acornrawr

So, GRE scores are "strongly encouraged," but my GRE scores are kinda low (470V, 800A ,4.5W). Should I even submit them? Would sending them help or hurt me? Thanks!

Do we get scoring/rating sheets/comments on our NDSEG application?

I'm so relieved!

Berkeley is not likely accepting any more? Really? Only two accepted people are on gradcafe's results page for Berkeley PhD Materials Science. Do schools still accept people without inviting them to an open house? I still also haven't heard from UC Berkeley, MIT, Northwestern, Cornell (applied physics), and UCSD. My stressed rant: Why don't they just send out rejection letters already? Why does this process take so long? I would like to know where I am accepted so don't have to visit schools I wouldn't consider if I was accepted to others. There are only so many weekends in March.

Berkeley's SOP must be <12000 characters and the Personal History Statement must be <8000 characters. (for Material Science PhD) Does that mean I should write close to that much for each of them? Would it be okay to submit something say 65% of the max length for the SOP and 25% of the max for the Personal History Statement? Any response would be great! Thanks!

I'm confused. Is the DOE SCGF (http://scgf.orau.gov/) the same as the DOE SSGF (http://www.krellinst.org/ssgf/). Is there any word out when the SCGF will be open for applications or approximately when they'll be due? Thanks!

I don't want to waste time and money applying to programs I have no chance at. Do I have a shot at Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, Cornell etc or should I mostly apply to schools with higher admission rates? I am an applied physics major at caltech applying to materials science phd programs. My research interests are in nanostructured materials for sustainable energy technologies and related fields. -3.8 gpa and have taken several unrequired extra classes in my field -no publications -full ride scholarship award -one summer research at caltech, one summer at an REU, two quarters doing research 9hrs/week during junior year. Only the REU's research was directly related to my current research interests. -currently working on a senior thesis -recs are probably okay, but I never had much interaction with profs (i mostly only interacted with grad students.) -GRE 800Q, 470V, don't have writing score back yet Any comments or advice would be great! Thanks!

Hi, I am very nervous about applying to graduate schools this year. I know the research programs I like, but I don't know what level of programs I will be accepted to, so I don't know where to apply. Do I have a shot at Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, Cornell etc or should I mostly apply to schools with higher admission rates? Also any advice would be great! I am currently a junior at Caltech applying to Materials Science Programs. My research interests are in thin film photovoltaics and related fields. -3.8 gpa and have taken several unrequired extra classes in my field -no publications -full ride scholarship award -two summers at Caltech doing research and one summer at an REU. But the first summer was on a project in an unrelated field (astro) and only the REU's research was directly related to my current research interests. -two terms doing research 9hrs/week during junior year -will do a senior thesis next year -recs are probably okay, but I really don't know what the professors I worked with thought of me. -I haven't taken the GRE yet, but my scores will probably be pretty good (except for the verbal part.) Sigh. I'm worrying a lot about this and I have to start writing my applications soon. Any comments would be great! Thanks!