dagnabbit

@PoliticalOrder - This is a good post, but my point in responding to Yanaka was to encourage them not to freak out over their applications. I don't think that providing such a list on December 1st is going to do more than further stress out qualified applicants like @Monody, as it's a bit late to change most parts of our applications.

What would you say is more important than fit / stats?

I really wouldn't worry about it - at this point, the most important aspects of your application are out of your control (research interests / GPA/GREs). If you're a great fit with the department and your scores are above the cutoff, you could probably write your CV in comic sans and still have a good shot. It's tempting to overthink every minuscule detail of your file, but I really doubt that a program ever turned down an excellent applicant over a typo or formatting error. I would really encourage everybody to read through the threads from past application cycles, if you haven't already. Doing so really calmed my nerves, as pretty much all of my questions and anxieties had already been addressed by past applicants. Perhaps if we were all to go through past cycles' threads we could avoid certain parts of history repeating themselves (e.g. - "there's an admit on the results page - guess I'm out").

I'm popping in from the political science board to say that I think unræd is right - don't worry about the e-mail, they're just trying to make sure they get your app fee. I'm applying to Columbia this cycle, and I got the same e-mail, so it's certainly not related to any particular admissions committee. Still, you would think that schools would know better than to send this kind of stuff to hyper-stressed applicants during finals/app crunch time.

All of my letter writers are professors in the political science department at my current undergraduate institution, so I still see them and speak with them all the time. I've already thanked them in person, so I don't think that I'll send formal thanks (I'm thinking handwritten cards, maybe?) until I've accepted an offer. I also plan to seek their advice if it so happens that I receive multiple offers this cycle, so I think it would be weird to send formal thanks before the process is totally over.

It's just not worth including. Your application file should highlight your strengths, and a statement about why one facet of your application isn't as strong as it could have been seems unnecessary. If you attended the first school because you were in a dire financial situation or something, maybe you could include a bit about that in a personal history statement if any of the programs you're applying to require one. Otherwise, don't worry - it sounds like you have a strong profile. Good luck!

Others may disagree, but I would say definitely don't mention it. Your stats and research/industry experience speak to your ability to succeed in grad school far more than the prestige of your undergrad institution, and plenty of people who kicked ass at no-name schools get accepted to top programs. If anything, the fact that you worked hard and transferred to a better school should reflect positively on you. Is Stanford the only program you're applying to?

In regard to your third query, my understanding is that schools ask this question in order to keep tabs on who their main competitors are. I don't see a problem with answering honestly, though I do think that it would be more appropriate for schools to ask this question in a post-application survey than on the application which they know students will be stressing over.

Hmm, that's a tough situation. My advice would be to swallow your pride and seek the guidance of your letter writers, as they may have been on admissions committees before and therefore might be able to tell you whether no score would be better than a non-competitive score. Good luck!

I just submitted the first of my ten applications! I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel... Now back to work on finishing my senior thesis... There truly has been no rest for the wicked this semester.

While it is not uncommon to switch fields for a grad program, it is important to understand that much of your competition will have studied the subject as an undergraduate and will have some relevant research experience. I'm not too familiar with molecular biology/genetics, but I imagine that environmental science research experience might not be the best signal that you are ready to study biology at the graduate level. Another idea - you're only a sophomore, yes? If possible it might be a good idea to switch majors now (or double major), as you'd likely still be able to finish in four years assuming you've already completed some university-wide requirements. This would be a good move because: 1. You will get familiar with the discipline and figure out if it's really something you would like to dedicate your career to. This is really important, because oftentimes there is a disconnect between expectation and reality when it comes to certain fields of study; I came into college thinking I wanted to study geography, until I learned what geographers really study (and how they do so) and decided it wasn't for me. 2. You will take all of the classes that grad programs will want you to have taken as an undergrad. 3. You will be able to build relationships with faculty in the department, which will be useful for procuring research assistant positions and eventual letters of recommendation. I think that there are a lot of negative connotations attached to switching fields during undergrad, but in reality it is by far the best and easiest time to do so. Just like nobody expects prospective PhD students to actually stick with the research agenda they put forth in their statements of purpose, nobody expects undergrads to know exactly what they want to study at 17 years old.

I assume you took the computer-administered test, right? If so, you should definitely receive your score report before December 1st - this will tell you your AWA score as well as all of your rankings. My understanding is that most programs accept self-reported scores in order to begin processing the application, as long as they receive the official scores from ETS not long after the deadline. If a program's website says that they must have the official ETS report by the deadline, it's still worth reaching out to the DGS to see if they'll still look at your application. Oh, and make sure to check your ETS account daily to see if your scores are ready - for some reason, they didn't send me an e-mail notification about them until the day after I discovered they were ready. Good luck!

Hi all - longtime lurker, first time poster here. Like the rest of you, I'm currently putting the finishing touches on my file (writing fit paragraphs for SOPs, final writing sample edits), and I can't believe that in just a few months we will know the results of all our hard work. I have a question for other doctoral program applicants: if you don't get into one of your top choices this cycle, will you accept a lesser offer or will you go another round? While we are all anxious to begin pursuing our PhDs, and while the idea of another app cycle already seems painful, there is significant evidence that the "institutional prestige" of one's doctoral program affects one's entire career trajectory. In my case, there is a nontrivial difference in rank between the highest ranked program I applied to and the lowest. Both programs have plenty of faculty in my area of interest and both place their students in TT positions, it's just that the higher ranked one places students much better and more frequently. Would you be equally happy at any of the programs you applied to? Or would you be willing to wait a year for another shot at your first choice?