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I worked as a writing tutor for a year before I took the GRE. I even ended up grading 100 sets of 2-question exams almost identical in format to the GRE essays. I'm sure it helped me when I took the GRE, but I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone. Lots of terrible writers out there.

I don't know what the "natural course of admissions is," but my acceptance letter specified that the offer came with a tuition waiver, stipend of $/month, and health benefits. I think it is very variable by program. I think my program will not admit ANY students they can't fund fully, and as far as I know, that applies for international students as well. I have no idea whether it is more difficult to gain admission to this program if you are an international applicant.

I thought this thread was a place to vent and express anger -- give Mal83 a break . The application process is stressful and all sorts of emotions surface. I'm not surprised Mal83 feels angry or resentful. I can't say I was entirely pleased by the way every program handled my application either ...

That much debt is too much. Go with the funded offer. And CONGRATS!

I would go with ZeeMore's advice. As long as you're still at the same school and can easily meet with your prof, you should. You will get a much better sense of how enthusiastic she is about writing the letter for you, and you will actually have the chance to remind her (in person) of who you were. You want these letters to be personal, so anything you can do that will make them more so, you should do. Email first to set up a time to meet, but DO NOT let her write you a letter without an in-person meeting and conversation! I don't think it's impossible to get good letters without meeting in person, but if you are both on the same campus, I think it would be odd not to make the effort. If I were writing the letter, I'd wonder how important it really was to my student (yep -- in my first year of teaching (part time!) I've been asked to write several letters ...).

After my application process was over, I gave gifts to 5 people who had really helped me out a lot, including my three references. They were all fine accepting gifts, except for the instructor who I think has had the least experience doing grad school letters (maybe had never done one before). But I was a bully and forced him to accept it -- telling him he deserved it as much as the others, and I was giving gifts to others, not just to him. So, I think he was not very comfortable with the idea, but he's still talking to me. . Most of the people I gave gifts to have transitioned from instructors to friends/mentors. I think most people were happy to know how much I appreciated their efforts, and didn't see the token gifts as anything more than that.

Not my field, but I'd think that really knowing the material would be just as important as doing well. There have been classes that I've managed to do well in, but afterwards I couldn't really hold onto the material as well as I would have liked to because the material was just too hard (and too new and unfamiliar) for me to get really comfortable with in the time we had to work with it. So, if you think the material is going to be challenging, I think it makes A LOT of sense to take the elementary class first and the more advanced class after you've had an introduction to the concepts. You'd improve your chance of doing well in the more advanced class, and you'd certainly learn the material better, in my opinion, given that you'll have more time to work with it and think about it.

Is there any way you can drop these classes?

Yes, I think you do need to push yourself to get your GPA as high as you can. 3.1 is still on the low end, as many schools require a GPA over 3.0. You don't want your application to get thrown out before it's even looked at because it did not meet this cutoff. Good luck -- it sounds like you can do it!

So sorry to hear that -- what terrible news! Is there any chance of a "probational" acceptance (probably not, but no harm asking)? When I first heard about the system used, I thought it sounded very peculiar. How can you be accepted by your program and rejected by the school? However, it's apparently a pretty standard set-up.

Do you still have time to take more math classes at your current school? Or, if you are located somewhere where you could take graduate classes as a non-matriculated student, might you consider delaying your applications for a while to take classes that might help strengthen your application? Or if there are still undergraduate math classes that you could take, you might think about taking them at a CC (not as prestigious as a 4-year school, but generally much cheaper). In other words, is there any reason to apply now if you think your current background is weak? You are correct in thinking it is an extremely competitive area, but I doubt there are no other domestic students in these programs. Try visiting some programs, if there are schools near you to visit, and ask them how your current credentials stack up and what you might do in the next year or two to make yourself into a more attractive candidate if you are not currently competitive. I did this, and everyone I spoke to was friendly, encouraging, and helpful (and, I believe, quite honest with me about my chances). And thanks for the congratulations -- yes, I definitely did not take the direct route to where I am now!

20+ years ago I took the paper version and got 1480 ( V and Q) and 740 Analytical (logic puzzles, mostly -- no essays), Last June I got 1540 (V and Q) and 6.0 Analytical (writing)

Well . . . I restricted my applications to one school so that I could stay with my SO (but we've been married for over 20 years), so I'm probably not the best one to give you advice, but I think your life situation is worth taking into consideration. Both programs sound wonderful, but it almost sounds as though you still like the UCLA program more (?).

So sorry to hear what a tough time you're having. It sounds like you've had to adjust to a lot that you never bargained for. Reading your post, it SOUNDS to me as if you are almost done, but I know how long a relatively short period of time can sound (18 months in my case). I don't know what to tell you to do, but it does seem that you have too much invested to back out now. Is there any way you could continue to work on your mentor's project in your home school?

You could consider applying to a mix of PhD and MS programs. Good Luck! I am proof that you should not just assume you have no shot at an acceptance!

I read it as you were hanging out with your partner AND his group -- not just his group. So, I agree, it could be a bit awkward in that case. But I don't think you should worry so much about it either way -- as Strangefox said, if you're uncomfortable with your cohort, they probably aren't very comfortable with you, and won't mind that you spend less time with them.

At first I thought you were writing to ask about how to switch departments! Anyway, I think you should just be happy that you've found a group you feel comfortable with and can get support from. Continue to do polite events (on occasion) with your cohort, but if anyone comments about your absences, just say something about how it's the only way you're able to spend time with your partner (and I wouldn't be surprised if that were the truth!).

You should get a good review book for the MCAT. As far as I could tell (many years ago) the MCAT only tested on the science subjects required for applications: Chem, Org. Chem, Physics, Biology -- and all at the introductory level. Taking classes like biochemistry might make the first 2 years of med school easier, but biochemistry will be part of the med school curriculum anyway. Think of college as a great opportunity to study all sorts of fascinating subjects. Think about what you want to do and what you'd like to learn. Don't think of any potential class as a waste of time -- you can learn a lot by taking a variety of classes. I teach now, and I wish my students had a better background in critical thinking and better writing skills -- both important no matter what field you go into. Don't worry so much about what courses will make the MCAT/med school easier. Focus instead on getting a really good background from the foundational classes and getting research experience. And if biochem with genetics/cellular bio is what you're really interested in -- go for it! But still make sure you can think well and write well! And if your science classes are mostly graded using multiple choice tests and/or problem sets, that means I'd recommend taking humanities classes (literature, philosophy, etc) that actually require some analytical writing. And get research experience -- med schools seem to want it nowadays. (Correct me if I'm wrong on this, someone ...)

Yay! Good job!

It really depends on your interests . . . . Once you have the medical school prerequisites done, you can study whatever you want.

6 programs: $450 GRE: $235 (I think) transcripts: ~$100 interview clothes: ~$400 (but I get to keep using them!) ~$1000 -- I can't really count all the money I spent on the clothing and I probably missed some other smaller items (books on applying, etc) Plus tuition for classes I took that made me a better applicant -- but I would have taken them anyway

Congrats on your acceptance! Would visiting Pitt BEFORE you hear anything perhaps improve your chances -- shows your interest? However, if you loved Albany, I'd say, "Go For It!"

I would not recommend having the letters sent now. In fact, I'm not sure this is even possible. The school I applied to did not let you start an application until Spetember (if I remember correctly), and everything had to be submitted through the online account. Let the profs know how much you appreciate their willingness to write letters for you, and tell them that you will contact them with an update regarding what you've been doing and the details of where and when to send letters later this year.

I saw the info sheet on me that one of my interviewers had, and it listed my overall GPA from my degree-granting undergraduate institution (easy to see since the GPA for that school was not calculated on a 4.0 scale). It did not take into account the full year I studied at a different college during my senior year of high school or any of my many post-bac classes. The difference in GPA was not huge, but my main undergraduate school was the toughest school I went to (and I was an engineering major!).

I applied to multiple programs at one school. Due to my husband's job, I couldn't apply to any other schools. I was rejected by all but one program, which accepted me off the waitlist. I am 42. I think age may have played a part in the process -- as I was certainly considered "non-traditional," but it's hard to separate age from the other aspects of my application that were different.I made sure that my GRE scores were excellent. My GPA was very competitive. I did my best to take advantage of the resources available to me before applying to strengthen my application. I was, however, aware of the deficiencies in the package I was presenting, and I was ready to reapply should it be necessary.