Anxiously Hopeful

Hello everyone! The previous week I got accepted to the master's program at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Florida in Biomedical Engineering. I love Case Western as it has been a pioneer in BME research for a long time, however, it is a private university and does not offer any financial aid to incoming masters students. The University of Florida, on the other hand, is a public university and I got a 4500 USD scholarship. I would have chosen Case Western over the University of Florida had it been more economical for me, but I am not sure whether I am thinking about this the right way. Is it worth it to let go of Case Western??

It was very effective. My score went up by 10 points. Well, there were many other factors responsible for the improvement but Kaplan did help a lot.

the online one

I purchased Magoosh but I think it did not really help me. What truly helped me was Kaplan. Kaplan has the same quant questions that you will see in the GRE and the same goes for verbal to some extent. Since you have a fat wallet, I think Kaplan would be worth it. All the best!!!

more like freaky February for all the applicants?

I am so anxious about the results that it is becoming frustrating. I cannot concentrate on anything and I know many people can relate to this and get more frustrated by the fact that nothing can be done about it. And to all the relatives and friends who have been concerned about me, I DON'T WANT TO F*****G MEDITATE!!!!

Hey, I applied for a Ph.D. at Michigan State University and masters at other universities like Johns Hopkins, Arizona State, Purdue, University of Florida, and the University of Pittsburgh in the area of Biomedical Engineering but I haven't heard back yet. The wait and the anxiety accompanying it is killing me. Is it all over? Anyone in the same boat as me? ?

Hello!! I felt a need for this thread since most of the others concentrated mainly on PhDs. So, for all the master's applicants who are waiting for the results or have got the acceptance letters, share the details about your application. Here goes mine: Program: Biomedical Engineering (Neural Engineering Specialization) Universities applied to: 1)Purdue 2)Johns Hopkins 3) Case Western Reserve 4)University of Pittsburgh 5)University of Florida 6)Arizona State University GRE: 323 TOEFL: 113 Publications: 2 international conference publications( one oral and the other poster) in IEEE and SPIE journals. CGPA: 9.3/10 Main concern: None of my publications is in the area in which I would like to specialize in. I hope I hear from some university soon. The wait is so nerve-wracking.

There are a few cases for instance for those who submit the applications for Biomedical Engineering before the early deadline that is November 15th for Purdue University, get notified by January and the rest of the late applicants are informed later about their status. Similarly, for Arizona State University, one batch of offers is out by the end of December and the other batch is out by February end depending on when you submitted your application. Keep your fingers crossed... We feel your anxiety and stress... All the very best!!

Well, in my case, when I see the results page on gradcafe, I realize that all the schools offering admission to the program of my choice and to which I didn't apply to are responding. This is so frustrating ?.

AAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!! This period is the worst.... If I were to complete the sentence then this would be my current version: When the waiting gets tough, ask mom to make your comfort food. This is the best way I can distract myself by relishing every bit of her culinary prowess and enjoying it even more because I might soon have to cook myself if I get admitted. ?

Enlist me as well. I would be happy to vent and share all the struggles along with some useful tips I learned along the way.

I have realized that a gap year was so necessary as it has given me time to do some personal research and figure out what really and truly interested me. So apart from the personal research stuff, I spend my evenings with my mother listening to songs or just simply chat with her which has been helping a lot in calming my nerves. All the best to all my fellow applicants!!!!

Worries ( quite a lot): I don't have a plan B. If I do not get into a university in this admission cycle then I am unsure about what I am going to do. I guess that I was so occupied in completing the applications that I did not think about a backup plan. The expectations of my family worry me even more since most of the time I have been a straight-A student. Excitements: My anxiety is making me want to grad school so much that I know I will give my best once I get there and make myself proud. Meeting new people and more importantly being on my own (I currently live with my parents) gives me goosebumps. Please let me in grad school!!!!!!!

I am sick of being patient all the time. I have to be patient for hearing back from the universities, I have to be patient in my relationship, I have to patient to see how life unfolds......... At this point, it is driving me nuts. I am just tired of holding back my thoughts for so long and controlling my impulsiveness just to take pride in the fact that I am a mature adult with a lot of patience. I AM STILL A KID AND I NEED A BREAK!!!!!!!!!

This is my first application cycle as well and I am also eagerly waiting for some response. What I have come to know from the fellow applicants is that they either mail you the decision directly or ask you to check the university website. Sometimes people get to know their application status by logging into their application portal before the university can reach them out via mail. So, I think checking the mail is fine as logging into each and every portal can become tedious. ALL THE BEST!!!

All through my undergrad, I was an introvert. I even avoided the fresher's party (Can you believe that??!). Since my college was in my hometown, I just did not come out of my comfort zone. Now I am applying for my masters in the United States and I feel it is absolutely necessary to have a good social network. In academia, we have to work in a team because it spurs creativity and even beyond the professional sphere, I believe that there are many informal get-togethers so that relationships are not limited within the walls of the classrooms and research labs. For those of us working part-time to pay for tuition will definitely get the unique experience and opportunity to interact with individuals outside the college. As far as I am concerned, I cannot become a social butterfly overnight but I will definitely try to come out of my bubble. As far as expectations about grad school are concerned, I think that people are very helpful and intellectually stimulating and I hope that I can make some very close friends there.

It seems as if I always have one or the other tension unwilling to leave my mind. Now that I am done with the applications and just hoping to get a reply from the universities soon, thousands of fear pass my mind every day. Today is like every other day and the thing that has been troubling me is if it is really tough for international students to get admitted. I know that reputable schools care about diversity and also follow a non-discriminatory policy but still. ?

Since you are free right now, you can definitely prepare better and give the exam. This is going to save your time later if God forbid you did not get in this year, and it is also going to relieve your mental stress, which is the worst. All the best!!!

Now that we are all done with the applications and waiting to hear back from the universities, let us share what we learned from this 2019 application cycle. If you ask me, this application season I learned……. 1) to keep my dear ones closer since they have this extraordinary power to strengthen me, 2) and that I should stop chasing perfection, be it the applications or relationships. This was more at the emotional level. Since I have not heard back from any university, I cannot answer about the dos and don’ts of applications.☺️

"Stay up on that rise Stay up on that rise and never come down Stay up on that rise Stay up on that rise and never come down Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting They say it's all been done but they haven't seen the best of me So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see.." -High Hopes by Panic! at the Disco. Which song is helping you brave the waiting period? ?

okay, I have two: 1) when you go to your master's thesis supervisor to get the recommendation letter while he was expecting from you to do a Ph.D. under his guidance 2) when you are content with your CV but after reading the profile of the other students on gradcafe, who have applied to the same university as you have, you realize that they have 3 patents, 6 first author publications, and have research experience from ivy-league institutions.

Ever since I finished with my applications in the first week of December, I had been braving the waiting period quite well. I enjoyed Christmas with my family, helped a friend with his applications, read books and articles, and worked out. The anxiety started creeping in from New Year onwards when in the results page of gradcafe I read the acceptance posts of the students. What relieved was that the posts were made by Ph.D. aspirants since I have applied to a master’s program. However, the relief was short-lived since today I noticed that a person had been accepted to the master’s program in Biomedical Engineering at Purdue. I have also applied there, and that gives me chills. Am I about to hear from them any time soon or will I be notified in a subtle way that I have been rejected in April? Did they consider the updated statement of purpose that I sent them? Such doubts wreak havoc in my brain. While I have applied to six other graduate schools, including some very ambitious ones like Johns Hopkins and other safe ones like Arizona State University, what scares me is that I do not know what I am going to do if I did not get into any university. Having scored a reasonably decent score of 323 in GRE and a gold medal during graduation, I was confident enough to ignore plan B back then. Nevertheless, now, when I see my colleagues doing something or the other with their lives while I sit at home with online courses and constant check my mail and gradcafe, I don’t feel right. Nonetheless, there is still a voice in my head saying I should not overthink when the results haven’t even arrived yet and that everything happens for a reason. Hope keeps pushing me forward. Studying in the USA is my dream, and I will not give up. PS: This is my first blog post .

Today technology is everyone’s friend, even dearer than a friend. Nowadays it has supplanted almost everything that we have been doing using labor. To some extent it has proved beneficial but now, it is eerily trying to supplant our brains making us no better and even worse than animals. It is like becoming mindless creatures that cannot think and make decisions on their own. More and more reliance on technology is surely backed by more disadvantages than advantages. The use of technology is ubiquitous. Today a person may not be accompanied by another human but always has a gadget to give him/her company. Be it any task, from remembering a friend’s birthday to scheduling an appointment somewhere, we need technology. Arnold Husky, a 9 year old boy who is treading the acme of learning uses his father’s mobile phone to remind him of his friend’s birthday and uses a calculator for his math problems. Children at such age should not be encouraged to use technologies that hamper their process of imbibing and learning things. Then there is another person, Jane Waters who is totally dependent on a pervasive mobile assistant Siri on Iphone for all her daily tasks. She requires the software to wake her up, remind her of important events, suggest her good eating venues and even decide the dress she is going to wear for an event. This is just like feeding a baby who cannot think anything for themselves and rely on their mothers (here it is Siri) for the most commonplace things. It’s like the price we pay for using such assisting or helping software and gadgets is not just the money, it’s the power of the brain that we are sacrificing. In some cases however technology has proved its worth which can be ascribed to its pervasive use by today’s generation. Technology has bridged gaps between people, brought them closer and has given more exposure to a person at the comfort of their home. It is especially beneficial for the elderly to help them recall things and assist them. Technology has enhanced our understanding and given us a better picture of the world outside the bubble we live in. Nevertheless, a complete reliance on technology for the most basic things can limit our thinking and decrease the mental power we have been gifted with. Brain is just like a muscle, the more it is used, the more intelligible we become.