CornUltimatum

Undergrad Institution: Texas Tech University - it has a decent Geology program Interests: Structural geology, geomorphology, tectonics, GIS Major: B.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Geology Minor: Minors are "mandatory," in my department at Tech, but I chose a mixed minor so I could be more flexible in what courses I took. Geology GPA: 3.50 Total GPA: 3.47 GRE Scores: Verbal 155 (67%), Quantitative 152 (48%), and Writing 4.5 (80%) Position in Class: I am not sure... Certain courses I know I ranked fairly well though. In Field Methods I ranked 5 out of 21 students, and 4 out of 19 (there was a course in the Spring, and then in the Summer). Research Experience: I have been a student assistant to a professor (structural geologist) since Spring of 2013. I began my undergraduate research Spring 2015. Those results should be published this Spring 2016. I did field camp in Big Bend National Park. I also have been able to go on many field trips, all included with my major. Rewards: I've earned some academic scholarships through college. Recommendation Letters: They should be pretty strong. I have three letters from professors who I got to know very well and are doing work all pertinent to my field. Type of Student: Hispanic (Central American) female - from the U.S. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I took a few seminars (Boresite), and have participated in the AAPG and Geoscience Society since my Freshman year. I also know how to use saws and such - this is just tidbit info on my resume. I opted to take Physics III and Calculus III, which may be beneficial, hopefully it demonstrates I have some competency in mathematics. Wish I took more high end math courses! Special Bonus Points: I have contacted professors I want to work with at every University - since research is of utmost importance to me. They all seem like potentially good fits! Applying for a Master of Science degree in Geology or Geosciences, with a concentration in Structure and Tectonics I applied to: Texas Tech University Oklahoma State University Arizona State University University of Nevada at Reno Idaho State University New Mexico Tech I suppose we'll see some results rolling in sometime February! Good luck. Just thought I'd add my stuff to this thread too.

I owe you a big fat thanks, I don't know what was up with my login but it was nothing like this. I did the account thing again and it worked that time around - so now I have two odd accounts and I don't really now what to make of it. At least now I can see the application! I'll have to drop them an email to check on that. Best of luck to you! Maybe we'll be seeing each other.

Ick, sorry for the super specific post everyone. Anyways I thought I would clarify that anyone who has also applied to University of Nevada at Reno is who I'm looking for to confirm with me. Doesn't have to be the same degree or anything! That's why I thought this would do better on a more general forum. Thanks again.

In my particular school the political climate varied drastically between departments. I attended Texas Tech University, which is located in West Texas. The climate in the town is *extremely,* conservative, however within the University the political climate varied a lot. The history department was very open to Marxism, the English department was very feminist, the science departments were more moderate and impassioned about politics, and business tended to be conservative. Overall the school was still more conservative leaning but there was a place and support for all political interests to thrive. The political climate and discussions were generally very healthy. I would take fuzzylogician's advice and visit the school in person, and you may be surprised. I would say it's a concern though, since some people have a difficult time separating political opinion from professional work. You may face bias and ostracization. Other-times the person or the department in general with a differing opinion can separate these two things without issue and you have a perfectly healthy climate. It's hard to say from just looking from the outside. Talk with some graduate students who are already attending there and get their point of view on the issue.

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone else is having a similar issue with University of Nevada at Reno's online admission system. I submitted my application for geology a while ago, and got an email confirmation for it. According to the email the status of the application can be viewed online. However, whenever I login to that portal the application I sent in is "inactive." Its record is there though but it's missing a lot of info in its title. I called in, and everything is still there, active, and supposedly good to go. They have received all of my application materials. However I wasn't given an explanation as to why the online portal seemed to be broken. Is anyone else's online application status like this? I only am concerned because I note in general many people seem to find out if they are accepted or rejected from a program in a timely manner by checking their online status. When I was applying to undergrad, this was the case as well. Also should I be concerned at all? Could this glitch potentially effect anything? I know they have to shift through a lot of applications. Here's a screenshot. Thank you all in advance!

Good thoughts. So suppose the higher ranking schools (ASU, NMT and UN at Reno) may be a bit more selective purely on GRE ranking. I suppose I should retake the GRE anyways to increase my likelihood of being funded by outside sources since some require certain scores. Ah well. Since I have a semester off I could maybe make a significantly better score. Also there are a lot of good resources on here I was not aware of before! Well I suppose I can't assume anything until the results are in, so I'll just be anxious until then. At least I haven't gotten any super early rejections yet.

Hmm, I only know one geophysics professor - and I wasn't quite sure what his concentration of research was. I do know that we do have Professor George Asquith there though: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/pe/faculty/faculty.php?name=George%20Asquith Technically he's in our Petroleum Engineering department. He's a petrophysicist that specializes in subsurface analysis of oil wells, and he's one of the best (and he's super nice too)! If you find yourself looking at graduate schools again be sure to browse through Texas Tech's Petroleum Engineer department as well since they overlap with our geoscience department. Good luck on the places you applied though!

I suppose I should mention that I am applying to a Master of Science program for each of these!

Before applying to those Universities make sure you have a professor there you are interested in working with. They can let you know if it is worth your time applying that year, sometimes the area of interest you have may not be currently funded and or they may simply not have any graduate positions open yet. This can automatically narrow down your list of prospective schools quickly. If you find professors that are interested in working with you, then you should have a shot if you keep your grades up in your MS. It sounds like you are going to have a wealth of experience as well, and probably some pretty good recommendation letter writers when the time comes. One professor I had emphasized GPAs and GREs matter because this is the only way to gauge if you will be good for research (very rarely do many graduate applicants have a strong research background). That's what most professors care about, they're searching for potential research partners, so one way you can strengthen your application is getting involved in research opportunities, and publishing some papers. See if you can present at a conference - as this is also a good way to network and meet potential POIs. I'm not entirely sure if Geoscience Programs will be "easier," to get into. It depends on your strengths, as what strengths that matter vary between the fields. Some Universities even require a background in Geology in order to apply - although I see you will be getting a Masters in Geophysics, so this may suffice. Sometimes though, because you had an undergraduate degree in Physics, you may be required to take "leveling," undergraduate courses to get a PhD in Geosciences (for instance, if you have never taken a geomorphology course or something, they may require that you take it while you're working on your PhD). When contacting POIs consider asking them how your undergraduate background may effect your chances of admission, or how it could effect the learning curve of future coursework. YES! I'm going to discuss this concerning Geology, as I am not sure how it works with Physics. This was always emphasized as one of the most important portions of applying to graduate school to me. After all, most Geoscience Graduate programs are research based, so you need to find a professor to do research with (typically). -First you must find a professor who is performing research in your area of interest, but don't be afraid to broaden your approach a bit. Some schools may not even consider an applicant who has not contacted a professor. Also note, other schools may ONLY accept students they can fully fund - so if you don't contact a professor this can hinder you chances of admission since a professor may give you an RAship or vouch for your admissions. -Send in an inquire email about prospective research opportunities - sometimes they may not have any in particular available, and may even want to work up a project from scratch. It all depends, but you will never know until you contact that professor. Professors will also let you know if they have no positions that will be open - meaning that unless you have another POI at that University you should not apply because you won't be accepted (and it will have nothing to do with what your application holds). In most Universities, the POI has a gigantic pull on your admission, especially with funding. For instance, you may not end up qualifying for a TAship through the department, but you may be admitted anyways because your professor has an RAship available for you and they really want to work with you. So it would be very beneficial to perfrom research that is relevant to whatever your POI is currently researching - it does not have to be directly correlated, you would be surprised how much fields can overlap. Experience means a lot! Even if your research does not relate to whatever PhD project you apply towards later, this can still be okay - there are always going to be relevant parallels you can draw between your previous experiences and how it will allow you to be successful in future projects. On the whole I think you are on the right track - good luck on your future endeavors!

I don't know about TAMU but UT's deadline has mostly passed for the Fall 2016 admissions - you can still apply though if you have yet to! https://www.jsg.utexas.edu/education/graduate/admissions/ I've heard good and bad things about UT's programs. They're very researched based and have good funding, so if you are eager to build up your research experience this is an excellent program for that (one of the best!). In contrast, I hear the graduate courses are not as strong and rounded as some other Universities because there is more focus on research. I'm not sure about the PhD program, but the Master's program you typically do not have a direct mentoring relationship with a professor. I think PhD students do. If you do an MS degree there you typically work under a PhD student. (This is what I heard about a student who got accepted there and decided to decline) UT also has the benefit of being a focus of a lot of Oil and Gas recruitment opportunities, so if you're interested in oil, this is one of the top school choices for you. Concerning Austin, it's a pretty amazing city. Lots of activities going on, and very politically active, but I hear it can be a large distraction if you aren't disciplined enough. In the end, while living in a big city may seem to have a lot of bonuses I'm not so sure you can take advantage of it working on your PhD (who knows, maybe you can! Only you can really know if you can manage this). Also living in Austin is considerably expensive - the cheapest I hear a 1 bedroom apartment there is around $900 a month. Still, in the end you'll find that one of the most important aspects of a University is finding a professor you want to work with. I had a lot of Universities in mind this year. However, I often found the professors I wanted to work with either did not have funding or had no graduate positions open - so I had to broaden my search. So, in my opinion, you should contact professors at both Universities and inquire about their research. See if they have any current or future projects you may be able to take part in. Later if you are accepted see if you can visit the campuses of both, and discuss the environment with grad students that are currently going there! A lot of Universities even help pay for visitations in March. See if you can call and talk with the professors you have made contact with, ask them questions about the academic environment and graduate expectations. They can give you a lot of insight.

Thank you so much!

Hello all, I recently joined this forum after seeing it pop up a few times when browsing around for statistics and things. Anyways, I've been a bit on edge because I have recently finished all of my applications to graduate school, but I know that my GRE-scores were not the best. I contacted professors I wanted to work with, and each one encouraged me to apply once we found we had common interest in research and positions may be available. So, my applications in general were as follows: Interests: Structural geology, geomorphology, tectonics, GIS Major: B.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Geology Geology GPA: 3.50 Total GPA: 3.47 GRE Scores: Verbal 155 (67%), Quantitative 152 (48%), and Writing 4.5 (80%) I took the GRE three times, and I did study each time for it. The scores were mostly consistent. For whatever reason I can't bring up my scores. I think it may have to do with my ADHD, which I don't medicate for... Typically it's a non-issue because most tests are over one subject and only an hour long or so. I had the same issue with SATs as well. As far as math goes, I had Bs in Calculus I, and Calculus II, and an A in Calculus III. I know a strong math background is going to be important for the field I'm interested in, so I'm pretty concerned. Position in Class: I am not sure... Certain courses I know I ranked fairly well though. In Field Methods I ranked 5 out of 21 students, and 4 out of 19 (there was a course in the Spring, and then in the Summer). Research Experience: I have been a student assistant to a professor (structural geologist) since Spring of 2013. I began my undergraduate research Spring 2015. Those results should be published this Spring. I did field camp in Big Bend National Park. I also have been able to go on many field trips, all included with my major. Rewards: I've earned some scholarships in the past. Reccomendation Letters: They should be pretty strong. I have three letters from professors who I got to know very well and are doing work all pertinent to my field. That's about everything. I didn't draw too much attention to my GRE in my statement of purpose, nor did I mention any excuses for it. I would rather own my low scores rather than try to make excuses for them. My statement of purpose varied a bit according to each university since programs varied a bit, but I generally concentrated on research focuses and what experience I had that would be relevant. I am definitely eager to be accepted at any of these programs, but I think my top picks based on the research would be Arizona State (I know it's a big reach) and University of Nevada at Reno. I applied to: Texas Tech University Oklahoma State University Arizona State University University of Nevada at Reno Idaho State University New Mexico Tech I looked at some statistics for these schools, and even looked at the rates as reported to this forum. I am a bit nervous concerning UN at Reno since they "require," a minimum 50% score on all GRE subjects, but it also says they don't disqualify applicants based on GPA and GRE scores alone. I honestly have no idea what my chances are given my current application bundle. What are your opinions given experience? I'm mostly wondering because I am having to really prepare myself to be flexible to move to any of these locations - which vary a lot. Also if I am not accepted at any of these Universities - what are some ways I can bring up my GRE score? I am currently considering just sucking it up, and getting medicated long enough to take the exam as well as spending far more time studying for it. Before I was using Magoosh to study for it, is there anything better? Thank you all in advance for any thoughts you may have, and may your applications go well!

I completed mine mid December. I've been very nervous since about all the paperwork getting accepted by the right departments and such, and will be probably making class today to be sure the right departments got the right things. I already resolved a few mishaps with Arizona State before their more early deadline (Dec. 15). I suppose it's all a waiting game from here, good luck everyone!

Hey! I attended Texas Tech, I just graduated this past December. Texas Tech is definitely a good choice for oil jobs, they get a lot of recruiters there... however as it stands right now with current oil prices recruiters are not coming by as often as they did. Still, by the time you graduate with an MS or PhD going in next Fall the prices should be on the rise again, so it should all work out. You have Midland pretty close by and they have A LOT of internship opportunities. Texas Tech admissions do put a good deal of weight on GRE scores, I heard professors in the hallway discussing ideal scores all the time (although they tended to be the older score systems, which was odd). Other professors were far more concerned with recommendation letters. I see you're interested in Basin analysis, so you should have a good selection of professors to contact there - from what I know about their ongoing research at least. I know it's a bit late to really get an idea of what you may be a shoe in for (Tech's deadline is Jan 15th I believe?), however, given your GPA and experience alone you're definitely in the range of qualifying. Make sure to have strong recommendation letters, and be absolutely sure to contact professors you have an interest in doing research with - and be polite about it (which was emphasized to me by the graduate department head).