brightorangesocks

I've recently started listening to the Research in Action podcast by Dr. Kate Linder. I'm starting grad school in the fall and am pretty new to academic research, so I'm finding the breadth of topics really helpful for getting familiar with common methods, challenges, and what academic research really looks like today. Does anyone have similar resources they would recommend?

Got the email yesterday that I've been accepted to Rutgers!! They said to expect a notification from the graduate school in the next few days. It sounded like it just took them a while to get input from everyone on the admissions committee, so if you've applied there as well and haven't heard yet don't be too worried. Best of luck to everyone else in this thread, given how close we're getting to April hopefully you'll hear in the next couple of weeks.

Hey there, who else is attending Rutgers in the fall? I'll be there pursuing a PhD in Atmospheric Science!!

It's actually really comforting to hear that Rutgers (Atmospheric Science) isn't the only school that hasn't sent out any decisions yet. I've been told informally that I'll be accepted and they're trying to secure funding, but I don't think I'll really relax until I get the letter in the mail! It seems like some schools are just running pretty late this year. FWIW with Rutgers I've also called the university's graduate admissions office a couple of times in the last few weeks to see if my program has sent out any decisions at all yet, and they've confirmed that no one has heard. It's been a good way to keep an eye on the status of things without bothering my POI/department.

Holy crap the amazon price is way cheaper! Looking at it right now (for a basic iPad) is $250 wifi only, 32GB. Usually I buy them a model or two old on eBay to save money but that's actually worth buying new!

Thank you! I did call a little earlier, and it sounds like they have not heard anything from the program about decisions or when they will be sent out. So I haven't been rejected yet!

While I'm waiting to hear from my POI/Department, is it ok to call the university's graduate admissions office to see if they know when my program is planning to start sending out decisions? I don't want to be a bother, but I'm thinking grad admissions may be safe. And while they aren't as likely to know the answer, its at least something I can do? Talking to my POI it really does sound like I'll be admitted, but I just won't feel comfortable until it's formal. I also would like to decline another offer but am *definitely* not doing that until I know for sure that I'm admitted and attending. *heads back to the scream thread

Can you appeal to the graduate school, especially considering you were admitted to the department? Is the department willing to go to bat for you in appealing to the graduate school? Being off .1 in GPA seems like it should be a minor thing, but I don't know the school's policy. FWIW in the corporate world, when a company says they have a GPA minimum for a given job (say 2.5), and they actually reject applications based on that minimum - if they make one exception they would have to go back and re-justify all of those rejections that came before. So for that company making an exception might not be an option... although this often is only applicable to entry level positions, so they could try to get you in a different role where it wasn't a requirement. In the end it's really just a liability thing because it opens up grounds for them to be sued, and it does help cut down on the stacks of applications to review. (Source: helped out in university recruiting for a company for a couple of years). Best of luck, that's an awful situation to be in. Hopefully you're still able to attend!!

That's a pretty broad question, and really depends on your individual situation. Do you have a way to transport your stuff? If you have a car, you would probably want to bring what fits in it and could consider renting a small uhaul trailer to tow for the rest. That depends on what you already have (like furniture that is worth keeping) vs what you will need there - if you're living in a furnished dorm or apartment you might not need much, but if you're starting out in an unfurnished apartment you need to consider the cost of bringing your stuff with you vs. replacing it all when you get there. Money may very well be the deciding factor.

My undergrad is in electrical engineering, and while I have a solid math and cs background as a result I'm very much lacking in the core meteorology courses. I'm self-studying what I can now but I'm planning to take a few of those in my first year. If I were to do my undergrad over (and at the same school, which also didn't offer meteorology or atmospheric science) - I think I have to agree with a lot of the physics and math recommendations. Especially if you can have a focus in something like fluid dynamics. You could even take mechanical/aerospace engineering courses to help supplement in that area if you had to. And a CS minor will help you no matter what you do, at this point I would recommend that to just about everyone. That answer might change after I start my program, but for now that's what I would be thinking about.

SCREAMING FOR REAL WOULD PROBABLY UPSET MY COWORKERS ALSO I MIGHT BE GETTING MY LAST DECISION AND TOP CHOICE IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I'm working until June/July, selling my house, wrapping up things in my current city, then moving by the beginning of August at the latest. Then I'll have about 3 weeks to get settled, unpack, register the car, get my new driver's license, find a new vet for the cats, etc. When I moved for work after my undergrad I gave myself about 2 weeks and it was so helpful, because all those little things you need to do during business hours I could just go and do without worrying about work. I would 100% recommend it if you're in the position to do it financially. Classes start September 3rd!

Rutgers University English, PhD (F19) Other via Website on 5 Mar 2019 ♦ A 5 Mar 2019 Meh...it's New Jersey.

FWIW, I did not have any of my undergrad professors write LoR's. I've been out of school for nearly 5 years, and I didn't think I would be able to get any strong letters that way. Instead, I contacted one colleague who oversaw a project I excelled on last year, one former supervisor from a position I also did well in, and an engineer I interned under for two summers and a semester. Now while I don't currently work in the field I'm going to do my grad work in, all of these people do have at least a BS (and one MS I believe) in various engineering disciplines. I talked to one program coordinator about it early on and asked if something like this would be acceptable, and he basically said in cases where you've been out of school for some time it's fine. They still want to see strong letters that demonstrate you have the skills and aptitude to be successful in grad school - for example, strong time management, independent work, handling ambiguity, etc.

From another atmospheric person, thank you!! Here are my updates as well - UMass Lowell - Accepted Feb 6th, funding decisions to be shared mid-March UW Madison - Sort of rejected mid Feb. Expecting actual rejection in March. Rutgers - Interviewed late Jan (phone, fairly informal), visiting campus at end of March (also seems informal). Based on my last conversation with my POI I'm likely to be accepted, but I'm not 100% sure. Funding decisions to be made sometime in April. Does anyone have information on when Rutgers is making official admissions decisions, for atmospheric science or related programs? I thought it would have been sometime in the last couple of weeks but I haven't heard yet... I don't want to bother them too much. I'm also coming from 5 years in industry so this process is super new to me!