mallorn

Ha! I also thought up my tea shop plan with another person, one of my best friends- she'd be in charge of baking goodies to be sold on the side, while I'd be in charge of the main inventory. If only indeed!

If I weren't in the field I was right now, I would be a historian, or maybe looking to own a teashop with a sort of mini-library.

'What kind of person applies to grad school with THIS GPA?' 'This SoP/Personal Statement makes me sick.' 'Good applicant, but nothing stands out. Rejected.'

Currently 22, if I get into grad school I will enter at age 23. Graduated three years ago at the age of 19 (elementary+HS is only 10 years in my country, and I'm one year younger than the normal people in my batch- long story), realized that I wanted to go to grad school in my junior and senior year in college, but I knew there was no way that I was doing it straight out of college. First, my grades are not strong at all. Second, I couldn't imagine being a TA for people who would be my age or maybe even older than me! Third and most importantly, I knew that I wanted to deepen my learning but I didn't know how and where. In my past three years of work, I have been fortunate to get jobs that allowed me to travel all over my country and ones that taught me new skills. Like many people who posted here, I gained a lot of perspective on things, was able to pin down the subject that I wanted to do research on. Not to mention I went on a 2-week international trip with my college friends, very budget and basic but so much fun. I don't regret waiting at all.

I've sent the final payments for 3 applications but still waiting on one of my LoRs, who is out of the country for a semester but still was enthusiastic about writing me a letter. Kind of freaking out since two are due two weeks from now, but her reply to my follow-up email was still warm and stated that she was working on submissions to two schools. I got all excited until I checked and saw that the schools she was working on are not the ones due on December 15 but rather due in January. *facepalm*

I was in the same boat as you, and I told my future boss straight up in the interview that I was applying for grad school in Fall 2012. I'll be 1-2 months short of a year before I have to leave if I'm accepted, but he hired me anyway. Then again, I do research in an academic setting so he may have been more sympathetic to my cause than say a person in a private company would be. Personally, I would mention that I am planning to do grad school but it's not sure (I've been asked about future plans for most of my work interviews), and ask the person interviewing you if it's possible to not complete the one year and what options are available. I think it's better than keeping your plans under wraps and then ending with a bad note with someone who might employ you in the future when you finish your degree (if the job field is related to your PhD degree of course), especially if that someone has a reputation in your long term field.

thanks for this thread! http://db.tt/8zrN5LA2

Hi everyone- I'm an international student who wants to apply for an MS in Natural Resources/Environmental Science. Currently in the process of contacting potential advisors and all this polite letter-writing and correspondence is keeping me on edge. Coming home from work (been out of school for two years now) to emails saying that they have no funding and having to send out even more emails is draining- and its only the start. Good luck to all fellow applicants and let's hope that we still have our sanity by April next year!

I'm a new forum member, but I've been lurking around reading blogs and the forums and I'd love to be able to contribute.