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Found this old thread and was just wondering if there is a "magic number" of Ws at which point they would need to be addressed in the SoP. For example, I have 4...would this be considered average or is it still too high a number to ignore?

Thanks for letting me know it can be done, and congrats on grad school!

I hate to discourage you but 19k for 9 months doesn't sound too viable out in Northern VA, particularly with a family. Fairfax County is the wealthiest county in the country, due to the fact that everyone has a government job and there's a lot of retired military who are making hand over fist with pensions and benefits. There's no real way for calculate how much your monthly transportation costs will be as that information is specific to your use of the system, but WMATA has a fare cost calculator on their website, and they offer monthly bus passes. If you plan on ever going into the city, get a Smart Trip card. The paper fare cards slow everything down and pinpoint you as an "outsider". I'm not sure what the Arlington transit system is like since I've never used it but I see their buses all the time so it would seem to be a pretty active service. Arlington is a pretty metropolitan place as it borders DC, whereas Fairfax has more of a suburban feel. It's not much of an area for nightlife since everyone just goes into the city, which might work out much better for you as student and new father. There are nice parts of Fairfax that are likely going to be out of your price range this particular year, and there's the cheaper areas that are generally affordable because it's an a popular "student housing" area or it's just a sketchy neighborhood. I wasn't sure if you had a car or you were definitely doing the public transit thing but if you can, I would look a little further out of the suburbs.

Congrats on the move! As you already know, DC has an enormously expensive COL, and places like Dupont and Adams Morgan are especially pricey as they are the hub of DC's nightlife. Frankly, I always find going to Adams a P.I.T.A. since the metro stop isn't as close to everything as it could be, although the walk isn't UNMANAGEABLE (I just wouldn't do it if I was grabbing groceries or something). You should try looking for places that are outside of the city but still on the metro line, as as long as you can get to a metro, you can get around DC pretty easy. DC was recently rated the worst city for traffic in the country, but I've driven in LA and NYC as well and I think they're way worse, but if you don't already have a car I wouldn't get one for this move. Sorry I can't give you more specific information on alternatives - I've only ever lived at home here so I'm not sure what the housing market is like, although I do know that it flat-out sucks. BTW, I'm sure you've heard it before, but STAY OUT OF ANACOSTIA. I think there was a 70 person fight in the metro at Chinatown last summer but it might have been a different stop. Here's a little video that you'll probably find funnier once you get out here: Welcome to DC!

I'm from DC but did 3 years of undergrad in Phoenix. I drove by myself in August and May back and forth to school (5 day drive) and to this day I love the drive. Your only responsibilities for those days are to get from point A to point B. Very relaxing. In regards to transporting goods, I just always pick up dirt cheap furniture on Craigslist so I can just sell or donate it before I drive so I'm not towing a trailer or anything, but my SUV is always stuffed to the brim with boxes and some tables. The boxing up and moving in and out is stressful, but I find it motivates me to have less crap in my life, which is nice. By the way, if you're getting lost, I really recommend a GPS. They can run pretty cheap now and are definitely worth every penny, especially long distance traveling. For the dog, they have some pheromone sprays that remind animals of their mothers or littermates which always seemed to keep my dog calm, although she wasn't a bad traveler anyway. She just slept in her crate most of the time (the crate is important because it protects the animals in case of an accident). Anyway, I wouldn't sweat it. Packing sucks and is stressful but think of the rest of it as an adventure.

I'm interested in answers to this as well...I have this problem all the time since I do film/TV work, so I have a very extensive resume but all the jobs range from one day to one month, which also makes it uncomfortable when it comes to professional recommendations since I'm not too keen on giving the name of someone I worked with for a week, five months ago as a reference.

Just took the GRE today, and did very well (from what I understand) on my verbal (610), but horribly on my quantitative (420). I've taken two practice GREs and have received these scores each time, even after studying. I haven't received my analytical/writing score yet, although I believe it will be good. I'm just wondering how much of a detriment my quantitative score will be when the admissions committee reviews my application. I plan on applying to media/film programs and I even have somewhat of a film/media background, and so I realize it won't be as big of a deal than if I were applying to an engineering or CS program (for example), but I'm still worrying since my quant. score seems to be so much lower than most people's. I've reviewed admissions statistics for a wide variety of programs and while my verbal score is consistently on top, I have not once come close to a program that has an average GRE(Q) score lower than mine for either applicants or admitted students. Frankly, I find it odd how adept most people seem to be on aggregate with math than with verbal ability, but there you have it. By the way, I was on the border of being diagnosed with a LD in math in high school, although I have no idea where any of the documentation for that is, and I haven't looked for it as it didn't seem necessary for anything, but it does seem to be an issue in this instance. Will the contrast of my high verbal score reconcile my low quant score or should I re-take the test? Is the discrepancy in scores something that is necessary to explain to a committee or is it fairly obvious that I simply have skills in one area that I lack in another?

Hi all, I'm getting ready to apply for entrance into a few Master's programs (Media Studies) and I'm freaking out a bit about the LORs. I've attended ASU for undergrad and, as those who are familiar with the school may already be aware, it is a big-ass school. My freshman year wasn't so hot (I wish I'd taken a year off before college to gain focus before plunging in, but there you have it), and on top of that, I took introductory classes with 300+ students. They were simply not the sort of classes where one would be able to cultivate a relationship with the professor, especially not an 18 year old with no motivation and who was certainly not approaching the professors about independent research. I am now an online student (and have been for most of my last two years of college), and through either lack of foresight or circumstances out of my control (or both), I now find myself without any strong references, something my top pick graduate school has told me they value above all else. I've done a total 180 with my grades and will be finishing with a pretty strong upper division GPA (3.4-something), and in addition to my online courses, I've spent the past several months working on my career and doing pretty well, which I think should speak to my motivation and work ethic. However, the schools I am applying to have told me that they're more interested in academic references than professional (even though they are professional references in the field I am planning to pursue a degree in). In any event, I'm very worried about where this leaves me, as I have not been able to develop relationships with my professors due to either a problem with oversized classes or distance. I do, of course, plan to ask the professors I had even minimal contact with for recommendations, but I was hoping for some advice on how to approach this and what to expect. I realize professors receive requests all the time from students they have only a passing familiarity with, and I'm very interested to know what a normal reaction for this was. Additionally, I've been hearing more and more schools are interested in receiving PPI (Personal Potential Index) reports on candidates as well as LORs, and I'm concerned about taxing my references too hard with requests for both, particularly when they may not have that much to say about me in the first place. I know I'm a great candidate for my program, but I also know that what comes out in the LORs will not demonstrate this. If anyone has any advice or experience, it'd be greatly appreciated!