GreenEyedTrombonist

@GameofLoans16I just can't currently justify such an expense (the car upfront, payments, insurance payments, repair bills, etc) plus I'm not a huge fan of cars. I'm hoping to get in somewhere I can either live near enough to walk to campus, take a bike, or with reliable public transport.

Surprisingly, the train can be more expensive than flying. There are things like megabus if you plan out the trip early enough (cheaper rate the earlier you get the ticket) and don't mind being on the bus for however long. Flights take less time so the exchange of time to money can sometimes be worth flying over driving. Driving gives you the most freedom once there, but it takes time (though not as much as the train and usually less than the bus), cash, and energy. This is something I'll be considering as only one school I applied to is near my family (and I think that's one of my reach schools). I'm lucky in that my Dad loves going on long road trips so my parents will probably have no trouble visiting me, but my sis just had a baby. I expect I'll need to fly home on holidays to see her and her family, as I don't have a car. The train would just cost too much for where I need to go and I'm not a big fun of the bus for such distances. :/

Awesome!

Eh, don't see an issue with it as long as you don't make the focus "I submitted my app and am looking for something from you."

Also, congratulations on the acceptance!!!

I think you're getting ahead of yourself. You've been invited to meet with faculty, you haven't accepted the admission offer and have to have it all planned out. This is a Chem event, so meet with the one you like and maybe see if there's another 1 or 2 in the faculty of chem that at least have interesting research. I would not just say I want to only meet with the one person. You still don't know what's going on with BBMB so just don't sign on the dotted line yet. See what Chem has to offer, see if you get an offer from BBMB, and weigh your options then.

If it's still before the deadline, I don't see any problem letting a POI know you submitted and thanking them for all their help. I did that with all of the POI's I had extensive communication with and they sent me a quick thanks in reply.

I believe in you @EvelynD ! My recurring dreams involve cutting my hair...

@phdthoughtsI'll ask you again in a month and see if you say the same, haha. That's awesome to be heading to the beach. I have enough time to go to the doctor tomorrow (first time in almost 2 years) so that's a thing...

I'm down to waiting on rec letters for 4 programs, but the next one isn't due until Dec 31st. @mintless I think I'd be happy to attend any of the programs I'm applying to. Part of me would really like Davis as it's near all my family and I could be around for my niece (just born in August), but another part of me realizes I've never lived outside of California and now might be the time to do it. I had really good conversations with faculty at 5 of the schools I applied to, so any of them (with decent stipend and whatnot) would be amazing (but none of them are in California). @phdthoughts Congrats on getting them done! Now comes the debate: which sucks more? Filling out the apps or the wait to hear back? haha

Congrats @mintless ! I'm just waiting on LoRs for 6 of my programs, but everything else is submitted. In other news, does it feel like the Comm boards are a bit slow this year? Where you at, Comm people?

Final Update: The schools were able to locate my scores and everything is good on that end.

Then I suggest investing in study materials or GRE prep courses. There are specific techniques you can learn to answer the quant questions quickly and correctly.

When programs discuss the combined score, they mean just Verbal and Quant sections as the AW section does not scale the same. If programs have a minimum GRE score, they will normally state it in their application faq section, so I'd worry less about that. When that is not mentioned as a cut-off, however, it is often used to choose between two otherwise equal applicants, so it would still be good to improve your score. Good news, the act of getting the MA should help improve your skills and score. My scores increased across all sections (without studying) after a year in my MA program.

Several regional conferences have put out their CoPs, so you could put together abstracts for potential presentations. I'm making a tabletop game in my spare time. You could also start putting together articles for journals if you want. Or just practice your hobbies and relax a little.

Yep, it sucks @MarineBluePsy and you would think, if you disclose the name change, it shouldn't be an issue. On the plus side, I'm down to one school looking for my scores and I have confirmed they were received by the other 6.

Binge watching shows, working, applying/interviewing for jobs, making a game, making healthy habits part of my routine, etc.

Hey @gradanth So the topic of my research was the same at all my programs (I specifically looked for programs for this research), but I emphasized different things depending on the program. Basically, the first section about my previous research was pretty much the same, the second part discussing my research was catered to the school based on faculty, other elements (labs, clubs, certificates, etc) that could be beneficial/I could contribute to, and then also some tailoring for methodology (some of the programs I applied to were mixed method, some more qualitative, and others quant heavy), and finally, the final section about future and send off was also catered to each program, dependent on what their stated career paths were. I was able to cater my future section because, though my ultimate goal would be to be tenure-track, I am well aware this path is hard to achieve so I'm not ruling out other careers. Hopefully, this helps a bit.

I don't think you really need to know the answer to this during the application phase. However, it should be noted that most PhDs (my background of social sciences may play a role in what I'm about to say) are very specialized. Long reports about a very very specific topic, basically. So, it's safe to assume that what you want to do right now is probably too ambitious. But, as was said before, this is something you work out with your advisors.

I'm drowning my sorrows and pain (oh, in such pain right now) with chocolate. @EvelynD @Archaeodan

@TakeruK Hopefully the software we'll get more sophisticated and stop such issues from happening. In my case, I have 4 legal names, but used to have 5. My scores are listed under my 5 names rather than my current 4. Even though I listed my previous name on all of my apps, I suspect this is the reason that the computers had issues automatching. What made it worse, the first school repeatedly told me they had no way to find it if it didn't autoconnect to my app and they wanted me to resend my scores. But if the name doesn't change, how would sending my scores a second time result in any type of change on their end? x] Good news though, the third school got back to me today and confirmed they have my scores, so at least that won't keep me from potential extra funds if I get into that school!

So, I thought I'd share my situation as a lesson for any future applicants. Last week, I received an email from one of my schools to let me know they were missing my 3rd LoR and my GRE scores. This was a courtesy email, since the app isn't officially due until January, but it caused a bit of panic in me. Why? Because I sent all my GRE scores on October 4th and it's now December. Ultimately, this took a lot of back and forth with both the school and ETS until ETS told me they needed the school to contact them before they would resend the scores. I have yet to hear back from the school since sharing this with them. This also got me worried about my other programs. I sent the scores so early because one of my apps had an internal early deadline to be considered for early funding. I checked all of my apps and two others did not list GRE scores at all. This means there is no way for me to know, from my application status page, if they were received. So, I contacted one of the schools. They let me know this morning that the scores were not received. I let them know what ETS said and emphasized that the scores were sent 2 months ago. They promised to double-check and then follow up with ETS. So, I contacted the final school and am still waiting to hear if the scores are missing there. And yes, that school is the one that had the early deadline, so if they're missing, there's (likely) no chance for that additional funding. In short, always double-check and follow up if you don't see your scores posted to your app within a week or two (or haven't received a confirmation from the school). If the school can't find them, ETS will not send them again until the school contacts them directly. Also in short, I'm very stressed right now. I'll try and let you all know how this works out.

Allow a few days to a week if the scores were sent electronically. My issue is there was a name discrepancy that kept my scores from being automatically uploaded to my app. I'm still working on it. x]

I'd also check that your online portals list GRE scores (not all of mine do). One of my schools sent me an email a couple weeks back that they were missing my GRE scores (which were sent electronically back in October). Their portal doesn't list the GRE so I would have had no way of knowing they were missing if they didn't email me. :/

@EvelynD that sucks about the job thing I have to wait at least another week to hear back about a job I really want (and would be really good at). How are you feeling about this app cycle?