UnlikelyGrad

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I did it in a face-to-face meeting. I like doing important stuff that way. (I should add: that way, if the PI says something like, "I would take you but I have no money" you can tell by expression/body language if he's lying or not. Because if he doesn't really want you, you don't want to work for him.)

Physical activity is a good stress burner, so: Go for a walk. Go for a run. Climb a mountain. Learn to salsa/swing dance. Dig a hole as deep as you can--if you get rejected from everywhere, you'll have somewhere to hide. Buy a broadsword and learn to use it, just in case the zombie apocalypse really happens.

I know someone who did (atmospheric stuff, like you want to go for)--and who got it--but that was a long time ago. Long ago as in "this person is now a tenured professor." (Yes, I'm older than dirt.) She didn't take the physics GRE at all; she didn't come in with a physics degree, but rather some sort of engineering.

Upon being told his grade is borderline, i.e. if he's not careful he may fail the class, student says: "It's OK, I'm shooting for a D." (This was back when the administration let you get away w/ D's in non-major required classes) "Well, as long as you aren't a chemistry major..." "Nope. Chemical engineering." *facepalm*

I would say: "I don't think I can answer that question without visiting all of the schools that have accepted me." If the interview was part of a visit, I would add: "The things I really like about this university are ____, ____, and ____." (Most of these should not have to do with the things you wrote about in your SOP.) For example, I would say about MyU: "The support staff here is friendly and competent, there is a lot of collaboration between departments, and I love the area." (These were all true: but I still strongly considered going somewhere else.) Let them know that you like the department (and why), assuming that you do. If you really hate it, obviously, I would hope that you would just say, "No."

This was the only email. IIRC, it started as a boilerplate rejection email, but the secretary tacked on a personal P.S. at the end. And yes, there had been a number of back-and-forth emails between me and her.

(1) Therapy. (2) Phone calls with my sisters. (3) Good friends. (4) Going for walks in the beautiful outdoors. (SOOO glad I didn't pick a school in NYC or something) (5) Putting on some dance music and moving! (6) Hugging my kids. (7) Singing at the top of my lungs. (8) Doing very heavy manual labor, like hauling rocks around my front yard.

Well, one is better than none. Hope you get in despite all the paperwork mess.

I got one personal rejection email--not from a prof, but from the secretary who handled all of the admissions stuff for the department. She told me she had been rooting for me (not the only secretary who did so btw--they seemed to like my non-traditional background) and that I would have been accepted any other year but there were just so so many applicants that year.

RedPanda: No University of Hawaii? They do a fair bit of marine microbio work (and yes, have an ROV for ocean-bottom stuff). And it's HAWAII.

RedPanda, I call myself a wannabe astrobiologist, and my best friend here at grad school is one (funded by NASA). Where did you apply? LCBucky: nice to see another oceanographer on board (yes, pun intended). Have you ever been to sea before? I <3 research cruises. And to both of you: Welcome to the earth sciences club here at Grad Cafe!

Anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 days, depending on the email's sender and subject. I try not to go more than 2 days.

I don't know if you're male or female, but if any of the transcripts are under your maiden name, they might just be in the wrong file. Yes, even if you told them your maiden name. This happened to me with two different schools (including the one I eventually ended up attending). The weeks before I figured this out were very nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Unlike StrangeLight, I don't consider your advisor "normal" by any stretch of the imagination. You should be reading a fair amount of the literature. A good advisor would recommend this. He shouldn't be hanging over your shoulder all of the time--you are supposed to be learning to work independently, which means there will be some inevitable struggling while you figure out how to make things work properly...if you do not progress as fast as he likes (or you like), tough. That is part of research. (Both of my research advisors have said as much to me!) Is your funding from a grant he obtained or do you have a fellowship? I'm not sure I can speak to the rest of your situation without knowing this.

I went looking for the old thread, because I wanted to see how well I predicted my own outcome. Alas, I couldn't find it. IIRC, I said "3 acceptances, 3 waitlists, 3 outright rejections." And I got 3 acceptances and 3 outright rejections. Of my 3 waitlists, one turned into an acceptance and one ended up as a rejection (but not until July!)...The last school emailed me in April to ask if I wanted to stay on the waitlist. I said I already had 4 good offers at that point, of which I would probably take one before they got around to accepting me (I was on the verge of accepting one anyway, at that point). So I'm not sure how to classify that one? In any case, predicting my outcome didn't seem to jinx me at all...so predict away, people! I actually think it's fun to see how close people come.

Late 40's is not too old to start tromping around active lava fields!! Don't ever, ever fall into the "I'm too old" trap. (I am biased, of course: http://unlikelygrad.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/never-too-old/ )

When (if) I pass my qualifying exams next month, I'm going to buy myself a table saw. I've been wanting one for years and I can put it to good use.

It does sound like a hard choice. But most choices in life are not between good and bad, but rather between good and better. And sometimes it's hard to know what is better. Letting others down is never fun, but letting yourself down (and negatively impacting your life in the process) is not a good alternative. Your family may be hurt at first, but they'll get over it because they love you. Your advisor may find your departure inconvenient, but he/she will find someone else to take over your work; that's part of being an advisor. (Even students who leave with a Ph.D. frequently leave unanswered questions that someone else has to take over. That's part of research.)

Teaching high school. Or something in the emergency management field, which I actually did dabble in before choosing to go to grad school. Or construction--working on my house is my favorite hobby.

I hate to say this, but you can't know if you will truly regret your decision. You can only do what you think to be correct AT THE TIME. The decision that you make may be right for right now, but may be wrong for later. If you do leave with the MSE degree, try to do so in a way that doesn't burn bridges academically...so that you can come back later if it comes to that. Make the choice after considering what is best for the next few years, but also assume that your life may be radically different in 10-12 years. I spent many years of my life saying, "If only I had known this...I would have chosen that..." and being full of regrets about the choices I'd made. But that was stupid: I have been happy my whole life, even though my life was far from ideal. Now I'm glad I made the choices I made when I was younger; they haven't stopped me from pursuing my Ph.D. at almost-40, and they gave me the flexibility to be there for my kids when they were very young. If I'd known then what I know now, would I have chosen differently? Probably. But things probably would have worked out that way, too...because if you are doing what seems right at the time, life has a way of working out for the best. Or at least it does if you are a positive thinker and hard worker. (Sorry for getting all rambly there)

We don't have a lounge, either; there used to be one, years ago, but it ended up getting converted into an office. If you want a microwave or fridge in your office, you have to buy one...or hope that some nice former grad student bought one and left it for the other officemates. Luckily, my current office has both, but my last office didn't. I love my program, but the Office of Graduate Studies on this campus is a royal pain. For one thing, they've never bothered to update the official version of the rules for choosing committee members, so year after year the Grad Student Bulletin says one thing...while the "real" version of the rules exists as penciled scribbles on a note paper pinned to the Dean's secretary's bulletin board. I've lost count of how many members of my cohort have had to submit 2 (or 3 or more) versions of their committee form to the OGS.

Yay!! That sounds great!! Go Inqy!

If you buy Amazon Prime, you can get a year's worth of free 2-day delivery for the cost of the initial membership payment. I have at least one sibling who used this service for grocery shopping at a busy point in her life...

The week before? I've had quite a few people write LoRs for me (grad apps, fellowship apps, etc.) and probably 90% of them have submitted them the day of the deadline! One of those was from my first research advisor, and it was the letter that got me into at least 2 of the 4 grad schools that accepted me.