fuzzylogician

I did mention wanting to continue on in academia in an educational as well as research position and it went by just fine. I've never heard the advice not to mention this, especially not in fields where you could also get a job in industry. People did tell me not to write that I "would be honored to attend your glorious institution", but I think that mentioning academia as a long-term goal is perfectly acceptable, even if sort of obvious in some cases. I can't imagine anyone would know before starting grad school what they will want to work on *after* graduating. Even if you think you do, it's probably better for your statement to reflect a readiness to change or refine your interests.

I'd do the safe thing and ask. If it's on your main transcript I'll bet 9 out of 10 places will tell you not to bother. But still, better safe than sorry.

I agree with belowthree. Try now and if you don't like the results, try again later. Re: recs - it's not the best idea to have post docs write your letters. Name recognition is a factor. Can you have the post docs co-write the letters with their supervisors so your letters will be signed by professors?

I liked http://number2.com/. There's also http://freerice.com/ but it also has some very obscure words on it that don't seem like GRE words. There was a thread going on about this site a few days ago, look it up.

I don't see taking a year off as any sort of a problem. Consider the payoff: instead of applying straight out of undergrad with no meaningful grad experience, weaker LORs and no time to prepare for the GRE, you'll apply after having tasted grad life: you'll be able to make a stronger case for your ability to do grad level work; you'll have better, refined ideas about your research, which you've actually had time to explore; and you'll have stronger LORs from profs who will back all this up. You'll also have more time to study for the GRE, but personally I think the reasons I stated earlier are much more compelling. Invest this year wisely in making contacts, writing (at least one) strong paper to serve as your writing sample, attending conferences and publishing if at all possible - and you'll only benefit from waiting the extra year. It's also feasible that you'll be able to get an RAship at your new school or find an internship in your field for that extra year, so it won't be "taking the year off" at all. But even if you got a "regular" job, I still think it'll be worth it for the possibility to aim higher and have better chances at both being admitted and securing funding.

I can't help you with any specifics, but having been on this comm a while now and having read a whole bunch of SOPs, I can tell you that if you force the issue in where it doesn't fit -- it'll be easy to notice. If you don't feel you can tie this experience into your current situation or your future plans without damaging the flow of the essay, then just don't. Leave it on your CV and maybe have a LOR writer mention it. This is of course not to say that you won't be able to tie it in well. It's the nature of SOPs to change and grow, and maybe after you've spent some time thinking about this experience and how you've grown and learned from it, you'll see how it helped mold you current views. If it did influence your choices and helped steer you in your current direction, it could be a nice opener.

Some (most?) take the best, but some take the last. You need to check with the programs you're applying to.

As socialcomm says, there's nothing glaringly wrong here. I'd suggest making it more assertive: 'I hope to apply' --> 'I am applying' 'which seeks to examine' --> 'which examines' And yes, it's summer, so it might take longer than usual to get a response. Don't get discouraged.

PhD in Linguistics: I had five offers ranging from 20-27K for 5 years, all including fees, a tuition waiver, and health insurance. The amounts would increase yearly by several hundred dollars. Varying amounts of entrance awards and summer funding -- usually these weren't large sums. Most schools required 1-3 years of TAship, the 1st and last year were always on fellowship.

I'm moving across the Atlantic. I visited back in March when I was choosing programs and spent a whole day walking up and down the neighborhood so I could get to know my surroundings and find out more or less where I wanted to live. I also spent some time talking with grad students about finances and what I could reasonably expect to afford on my stipend. I ended up connecting with a 1st year at my new dept who had just signed a lease for a 2-bedroom and we decided to become roommates. I did take the apartment sight-unseen, but: a. I've had bad luck recently with apts I did see, so who's to say I'd do any better with an apt-hunt that could only last one week, and b. she spent a whole lot of time looking until she found this apt and from what I hear it all seems good and affordable. Worst case scenario, I move out after one year. Beats the hell out of living in the dorms, which I would likely have had to do if I couldn't find something in advance.

Don't give up, you absolutely do stand a chance. People get into grad schools with much lower grades than yours--scores are probably the least important part of the application, after the SOP, recs and writing sample. You might want to think about explaining the bad semester and/or the upward trend since then in your SOP. Do you have any research experience or internships? Those would be more relevant to admissions than your GPA and GRE scores.

I don't think you need to update anything. Adcoms know you're submitting work you've done in previous semesters so it's fine if you leave things as they are now. The writing sample is about your ability to conduct research and your writing skills, that's what's most important.

Have you taken the TOEFL yet? If your writing/overall score is high, I think you can get by without retaking the GRE. From my experience, the AW is the least important of the three GRE sections, and a high TOEFL score combined with a well written SOP and writing sample should be enough for the department to see that your English is good.

Wow. With that amount of debt I wouldn't even dream of going to grad school. Let alone to an unfunded program. I'd get a job and start paying off my debt.

I'm only guessing here, but if I were on an adcom and saw an applicant who took the exam four times and got the same (low-ish) scores in all of them, I'd think they had faulty study skills. That would make me worry about their ability to study in an intensive PhD program.

Well, you know she won't be on the adcom, so you could think of that as a minus. But if you've made contact and she likes you, she could still push to have you admitted. I know for me the biggest problem with faculty that were on leave when I applied was that it was impossible to meet with them and sometimes even difficult to get them on the phone. It didn't hurt my chances of being admitted, though, I think. The departments I applied to made decisions for the entire department as a whole, and as long as someone from my subfield read my app and thought it was strong, I was ok regardless of whether I mentioned them specifically as a POI.

It won't help, but it won't hurt you too badly either. You'll be preoccupied with courses your first year anyway, and by the time you get to do your own research your intended advisor will be back and available to work with. I didn't apply as an undergrad, but I know for a fact that the writing sample, LORs, research experience, and most probably SOP, I would have had then would have gotten me not nearly as far as the ones I used this cycle as a grad student got me. I can honestly say I was a much stronger applicant this year, applying as a grad student - having had the chance to take grad courses and work on independent projects - than I would have been as an uninformed undergrad. My motivation is stronger, my goals are clearer, my experience is more compelling. I'm sure yours will be the same, and it most definitely does make a difference.

Yes. Fit is one of the most important factors in deciding acceptance and funding. It's true that funding has been more difficult this year all-around, but if there's a prof backing you up--one who shares your interests and might consider you for an RAship or TAship--then you obviously have better chances than if no one is particularly excited.

Reading this SOP, I don't get the feeling that you're passionate about your subject. Nor, for that matter, do I feel like you gave a good reason for wanting to go to grad school at all, or to "XYZ UNIVERSITY" in particular. Wanting to work with distinguished professors at a premier institution is not a good enough reason. It may just be because of the way you've posted this - taking out the specifics and leaving only the most generic statements. mims3382 is right in that the committee doesn't care what you do in your spare time, and doesn't want you to tell it you're prepared for grad school -- show, don't tell. I think you need to do some serious rewriting here.

Same here. I figure I'll have spent about 4,000$ out of my savings before I get my first paycheck. That's great advice. Those small payments can sometimes add up to hundreds of dollars. It's hard to keep tabs unless you write everything down right after you spend the money.

I simply contacted several professors I was interested in working with and asked if they needed a research assistant. I used to go to their office hours to ask questions and chat so they knew who I was and that I wanted to go to grad school. Someone finally decided to take me on, and later on another professor also had me work with him on his project. I got to meet cool people, work on two projects, write and present papers, and most importantly - I had supporters who wrote me strong LoRs. Through these connections I also got the RA job I have this year, a fellowship, and hopefully I'll be published again by the end of the year. I can't stress enough how important connections are: the professor I am working for this year me likes me so much he's given me an increase on my stipend (he's paying out of his own research funds) to help fund my move to the states; he's gotten me a job writing an entry in a new encyclopedia that's being published in our field, and he's already got a job lined up for me for next summer doing field work for a project he's running together with one of the profs I worked for last year, so I'll have some extra summer funding for that year.So ask, and good things just might happen.

Agree with comments above and add: don't attach your resume and transcripts to the introductory email. You can offer to do so, but only send them if the prof asks you to.

I keep getting registration info from one school, even though I've let them know twice I'm declining their offer. I guess I appear on the wrong list somewhere. It's definitely worth following up on, though.

Mistakes happen. Things get lost in the mail. Some programs are just rude and don't bother letting applicants know they were rejected. Why don't you contact the program and find out for sure?

You're 28. That's not too old! Make your work experience a positive one - talk about the skills it taught you - and don't mention how it ended. Have a good explanation for wanting to enter your desired field, and craft your SOP to show you've given this some thought. Your SOP should be future-oriented anyway, btw, so no one will be expecting you to go into too much detail about an old job. I think you should do just fine.