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Gifts are not necessary, but notes of appreciation and updates when your results come in (especially when there's good news) are. If you want to give gifts, you may. Some profs feel awkward accepting gifts, so it might be better to avoid unless you know your recommenders well. I could tell one of my writers felt uncomfortable accepting a gift.

Agree with Genomic Repairman -- would just comment that it's only your Q score holding you back. I think your V is fine for an international student (actually, it's probably OK for a US student as well), and a 4.0 on AWA seems to be generally thought of as acceptable. You could try applying this year, and see if any program will overlook the low Q score, but engineering usually expects > 85 -- even > 90% -- percentile. So focus on preparing for the math section. HOWEVER: We should remember that we are talking about a Q score that would have been a 740 on the old scale. I certainly would NOT have considered this score a dealbreaker last year. So, I think it would be worth applying this year, with a plan to retake if not successful.

I was the only female in one just-after-intro level CS class I took. It didn't seem to put me at any disadvantage. I liked the other students in the class, and did not feel ostracized or put down at all. So, if women were staying away due to the lack of a welcoming environment, maybe it's not so bad nowadays. Though I didn't mind being the only woman in the class, I thought it was kind of sad that more women weren't getting into the field -- at least at this school. As to whether you should mention it or not -- I vote no. I'm sure the adcomms are aware of the gender imbalances that exist.

Not necessarily -- she could have been just trying to make sure you had the best combination of letters. Provided you DO have other writers you can address your research potential, it should be fine. Without bringing it up, however, this person had no way of knowing whether all your references were outside your area or not. Sometimes, it can actually be useful to have someone from outside your field write, and I discussed this with one of my LOR writers, as I wanted him to emphasize a different aspect of my application.

Sorry, no -- I don't know anything about Canadian universities.

I had some late letters - did not seem to make any difference. They were only 1-2 days late, though (one of my profs was working on a grant and ignoring everything else temporarily . . . ). Had to call a different prof at the same school and ask him to go and make an in-person request for the letter on my behalf since emails were not being checked.

I would say that your GRE score would hurt you more than it would help you. If you don't have to send it, don't.

Yes, it is generally OK if they are a day late. It is not unusual for professors to wait until the last minute -- only one of mine had his letters in early (and some were late). Most were sent ON the due date. Definitely send reminders -- I generally sent regular reminders, at increasing frequency as the due date approached. But I knew my recommenders quite well, and I knew they would appreciate this. In fact, I was chatting with one of my recommenders recently, and he was complaining about a student who HADN'T done this and who now needed a letter ASAP. I don't know why it should make a difference, since he sent all my letters in right on the deadline anyway, but apparently it does. I guess he'd worked it into his mental list of things that need to be done, and this other student's lack of reminders meant her letter caught him by surprise.

You are just acknowledging the fact that you are trying to do something difficult where success is not guaranteed. I think we've all had the same feelings -- it seems perfectly normal to me. Try to relax -- what I found comforting was that the upside of applying was that I'd potentially get to do some really neat things for the next 5-6 years. The downside -- I might have to reapply. That's it. That's all they could do to me if they didn't like me, True, applying is such a pain that that seems pretty awful, but my day-to-day life wouldn't change for the worse in any real sense AT ALL. In fact, I think my husband would say that now that I am in grad school, my life has changed for the worse -- I am working all the time and tired all the time! Still, making contingency plans is never a bad thing -- I had my back-up plans. It's nice to know what you would do if the worst outcome is the one you have to deal with. Good luck!

In the biomedical sciences, interviews generally ARE required, and programs generally pay for travel/hotel for out-of-state students.

I'm not sure they're getting paid "tons" of money, but it is a part of the job. Is there some reason they are trying to politely let you know they don't feel able to write favorable letters for you? You definitely don't want lukewarm letters, so if they are not completely supporting your application, you're better off without them. Not that that solves your problem. You might try the professor who never responded to your email again. Professors tend to be busy, and it could have just gotten lost. Good luck.

Unless you prepare yourself differently for the exam, yes, you probably will get low scores again. If you really work hard studying and taking practice tests, you should do better.

One of my letters was sent in late, and it did not seem to hurt me at all. Adcomm members are professors themselves; they realize how busy your profs are. I think they will generally give you some leeway on when your letters arrive, provided they are not too late. Mine arrived the week AFTER it was due.

I don't think this score is as terrible as you think -- it would have been quite high on the old scale -- over 750. If the rest of your application is strong, I don't see why you would not have a good shot at getting into your programs of interest.

I don't think a mediocre letter is ever something to knowingly choose. On the other hand, I think you are generally expected to get letters from your research professors, unless you have several and omit an earlier one (e.g. from freshman or sophomore year).

Hmm . . , maybe you've never seen older students in a top CS program, but there are older students in very good programs in many fields, so I wouldn't be surprised to find a few even in great CS programs. Not saying it's easy, but it can happen. And the OP might need a tippy top program for what he wants. I say, "Go for it!."

Maybe you need to spend more time on improving your undergrad gpa before thinking about grad school. That can generally be done at less cost than getting a master's if you are able to take at least some classes at a CC - maybe retake some classes you did poorly in.

Well, what are you during differently each time you apply? If you're not making yourself a better applicant each time,that sounds somewhat delusional and perhaps it is time to call it a day. If you're continuing to try to strengthen your application, that's a different story - and shows admirable perserverance.

Blaming bad teachers is probably not a great strategy -- really sounds like whining.

Can you apply to other schools now that you've completed all these prerequisites?

Congrats! You'll be fine -- take a deep breath. You might want to practice with someone and at least write out the points you want to make sure to communicate.

I guess it depends on what you were doing in the interim. I wasn't doing anything much likely to give me a swelled head.

Or take more undergrad classes to improve your gpa - while studying for a gee retake.

I think you should take a commercial test prep class, if you haven't already. With your math background, aptitude/ability in math should not be the issue. So what's left is the test itself - you need to learn how to take the test, which is really a different issue altogether.

Yeah, that's what I hope anyway. I felt like telling that interviewer I wasn't in my 80s! But I got in (different program), and I may even run into that person on campus sometime. And so far, I'm loving being a grad student!