Grad00000000

West - I do agree with you for the schools I applied to who place emphasis heavily on the numbers, but I want to share two experiences I had to highlight useful things that happen with Prof contact:

School A: I contact Prof with usual 'Hi, I'm interested in your work...' email. Had a one line response, not even personalised 'I am not taking students this year'. I stupidly still wasted my time and money applying. This was the quickest rejection I got. I really shouldn't have applied given that this Prof was the only person in the faculty with similar interests.

School B: Contacted Prof with same email outlining my background and research areas. Turns out he had just had a project funded on a very similar topic and was struggling to find a matching student who could RA for him. He wrote an additional LOR for my application, based only on our email conversations. He spoke on my behalf to members of the committee, and he found me extra funding .

It is hard to predict how faculty contact might help your chances, but as long as you are articulate and concise in your email I don't think it ever hurts them.

Great topic! I've left these answers scattered all over the forum, so some of this might be re-iteration...

I have a catalog of 'Will they accept me if...' factors. I had a bad UGPA, I'm a little older, first try on the GRE didn't go so well, and I don't have any coursework in the areas I applied to. So is what I've learnt...

The general stuff:

1) FIT FIT FIT FIT FIT: Don't waste time or money applying to the 'Well, no one there really does what I'm interested in, but they might be curious' schools. I did this for a few (I haven't even listed them in my signature because I'm so embarrassed now when I reflect upon it). It was an expensive lesson. Also, a GREAT fit will help them to overlook some of the less desirable areas of your application.

2) GET IN TOUCH WITH THE FACULTY: Relates to the above - you will soon find out whether they are interested in your work, and whether it is worth your time applying. A short simple email outlining your intention to apply, your background and asking them if they are taking students seemed to be enough to get this conversation rolling. You will also be surprised how far a Professor will go in championing your application if they really like your research ideas.

3) DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH JUST ONE SCHOOL: It really is a crapshoot. Try to love them all, because you never know where you'll end up.

The specific stuff:

1) ADDRESSSING A BAD GPA: I read everywhere 'Don't mention it in your SOP'. I'm not sure I totally agree with this, but I don't have anything but my own experience to look at. If your bad gpa was a long time ago, I think it is ok to artfully weave into your SOP a line about how you have matured. I do agree that you shouldn't put much emphasis on this though - one line seemed sufficient for me.

2) BAD GRE SCORES: There doesn't seem to be a way around this - I had to take it again. Especially since I had the aforementioned bad gpa. Things I found useful... Verbal - start early, and if you have easy access to a computer use the program 'Anki' for your flashcards, the best way to improve your score is to improve your vocab; Quant - if, like me, it has been a LONG time since you looked at a triangle, go to your local library and get some high school math texts. Don't just jump into practise tests, you need to build the foundations first; AW - Use 'Score-it-now' at least once, so you get an idea of the way they like you to answer the essays. I bumped my scores up considerably the second time through a lot of hard work.

3) LACK OF COURSEWORK IN YOUR FIELD: Use your SOP and CV to demonstrate how your experience prepares you for your studies. Make sure your plan of study is well researched and uses the vocabulary of the field. If you have a good relationship with your rec writers, ask them to talk about your developing abilities in the area you are moving into. This is the approach I used, and while it didn't work everywhere, I was told by a Prof at a program that I got into that my CV and experience helped them to overcome their nervousness about my lack of academic background.

I hope this is helpful to someone. Good luck!

Great topic! I've left these answers scattered all over the forum, so some of this might be re-iteration...

I have a catalog of 'Will they accept me if...' factors. I had a bad UGPA, I'm a little older, first try on the GRE didn't go so well, and I don't have any coursework in the areas I applied to. So is what I've learnt...

The general stuff:

1) FIT FIT FIT FIT FIT: Don't waste time or money applying to the 'Well, no one there really does what I'm interested in, but they might be curious' schools. I did this for a few (I haven't even listed them in my signature because I'm so embarrassed now when I reflect upon it). It was an expensive lesson. Also, a GREAT fit will help them to overlook some of the less desirable areas of your application.

2) GET IN TOUCH WITH THE FACULTY: Relates to the above - you will soon find out whether they are interested in your work, and whether it is worth your time applying. A short simple email outlining your intention to apply, your background and asking them if they are taking students seemed to be enough to get this conversation rolling. You will also be surprised how far a Professor will go in championing your application if they really like your research ideas.

3) DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH JUST ONE SCHOOL: It really is a crapshoot. Try to love them all, because you never know where you'll end up.

The specific stuff:

1) ADDRESSSING A BAD GPA: I read everywhere 'Don't mention it in your SOP'. I'm not sure I totally agree with this, but I don't have anything but my own experience to look at. If your bad gpa was a long time ago, I think it is ok to artfully weave into your SOP a line about how you have matured. I do agree that you shouldn't put much emphasis on this though - one line seemed sufficient for me.

2) BAD GRE SCORES: There doesn't seem to be a way around this - I had to take it again. Especially since I had the aforementioned bad gpa. Things I found useful... Verbal - start early, and if you have easy access to a computer use the program 'Anki' for your flashcards, the best way to improve your score is to improve your vocab; Quant - if, like me, it has been a LONG time since you looked at a triangle, go to your local library and get some high school math texts. Don't just jump into practise tests, you need to build the foundations first; AW - Use 'Score-it-now' at least once, so you get an idea of the way they like you to answer the essays. I bumped my scores up considerably the second time through a lot of hard work.

3) LACK OF COURSEWORK IN YOUR FIELD: Use your SOP and CV to demonstrate how your experience prepares you for your studies. Make sure your plan of study is well researched and uses the vocabulary of the field. If you have a good relationship with your rec writers, ask them to talk about your developing abilities in the area you are moving into. This is the approach I used, and while it didn't work everywhere, I was told by a Prof at a program that I got into that my CV and experience helped them to overcome their nervousness about my lack of academic background.

I hope this is helpful to someone. Good luck!

Great topic! I've left these answers scattered all over the forum, so some of this might be re-iteration...

I have a catalog of 'Will they accept me if...' factors. I had a bad UGPA, I'm a little older, first try on the GRE didn't go so well, and I don't have any coursework in the areas I applied to. So is what I've learnt...

The general stuff:

1) FIT FIT FIT FIT FIT: Don't waste time or money applying to the 'Well, no one there really does what I'm interested in, but they might be curious' schools. I did this for a few (I haven't even listed them in my signature because I'm so embarrassed now when I reflect upon it). It was an expensive lesson. Also, a GREAT fit will help them to overlook some of the less desirable areas of your application.

2) GET IN TOUCH WITH THE FACULTY: Relates to the above - you will soon find out whether they are interested in your work, and whether it is worth your time applying. A short simple email outlining your intention to apply, your background and asking them if they are taking students seemed to be enough to get this conversation rolling. You will also be surprised how far a Professor will go in championing your application if they really like your research ideas.

3) DON'T FALL IN LOVE WITH JUST ONE SCHOOL: It really is a crapshoot. Try to love them all, because you never know where you'll end up.

The specific stuff:

1) ADDRESSSING A BAD GPA: I read everywhere 'Don't mention it in your SOP'. I'm not sure I totally agree with this, but I don't have anything but my own experience to look at. If your bad gpa was a long time ago, I think it is ok to artfully weave into your SOP a line about how you have matured. I do agree that you shouldn't put much emphasis on this though - one line seemed sufficient for me.

2) BAD GRE SCORES: There doesn't seem to be a way around this - I had to take it again. Especially since I had the aforementioned bad gpa. Things I found useful... Verbal - start early, and if you have easy access to a computer use the program 'Anki' for your flashcards, the best way to improve your score is to improve your vocab; Quant - if, like me, it has been a LONG time since you looked at a triangle, go to your local library and get some high school math texts. Don't just jump into practise tests, you need to build the foundations first; AW - Use 'Score-it-now' at least once, so you get an idea of the way they like you to answer the essays. I bumped my scores up considerably the second time through a lot of hard work.

3) LACK OF COURSEWORK IN YOUR FIELD: Use your SOP and CV to demonstrate how your experience prepares you for your studies. Make sure your plan of study is well researched and uses the vocabulary of the field. If you have a good relationship with your rec writers, ask them to talk about your developing abilities in the area you are moving into. This is the approach I used, and while it didn't work everywhere, I was told by a Prof at a program that I got into that my CV and experience helped them to overcome their nervousness about my lack of academic background.

I hope this is helpful to someone. Good luck!

I not only mentioned Profs, but specifically talked about why I wanted to work with them. I put all this in the last para of my SOP - XX School is such a great match for me because Prof A and I share an interest in lalala, and Prof B and I share an interest in xyz.

I can't speak on behalf of all schools, but I know that one I applied to sent all apps to relevant Profs (as mentioned in SOPs) for their comment prior to sending them to the Ad Comm. They have to make sure someone will want to be your supervisor if they let you in.

I used ANKI for my vocab flashcards, which can be downloaded FREE and it is FANTASTIC!!! I rarely see anyone mention it elsewhere. I got a 99th percentile score on my vocab, and I do think ANKI contributed to that.

Another good free website for practise questions is: http://www.number2.com/exams/gre/companion/preview/index.cfm?s=0

Other than that I just worked through a couple of books. I wish I had tried 'Score-it-now' a little earlier than the day before the test, because I think it gives good insight into how the computer marks essays, and what they are looking for.