Teaching Faculty Wannabe

@Raghuram Look into North Carolina State University. I did my undergrad in materials science and engineering there, and I love the town, the university, and the department. It's a good engineering school, but not a super competitive school like others can be. Good luck!

@Sigaba You might be right. I just getting very panicky when I have to rely on someone. I guess one could say that I have trust issues, which is something I have been working on. But anywho, I thank you for your input. I'll try to let things play out and hope for the best since I am probably just overreacting.

UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I need to do this first: uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Okay, I am feeling slightly better. So, I have these two wonderful LoR writers that have already written letters for my nine schools along with two fellowships. However, my third LoR writer is starting to cause me to stress out. A LOT. Just to set-up everything, I told all three of my writers about my applications in mid-September. I gave them them a packet with all the schools and fellowships I a,m applying to, their due dates, any instructions or recommendations for the LoR writers, the programs I am applying to, the websites for those programs, and a visual timeline for the due dates. The first letter was due late-October. I sent my third letter writer about three reminder emails and a reminder text before she submitted her letter a minute before it was due. That was a roller coaster, but I was happy she got it done. Next, another letter was due last night. I sent her about two reminder emails (one about two weeks ago and one a few days ago) and resent the links twice (one about a week ago and one yesterday) as well. She ended up not doing it at all. It didn't bug her as much about this one because this application only needed two LoRs, but they prefer three. I am fuming because I gave her a lot of time and reminded her multiple times. When I first asked her if she could be my letter writer back in September, she said that she was willing to do all the applications, which makes me even more frustrated. She is testing my trust and that's scary because I have nine more applications that she needs to write LoRs for. I honestly don't know how to handle this. I am not sure if I should even mention the letter she forgot to write and just move on with my life. I am not sure if I should get a different letter writer or just try to trust that she will get the other ones done. I know she has a very busy job, but I don't want to have to keep reminding her every time there is a deadline due, especially since I feel like she should be able to manage her time after being a professional for so long. Maybe I am being too harsh. I hate feeling this way about someone, but I really don't want to worry and question about something someone promised they would do. I would be immensely grateful if anyone could provide any advice on how to handle this. Thanks in advance.

@Velocity_Distance I don't know a single thing about any of these programs, so I am sorry if what I am going to say isn't all the helpful at all. However, I believe there are two things you need to think about: 1. Do you want to specialize in software engineering or do you want to broaden your knowledge by getting a degree in computer science? It seems like you will be relearning a lot things you already know in SE, but you might be learning it more in-depth or from a new perspective or something of that sort. CS might allow you to learn new programing skills. Even though CS might teach you theoretical ideas that might not be entirely important to your career goals, it will challenge you intellectually and you can gain a new perspective that you could potentially apply to your career in the future. 2. How important is individual work to you? It seems like it may be important to you, so CS might give you the chance to be a bit more independent, which I feel like is sometimes hard to do in industry and sometimes even in academia. However, SE might give you more experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment, which is a very important skill/experience to have for the workforce. You may already a lot of this experience from your development experience, though. I am sorry I can't provide more than this, but I hope this helps you think more about what you want out of your master programs. Good luck!

I am applying to UW as well, and definitely plan on writing one. If you are afraid that your experiences aren't enough or something of that sort, you are wrongly mistaken. I agree with what @Stat PhD Now Postdoc said above. What you wrote in your second paragraph is good, and this statement allows the admission committee to see another side of you that they wouldn't have gotten to see with the rest of your application. Also, I wouldn't think this statement would hurt you chances of getting in, so I would go ahead and do it anyway even though it is optional. I see where you are coming from with someone refusing to work with you because of your statement, but I personally wouldn't want to work with someone that doesn't like my diversity statement or "diversity culture" (which means they probably don't/won't like who are, in my opinion). I have also included a link to a short conversation I was a part of related to this topic: I feel like the diversity statement shows the admission committee your commitment to not only helping others that may not normally have the opportunities to even think about getting an education or pursuing a certain career path but also to talk about your personal experiences and struggles (financially, culturally, etc.) helped you become the person you are today, which includes you being a person that wants to purse a PhD. Good luck!

In my opinion, I don't think this is strange. I think it's a bonus to have the person you want to work with say good things about you. Good luck!

@Sudheer08 I think you definitely have a chance of getting into a PhD program. As you probably know, GPA isn't the only factor that admission committees look at when searching for the right applicants. However, there will be programs that put have a minimum GPA, so keep a look out for that. Not all programs do that, though. Good luck with your search!

@Hougu Hi, I think you should do the first option. She doesn't have a PhD, but an MS is still really good. I know it is preferred that letter writers have a PhD, but if she is a good professor doing good work and will write you a strong letter, then I think it shouldn't matter in my opinion. However, sometimes programs can be really strict and want LORs from PhDs, so make sure of that before you ask. It seems like you are the closest with her out of the three options and that connection is very important for LORs.

Ahhh, I see. You are right. I found this on Magoosh: https://magoosh.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203445269-Can-you-explain-the-GRE-ScoreSelect-feature- So sorry about that! I wish they had something like that, though, but I guess it would be wrong do something like that?? However, with that you can send both tests so they can see both of your high scores.

@MSanders4394 I am not sure you have a higher chance of getting in (I could be wrong, though), but I always think it is better to get applications done earlier than later. Of course, you want to make sure all of your application materials are good, but the sooner you get it done, the less you have to worry about it. Also, the admissions committee will get to look at it earlier. I am not sure if that will give you an advantage, but it might. I hope that helps. Also, I love North Carolina State University! I got my Bachelor's there and miss Raleigh every day.

I think with the ScoreSelect you can send the 160 Verbal, 162 Quant, and the highest writing score without the schools having to know about the other scores. I hope that makes sense.

@FallGO I think ETS has a thing called ScoreSelect which allows you to choose which scores to send to schools if you took the test multiple times. This would allow you to send your highest scores. Here is a link about it: https://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/scoreselect/

First off, great job with your GRE scores. Your GPAs are great, so you have those two things going for you. LORs are good. Maybe replace your second one with your boss if you want to switch them. Great research experience with some presentation skills. You could maybe mention in your SOPs that you have published memos, if you have room. It's super impressive that you obtained two degrees in four years with the GPAs that you have. Amazing! Even though you may not have extensive research using computational tools in biomedical engineering, you do seem to have experience and skills using computational programming. Like myself, I haven't done any research in the area that I want to do in graduate school. However, in my SOPs, I am talking about how I can easily adapt to different labs and research projects being conducted. Also, if you show your passion in the subject, then I think that will be sufficient. Maybe others will say differently, but I am betting on that myself. I think you are an great candidate with all that you have accomplished, especially in a short amount of time! Good luck with everything!

Oh, that's great to hear! Good luck with your applications!

@jwiz Well, during my undergraduate, I was actually required to take a English class for research and scientific writing where one of the assignments was to write a fake grant with two other people. That was the only experience I have so far of doing such a thing, though. While researching graduate programs, I noticed that some schools have training programs and some of those programs have classes where you can take a grant writing class. Otherwise, I suspect your research advisor will be the one to help you, but there will be a lot of learning along the way. It is all very dependent on the university and its department, in my opinion. I would do a lot of research on the universities you are applying to and maybe even contact graduate students to see what is done there in terms of learning grant writing.

@yesoymilk I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you feeling better now, but loss is always a hard thing to bear. I am not an expert on this topic since this is my first time (and hopefully only last time) applying to graduate school. I am not sure if it is entirely a bit deal, especially since your GPA is pretty great. I think the B+'s are okay not to mention, but if you feel like the Not Pass class really bothers you, I would maybe mention that you were going through a difficult patch during that time. I don't think I would express specifics, but mention that you were personally were going through things, which affected your academics. I wouldn't talk much about it because they want to hear more about your research interests and your fit into the program more than anything. I hope this is helpful! Good luck!

Let me just say this, fee waivers are a life saver and I am so thankful for them! Applying to grad school is too expensive, and I am grateful to be saving some money! I hope everyone is having a great week so far!

@jwiz I think some universities have classes or programs about grant writing, but I imagine it is something you learn over time, more like a self-taught thing. I am sure an advisor would help with that sort of thing by giving advice and feedback on your proposals, but I believe it's just something you get used to doing over time.

Hi all! I am sure some you know this already, but it is a great idea to thoroughly research all of the schools you are applying to. I did that a long time ago, but I don't think I did a very good job, which forced me to again research future advisors and other parts of the programs I am applying to. I have discovered some really cool things and I have also found more professors I could work with. Additionally, I noticed my research interests expanding, which has been interesting! I also looked up professional, academic, social, and volunteer-based clubs I could be a member of at each university. So, keep researching and making sure that you feel comfortable with the schools you are applying to! Good luck!

@K3nny I honestly don't think they will remember the LOR from your friend. Remember that the admission committee has to read a lot of materials -- LORs, application materials, transcripts, essays, etc. -- for A LOT of students each year. So I don't think you have to worry, especially since your professor doesn't seem to be worried about it. I hope this helps ease your mind some.

I am not, but I found these forum discussions on here related to that program: I hope this helps! Good luck!

In my opinion, I would say the math professor is the best bet. It may not be as strong as your other letters, but I think you want someone who likes to write a letter rather than someone who knows you longer but doesn't like you as much.

@BioFrost If I were in your situation, I would take it if you can afford it (or maybe look for ways to get the fee waived or reduced), see how you do, and decide based on your score if it is worth sending it to them (your score should probably be 300 Q and V combined). I am not sure how reviewers would view not sending it in, but I feel like they shouldn't fault you for not sending it since it is optional. That's just how I see it.

I am actually in the process of writing my own diversity statements for applications (not for any of the UCs, but I am sure they are similar). I agree with what @Elephas said. I also asked this question on this website and someone gave me a good answer in my opinion. Here is the link to that conversation: Good luck!