emmm

If you have good relationships with both of them, you should be able to just mention in your newsy email that you're planning on applying to graduate school and do they have any recommendations or nuggets of advice to offer you. Then, when the LOR request comes, they most likely won't be at all surprised.

My opinion is..... 1,000 x No

An econ PhD is a lot of Math and a lot more than 3 hours a day studying. No way - no how.

A couple of things...

1. There is no need to get a Ph.D. unless you want to become a professor. In the academic world, usually you do not stay a professor for very long if you can not do research.

2. Having a master's degree is generally sufficient to teach at most community colleges and to work as an adjunct or instructor at many four-year schools. However, you're going to have a hard time getting a job with brick-and-mortar schools, namely, community colleges and four-year schools, (your goal, as stated in post 1) if you go the for-profit online degree route. In the academic world, where you attended school counts, and there is a significant bias in favor of brick-and-mortar non-profit schools.

3. Keep in mind that community colleges are public institutions that are subject to government funding. Same thing goes for most four-year non-profit schools. Most community colleges are overloaded with students right now since they are often less expensive (due to heavy government subsidies) than their four-year non-profit counterparts, and both community colleges and four-year non-profit institutions are looking for ways to cut costs...like the paycheck associated with your intended job.

Are you from this country? You sound very confused about recommendation letters. The prof asked you whether you want to stay or not probably because he was deciding what job to assign to you. Probably you got the one that needs 5 more years of work because you said you wanted to work with him. Asking for a random recommendation letter is almost rude.If he does not know why he writes it it will be perfectly useless anyway. If he likes you and you would have answered you wanted to go elsewhere probably he would have helped you in several ways even if you have screwed up with the research but you were intelligent and skilled. That is perfectly common.

Well you made a social mess. I think you should talk to him as fast as possible, you should be very honest, humble and tell him that you will apply elsewhere too (nothing is sure in this life) and apply to your current place as well. Later he can fight for you in the recruitment phase.

So because he really cares about your career you will not ever ask him for a letter ever again? That makes absolutely no sense.

captainscarlet -- regarding studying contemporary art in Japan/China at the PhD level -- you're unlikely to be admitted without a strong working knowledge of the relevant language (Japanese, Mandarin, etc. -- depending on your focus) -- not to mention an application essay (personal statement) and writing sample that demonstrate deep knowledge of and critical insights into the field.

Because your interests are broad and if your aim is to curate at alternative spaces/contemporary art museums and teach part-time, perhaps it might be worthwhile to look at MA programs that focus on curating and contemporary art more broadly -- Bard (http://www.bard.edu/ccs/) and CCA (http://www.cca.edu/academics/graduate/curatorial-practice) are good places to start -- both have programs that are very well respected and give opportunities to curate while a student. A PhD, while it is one route, it is not necessarily the best route (and certainly not the only route) into a career of contemporary art curation -- particularly if you want to end up working in alternative spaces or kunsthalle type museums (ones without a permanent collections).

You can check out the admission requirements for the computer science degree at California College San Diego. What I find interesting about their CS program is that it’s offered with four different emphasis areas – networking, programming, information security and social media technology. They also have a flexible schedule that allows students to graduate in less than normal completion time. Visit their website for more info!

I don't think that's how it used to work -- I thought they sent ALL the results, not just your best scores. I took it twice, but 20 years apart, so I don't have an actual score report to consult, but I have never heard anyone describe what you are saying.

Hello, I currently work for a biotechnology company related to polymer particles. I am planning on going back to school for a phd in chemistry.
My stats:
Undergraduate gpa 3.3 at Illinois state university
Masters gpa 3.9 isu studying physical organic chemistry. Synthetic and analytical experience.
6 years of research exp total
2+ years of industrial exp.
Gre over 1200
Subject gre 680

I'm coming from a mid level university with a good gpa, but I'm not sure what schools I would be accepted at. I am interested in organic chemistry, and want to do research in pharmaceuticals. After looking through a lot of the advice on this thread, I became overwhelmed and confused. Can someone help guide me to a school that might suite my needs? Thank you.

Is there anything useful that can be learned from your negative results? In other words, can you change your focus somewhat to try to salvage the situation. It's hard to speak in such generalities, but there must have been something of value that you were trying to determine when the experiments were first designed. It's hard to believe your negative results are completely devoid of any useful information -- again, I don't know details, but is there something you can grab onto, even if it's not as significant as what you were initially trying to achieve?

Is there anything useful that can be learned from your negative results? In other words, can you change your focus somewhat to try to salvage the situation. It's hard to speak in such generalities, but there must have been something of value that you were trying to determine when the experiments were first designed. It's hard to believe your negative results are completely devoid of any useful information -- again, I don't know details, but is there something you can grab onto, even if it's not as significant as what you were initially trying to achieve?

If you are going for an MPH, maybe you could concentrate on a quantitative topic for your thesis and get more computational/bioinformatics skills that way. Or through electives, if your program allows you some. You could ask some of the programs you're interested in for advice -- usually the DGS will respond to emails from prospective students in a helpful manner.

Yes, your grades do matter, since they are a reflection of how your professors view your work. You sound a bit immature complaining about the professor's "subjective BS." Maybe some of that attitude is coming across in your classwork? Even if it's true, it's part of life, and everyone has to learn to deal with it. However, first year is stressful, and there's a lot to adjust to. It's entirely possible that your grades will improve as you get used to your program. While you shouldn't ignore your grades, you should not obsess about this one, either. It is satisfactory for your program, and you should move on -- strive to learn what you need to learn and to make the right impression on people in your program. They will be your network later, when you need advice, recommendation letters, etc. Congrats for making it through your first term of grad school!

Ahh life is good for super good looking females with a high GPA:)

Are you guys in the sciences? What about the humanities? In stuff like Literature, especially, I imagine few internationals are around (except for icky brits), so perhaps the divide is not so stark, what with diversity and all that.

Except that with the amount of work you'll have and the amount of sleep you (won't) get, you probably WILL look haggard much of the time ;-)

Except that with the amount of work you'll have and the amount of sleep you (won't) get, you probably WILL look haggard much of the time ;-)

But not impossible -- see threads discussing "non-traditional" students. It's not easy, but it's worth it :-)

I've posted on other threads -- but I'm starting a PhD in a biology subfield next month (I'm older than you are), WITHOUT the extensive lab experience. I have a fully-funded offer from a top-notch school. I am incredibly excited and feel extremely lucky. Deciding to apply was a major decision, and I was quite nervous about my chances, but I am very happy I did it. You may be surprised at how much support you'll get from friends and acquaintances. Feel free to PM me if you have questions during the application process.

Grades need not be inflated for everyone to get As -- especially in grad school. If everyone works hard and learns the material, they should all be rewarded with the As their hard work earned. In grad school, especially, where students are already supposed to be among the best, what is wrong with everyone doing well? If they could not succeed in grad school, they should have never been admitted. Don't hand out As like Halloween candy, but don't be afraid to give them either.

You're 25! Still a baby :-)
Don't worry about waiting a year, if that's what you think would be best. There is no difference between being 26 versus 27. Age really doesn't become an issue for applications until you are in your 30s or 40s.

Good luck!

Yes, your grades do matter, since they are a reflection of how your professors view your work. You sound a bit immature complaining about the professor's "subjective BS." Maybe some of that attitude is coming across in your classwork? Even if it's true, it's part of life, and everyone has to learn to deal with it. However, first year is stressful, and there's a lot to adjust to. It's entirely possible that your grades will improve as you get used to your program. While you shouldn't ignore your grades, you should not obsess about this one, either. It is satisfactory for your program, and you should move on -- strive to learn what you need to learn and to make the right impression on people in your program. They will be your network later, when you need advice, recommendation letters, etc. Congrats for making it through your first term of grad school!

Also -- it won't be seen as a "gap" as you will have to disclose that you were in school during that time -- you cannot hide that fact. So you will have to explain not finishing the program and potentially explain your poor grades, but you will not have a blank chunk of mystery time to explain.

Yes, your grades do matter, since they are a reflection of how your professors view your work. You sound a bit immature complaining about the professor's "subjective BS." Maybe some of that attitude is coming across in your classwork? Even if it's true, it's part of life, and everyone has to learn to deal with it. However, first year is stressful, and there's a lot to adjust to. It's entirely possible that your grades will improve as you get used to your program. While you shouldn't ignore your grades, you should not obsess about this one, either. It is satisfactory for your program, and you should move on -- strive to learn what you need to learn and to make the right impression on people in your program. They will be your network later, when you need advice, recommendation letters, etc. Congrats for making it through your first term of grad school!

He said he wanted to teach at the CC level - for which a master's would be fine - and it could probably be a master's in CS or even Information Science. JHU has some online programs in things like bioinformatics and computer science.

http://ep.jhu.edu/online-degrees

Also -- it won't be seen as a "gap" as you will have to disclose that you were in school during that time -- you cannot hide that fact. So you will have to explain not finishing the program and potentially explain your poor grades, but you will not have a blank chunk of mystery time to explain.