another_time

I would try for some choice PhD programs and see where it gets you. Try emailing/skyping with some potential advisors, soon. The glaring flaw in your profile is your lack of research experience, which is also linked to your lack of professor recs. It may be a good idea to explore some alternative options, i.e., lab manager positions, post-bacc research programs, or a masters. You could also just lend a hand in a couple of labs for the time leading up to the Dec. deadline, since it seems most of your other application components seem to be in order.

I agree with sibs... Princeton Review has very quick and easy methods for solving most probs on GRE Q. This is definitely a problem where plugging in a couple of values could get you the correct answer, D, in a minute or less...

I know this is a personal choice, but I was wondering how many of you are considering getting a pet/dog in grad school? My partner and I are going to be hitting another milestone at the same time as I am starting my first year of grad school. I really, really want a dog. He has experience with dogs and wouldn't mind. He has entertained my ideas when I bring it up by mentioning breeds we could get. It makes me really excited. I know it is a big commitment and people say the dog will get lonely if we are too busy. Personally, I find that to be motivation for a work-life balance. What are your thoughts for having a dog/pet in grad school? I am not a cat person.

I dunno what your tone-shift was like (which might be more important), but I think your language is just a bit under the level of formality I prefer... and by that I mean using the word 'yeah' instead of 'yes' (or nothing at all) and 'hey' instead of 'hi'. Staff don't tend to care if you call them by first name. I have heard underclassmen use Ms xxx or Mr. xxx and find it highschoolish. I do believe I am on the formal side as I find it very hard to transition from calling even my close professors by their first name instead of Dr. xxx, unless they very clearly want me to use their first name (like they change their email signature from Dr. to their first name). I find dear overly formal, but not objectionable. I have to say that professional formality is important. A new staff member at a school I was visiting sent me a series of email replies and requests for information that she could have acquired herself that might as well have been text messages. I found it really gross.

Well, anecdotally I know someone who made it into an MA program in a health field with a letter from a family member and her boss. I thought it would be a kiss of death, but it apparently wasn't. I do think that most admissions committees would want at least one academic letter if not two. I would definitely ask the admissions staff for suggestions of what would be sufficient. A letter from someone who could speak to your abilities and experience would seemingly be a valuable insight over a letter from a professor who doesn't remember you that well. If you did need to get a letter from a professor, then perhaps you could volunteer a bit of your time and expertise doing research or data analysis for them.

It is probably much less of a factor than acquiring teaching experience and fitting the needs of the department you are applying to. CCs tend to feed into 4-year institutions locally first, then within their state second. If you are applying for CCC jobs, I would think that going to school in the state would be a positive since the CSU & UC systems are pretty extensive. Getting TA or teaching experience in core lower division courses is also probably going to be way more of an important factor, since those are the classes you would be teaching. I really don't think that where you get your PhD is gonna be the deciding factor at a community college job search.

Hi, your stats are stronger than mine were and I got interviews/acceptances at some programs in top 20 for cog neuro. I applied to 10 schools, got accepted into 4 and interviewed at 5. My choices were strongly oriented to a specific sub-field and I made more-than-just-email contact with most PIs before writing my personal statements. I was told by one PI that he considers Q much more important than V, but your Q is not that bad. If a school posts their GRE stats, it is safe to assume they care about them more than schools that don't. If you can meet or exceed their admittance averages, you are probably fine. My opinion is that there is no need for overkill since you have some really good credentials already and you could be working on something of more substance. I would go with accomplishing something more substantial than spending the time and effort needed to roll the dice for a 4pt increase in your Q score (or whatever you might shoot for). I think at your level, you should be rounding out your skill-set and experiences, applying for predoctoral grants, networking, building a website... - not fretting over making GRE cut-offs. All that said, I retook the GRE to increase my Q. My AW went up and my V score went down, but not enough to make me regret retaking (although I did have a "circumstance" for my first score). It really depends on how much time and energy you have. I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life!

True true. OSU was like that. Some schools also require transcripts to be mailed in and one wanted me to white out my SSN on any unofficial transcripts before scanning and sending them.

The spreadsheets, etc. are good to give to your letter writers, especially if you get them done early. I didn't find them extremely useful since the application itself is basically only 5 things--transcripts, personal statement, letters of recommendation, CV, GRE. It's probably just hard to be organized because of everything else that is likely going on around you. I don't think it's possible to do too much while you are applying to grad schools, especially making an impression with pre-interviews.

A few schools I looked at had a 3.0 cut-off, so assuming your couple of math classes will bring your GPA above 3.0, that is probably the most significant shift in your GPA you will be reasonably able to achieve. I think your GRE will make up for a lot. If I were in your shoes, I would just take the courses for cheaper at a CC. I don't think it will make a difference where you decide to complete your lower division math. Most Stats programs I looked at have prerequisites that include Linear Algebra, Calc 3, Probability, and Stats w/ Calculus. It could be different if the schools you are looking at are just looking for Linear Algebra & Calc II. You have a shot assuming you ace your summer courses (which can be pretty intense if you are not repeating the course work). I think you would be solid at a state school, assuming you meet prereqs or think you would qualify for conditional enrollment.

This is funny. I didn't study for V, but Q study has definitely filled in a few of holes I probably should have learned in high school.

Your application will probably be strong if you start putting it together now. If you are going to get eaten alive as a teacher, it is because you haven't developed classroom control skills. This can be partially taught through a teaching program, but it will mostly come from experience. I have known plenty of effective young teachers. It takes charisma, not age. I would honestly advise you not to expect a graduate program to age you into maturity. You have to develop your own confidence, ability to engage students, and intuition for the attitudes that motivate their thoughts/actions. Personally, I don't think going to graduate school is a bad idea, especially early in your career. It's scary to move out of your comfort zone, but even that is a skill you can develop. I'm just saying it is not guaranteed that there will be some magical factor in grad school that will flip the switch for you and make you feel ready to take on the world - sometimes you have to contrive to do that for yourself.

I listed my AA on my CV, but I would not have listed my community college if I weren't awarded a degree. I attended multiple community colleges in order to get around unit limits at my university (I double majored). It would have been ridiculous to list 5 community colleges on my CV where I may have only taken 1 or 2 classes online. I think it would be against your best interest to worry about the lack of prestige associated with attending a community college. You are responsible for making the most of your education, and if you have done that then there is nothing to feel insecure about. List your honors and where you got them.

April 15 is not field specific. http://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution Anyway, I was just curious for facts.

I used a combination of Magoosh and Princeton Review online. I really liked Princeton Review's online tutorials and drills. They were much more focused than Magoosh. AFTER completing Princeton Review, I practiced on Magoosh. I got 162 on V without any practice (so I didn't bother studying) and 152 on Q during my diagnostic. This practice got me to 160 in Q: I spent 1 week studying about 10 hours a day on Princeton Review (requested off work, skipped class), then the next week practicing questions on Magoosh that changed difficulty based on what I got right. On Princeton Review I focused on understanding concepts. I watched all the tutorials and took my time on the drills. I practiced their method of taking notes and followed them during the actual exam. During Magoosh practice I focused on speed. If I didn't think I was gonna solve a problem in 1.5 mins (it's a feeling), I gave up and studied the explanation video. As you can probably tell, I basically crammed for the GRE... If you stretch it out over a summer, though, you could definitely get better scores than me by studying Princeton Review's excellent methods and using Magoosh's excellent question bank. Most of my friends who did that tested much better than me.