Langoustine

I second Gunner. You are asking to switch to a totally different department with a different budget. Do you have business credentials to back up your switch?

Haha. What do YOU want to do??

LOLZ GIS_GURU! I have such juvenile humor I heart potty jokes And greengrass, after reading that, your profile picture kind of looks like he just shat his pants. Heehee ok, well I see you interviewed for Mt Sinai! I hope it went well!! And congrats on your other acceptance!

Um can I second Whip My Hair?

And I have heard nice things about U of Aberdeen. Aside from the weather that is!

Fully funded is great, shorter time scale is great! I was also considering a PhD in the EU with a shorter timespan, the only thing that got me was that I am coming from a BSc and though have had some research jobs, I feel like I need the graduate level classes. You might not feel this way though and can enter your program and hit the ground running! I have had the same spiel from others too about how PhDs in Europe are not as 'comprehensive' as PhDs here...and it's really hard to say I think you can be as productive as a someone here who did a US PhD. You know you can always to summer field research or summer fellowships here in the States and after you finish your degree you can look into post-docs here too. If you are excited about the potential research and faculty I say go ahead and apply! From your post it sounds like you have a really strong work ethic that should show through and remember, you haven't heard back from everyone yet so hang in there!

YESSSSS! I could never hold my cards close to my chest, I will talk about my schools and apps to anyone who asks about them! And they all say the same thing: 'You'll get in somewhere,' 'You have great experiences how could they not want you?' Ummmm yeah! Everyone and their grandma has great (if not better!) experiences/ grades, scores! I'm not thinking about it too much...I'll save Plan B planning for late March...I'm an incorrigibly optimistic person

So cute!! Made me smile

Yay! Yes, beer! To the nearest pub!

I worked at an Ivy school for a bit, very well known for their expertise in the med fields. You would not believe how many med/nursing students wear their scrubs EVERYWHERE. It was more than a little ridiculous. It reminded me of DC when the Hill interns (unpaid, paper shufflers) wore their red badges proudly on display everywhere. Grocery store, gym, weekends, doesn't matter

I don't think it is impolite to contact multiple people at the same time. I wouldn't do it in the same email, tailor each email to the professor and of course email people you are seriously considering working with! I don't know if you are in any kind of time crunch but it sounds like you should try and get this situation squared away as soon as possible! Good luck! And congrats on getting through the first round!

Def get research experience asap. For the PhD this is fundamental, for MS however I don't know how crucial this is but it would only make your application stronger. Try looking up interesting profs in your dept and asking if you can volunteer or get some independent study credits! If you are worried about how much time you have I have found profs can be very accommodating, even a few hours week will give you a leg up and help you get a feel of what research actually entails. And kudos for finding this website and using this community! I wish I could've known about this earlier!

Completely agree with newms. It will get you notice, it is a quick mark on your app that will catch their eye. It will help if you are considered for any fellowships/scholarships too. But I will echo newms in saying at this point your SOP, LORs and research fit with the program will play a huge role. I would not worry too much about your GPA stumbles early on. But it def bodes well that your last 2 years are great, it shows you focused and got your game together. Good luck and I hope you don't have to wait much longer!

I hope they have more rounds! I've had some encouraging news from other places, and I do have one interview next month But I thought I would hear more by now...I am being impatient though. Being in the 'waiting' mode for so long it's so scary to see it starting to come to an end! Was the December news good news bhikaari? And yeah, I don't see too many ecology people around these parts either but I get the feeling it is a lot slower than other programs...

Awwwww, well that's that. I know I haven't been outright rejected (yet?) but still...

Whoa. Being paired with a bad advisor is my worst nightmare. I don't think it is the worst thing in the world to leave a PhD program. Sometimes things happen, people happen...I had a friend whose advisor went WAY south while she was doing her PhD and she was lucky enough to be in a great/understanding department and was able to switch advisors to someone who was doing similar work. You say switching is not an option and I was unaware this was policy in some places...this kind of leaves you at a dead end, non? I must say I am curious as to why this policy is in place if you feel comfortable explaining... Did you know about the track record of his grad students before you agreed to sign up with him? And why do you think he sticks you with the cleaning and not others in the lab? Do you know if he treats the other lab members the same way he is treating you? Do they also complain? His treatment sounds abusive. All I can do is echo qbtacoma in saying you might try talking to the head of the department. My heart goes out to you, you must be having a really hard time with this...Remember - this is your life!

I def feel like there is this big storm coming my way...not in a "What the hell are you doing are you sure you want to do this?!?!?" but more of a "I'm leaving everything I know behind and moving to new place and I don't know anyone there and holy crap, etc, etc." My life was kind of chugging along and now I'm trying to steer it in a new direction! Like many people here I took some time to work in the real world before I totally felt sure about grad school, now that I am I'm chomping at the bit to get started! It's exciting and terrifying!

Hi there, I'm not a Engineering person at all but I did go to VT. For the money issue, Blacksburg is a lot cheaper than many places...when I was there a few years back you could easily get a single apartment downtown for around $500-600s, and if you have roommates it gets really cheap! I'm sure that's changed now but overall it has solid apartment/condo complexes so I would not worry about the stipend at all. As far as repute, the engineering is suppose to be amazing! I met a guy who decided to go to another in state school that is seen as being more 'high-brow' than VT and immediately regretted it. He majored in some kind of engineering and tried to transfer to VT later but he couldn't... So obviously I am biased and I have no idea about the dept in Delaware but there is my 2 cents!