GreenEyedTrombonist

@Dan_Xu broadly digital communication and communities (especially in regards to geek culture or social media platforms). My current intended research is about the use of social media platforms in large-scale political campaigns.

Thanks @Ishouldbewriting ! My POI is Mark Hamilton. I'd definitely love hearing a bit about the department culture, what you do for fun, the necessity of a car, what the heating bill is like, and anything else that might be important.

@Dan_Xu Thanks! From what I understand, UConn moved its priority deadline up this year (to Dec 1st) which shifted their entire adcom schedule. According to the website, Dec 1st was the priority deadline with funding, but people can still apply right now.

Do you have someone you can ask? If so, yes, ask. This happens sometimes (and definitely let the first prof know your thoughts are with them if you have that kind of relationship). If a new writer agrees, I'd probably also get them a thank you card and a nice-ish gift in appreciation (I like to give my writers chocolate and plan to stop by with some in the new semester).

Hey @sriracha18! Welcome to the thread and thank you! Different departments value the quant section differently, but if your other scores were good you'll most likely be fine. Quant was my lowest GRE score, but when I was talking with my POI at UConn (a quant-heavy program) they weren't concerned. Apologies if there are any typos or weird things in this post. One of my cats likes to make my keyboard his pillow...

@mintless Comm Arts in the rhetoric, politics, and culture area for me.

@mintless well best of luck to you! And also cheers to you for keeping it all straight. Also, we only have one school in common for our apps, haha.

oh wow @mintless, 17 is such a crazy amount of apps to need to do and keep straight. How are you managing? Anyone else nervous that January's right around the corner?

This professor has no reason to sugarcoat your progress and current work level. If they are complimenting you, they mean it. As Eigen said, imposter syndrome is a very real son of a bitch that most (if not all) people have to deal with at one point or another (especially in grad school). I really hope you are keeping up with the counseling as it can help with those thoughts and, as you've noticed before, keep you focused on your goal. Keep your eye on the prize and keep up the good work. I'm sorry the transition was so difficult for you (and as someone with no undergrad chem, I am utterly blown away by your tenacity to learn such advanced chem-even if your grades weren't what you wanted) and I'm glad that you're now in a field in which you're able to make progress. Feel free to vent here anytime if need be, but it sounds like you're doing well (despite your thoughts to the contrary). Don't give up! <3

@khigh I do enjoy winter activities, but I've never spent more than 2 weeks in the snow (and never was required to, if that makes sense). Between being a Californian and having low blood pressure, I get cold pretty easily. My concern is largely about clothing, having enough blankets, and how expensive heat will be. And yes, it's currently 55 degrees outside and I am cold, haha.

I'm in a similar situation, Carly. My parents were kind enough to offer a place to stay while doing my MA (which has helped immensely with stress and bills), but I am anxious to get out on my own. At the same time, it's terrifying to be without the support. If I let myself think about it, I start freaking out at the prospect of moving, paying a ton of bills, feeding myself (there's a history there-long story short, I am not great about remembering to eat), and imagining how my California-native self will do in a place that has real seasons and a real winter. I'm trying not to obsess over it, but it's hard to avoid. And then, of course, the other anxiety of classes and teaching on top of all these other changes. I think it's gonna be great, but that doesn't mean I'm not terrified.

Typically schools will send a rejection email rather than leave you hanging.

I didn't get in anywhere last cycle. It hurt and was disheartening, but I planned to reapply. I actually ended up applying to programs outside of my previous field because my research interests were a better fit there. This change, in addition to all the rejection last year, made me really nervous about my chances. I found out this week that I got into one of the top programs I was interested in and they sent an email saying I was a top applicant. The point is, my GRE, GPA, background, and LoRs didn't change between the app cycles. This year I made sure to apply to programs where I knew I was a great fit, talked extensively to profs that I wanted to work with, and polished my SoP until the damn thing was shining bright like a diamond. Ultimately, this proves to me what we (and the programs) always say: it's not so much about the numbers. It's about goodness of fit and your ability to articulate that fit. Don't worry so much about the acceptance rates and published stats (unless the program explicitly states cut-offs or something).

I'm not in psychology, but most people (I don't remember the exact percentage, but it is high) end up getting hired as a result of their network. It's important to make these connections so that they can let you know when a job is opening and send your resume in with a recommendation (if they aren't the one directly choosing the candidate). Although it's unfortunate, who you know can be just as important as what you know (not more important, because you still need to nail the interview and be able to fulfill the responsibilities of your position). Have you mentioned your financial concerns to your advisor? Many times students share hotels or carpool to conferences (when possible) to save money. The advisor might be able to help get you in touch with alternative financial streams to pay/lower the cost of the conference.

Short answer: yes. I did this for 5 of the 7 programs I applied to. I had good phone conversations with professors at 4 of these programs and a long email exchange with the DGS at another, so I sent them each an email thanking them for their time and letting them know I chose to apply/my app was submitted. I did not do this for the last two programs because they do not encourage communication with professors before an offer has been made. It's not necessary, but it can be a nice thing to do if you've made a connection with a prof.

Thanks guys! Compared to last year (all rejections) I almost feel like I'm floating. I'm pulling for all of you! We got this!

Thanks @phyanth ! I may have messaged nearly everyone I know about it yesterday. I may have also shouted it at my parents 3 times each and printed off the letter to make others read just in case I was hallucinating...

Breathe @phyanth and then let's freak out together One of my programs (Comm) moved up their deadline so they sent first round acceptances yesterday. I'm ecstatic about getting in, but not about the month and a half I have to wait to hear from other schools, haha.

Thanks so much @Hao Hongtao ! Apparently, UConn moved up their deadline this year and also moved up their entire process as a result. I was so surprised (and ecstatic) to get the acceptance. I might have printed it out and made other people read it to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, haha. As for the job searching, I have a phone interview tomorrow for one job and a final round interview for another in January. Hoping something comes out of one of them.

Guys! OMG I got into Uconn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After all rejects last year, starting with an acceptance makes me so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also just getting accepted, ah!)

@Adelaide9216 If it is the norm for the organizations that are asking you, I see no problem with figuring out some kind of fee. Whether you base this fee on standard rate for motivational speakers (you may not see yourself as one, but they probably do) or simply based on the expenses you would incur to do this talk (including the time it takes to prepare the presentation, travel, housing, food, etc) or a mix somewhere between the two, is completely up to you. But, I would stress, do not sell yourself short. You are getting multiple requests a month to tell your story and the organizations are expecting there to be a fee involved. Your story matters. People want to hear it. You are valued. <3

The problem with intelligent people: if you ask for feedback, they'll eventually find every loophole and scenario in which your idea does not work. This is a good thing. Nothing improves if no one disagrees. It sounds like you need to decide who this app is for as professors and applicants are affected differently by this issue (and approach solutions differently). I don't think a match.com style would work here. On dating websites, people join because they see the potential benefit to them. As others have stated, you've made a potential benefit for students clear, but haven't really offered anything compelling for professors. If you want a match.com experience, you need to reach out to professors and see what issues they have with the current process (and preferably reach out to professors in many departments and different schools). If you choose to focus on the student side, data mining journals and creating an easy-to-search list of professors and their research interests could be beneficial to help students be more targeted in their early-stage application process.

You're a day away and haven't heard. Shoot them another email.

How small are you looking for? I'm from a city with a million people (and counting the entire "area" we're 3 million) so my idea of small is probably different than others.

It is now after the Dec 15th deadline. Did you send them an email or try to make contact this week to remind them? See if you can get in contact. If they get back to you with a timeline, awesome! Let the schools (from the passed deadline) know. If they don't, better to have a generic letter and a complete application than an incomplete app that no one sees.