miratrix

I'd be quite happy not getting a PhD if I knew I could get funding for grad school and a decent job (not necessarily in academia, but in the field) with an MA...but the chances are just better with the PhD.

Me too! I think it's worth keeping in mind that getting an above-average score is still pretty good. It's not like the SATs where everyone takes them, the test-takers are much more self-selecting. Also, I've heard that on the SAT writing component, scores are extremely predictable based on the length of your essay - maybe quantity is more important than quality on the GRE as well. And formulaic writing seems to be important for the test, while college writing classes teach you how to write WITHOUT plugging your arguments into a specific formula. So all in all, I'd be surprised if this were a major factor in admissions.

If it makes you feel better, I have a lot of friends who've done study abroad and grad school in the UK, and I've heard from them and an admissions officer that US students do well in UK schools because they are used to having constant deadlines and consequences for doing or not doing their work, so they are conscientious when entering the more independent UK system. Problems can come from lack of clear goals, because the advising isn't as good so if you don't know just what you want to do it's hard, but not from lack of work ethic or ability. So you probably have not only enough ability and background to succeed, but even better preparation in some ways.

You can't really know what they're thinking, and things do go crazy for professors and offices at the end of the semester...good luck, hang in there : /

I don't know how it works, but I'm relatively sure they wouldn't check citations unless they saw a glaring error, and probably only read it if they're pretty interested in your application.

There's also rent to keep in mind - first, last, possibly additional deposit.

If I were you, I wouldn't bother - deadlines are past, your quantitative score is more important, your AW score is pretty good, and the verbal score isn't actually *bad*. Also, my verbal score was lower on the actual test than on all but one of the practice sections I did, so I think it's fairly unpredictable. On the other hand, I think my level of perfectionism is not as high as the average for this board....

I had my list of schools "finalized" a year ago too, and now there are only two of the original schools on the list, with five new additions. A lot can change in a year as your interests and level of knowledge about the schools develop. I started thinking a lot about applications in October and sent out recommendation requests and transcript orders, but I didn't really start to work on them until November, which is when I finalized my list at last. My due dates range from Dec. 15 to Mar. 1, and so far one's in on time, three are in early, and three have yet to be done. It's going to be a push finishing the statement of purpose for one of them over Christmas (it's a different kind of program than the others, so I can't reuse), but other than that nothing's last minute and I've had plenty of time.

I'm more concerned about what happens if I end up going to one of the two programs that doesn't offer full funding (both MA, one only covers tuition & most fees, the other doesn't have any funding for first-year students). Loans, I guess...I'd like to be saving now, but the cost of Christmas presents and application fees means I just don't have the spare disposable income for it.

How did your professor like it? If s/he thought it was a great paper, send it, if it was average maybe don't.

I think waiting to see where she gets in and THEN turn her in to the grad schools is a pretty devious thing to do. Either turn her in now, or don't, but waiting until she's already been accepted comes off as trying to twist the knife and doesn't reflect that well on you for sitting on the information for months.

At one school where I met a professor early on, I think it might have actually hurt me that when she asked where else I was looking, I didn't rattle off the top 3 competitors in the subfield. I was still in the process of doing research on what schools to apply to, and wasn't actually aware that they stood out so much, but I definitely took note and am now applying to them. From that conversation, and another in which a member of the faculty I've worked with advised me to look into the same 3 schools, even though I'm applying to his as well, I got the impression that it shows you're a serious applicant if you know where the major research centers in your field are. So I'm not leaving those spaces blank.

Congratulations! You're going to grad school! Just wait and be happy