ScotchDave

That's not the one, but thanks, I wonder if its died.

Hi ladies and gents, I remember a website where you could go and check up on supervisors online, it was anonymous, independent and US centric, I can't remember what it was called and my google-fu seems lacking. Does anyone know the site I mean? Thanks, Dave

Hey, have hope, I was accepted to two programs last year (Materials PhD at USC&UCLA) without funding, and one so far this year with funding (UCI no reply from others), no interviews. I'm from Britain so my English is good enough for them not to worry about being able to understand me, so they didn't not interview me cos of that. I hope this cheers you up a bit, All the best, David

I don't know if it's the done thing where you are, but you could ask one of your recommenders to mention your difficulties in their letter. Good luck and I hope your dad improves, Dave

Hi SunnyMan, I'm sorry to hear you're having this problem, I did want to let you know of one similar situation I'd come across. I don't know what your real name is, but the gentleman in question had a particularly difficult name to pronounce. He was in a similar situation to you, he felt like the lecturer was ignoring him etc. Eventually after a lot of digging about we managed to uncover that the lecturer didn't know how to pronounce his name properly, was too embarassed to ask and was worried that if he admitted this he'd be seen as racist or ignorant. Once he knew the students name the poor guy got asked a question pretty much every class. I hope this helps and I think it's very commendable of you to take such a positive view point in this whole situation. All the best, Dave

Undergrad Institution: University of Bristol in the UK, top 10 in the country. Major: Physics GPA in Major: A- Overall GPA: A- Length of Degree: 3 Position in Class: No idea Type of Student: Domestic, Minority, Native English Speaker Postgrad Institution: Cranfield University, small prolific postgrad only university excellent reputation amongst those who know it Major: Advanced Materials Science MSc GPA in Major: A Overall GPA: A Length of Degree: 1 Position in Class: No idea Type of Student: Domestic, Minority GRE Scores: Q: 770 V: 640 W: 5.5 Research Experience: two papers one first author, research for Shell, research at undergrad, two MSc research projects Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Award for excellent research at undergrad, two bursaries at current uni Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Extremely varied employment history, worked as a bouncer, a bike mechanic, a researcher etc also only 21 Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Two foreign languages, youth work, at least one glowing LOR, possibly two, the rest good Applying for PhD at: UCLA Materials Science: Pending UCSD Materials Science: Pending UCSB Materials Science: Pending UCI Materials Science: Accepted with fellowshio-Not Enrolled yet USC Materials Science: Pending CalTech Materials Science: Pending.

I would add that if there are difficulties getting documents to a department and they are asked to notify you of arrival, as they will not review your application without them. It should not be necessary to phone the head of the department to find out if the documents were received, what turned out to be 5 days AFTER arrival. Dave

Mate I'm UK too, I'll also be 22 when I start my PhD. We just end up younger because our education system is set up differently. I went to uni in 06 at 18, 3 years later I had my BSc and now I'm working on an MSc. I actually think being young has both advantages and disadvantages. But they vary depending upon where you are. Good luck with it all, Dave