throwupandaway

In the fine print somewhere (maybe on the Bursar's form?), it says that for every month that there is a late payment, a certain percentage gets charged as a late fee. I'm guessing this would be applicable if the loans aren't processed on time. I could be wrong (because my loan paperwork was sent out a couple weeks ago...I was a late admit), so you might want to follow up on that.

This is what I received too. About a week ago, I received a large-sized postcard basically informing me of all the forms to fill out online here (http://newstudents.cornell.edu/grad/). Other than that, nothing via snail mail. I did receive my housing assignment (Hasbrouck) and my NetID. I've filled out almost everything (except taking a picture for the student ID...ugh). Do we hear stuff about orientation through individual departments or is there just one catch-all date to show up on campus? I contacted the financial aid office about loans, and here is the response: There are additional steps to apply for the direct loan, please see the steps below. [in response to other loans] the popular choice for students is the grad plus loan. To apply for a graduate William D. Ford Direct loan(Direct loan)you will need to submit a FAFSA, a Direct loan application(F4)available on the forms section of our website at www.gradschool.cornell.edu and a copy of your 2009 federal tax return. We would like everything submitted by the first part of May and we hope to have a reply via e-mail by July. The maximum you can receive in Direct loan is $20,500 for the academic year. For information regarding internal fellowships or assistantships please contact your department. For information on non internal fellowships or assistantships you may visit our fellowship database at http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/index.php?p=132 Should I be worried about registration? I just assumed this was something to go over with my adviser about when I get to campus. Enlighten me? Thanks everyone!

This is what you should do... 1. Pick about 5 schools that are reasonable to get into...given your area of interest and with enough work (with a 2.3, this is really the hardest part) 2. Set up a meeting with the department chair. Say, "I'm really into your program, but I have an extremely low GPA. I plan to dedicate myself to showing that I'm worthy..." (obviously this is rather informal, so don't quote it verbatim)...see what advice they give you. Some programs prefer you have X amount of coursework in a subarea, or a certain level of math...and they don't tell you upfront. It is worth it to really ask someone to assess you and give you a better idea of what they are looking for--rather than strangers on the internet. 3. Do what they tell you and exceed expectations. Given this, let me say that I had a 2.85 overall GPA. It actually is lower than most schools in how GPA is calculated (I was ill for two terms, and the new grades from classes I took didn't replace the old poor grades, if it were, my gpa would be at least a 3.4). I have a masters degree of 3.7, conference presentations, publications, the requisite languages for my area of interest. In short, I was more "qualified" than most candidates, but all the schools I applied for were still hung up on the 2.85 GPA, despite the fact that they are more than 5 years old. From my experience... Your administrative assistant experience won't help you at all. I have 5 years of it, and it didn't help me any (I worked full-time in ug, and schools didn't seem to care). The best thing you can do to offset your GPA is have a high GRE. I'm talking about 1350+. You want 700 q. 650 v as your targets (higher if possible). Anything less than that will cast doubt on your abilities (again, speaking from experience...I had a high verbal/average math for a humanities candidate and was called "mediocre" at best from a tier-2 program). Work on your personal statement. Don't settle for B work when you can revise it to an A. Learning Spanish won't help you get into a program. It will help you get a job once you graduate. I would hold off on thinking getting an A in a community college course would impress adcoms for grad school, unless you got a 4.0 all along and were consistent. --- Probably not exactly what you wanted to hear, but if you talk to the chairs programs and see what they want from you and you're willing to work hard, there isn't a reason to think that you won't get into at least one program (but be realistic where you apply).

Hi everyone, I have kind of a two-part message. 1) Rolling Admissions I applied to a terminal Masters program on Friday. It is rolling admissions. I've lined up a potential adviser (he seems excited to work with me as our interests line up) and the program seems to be a good fit with what I want to accomplish in the next two years. I love the school, love the location, and am really excited about the prospect of attending. Since I applied to the program (all my materials are fwd'd to the dept.), how long does rolling admissions usually take? I submitted everything online, and my transcripts are en route. 2) Does anyone have experience with lining up an adviser and NOT getting in? I've been in contact with the school/program for 3 weeks and they seem excited about my app. My potential adviser said he "looks forward to meeting me" in the fall, so I assume that is good and he told me who to expect my acceptance news from, is willing to help me put together a course of study upon acceptance, etc. I'm nervous because all this seems great--but I wonder if I'm going to get stuck in bureaucratic red tape that will mean auto-rejection, despite my potential adviser's good intentions. I'd love to hear any stories to relieve the neurosis of waiting for a reject/admit. Thanks!