contazia

First time applying. I'm a first year in a grad program, but was counted as a second year because I technically took a graduate level course after I graduated college. It's a bummer since I can't apply again and was compared against second year students. E/VG -- literally no criticism in my VG rating, not sure why this wasn't an E VG/E-- IM: positives: "considerable research experience", "strong letters", "solid research plans", lots of presentations; negatives: no journal pubs (no one in my field does at this stage, but whatevs); also my "previous research essay lacks detail on specific methods performed and skills acquired", which isn't true, but I guess I could have made them more obvious? VG/VG -- IM: good amount of research experience and presentations, impressive commitment to my work, they like my research project and my letters demonstrate its importance--only quibble is a couple of terms were unclear; BI: Another head-scratcher; no criticism and everything was very positive (impressive, well-articulated, significant potential, broad communication ability) I got HM--there was only 1 fellowship awarded in my sub field, though I do realize you're judged vs. the whole primary field. Other than a couple of minor changes, it sounds like I did pretty well with my application, so I have no regrets. $30,000 would have been nice though It is weird to get VG ratings when they clearly were happy with my work. Maybe I had to get downgraded because of a competitive field?

Thanks for the quick reply! My science background is technically existent, but only just barely. I was mainly a social scientist in undergrad, which is where I did my research/coursework. I will have a decent Bio background before my Master's is completed though. I have a mid-level Evolution class from college (placed out of intro Bio) and am currently finishing up Molecular Bio and Ecology this summer, and I intend on taking at least a couple more Bio classes (Cell Bio most likely as one of them, the others are less certain). I was planning on getting a full year of general chem in, but organic chem is kind of up in the air. It's good to know that it might be worth taking. I was wondering if I should do Atmospheric Science or Geology or some of the other physical sciences. Biogeochemistry is in my plan for the fall, but that might be a bit more applied than I need. My main concern is balancing the physical/life sciences with the social sciences, since I want to do a bit of both to some extent. Obviously, I'm going to have to strongly lean one way or the other, but I'm convinced that I'll need to understand at least the foundations in both for my research. Which way? I admit I'm a bit fuzzy on that part for the moment. I was amused when a program I was looking at (can't remember which) wanted a background in Geology, Ecology, Economics, Public Policy, Statistics, Calculus, Chemistry, and Physics. My husband was reading with me and joked that "oh, I guess they wanted you to have majored in everything".

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some advice, as I just embarking on my Master's from the Environmental Management program at Harvard's Extension School. Not my first choice for a master's program, but I am a discipline switcher and also need to remain local for now. I will be taking some regular Harvard classes as a special student as well, so there's that. I will be undertaking a research-based thesis. I am positive that I want to get a PhD focusing on agricultural ecology, hence getting a master's relevant to my PhD. My undergrad was unfortunately only tangentially related in that I had a Poli Sci major and want to at least touch on policy issues in my research, but am definitely interested in the science side of things as well. It seems interdisciplinary environmental/sustainability programs are going to be the way I want to go. Background: -3.48 GPA from top 5 liberal arts school, >3.7 GPA in my Poli Sci major. Also majored in Comp Sci -Took the GRE, got 770Q, 680V, and 4.5 writing (was astonished, writing is usually my best thing)...I will have to take it again when I reapply, since I'll be 5 years out -Have prestigious job and research experience, but not related to what I want to do -Tutored and TA'ed classes -Some coursework in econ, statistics, public policy, bio -I have some significant volunteer work in wildlife conservation/research and animal handling So, I have 2 or so years to beef up my application to get into top PhD programs, and I was hoping to get all my ducks in a row. I suspect I am going to be happiest at programs similar to the ESPM program at Berkeley, but I admittedly could be wrong. Any suggestions for programs to look into would be great. What do I need to do to make myself into an appealing environmental sciences/ecology applicant over the course of my master's degree? Advice specifically on the following would be fantastic as well -What courses should I make sure to have? -Should I be taking a subject test GRE? -Should I TA? -Is getting published very important? -Who should I focus on getting letters of rec from? -What obvious weaknesses am I going to have to compensate for?