fuzzylogician

Scores are sent electronically nowadays so this might not be exactly accurate, but basically the answer is yes: the graduate school will open a file for each new applicant, in which they accumulate the credentials that student has sent in (i.e., their transcripts, GRE/TOEFL scores, LoRs, etc). If your GRE scores are the first thing to arrive, the school will simply open a file for you. If you've already sent something else before, the scores will be added to your already existing file.

This might not be the best forum to ask this question in. At least judging from last year's crowd, it's unlikely anybody here will be able to give you an informed response. I'd suggest posting the question in the "Languages" forum and possibly also in the "History" forum (under Humanities). Good luck!

Definitely. Schools will keep your score report on file for much longer than a month -- at the very least they'll keep it until after the fall application deadline passes. Even if you end up not applying to a school you sent scores to, you've lost nothing. You have four free score reports that you can only use once you've finished the test. You won't be able to use them later, so better bet on schools you're likely to apply to than not send any scores at all.

Is there a third party you could consult before making any official move? I would try consulting the DGS for advice. Alternatively, there might be more advanced grads in your department who might have done this themselves or know someone who did and could tell you how it should be done. You could try talking informally to your potential new adviser just to find out if they're taking on students but I think you need to talk to your current adviser before making any plans with a new one. At any rate, I don't think anyone should be offended by your shift of interests, you just need to go about it the right way. Good luck!

Thanks for the tips and good luck to you too!

I sometimes asked about things that were available on the program's website, usually things to do with the professor's own research. With the exception of one professor, everyone responded kindly and added information that wasn't online, and which I had no way of knowing even existed - like minutiae of funding, course info in a specific year, projects that might close before I'll get a chance to work on them, etc.. I've always found it interesting to hear someone explain their research in their own words and not just read about it in a neatly worded description online. I was, however, always informed about said research and could ask insightful questions. I was also interested in students' involvement in projects and student-student/faculty collaborations, and that was a good way of finding out.

I know this is much easier said than done, but if you can't retake the GRE there's no real point in worrying about your current scores. Since you're at NYU now, couldn't you talk with someone in the program and try to find out if there's an (un)official cutoff score? I would think, though, that since a) your overall score is good, you're applying for an unfunded MS and c) (I assume) the Q part is more important than the V in your field -- that you should do ok.

I visited from Europe.. MIT is great, thanks for asking! I'm trying to wrap my head around actually having to solve 3 problem sets a week after only writing papers in the last 3-4 years, but I hope I'll learn a lot about the fields I haven't done any work on in the past 3 years (read, "phonology and syntax") and maybe even discover new interests! At the very least, I'm going to know a whole lot more about all kinds of things when this year is finally over.. I think right now so many things are happening all at once I'm too overwhelmed to take them all in. Mostly I miss my old life back home but am sure I made the right choice coming here. What are you up to this fall?

I'm not in Montreal but the general consensus seems to be to avoid renting sight unseen if at all possible. I have recently done just that and it worked out fine, but definitely if you can afford it and have the time, it's a better bet to come out yourself and see the apartments before you sign the lease. If not, at least find someone who will go out and see the places for you, even for a fee. Also ask for pictures and try talking to previous tenants. It's risky but it can work.

I would have preferred the "here, don't spend it all in one place" approach.. On that note, it just started raining (relatively) massively outside. Note to self: add to must-buy-this-month list water proof shoes and a raincoat.

Thanks for the offer and the suggestions! I'm at Cambridge MA, so I'll have to find some other kind soul to lend me their clothes I swear I love clothes too, but I'm all out of cash this month what with moving across the Atlantic and having to buy all new furniture, appliances, food and all that (damn MIT, why only pay stipends at the end of the month??). .

This is very true. However, if you already have a few places in mind that interest you, apply now and visit later, after you've been accepted. That way you won't "waste" a year, assuming your wife will start her program next fall. If you don't get in or don't like where you've been accepted, then you can try again in fall 2011. Start researching programs and consulting people right now so you can make the best possible choice of where to apply.

I don't see how what you wrote is all that rude. I think it's totally ok to check back with someone after a week has passed, if only to find out that they got your email and didn't forget all about it the next second. Profs can usually print for free but I still don't see any problem with asking them if they'd like you to drop by and bring a hard copy.

I had also expected go get at least a 5.5 and ended up with a 4.5. I was set on retaking but finally convinced myself it made no difference. I had a good SOP and writing sample, and a 120/120 TOEFL which I hoped would reflect my writing skills much more than the AWA score. I ended up being accepted to all my top choices (some of the more competitive programs in my field) so I guess at least in my case, the GRE score didn't matter. I think in most cases, schools know exactly how (un)accurate the GRE writing score is, and prefer to gage people's writing in other ways - through the sop, WS and recs. Do programs in your field put GRE stats on their websites? For all my programs that did, none even bothered to post AW scores. That was a strong indication that they didn't care. Two of the higher ranked programs didn't even require GRE scores.

No one knows for sure, BUT those of us who have successfully gone through the process perhaps have a better perspective than those going through it right now. I can say I've talked to other successful applicants at various schools I visited before deciding where to go, and I talked to admissions officers at those places; From comparison with people and from what the officers actually mentioned liking about my SOP, I can be rather sure that the advice I'm giving is correct (with all the necessary disclaimers) and not just my personal unfounded opinion.

Gotta love that.

Thanks! Now all I need is to borrow a cardigan, nice shoes and a scarf

What mims3382 said.

You should send your best work. The purpose of the WS is to show you can do research in your field; eloquent writing and well developed arguments are the most important criteria for selecting which paper to use. Ideally the paper should be in your field, but if a paper you wrote in another field is vastly superior, submit that. However, if you have good papers in your intended field, work on improving one of those. That's a very sad perception of Israeli academia. Really, if you think a school won't admit you because of your political views, why would you want to go there? I'd say the same goes here as in other places - submit your best work.

I'm invited to attend a reception for presidential fellows at my university. The invitation says to "dress business casual"--but what does that mean for women? keep in mind that I've just moved across the Atlantic with about 3 pairs of pants and 10 t-shirts, nothing fancy. I know enough not to wear my torn jeans and "pretend I'm a tree and hug me" shirt, but what should I wear? Are dark linen pants ok? same color or striped simple shirt? do I need to borrow a jacket from someone?

Yep, sounds like legal talk for "we'll show them to you now but they're not official until another month has passed and we've mailed you the paper forms". I can't imagine the scores changing between when you see them at the end of the exam and when you get the forms at home -- how could they? They're calculated automatically based on your performance during the exam and that's not going to change once you're done.

This is advice is not specific to chemistry: In general, the first few weeks in a new program can be overwhelming and you need to learn how to adjust. Don't make any decisions during this time, at least not until you are settled in and better oriented. Get to know the program, the people, the routines. Specifically in your case, I think you should at least finish this lab rotation and do one in a biochem lab before you decide to switch. Also, how much work will you have to do in the areas of biochemistry you find uninteresting? I mean, usually in a PhD program you specialize in a very narrow field pretty fast. Can't you just do whatever necessary course work there is in the areas you don't care for, but then focus on those areas that are interesting to you?

Definitely ask now, while your writers still have a fresh memory of you. If possible, have them write the letter now and save it on file so they can easily access and modify it later on when you apply. There's no point in having them give you the letters in sealed envelopes before you begin the application process, because most schools will want the letters electronically uploaded to their application website and others will likely have a specialized form for the profs to fill out.

I tried several hooks that were built on how I first discovered my field and when I knew I wanted to pursue a career in it; when I tell them in person people usually find them unusual and exciting, but in writing they didn't really flow without being overly long or trite. I ended up opening with several research questions I wanted to address in my future work and jumped right into why and how my past education prepared me for to do it. I ended up liking this intro better than any anecdote, because a) it gave my statement a professional feel right from the beginning, b ) it saved me space that I could use to talk more about my goals. I think a good research question will hook researchers much more than an anecdote -- especially since the anecdotes I had to tell weren't even half as exciting as the i-climbed-mt-everest-when-i-was-8 anecdotes you find in Asher's book. I wrote the introduction paragraph after most of my statement was already written, and I spent more time working on it than on any other single paragraph. My statements had different lengths, and what finally helped things come together for me was working on the one with the strictest word limit - 500 words. When I started stripping down everything I'd written to the bare essentials, the "hooks" were the first thing to go and I had to be smart about using my space in order to cover everything in the prompt. When I got back to writing the longer statements (1000+ word limits), I found that even though I had more space now, I didn't need all of it. I was able to say everything I wanted very neatly and concisely in the shorter 500 words version and I liked how it looked. I ended up beefing up the description of my current projects and current/future interests, but I didn't touch the intro+past parts. So I guess my point is, the intro is hard to write. Once you have a working version of your statement, step back and evaluate it critically. What does each word/sentence/paragraph contribute to your statement? If you can start reading the statement from the 2nd paragraph and not miss out on anything, then your intro isn't contributing enough. Conversely, you might find after you've written and re-written everything many times, that you have a good angle to begin with that forwards your plot. Give it time, it'll come to you in the end..

In most cases LoRs are uploaded to the application website. Whether your writers will have access to the system while you are working on your app or only after you submit it depends on the specific system. Most of mine allowed writers to access the system anytime. In case you have to send the letter via post, there are two options: either your writer will have to mail it herself, or you can pick it up from your writer after she's done and send it together with your other app materials (make sure the letter is in a sealed signed envelope). Whenever you have the option to send things yourself, do that. Your program sites should all have clear instructions on how to send LoRs.