. You can learn more about GIS here: http://www.esri.com/what-is-gis You may also be able to be employed by the government or construction for other reasons, such as land assessment. Road construction commonly employs geologists. Houston has some nearby state parks you may be able to get employed at as well. In general I would find work that pertains to geology in some way as that can help you get into graduate school later. Also I wouldn't give up on oil yet, Houston is a strong hold for that career. You can probably get at least mudlogging. Check out some smaller oil companies as well, not just the big ones to see if they have any openings that only require a bachelor's. I recommend going in person and giving your resume. Smaller companies you may even be able to meet those in charge of hiring.

Toilet seat

No tuition

3 interviews for Earth Systems Science in addition to KAUST giving one acceptance, one rejection and one waitlist as well.

Remember that professors are super busy, right now the semester has just begun for them. I don't know when the deadline is for you because that can shift how quickly you can send a reminder asking if they have been able to read your last email. I usually wait a week or so (much earlier in the year back in Sept, I waited two weeks), but if the deadline is around the corner you may be able to wait only a few days and it be acceptable. If your deadline is a while off I would wait a week because the professor may only have free time for emails that one time a week.

It means you weren't a top choice. As time goes by their top applicants may accept or deny their offers of admissions and spaces may open up. If you were right on the edge, you may be next in line, and they'll send you a later acceptance. If the application deadline was a while ago you may be able to call and inquire about your status, find out if you're on a waitlist. Sometimes if you do get a later acceptance they may work out a way for you to visit campus later despite it being past recruitment day. I know this whole process depends on the school, but until you get an official rejection it's not over yet. I know of people who have gotten very late acceptation, way past recruitment day in March and such. It's not a good sign, but it doesn't mean you're officially rejected yet.

I am pursuing geology and am trying to focus on research concerning structure and tectonics. I've always had a draw to science. Through elementary school I read through ALL of the books on reptiles in the library, and then on planets, and then on dinosaurs. I remember reading through a giant book on eggs, how they formed and what not. I knew I wanted to pursue a science field in college, I decided on geology as I knew it had a lot of good career options: oil, government work, GIS work, land development, its a good list. I also pursued geology because I always thought it was cool as heck. I never had plain chemistry or physics connect to me the same way until it got applied to geology (geochem and gephysics, both cool courses I have taken!). I zeroed in on structural geology because it encompasses numerous fields of geology and applies knowledge from a lot of specialities. So depending on what projects I take on I'll learn vastly new things for each one! My current goals are to get into a masters program, and I'm open to pursuits of academia or industry, but I'm leaning toward industry. My parents were poor, and we grew up poor so I'm being cautious on my career path. My dad got a business degree in management that didn't work out well which has made me aware of knowing where your degree can go. I also want to be sure I can be a stable foundation for my brothers. Without getting into too much detail, I know that my younger brothers are going to have a more difficult time getting a higher education. Loans and other issues are going to be a problem for them and my parents are doing little to help. Family has to stick together, and sadly I think a PhD may not be an option for me in the future if I want to help them out of the slump. At least a PhD is something I may be able to pursue later, though, and any experience in industry may be applicable later!