DariaIRL

I think you should think harder on how to spin your experience with the veteran's hospital. If the person is willing to let you work together on a letter, I think it could be decent. Practica/Internships do take place in veteran's hospitals, ya know!

I would say that LORs should come from PhDs if possible, but more weight is given if the individual is well known in the field, has connections, etc. Usually the big reputation = having a PhD though. On the other hand, if you have PhD/big name writer who writes a weak recommendation, that wouldn't help as much as a non-PhD could have written an amazing letter. Letters that attest to your academic success are kind of redundant with your transcript. If the letter can maybe explain a particular subject matter or technique that you did well in or something, that would be more helpful than "so n so took my class and did well, I think s/he would do well in grad school." Overall, letters that talk about your aptitude/success for graduate level work in research are extremely helpful because that's what will set you apart.

Having just completed undergrad and taking on a graduate level statistics course with a C+ isn't terrible. Most grad programs will require their incoming graduate students to complete a statistics series (of a few courses, taken within the first few quarters or semesters) anyway. However your other numbers in your profile, as you say, are just 'ok'...I would try to beef up on the research experience/match/fit through your RA position, that will set you apart from the others.

Keep the undergrad and grad GPA separate. So for your last two years GPA, it may not actually be 2 yrs worth, but it's your grad-level work and most recent.

Complete your application and mail off your transcript w/o the current semester grades, for sure. When you do get those semester grades, email the grad office to see if they'd like an updated transcript.

OP says: 'does not require GRE score or writing sample'. But sure, if there is an addendum, of "optional/not required but recommended/suggested" go for it. Another thing to consider about sending items that are optional is that they may have no place to put it. If the application system is online, there is nowhere to receive/upload extra things. If it's paper, then it wouldn't be difficult to print and place into a folder.

If they say something isn't required, then I wouldn't send it. The grad program coordinator probably can't tell you if having optional items makes your application look better...because they're optional, ya know?

Cumulative GPA is for all years of school (at same institution). Last 2 yrs GPA is your most recent 2 yrs of study. Major GPA is the GPA for the courses applied towards a major (usually broken out for you on the transcript).

If their school is ok with deferring admissions (some schools aren't), go ahead and ask.

As others have said, ask the profs themselves, give them lots of time, and try to make it as easy as possible (provide a folder w/ postage paid addressed envelops, a handout with each school you're applying to plus their application deadline, etc). Don't forget to write a short thank you note after the admissions season!

The Dean letter sounds great. Often faculty will mentor someone unofficially, but it still counts!

Here our stipends are paid every two weeks. 1st of the month through the 15th is paid on the 25th. The 16th through the end of the month is paid on the 10th.

It is possible to receive an offer to a phd program w/o funding. The program I worked for as an undergrad office assistant did that before, but didn't like how it didn't hold students accountable and so they no longer admitted w/o funding intact at time of offer. It is also possible to receive an offer w/ funding pending and not know for some length of time. Depending on how your grad program is organized, maybe the department chair is not the best person to ask. They are really busy and are thinking about the big picture of the department. You should ask your assigned faculty mentor or perhaps the grad secretary whether there is an estimated timeline for when they think they would have funding information. Also, find out if you have an expiration date on your offer, when do you have to decide to accept their offer? And let them know that you would like to know the funding situation before making a decision.

Do either of these programs explicitly follow the April 15 deadline for all decisions? Or do they have kind of a lax admission where it's nice if they can tell everyone by April 15, but they don't have to. Like Lantern said, email a prof if you've had prior contact to see if you can get an answer. If you've been emailing the secretary, they don't make the decisions. So the reply you received, while unhelpful, was probably accurate.

That sucks....There was error on both sides. I can see it both ways. While you may have been a tiny bit late and did not use the preferred method of acceptance..if the secretary actually reads/replies to emails, the next day (the 16th) she should have emailed and been like: Thanks for accepting our offer by email, now can you do the same on the website? It sounds like the spot that was yours and given away..well, it's gone until the person who received it decides what to do with it. Depending on the dept and its funding/openings, they may not be able to create a new slot for you but it really has to come down to the person who got your initial spot. I can understand why the secretary would tell you that it's not worth contacting professors..but you may as well. But do it in a way that keeps a good relationship with her.

Do you have any of the wait list promises in writing? Your comments on being waitlisted were that they "told" you this, but your application online and an email reflect a denial, which is in writing/recorded. I recommend that you ask them to provide an email that says you are DEFINITELY on a wait list. (That is, they "had" to reject you because for some reason their policy requires a decision on all applicants by April 15 and their system only has accept/deny as the options.) <--no need to mention this part, but getting a written record that you are waitlisted despite your deny status is a simple request, especially if it's true. Not crazy about how this is being handled, but if you have nothing else to wait for, then may as well wait and see.

Dear POI or advisor or whoever, I am writing to inquire about my admissions status on your wait list. NAME suggested that I check in this week. I'd like to take this time to also reaffirm my continued interest in your program and in working with POI. Thank you very much for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Your name

+1 sciencegal

Sometimes programs will make an offer to a program or track that you didn't apply to. A friend of mine applied for an MSW but they offered her a spot in their PhD of Social Work program instead. But this one seems like a really funny error.

You can write to the POI to express your continued interest and say that since your application you have accomplished XYZ. Whether that will count this late in the game, who knows..but at least the info is out there.

If the schools you list are research-based..you will probably need more research experience. Definitely talk to your recommenders early. Perhaps they can provide you with a research opportunity that will help increase your experience and make for a better LOR.

Agreed w/ watergirl...have your gf set up appointments to meet with profs while she's here for the summer. Depending on if the school is on semesters or quarters, some faculty may be on summer vacation and unavailable.

Russophile covered a lot of the valuable points. My addition would be that in addition to them looking at your most recent 2yrs' GPA, there is also a major GPA vs cumulative GPA. My major GPA was pretty strong, while my cumulative GPA was average. But you mentioned that you're a freshman, so there is plenty of time to figure that out and to build up your GPA/decide what you want to study.

It depends on when the application deadlines are. For instance, if the app deadline is within December 2010 for consideration the following September 2011, they will likely be updating info/processes during the summer 2010. In which case, you can write in summer to see if it's too early to apply / have they completed updates for the next admissions cycle.

http://www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/CGS_Resolution.pdf "In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15, and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15." So yes, you have through April 15 to withdraw, and yes, they definitely won't like you very much.