UnlikelyGrad

Hang in there coyabean! When I sent in my acceptance to my school in April last year I asked my advisor if there was anything I had to do before school started. In particular, I wanted to know what classes I should register for. Her reply: "You shouldn't register for classes until you have your entrance interview. But don't worry, we can do that the week classes start." So I flew in 2 days before orientation. The first day I got in really late. The second day was a Sunday. On orientation day they told me, "We can't give you a school ID (which I needed for a lot of things) because you haven't registered for classes." So I asked my advisor at the end of the day when they were going to do my entrance interview. She said, "Oh no!! I forgot to schedule it! Well, just sign up for a few classes...this one is the only required one offered in fall, ask Dr. R here what else you might want to take." I finally got my entrance interview in November, just in time to register for spring classes!!

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with interdisciplinary degrees (my older sister did an interdisciplinary PhD, and is now a professor at a relatively prestigious school). I think the real problem here is that you would be doing a non-thesis option, which many sci/eng programs consider as inferior to thesis options. My other worry with this program is that you will be doing it 100% long distance. The issue with this is that you will likely not develop a personal rapport with your professors, and schools like Caltech will expect you to submit LoRs from your master's level professors. Here's my suggestion: compare the course of study between a BS in mechanical engineering and a BS in aerospace. I expect there's a decent amount of overlap; what are the obvious differences? Take the courses you're missing (as a non-degree student), then apply to master's programs in Aerospace engineering.

I agree!! When I was arranging my first visit to MyU, the secretary asked whom I was interested in talking to. My #1 choice was a guy whose picture showed black hair streaked with gray--looked like he was in his late 40's. When I actually met him, his hair was completely white--he was a year away from retirement and wasn't taking students any more. I did get to TA for him, and concluded that he would have been an AWESOME person to work for. Wish I'd gone to grad school 5 years ago... Ah well, my current advisor is pretty cool. I try not to gripe too much.

My mom dropped out of college when she was 21. She went back to school part time when she was ~40, full time when she was 49, and got her BA in history at age 51. Then she went on to a combined teacher certification/M.Ed. program, finishing that at 53. And you think you're old??? Of course your GPA is a little low, but I really think taking a year of classes as a non-degree student would help. (FWIW, my GPA after my first 2 years of college was 1.9. I did much better after that, but that was a big drag on my overall GPA for the remainder of my undergraduate career.)

He may not be able to fix the language problem in the group but he can do a lot to make sure that you have a more tenable situation for the rest of your master's study. Also, the language issue is *huge*--if it's enough to make you want to leave, it will probably have the same effect on any other native English speaker. No department wants to risk losing a star student. Trust me, a department chair can carry a lot of clout. Especially if he's not sure what to do about it and starts asking advice from other professors in the department, who may also be very concerned.

I voted for Barron's because I think it does have the best math review, but I think that learning the "tricks" presented by Princeton Review are an absolute must.

Wow. No one speaks English? Even your prof? I vote for option C: I think you should go to the chair of the department and explain the language situation. Say that you'd be happy to move into any group where group meetings are conducted in English. Say that you would also stick it out in this group for the summer if your labmates spoke English. Because whether or not you'd be doing the research you wanted to do, you'd be gaining valuable skills. I think you'd be surprised what can be done when you speak up.

I disagree. My sister is an engineering prof (different sort of engineering, but at a top school in her field). When we were discussing my GRE scores before I put in my applications, she said, "Almost everyone who applies here has an 800 Q. I always look at the verbal score to differentiate candidates." I think your Q score is close enough to average to make it in, and your V score will raise eyebrows (in a good way). And, of course, make sure you have solid LoRs and a good SoP--if those are lousy, it doesn't matter how good your GRE scores are!

Good grief. There's no calculus on the test! There's not even any trig! It is all high school math. I didn't get a single A in math as an undergrad. In fact, I failed a couple of math classes and had to retake them. Granted, these were all advanced calculus, and I was at a top-5 school. But... What really helped me, I think, was my ~5 years tutoring high school math in my "time out" years. Also, the tricks I learned from the Princeton Review book helped a LOT. (I'm good at math, but not necessarily fast. And you definitely have to be fast to ace the GRE Q.) Get the Princeton Review book and learn the tricks. A lot of the questions can be answered with simple arithmetic, no algebra needed. Then get the Barron's book and work through it. Since taking the GRE I've coached a tutor client through the SAT-Q* section. I'd worked with her before and knew she had math issues (LD). I taught her the tricks from the Princeton Review, and she pulled off a much better score on the math section than she thought she would. *Note: the SAT actually covers MORE advanced math than the GRE. Go figure.

I can't remember the exact make-up of the chem GRE but I seem to recall that, while organic was the biggest chunk (~30%), p-chem weighed in at around 25%. So you're not going to get a good score without being up on your p-chem. You will need to know both thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. Note that your physical biochemistry class is going to be mostly thermo. Could you learn quantum on your own? Yes, but be warned, it's very math heavy and theoretical in nature. A lot of people have trouble with it in a regular classroom setting. It is probably the chem class that students struggle with both. I would guess that you could get a reasonable score on the GRE (~60-70th percentile) but I doubt you could get 80th or better.

Didn't they make you take any p-chem at all? At my alma mater, the biochemistry majors took a "survey of p-chem" course (1 quarter as opposed to 1 year of the "real" stuff). See, the problem is that you are really going to need thermodynamics to do what you want to do. Even if you took *some* p-chem, even a survey course, you would be a much better applicant. Check out your school's offerings and see if there's something that would allow you to get this background.

In my department teaching load is usually three sections of lab, 24 students each. That's 3 sections @ 3 hours each, plus mandatory 5 office hours (which I usually use for grading), plus possible prep time/grading outside of office hours. Depending on class we either get weekly short formal lab reports (~3-4 pages), so about 250 pages/section/week, or 1 longer (~10-12 pages) report every 3-4 weeks, which works out to about the same amount of reading--just concentrated into a smaller period of time; some of the supervising profs are pretty anal about having TAs return lab reports the week after they're submitted. Luckily exams were written by the supervising profs but we did have to proctor 4x/semester. Not too difficult. I usually planned to put in 20 hours a week. Sometimes I was disappointed, sometimes I rejoiced at the lightness of my load, but usually the plan worked out pretty well. It was a lot of work to squeeze in when I was taking classes and doing research. On the other hand, when I calculated my actual average salary (out-of-state tuition + stipend + fees + health insurance/total time put in) I was making something like $50/hr. So I put up with a lot. Which isn't to say that I wasn't totally stoked when I landed an RA for next year.

You know, if you're really worried about the cumulative GPA thing, look for programs that only ask for your GPA over your last 60 units. I'm not in poli sci, so I can't say for certain which schools do this. (Some schools have a campus-wide admissions policy, and some vary from department to department--if you were a chemist I could give you definite answers.) Maybe some poli sci folks who applied last year can help you out. Or maybe you can just research this on your own. Also: as someone who totally screwed up her first two years of undergrad, I'm pleased to say that some schools don't really care...as long as your last couple of years look good; it sounds like this is the case for you. Good luck!

Not in EE, but... even w/o pubs or patents, you do have a proven record of research. That's a big bonus. Also, a lot of programs don't look much at the Analytical Writing score. So don't fret too much about that. I think you have a good shot of getting into at least one program.

My husband still lives 1000 miles away but still plans to move out to join me, someday. In the meantime I fly back and forth every week or two, and over the course of the last year I've probably moved a (literal) ton of stuff. Here's my experience with moving by plane. Yes, checked luggage should weigh no more than 50 lbs. They will charge you a fee if it weighs more than this. The carry-on size restriction is supposedly very strict, but I've never had anyone check it. My own carry-on is just barely within the size limitations (I measured very carefully when I bought it), but I see tons of people boarding with larger bags. My carry-on is almost always loaded with books--it's about 35 pounds chock full, which is a bit more than I can handle lifting over my head. However, I've never had trouble getting it up to the overhead bins; there's always someone on hand to help me (flight attendant or just a helpful fellow passenger). Nonetheless, I try to keep it under 25 lbs for my own sake. If you're bringing household goods with you, make sure sharp kitchen items go in checked bags. Note that TSA's idea of what "sharp" means and your idea of the same thing may vary somewhat! I find that 100 lbs. of stuff is about all I can manage to move through the airport at any one time, even though some of it is on wheels. Of course, I'm not particularly strong, even for a woman; your mileage may vary.

There's no such thing as a small GRE book. I would bring vocab flashcards instead; make them in advance. Don't use a full 3x5 card for each word; instead cut 3x5 cards into quarters. Or, better yet, cut sheets of paper into sixteenths (or thirty-seconds). You'll have to write lightly on these in pencil but they will be much lighter than index cards. I spent most of last semester with flashcards (mineral formulas rather than vocab words, but still...) tucked into my jeans and/or jacket pockets, so I know whereof I speak.

This may not be helpful to you since I'm in the physical sciences, but my textbook LIST prices have usually run $60 to $120 per book--$80 seems to be the median price. However, I never buy things at list price, so I think I've spent about $150/semester total. The best way to save money on books is not to buy them!! In several of my grad classes, the book is used only rarely--and the prof puts a copy on reserve on the library for the times when it's needed. For me, the best way to go about buying books is to (1) contact the prof a month or so before class starts; (2) ask what book is being used and how much it will be used; (3) if I need to buy, I buy online. The reason I start a month before class is that, if you wait until the beginning of the semester, book prices will be really high. The best times to buy are usually right after a semester ends or during the middle of summer. I haven't needed to buy books outside my courses. On the rare occasions that I need a reference text, I borrow it--usually from the library, or sometimes from a helpful prof. Hope this info is useful.

Hilarioius!!

I was like that at 22. Now that I'm quite a bit older, I've found that the responsibility for making friends lies 100% in my court. I no longer wait to see if anyone approaches me; I approach them. I'm not saying it's easy for me (I'm an introvert if there ever was one), but I do it anyway because I like having friends. I'm not saying that some of them won't rebuff you. But you will have enough a success rate that you'll start a good core group of friends. I'm the same way. Not pompous (I think), just into efficiency. Let's get the darn thing finished so we can get on with our lives!!

It's been 30+ years, but I lived there as a kid and have been back to visit since. I agree with the poster who said that Oxford is the most beautiful city ever. And I've been a lot of places. *sigh* Lucky you! Good luck in your studies.

One of my best friends in the whole world and her husband have a combined last name: HerMaidenName-HisBirthName. They both changed their name at marriage, and the kids have the hyphenated name. Her name is first, btw, because she comes from an all-girl family and there's no one to carry on the name. He, on the other hand, has several brothers. They considered using her maiden name exclusively, but settled on the hyphenation so their parents didn't flip out too much. I have another friend who married a guy with a Polish last name. You know, the kind with almost no vowels. She kept her maiden name because, well, people could pronounce it. When their daughter was born, they decided to give her the mother's (English) last name. Later they had a son...and he got the dad's last name. Personally, I wouldn't be too averse to going with a Nordic-style last name system: depending on your gender, you tack "-son" or "-dottir" on your dad's first name, and you keep that name for life.

Why does having the same last name as someone make you their property? If that were the case, does keeping your maiden name mean you are still the property of your parents? To me, the name change was symbolic--my parents' family was no longer my primary family group. I was starting anew. (I have no problem with men taking their wives' last names, or with both choosing a different name altogether. However, like a previous poster, this was a practical choice for me. My old name was very common and left me as the brunt of many jokes.)

It won't be an issue for me (I got married so young that everything's in my married name anyway), but it is an issue I've watched with a great amount of interest. Both of my sisters who are professors kept their maiden name. Of course, they both married men with really long last names--hyphenation would have only been compounding the problem. One of these sisters has children; having a different last name than they hasn't been a problem for her. In my department, both of the women have taken their husband's name. My advisor married early in her academic career (I think as a grad student), and looking at her CV I see only one pub under her old name. The other woman is a good model for someone who marries later in life...btw she goes by her middle name, and is a very prolific publisher. If you look at her C.V. this is what you see: Top of C.V.: MiddleName InitialofMaidenName MarriedName Top of pubs list: (a.k.a FirstInitial MiddleName MaidenName) ....whole list of pubs as FI MiddleName MaidenName ....transitional time (~5 years) publishing as FI MiddleName MaidenName MarriedName ....pubs of last 8 years or so under the current name on CV The name change hasn't hurt her professionally! I wonder if it was a pain for her or not though. Not sure I can ask though because, like I said, it's a moot point for me...

I didn't have a SW Rapid Rewards account until last August, yet somehow I've managed to accumulate almost enough credits for 2 free tickets. This long-distance relationship thing is really expensive! BTW, if you haven't already figured it out: Skype is a lifesaver. Or marriage-saver. Sometimes we just leave it running while we make dinner in our respective kitchens and chat while we work...

My situation is totally different from yours so I'm afraid I'm not going to be any help at all. I came into the geochemistry field with a chemistry background, and as a result am doing some remedial work in geology right now. The project I wanted to work on is still unfunded (GRRRR), so the project I will be working on this summer has to do with aquatic chemistry/freshwater systems. We are using some local waterways as our field sites--I can walk to one of them in 10 minutes, and the other two are within a 10-mile radius. But if I do ever end up going out for field work (which I hope to do next summer; that's why I went into geochemistry instead of chemistry), it's not a problem. My husband has the kids right now--we're still living apart--so having me gone for a week or two is nothing new. Even if that weren't the case, my oldest is 18, and my second oldest 15 1/2, so I could easily leave all 4 at home by themselves for a while. (I'd still get a trusted friend to drop by every day or two.) Have you decided where you're going yet? If you don't feel comfortable posting publicly, PM me. Let's talk!