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I remember that feeling . . . here's hoping you get some good news SOON!

I felt close enough to two of my letter writers to send frequent updates. My third letter writer was close friends with one of my other writers, so even though I did not feel as close to him, I figured I'd rather he heard updates from me directly, rather from our mutual friend, so I sent the updates to everyone. Because of the updates, I ended up forming a closer relationship with my third letter writer and getting nice, supportive emails in response during the interview/notification process (I included bad news in the updates as well). I now have one more person I would feel comfortable going to for help or advice in the future.

I know there are equivalence charts, but I think there's a sense that breaking 700 is good (or perhaps 750 for Q), and it's not quite so impressive when you just look at the percentages ... Maybe it is possible to look at new and old scores and just consider the percentages, so that all applicants are on equal footing. All I know is I'm glad I was applying LAST year!

They weren't expensive, but after I got admitted, I got myself a necklace and earrings (not quite a set, but they can be worn together). I just wanted a small reminder that I had done something significant and to feel good about it, even when day-to-day things might seem overwhelming or discouraging. It actually helps to wear the necklace &/or earrings when I need a morale boost. I'll have to plan for something more extravagant when I actually graduate!

I hope you dropped -- too much stress otherwise, the way you presented it. And it sounded as though there really wasn't time to pull up your grade, in any case. If you do have to retake, the material should be easier and you'll cement your learning better the second time around. I don't see why there is such a stigma attached to withdrawing and retaking -- other than the added cost/time, there isn't much of a downside. Some times are just not the right times for certain activities, some subjects take longer to learn, etc., etc.

@Business2Biology Congratulations! Sounds as though you did a lot of work to make the career switch possible :-) Nice to see that kind of effort recognized, especially when you're not a typical applicant.

Maybe -- I'd like to think that the scores will be converted to the more familiar scores, at least for this transition year, but perhaps not.

Definitely more common to finish in spring. However, for schools where it's hard to get into required classes and college takes more than 4 years as a result ... well, then, anything goes.

Do you have any interview invitations? That should be a sign that you're fine (if you do). If not, it just means things are super competitive, because those scores are fine.

I am definitely doing this PhD for me -- at 40+. I gave up on something for family reasons earlier, and there were issues I had to work through related to that. Even so, I don't regret past decisions, because they all led up to now. The kids are great -- and they were not doing so well before. I'm happy where I am. I guess the "message" is make your decision and accept it. You can only decide with the information you have now, and looking back on the past is pointless, because you don't know how things would have turned out if you'd made a different choice -- there's no guarantee things would have been better, so I like to assume I made the best choice at the time and that it is still the best choice.

It does -- Maybe you are the one who clicked on the green UP arrow.

You should look at the websites of some schools you are interested in. Some may actually list the minimum math/science prerequisites for applying. If you can't find such a listing, look at the courses the department offers and see what their prerequisites are. It's really not that hard to figure out what courses you'll need to take if you do that. I would expect math through differential equations and linear algebra at a minimum. Not sure what specific physics classes they'd expect -- and there might be other requirements as well.

Isn't Chinese New Year coming up? And then there's Valentine's Day . . .

Ask him if instead of just pointing out that you dropped a lot of classes, could he put it in context and describe how you perservered in spite of some challenging personal issues that you were dealing with. It can be presented in a positive or a negative light, and the way he plans to mention it and say no more makes it seem negative -- as in, "This student is capable enough, when he/she actually completes what he/she starts. However, this student is ready to cut and run whenever things get tough (i.e. will drop a class, rather than risking a less than ideal grade that he/she might have been able to avoid through native intelligence or hard work). It all depends on how it's presented and how it's interpreted, and you don't seem to have enough information to be sure that it will be represented in a positive way.

Sounds to me like you could find someone better to write a letter for you. If the tendency to drop courses is evident from your transcript, someone who really supported your application would describe the backstory, so that it doesn't sound like you are making pathetic excuses by trying to explain what happened yourself. Is there anyone else you can ask to write a letter for you?

I would be surprised if those schools had rolling admissions. As far as I know, they are all pretty competitive and should be able to pick from great applicants, even if they do lose some of the people they'd like in their program to other schools. It's really only lower ranked programs that tend to have rolling admissions.

@coldsteak -- In that case, it looks as though your research experience could be more impressive (perhaps) that most people's. Good luck!

It IS wrong to not report it if the transcript is being represented as being accurate and COMPLETE. Besides, as I said earlier, if the people who are supposed to be HELPING you don't know the truth, how are they going to be able to give good advice? How will they be able to mitigate the negative effect of any deficiencies if they don't even know about them? Be honest with your recommenders and ask for help. If they are not willing to help you, they probably do not think highly enough of you to be good recommenders anyway. Wouldn't you rather know this upfront?

@coldsteak -- that GPA is going to make things very difficult for you, especially as an international applicant. It also probably is not helping that you are currently working in management rather than research. You might consider applying to master's programs. Have you gotten any advising from the PIs you used to work for?

@Samreen -- Sorry, but you might not have much of a chance. Even for American students, the competition is intense. Most people will have more research experience and your GRE Q seems quite low. You might need to start thinking of how you can strengthen your record before submitting another round of applications. Funding here is getting pretty tight, so I'd imagine admission is going to keep getting ever more competitive. As an international applicant, you really need to stand out from the crowd somehow.

Applying is very stressful, but it can also be a time to remember past achievements and really think about what you want to do in the future. When it looked as though I wouldn't get in anywhere, I still did not regret applying. Had I not gotten an offer, I would have been in a much better position the following year, in part because of all the work I did during the application process and in part because of the contacts I made when people found out that I was applying. So, try to focus on the positives and trust that things will work out.

I would second the advice to find a new recommender. He's not going to be in the right state of mind to focus on recommendation letters, even if he still wants to do it. Call your schools, explain the problem, and see how long they can wait for the letters, but try to find someone new asap.

I don't know how serious an error this is -- not my field -- but I can think of some basic blunders I wouldn't have wanted in my SOP. If you think your error is that significant, maybe you could call the department secretary and ask if you can have your SOP replaced with a corrected version. I have heard on this site that other applicants have been able to do that in the past.

I don't think the old GRE even went that low! Those scores are OK.

The recommender might never find out, but that is still an incredibly stupid thing to consider doing. Your LOR writers are supposed to be on your side. If your record is so bad that you have to hide parts of it, that doesn't bode well for your application (where you can't hide grades, since they get sent directly from your schools). One of the best ways to explain deficiencies is to have your LOR writers put as positive a spin on them as possible. That aside, it's also downright dishonest, and I wouldn't want to be in a program with someone who did something like that.