child of 2

the trick is to assume very low expectations, and be utterly enthused about getting any acceptances at all. at least that's better than assuming high expectations and getting mowed down flat to the ground

I'm 4/7 of the way there. There are two schools in particular that's giving me a hard time in the essays. I have no idea how to write an essay about my strengths, and another essay about my weaknesses... It's so easy to write one essay, and change one paragraph for each school. Also, having it being the holidays, I'm just feeling like a lazy sack of sht in general. pardon my french

My SOP has had positive feedback from three professors. But I don't think GRE writing is very good. If I have to cram a 500 word essay in 30 minutes, it feels like bullshitting a paper the night before. You have to go with the idea that comes to your mind first, and it doesn't even have to be a position that you agree with. In that respect, the writing is just as worthless as the other parts. I hate writing stuff without the liberty to really think about what the heck I'm actually writing.

anybody read about the "sham phd"? http://mygraduateschool.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/the-sham-ph-d/ people who use these services can't fake their way through their entire career. Sooner or later, it's going to catch up to them. My research group encountered one of these. Came into our group as a post doc. Didn't do sht. And then literally disappeared, and never came back. I'm not losing sleep over this sort of thing.... Unless you can have ghost writers write your references. That would be scary...

I find number 40 offensive

Well I spent the last 3-4 days cramming for vocabularies. I thought that might have helped me in the fill in the blank, but those words appeared mostly in the passages, if at all. And it was more difficult to recall their meaning in context. Do a lot of practice tests instead. Get used to reading those boring art history passages, or scientific passages, which ever one is your weakness. Any comment on the 153?

I'm applying to two in the top 10. My unofficial score is 168Q and 153V. I think writing will be at least 4.0 I guess the last section was my experimental section, because I saw some weird questions that I've never seen before, so I rolled through that in 20 minutes and finished early. Did others experience the same thing? Was the last section weird for you too? But I'm mostly worried about my verbal. I think it's above average, but is it high enough?

what's the word limit on this thing? I don't think this section is meant for anyone other than minorities and such. I have to fill one out one that limited me to 280 characters. But I would think twice if it's an actual document that you have to upload. grinnell? it has to be grinnell

http://www.amazon.com/Getting-What-You-Came-Students/dp/0374524777 probably the best investment under 15 bucks

hmm wow. I'm glad you shared that. Now I have a chance to take my GRE earlier. Time to call those bitches.... Monday

it certainly can't hurt, right?

I'm talking about the "Results Search" Tab at the top of the page that consists of acceptance/rejetion postings. You see the GPA, GRE scores, and sometimes they have comments about things like publications and whatnot. Is this a good source? I know research and recommendations are important, but the GPA's I'm seeing are super high, and there doesn't seem to be any noticeable trends, other than I haven't seen anybody with below a 3.8 being accepted to any of the top 20 programs I've seen.

Thank you for the feedback, and bro I'm not offended. I had a feeling it would be awkward to put that paragraph in there, and you guys made that more clear to me. I'll find a better way to say it, or not say it

I was actually trying to be discrete yet clear in what I was trying to say. But if that looks bad, what should I do to address those bad grades and W's? Leaving it alone just seems questionable to the admissions people

*intro paragraph before this one* I was not originally fond of research, even though both my parents are researchers in [something]. It seemed like a profession of stress and negativity that resulted in a dysfunctional family, creating personal obstacles in my earlier years of college. I pursued research positions because it was one of the few ways I could gain an income as an international student (at the time), and strive towards financial independence. However, I soon discovered and respected its .....etc... ------------- now.... I came into college with some really bad grades already on my transcript. Also, I had a semester with 3 W's. I don't want to leave these things unexplained. Also, the essay is suppose to tell a story. On the other hand, I don't want to tell a sob story that doesn't really fit with everything else. Is it a good idea to keep this paragraph? Or make more room for research?

I had to reschedule on 11/24. In the early afternoon, there were two spots in December. Hours later, the next available spot withing a 150 mile radius was late late January. Luckly I acted in time to not get completely screwed over. I assume it's people who decide to retake it immediately after they saw their unofficial scores. You better bid for you spot NOW.

she put off the task of writing the letter to a grad student, and now she's not even going to submit it?? How many levels of wrong is that? Hell if she didn't write the letter, then it doesn't matter what she thinks of you. I would call her and talk in a kind voice, expressing that this is a big deal to you. All she has to do is attach the letter, and press send.

but you're applying for grad schools? I'm confused.

so you got the job, right??

My best job interview was when I already had an offer, and was really relaxed because I wasn't worried about anything. I also heard a story about someone who fell "slightly short of begging" in the interview. she got in despite being slightly underqualified compared to her peers, but the interviewer "knew she would get in" judging from her interview (I've never really understood this story but it's something to chew on I guess...)

if that's the norm for you, then it's fine. but if those who apply to too many, are trying too hard. it won't help them get into a top ranked program, and it makes them look like they want the school prestige more than the degree. grad school involves seeking out the professors you want to work with. As far as I'm concerned, this applies to aLL fields, not just engineering. I would say focus on individual applications instead of focusing on casting a wide net and hope for the best. That's the strategy you should use when you're submitting resumes for jobs. It will most certainly backfire if you do that for grad school

you should stay professional.

I might take a couple of minutes to go out of my way to hound at them over the phone for being assholes (after they reject my appeal). It's immature, unwise and stupid. But it's $175 of my hard earned money that they took from me. m-fkers...

well good luck to you. But why didn't you apply for the spring semester? That's what I would've done. The only thing that would stop me is if the spring is actually more selective than the fall.

I showed up at the testing center today with my Driver's license, but they told me I needed my green card or some other stupid government issued document because I wasn't a citizen. The email confirmation they sent me was "You must bring a valid photo identification with signature" and somewhere in the fine print, there was a link to their ETS ID policy that said if I didn't have these documents, I don't get to take the test and my fees would get forfeited. I've already rescheduled (day after Christmas; fml). When I called, the rep told me I can try to appeal to try to get some of my money back; any would be better than none. Is it worth the time? More importantly, my earliest final deadline is 1/1. UT-Austin is 12/23, but I think they can take the late score according to their website... I plan on getting everything finalized before Christmas, after which the only remaining document would be the official scores. And as far as I know, the quant and verbal scores should be processed not long after the testing day; it's just the essay scores that's going to be late. Will this be a significant influence on my chances? P.S. I know it was largely my own fault for not reading everything. But you can't really argue that this isn't all bullsh*t. The ETS is a blood sucking sham PPS Yes I will notify every relevant program that the official GRE scores will be late.