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I_mix

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  1. Like
    I_mix got a reaction from caha9192 in NSF GRFP 2018-2019   
    Good thing I'm getting super drunk tonight; I can forget about this until tomorrow and maybe I won't be disappointed if I don't see anything this weekend.
  2. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to 1996kayden in NSF GRFP 2018-2019   
    My PI is a reviewer for NSF GRFPs and was just given a new stack to go through, so it sounds like reviews are ongoing. 
  3. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from Teaching Faculty Wannabe in NSF GRFP 2018-2019   
    Just submitted!! Best of luck and see you all in Spring.
  4. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from Okonkwo in Looking for tips on organization of SOP   
    1. I don't even think you need to address everything you listed above, unless you feel it absolutely pertinent to the message you're trying to send. This seems like an awful lot to include. If it can be said in your resume, then I'd keep it out or briefly mention that you managed to do all these things at once at the very end of your SOP. 
    2. I don't think that 3.4 is terribly low that you'd have to explain it away, unless you have some glaring grades that are bringing it down.
    3. There are not outright "rules" for an SOP in the sciences. Tips, however, are definitely to focus on experiences that will boost your apparent potential to do research in your field of interest, whether that be research experiences outright or other. 

    Also, take all this with a grain of salt, because I'm just out of undergrad. 
  5. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to makingtheleap.back in Reflections on My SOP Process   
    Writing the Statement of Purpose is hard. It's supposed to be. It is a synthesis of years of experience and intellectual development, but, depending on your program, it is also a very purpose-driven document. It forces you to think clearly about why you want to take this next step, and how best to communicate that vision to different stakeholders. The Masters of Public Policy was my program of choice, and I can't think of better preparation.
    Before the process I considered myself a strong writer; my personal Bible is Strunk and White, and my work has performed well in the professional contexts it has been tested. Still, the Statement of Purpose is hard.  So, I thought I might offer a few pieces of advice. They may not be helpful, but they're what I wish someone would have told me. Disclaimer: I realize the hard sciences and research-driven SOPs have specific research requirements. While my SOP didn't require that, I'd venture to guess the creative processes are still similar. 
    1. If you feel like your first drafts are "perfect", you're doing it wrong. It's relatively easy to string together a narrative and slapdash a philosophy into a few relatively coherent paragraphs (or pages, as the prompt may be). You're applying to graduate school. Everyone can do that. Play with structure, from narrative to thesis driven, always understanding writing as the aligning of audience and purpose. Figure out what works best for you and why it works best. What are the weaknesses you are compensating for, the strengths you are accentuating, and how can you do that with a "show" rather than "tell" execution? How can you set a tone? How can you be different while still being you? These are the questions behind the white page and blinking cursor, and by answering them through writing exercises or more "informal" writing sessions (I prefer pen and paper), you can begin to create a fully functioning draft. 
    2. Give yourself time to sit on a "fully functioning" draft for two weeks before doing anything with it. I'm terrible with time management, so the first school I applied to also happened to have the most worked-over, crafted SOP. By being able to shelve it and come back with fresh eyes, I could do a re-write as opposed to a revise, emphasizing certain parts and cutting others. Once I felt comfortable with this document, I started sharing it among my network of LOR writers, peers I admire, etc., which leads me to...
    3. Listen to all of your advice, but also none of it. Everyone who has a note is pointing something out that isn't working, even if their identification is off or their diagnosis doesn't work. So be open to potential changes. That said, if you're taking the road less traveled and are truly being a little original, a little novel, a little -- dare I say -- interesting, some people will hate it. One of the people I admire most said of my final draft something along the lines of "It's well written, but it's certainly not what I would have written." At the time it felt like a slight (or a huge blow), but I've grown to appreciate the sentiment. Only one person really understands your Statement of Purpose, so while constantly looking for a better execution is a virtue, being confident in your basic construction is essential. Unfortunately, you're still an academic, which means...
    4. You're probably going to hate your SOP by the time you send it out. It's never going to be a perfect distillation of your potential as a graduate student or professional in your field. It's never going to talk the adcomms into admitting you. It's never the all-powerful document we make it out to be in our minds when we are obsessing over dependent clause construction. Still, it's the one-thing (outside of maybe the GRE) you can really control heading into admissions, which makes it a lightning rod for doubt and self-loathing. So, unless your mental health is much better than mine, you're pretty much destined to hate your SOP until...
    5. When you finally know where you're going to go, take a look at the SOP you wrote. Most people tell you to tailor your SOP to the school, and while I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly, I also felt it was important to be honest about my study and career aspirations, even if they didn't align perfectly with the school. That's not strategery out of the "How to Write Your Way Into Grad School" game plan, but at the end of the day it led me to a school with a great fit that also happens to be Top 5 in my field. Also, I'm surprised to report, outside of one typo, one misplaced however, and one flawed introductory clause, it was a document I can be proud of. 
    Good luck, and remember. It's supposed to be hard. 
  6. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to Almaqah Thwn in How to manage getting a cat in grad school?   
    Managing to get a cat in grad school can be hard, but it's doable. Personally, I'd highly avoid schools that require the GRE- cats are notoriously bad at sitting down for lengths of times, much less at inputing a 90th percentile response into the computer. That said, it might be worth trying to get your feline into a European program. Italy has lasagna, I hear. 
  7. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to DBear in Deciding between two schools on (what I believe to be) equal footing   
    I can imagine it was absolutely terrible telling your supervisor, but congratulations on the decision and YAY for new adventures!
  8. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from DBear in Deciding between two schools on (what I believe to be) equal footing   
    @DBear Yeah. I ended up choosing school 1! I don't know if this is the best choice, but I just have to stick with it. Telling my supervisor about it was really hard though. 
    Thanks for checking in on my decision! I appreciate your concern!
  9. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to DBear in Deciding between two schools on (what I believe to be) equal footing   
    @I_mix have you decided yet?
  10. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from DBear in Deciding between two schools on (what I believe to be) equal footing   
    @Herringk Thanks for the reply! I guess my biggest concern is the research part of it and whether or not I'll be able to accomplish my research goals at school 1 (otherwise I would have chosen school 1 right off the bat). 
    @juilletmercredi Thank you, as well, for your reply! Sorry, I should have made it clear that none of my POI's work on exactly what I want to do; it's just that the one at school 2 has outlined a clear plan as to how we could do what I want to do, whereas, at school 1, the POI has only discussed that we could try to do what I want, and I'm less sure of their capacity to help fulfill that. 
    My research differs from both POIs in that my research is integrative between two fairly separated topics in oceanography (chemical oceanography and macroecology). In either case, I would have to do some independent stuff or have someone on my committee that does ecology instead of chemical oceanography. At school 2, I've already discussed who we could wrangle at other universities and how we would do it (to get the ecology portion done). I've spoken less about this with the POI at school one, but, as this POI is established, I'm fairly certain that they know individuals in other places I could get in touch with. Regardless, I'd probably push ideas about how to get it done too.
    RE: stipend, School 2 offered me ~10K for my stipend, which doesn't include being a TA, which I plan to do, earning me a max total of ~16k per year. Based on that, I would think that School 1 would be better. I am still waiting to hear back about extra fellowships from school 2, though, which would tack on an extra 10k. 
    I probably can maintain professional relationships with them even if I moved, but I'm sure that my POI at school 2 has been gunning to have me as their student for awhile, and I'm worried that they'll be pretty miffed about it. Perhaps I'm being overly paranoid about it. 
    Either way, these questions are really helpful and are good for me to think about some more. Thank you again.
      
  11. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to Katie6 in Deciding between two schools on (what I believe to be) equal footing   
    Based on your con list, I'd say option 1. It seems like you're leaning towards that as well. I'm in a similar situation, and for once I'm going to use the "good vibe" approach-- and money, of course. It might be good to have a change of pace, too. A new environment for grad school is something to look forward to. It seems option 2 is fully funded, but as is option 1. If you get remove finances from your worries, then just go forth with the environment/community/area. I'd vote option 1!
  12. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to juilletmercredi in Deciding between two schools on (what I believe to be) equal footing   
    Some of the cons at School 2 make it sound like not a great choice at all.
    Here's the question: What are some things you can do to mitigate the cons at School 1? It sounds like a great choice and, quite frankly, it sounds like you prefer it.
    Your PI doesn't have to work on what you want to work on exactly. In fact, if he does, that's not a great thing since it means someone is already filling the niche you aim to occupy with your research agenda. The important part is the second part of your statement - they seem willing to work with you and help you realize what you want to do. How much does your research differ from your PI's? Is it close enough that they could adequately advise you? Do they have connections and networks to scholars at other schools who you may co-author papers with, or who may serve on your dissertation committee? Or more importantly, do you have the kind of personality that would seek out those kinds of connections if need be?
    Same kinds of questions for con #2. It sounds like School 2 is maybe where you went to undergrad or an MS program. If so, that means you have relationships with those professors, presumably some of the ones who do the modeling you want to do. Can you maintain professional relationships with them and potentially co-author in the future on modeling projects/papers? You could even maintain a relationship with your current PI and continue to work on papers together. There's no reason you can't collaborate just because you're not at the same university.
    One question, though - is $18,000 enough to live on in Location 1? That seems like a quite low stipend, and in the U.S. it would be taxed.
  13. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to hj2012 in Is it a bad sign that I got my rejection letter this early?   
    I understand rejection sucks, but don't descend into self-loathing. The fact of the matter is that graduate school (and academia in general!) is absolutely structured by rejection of all types, and this rejection has nothing to do with your self-worth or value as an intelligent human being.
    You only applied to four grad programs which is very few, especially in the humanities. PhD programs are a crapshoot: I know lots of people (very smart and successful people!) who applied multiple times before getting in. If this is absolutely what you want to do, I'm sure that you can improve your application and cast a wider net in the following year. 
    [I also just want to say that our choices in life are hardly ever as binary as you've presented. There are lots of amazing, fulfilling career paths that academic tunnel vision might prevent us from seeing. This is not only unhealthy but also perpetuates some of the hierarchies and inequalities within the academic system itself. I think if this is really what you want to do, learning how to handle rejection and gain a critical distance from academia as an institution will make your journey more bearable.]
  14. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from xisan92 in Stony Brook Atmospheric Science PhD Decision   
    @xisan92 No worries. Haha... I can sense your anxiety about this......
    I'm kind of at the point of giving up hope on Stony Brook.  
  15. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to TakeruK in Why do they leave people in Limbo   
    When attending panels on career advice and reading books and blogs on the job search process, I came across one key piece of advice that would apply here too. The search process is not about the applicant. It's all about the employer finding the right fit for their position. Or, in this case, the school finding the right candidates for their programs. Their focus will be on the candidates they want to attract and when we are on their shortlist then we'll get information. Otherwise, no information is literally that: no information. It could mean that we are the next person to get information. Or it could mean that we are already rejected but they haven't told us yet.
    Note that being left in limbo doesn't mean you are at the bottom of the pile....most schools will accept 5% to 10% of applicants and maybe only the top 20% will receive interview requests or notification about shortlists etc. I'd estimate that in most cases, over 80% of applicants will hear nothing until they finish making decisions. Here are also some more practical reasons why most applicants are left in limbo:
    1. The school wants to keep you in reserve in case they need to make more offers later. It's almost impossible to reject someone and then "un-reject" them and have them still seriously consider you for their PhD schooling. 
    2. The school has limited resources to communicate with applicants so they need to prioritize the accepted candidates. From the other side, I know that planning a prospective student Open House is a ton of work. My department accepts about 40 people and we invite them all to come on the same 2-3 days for a visit. It takes weeks to plan everything and to ensure we are able to meet everyone's food requests, accommodation needs, travel plans etc. And they need to arrange a personalized itinerary for every single visiting student. Some students need to visit on separate days. And there's all the reimbursements to process. Most people that get a rejection take it graciously but some people will write back to ask for feedback or other details. The staff doesn't have time to do everything.
    3. The school has limited resources and they also need to prioritize the current students. In my program, we have one single staff member in charge of all things grad students related. This staff member does all of the prospective visit stuff but also helps the current student do our graduate milestone paperwork. They approve and prepare our candidacy paperwork. They arrange qualifying exam committees. They arrange thesis committees. We talk to them when there is an issue in our stipends not going through. Or if we have an issue with a professor mistreating students etc. Remember that most programs will not have dedicated staff simply for admissions/applications.
    My school does try to be very fast though. We make all decisions in January but the people who are rejected don't find out until mid-February, after all of the visit planning is done. I know that this information isn't very comforting and to be honest, it really is a matter of prioritizing limited resources to maximize the best outcomes for the school and the current students. But I hope that knowing some of the logic/reasoning behind the decisions makes the limbo less bad. I know it's easier to say that than to actually feel it, because I also felt high levels of anxiety while in limbo for post-PhD job applications too! But it will pass
  16. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from thetons8785 in I think I've been scammed by World Education Services   
    @thetons8785 Glad to know that it was resolved. 
  17. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from xisan92 in Stony Brook Atmospheric Science PhD Decision   
    @xisan92 As SB has indicated to you in their previous email and as I mentioned in my previous response, they already sent out their first round of offers. I don't know what the results of that were. We should also expect ALL decisions to have been made by the end of the month. Did I not make that clear in my previous post? I feel like I did.
  18. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to TakeruK in Informing adcom of chances of accepting an offer   
    Is there a reason you feel like you should hide the truth? Unless you suspect something shady is happening (no indication of this from your description so far), there's no reason to tell them the truth. Remember that they have way less information than you. They don't know if you already have tons of other offers or if this is your top choice.
    So, I would say something that includes
    - I am very interested in your school.
    - I have applied to 3 schools in total and I am still waiting for results from the other 2.
    - If it's your first choice out of the 3, then say so. Otherwise, don't say anything about ranking since it's only 3 schools.
     
  19. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to cydxb in Informing adcom of chances of accepting an offer   
    Similar to @TakeruK my approach was to say something along these lines:
    - delighted to be admitted and very interested in the school/program/ faculty 
    - all things being equal X is my preferred choice (or Y or Z)
    - still waiting for Y and Z schools 
    - give some details on what would change the calculus (could be funding, could be a school believes you could get through the program in less than five years etc)
    - if you're planning on going to the visit days mention that as well  
    hope this helps @I_mix
  20. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from thetons8785 in I think I've been scammed by World Education Services   
    I have personally used WES before and didn't have issues with it. As far as I was aware at the time (three years ago), it was part of their policy to send you a copy of your evaluated transcript. I believe it was free of charge, but my memory is hazy. Sorry, I wish I could be of more help. 
     
  21. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to SG_SC in Will this torture end?   
    This is literally the most stressful thing in my life right now. I have gone through 2 bottles of scotch a week since January began. 
  22. Upvote
    I_mix got a reaction from TakeruK in Politics and your graduate career in science   
    @TakeruK Your words are really encouraging, especially since I'm not in the States right now to hear this from US faculty. Watching this happen from across the border has been scary. 
    I didn't grow up in Canada, but I spent the latter part of the last decade in Canada. I do remember Harper and his scientist muzzling, and have heard from a couple industry/government scientists about (basically) "book burnings" (?). I was also around when Canada got rid of him for Trudeau My professors in Canada didn't really talk about the Harper government much, though, so I didn't get to hear about how it affected them, funding, etc., which is also probably why the situation in the US may seem worse than it really is. 
    Thanks for the reassurance.
    PS I have also seen Harper Man (at the suggestion of a couple of my professors). 
     
  23. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to COGSCI in Overwhelmed with College, Graduate School, and a Low GPA   
    Are you only considering US institutions? If not, you can consider Canadian schools. You don't really need to worry about your GPA since they usually look at the last 2 years of your undgrad (or 10 senior level courses). 
    If you have some experience with research and other health related stuff through volunteer work, I would urge you to apply to at least 2 schools this year and see if you get in. While you are waiting for the results, you can find an internship or a research position that is related to public health. 
    If you do not get in after your first try, you can apply to more schools the year after. I have no information on your previous experiences, but I am sure you have some. It is good to go through grad school application process more than once (although it is definitely better to get in after your first try) because you actually learn a lot. Of course, this also depends on your financial capacity so do what is best for you!
    Applications are still open for some Canadian schools: McMaster U(Jan 25th), Queen's U, University of Alberta (Jan 30th), Dalhousie U (Jan 31st) and Western U(Feb 15th) 
    Lastly, you don't need to worry about your GPA for jobs because most people do not ask for your GPA during the hiring process! 
  24. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to fuzzylogician in What exactly is a "strong LOR"?   
    I've had several people tell me that one of my letters for job applications brought tears to their eyes when they read it. I assume it's strong (to say the least). When I was applying to grad school, my letters were something people often commented on in interviews, so again, I know this means they were good. For the record, I've never seen any of my letters for grad school or for postdocs/jobs. Nonetheless, I know they are strong because they come from people who I am certain support me and believe that I am a strong candidate for whatever I'm applying for. My letter writers are people who have known me for many years, who have advised me on multiple projects, who can attest to my teaching abilities, research abilities, my personality, etc. They can give specific details and anecdotes to support whatever comment they make about me. They know the contents of my papers and my ideas, and can discuss in detail why they matter. They are people who care about me and have my back. That's how I know I have strong letters. (Therefore, when I was only applying to grad school and before I had interviews, I *hoped* but didn't quite *know* that I had strong letters, based on my relationships with my recommenders. It's always just a guess, unless a writer shows you the letter or a reader tells you about it.)
    You'll notice that at no point did I discuss how prominent my letter writers are. They are, but that's not what's going to get me the grant/fellowship/job/etc. It's the content that matters. The reputation of the letter writer and their relationship with the institution you're applying for would only be something I would consider if you had several otherwise equal options to choose from. Otherwise, I would go with the more detailed letter from the person who knows you best. 
  25. Upvote
    I_mix reacted to TakeruK in Can I email a professor shortly before the application deadline to ask if they have a vacancy?   
    Yes, I think you should apply to the school.
    I don't know if you need to contact the person ahead of submitting your application though. Unless you are in a field that absolutely requires prior contact, I would just submit the application if you're interested in the school. If you do need to establish contact, just say something like "I am submitting an application to your program in 3 days and I am interested in working with you" or something like that (i.e. no need to say that you just stumbled on their program last minute!!)
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