[any school that don't require letters?]

DL79--

I think you may be over-generalizing.. First, there are some colleges that do not require letters of recommendation. For example, the Forty Acres--an excellent university by almost any measurement--recommends but does not require LoRs. Second, some aspiring collegians travel paths that make required LoRs a mere formality that will not make or break an application. (This is to say that some high school seniors pick the schools they want to attend and their applications get rubber stamped.) Third, some of the larger state schools--like Cal and UCLA--GSI's do the lion's share of the teaching. In such an environment, undergraduates may not necessarily receive the mentoring on how to develop the relationships one needs to get LoRs. (A first year graduate student can be put in a position where she is asked to write a LoR for the first time.) Fourth, many departments do not structure majors in a way that facilitates a one-on-one relationship between a student and an instructor. For these reasons and others, it is not inconceivable that many undergraduates do not know how to ask for LoRs or to build the relationships that will lead to very good LoRs.

As far as your comments about "professionalism," I think you're guidance would carry more weight if it were tempered with irony, if not actual humility or if you're footprints in cyberspace were less revealing. After all, as a "professional" you know that the private sector is focused on risk management, that a part of risk management includes HR departments doing background checks on current and prospective employees, and that everything is fair game in this economy, and...well.

I don't think I'm overgeneralizing, you should be able to produce letters from 3 people who believe in your application. I never said that they have to be professors which is what you assumed. Many programs do not require 3 professors to submit LORs, they ask for people familiar with your academic/professional work. This can be anyone, not necessarily a professor even though recommendations from professors are very important for fields where there is very little non-academic experience. Not every college in the US requires letters of recommendations but the vast majority do so this is something that the vast majority of US applicants have experience with so it's something that students should be prepared for. Same thing with my point regarding employment references, you have to good ones to get hired at any decent job and you need to be prepared with that information as you never know when you'll come across an amazing position and need to interview and submit references on short notice.

Yes the process can be intimidating, I went to one of those big schools with 101 classes consisting of 3,000 students and so I understand that getting one on one contact with professors can be challenging. However by the time begin applying to graduate school you are an upperclassmen and should have had some of those smaller upper level classes by that point where you are getting plenty of face time with professors in your major.

There are ways there ways to get the LORs and savvy students will get them. These are the type of students that will be successful graduate school and if you don't have the strategies to be successful you should be applying to graduate school.

As for your attempt a personal dig. It's unwarranted, how about we focus on respond to the comments in the conversation thread and not try to put each other down?

[any school that don't require letters?]

My 2 cents.

If you can find 3 people to write you a decent LOR you shouldn't be applying to grad school. There should be three people that you've interacted with in an academic/professional setting that believe you have the intelligence, maturity and drive to be successful in graduate school. Furthermore, if you're applying to graduate school you've gone to college and you had to go through the whole LOR thing just to get in. You should know how to master the process by now. Whether you are apply to graduate school or a new job you always need 3 references, part of being a successful professional is making sure you are prepared to take the next step in your career and having the tools necessary for that step.

[New GRE Test Scores are up.]

UGH! I took the test on 11/7 (scores are up early) and here we go:

V164/670/94% (Estimated range 700-800)

Q147/580/40% (Estimated range 520-620)

A4.5

Pretty pissed to report that the verbal estimated range was so off. I get that ETS is dealing with a new test, but it doesn't seem right that they get to give crazy score estimations for verbal and then surprise you with a lower score. Anyway, anyone who took the test around this time, I'd be wary of your verbal estimated score.

Otherwise, not going to keep myself up at night over what translates to a 1250...which is EXACTLY what I got on my SAT. Math has never been a strength, and I can always retake before PhD applications in a year or two.

This is so funny because my score roughly translates to my PSAT/SAT scores as well

163/650

153/680

= 1330

PSAT =1330

SAT = 1290

This is so weird especially since I did so much better on the GRE this time than when I took it 10 years ago (Every admissions person will tell you that GRE scores are stable overtime, that's a freaking lie!!). Back then there was an Analytical section consisting of logic problems (there was no writing portion of the test- I remember being glad that I took the test before they added the writing LOL)

I was in the 90th% on the analytical section and only in the 50th% in the verbal and quant sections.

I really do think that this revision of the GRE does a better job testing math and verbal skills. The analytical writing section is a joke.

[99 Problems]

So I submitted my applications to all 7 of my programs between Oct 31st and Nov 10th. So I'm done right? Wrong.

7 applications, 5 problems - here's the breakdown:

UNC - lists application incomplete pending GREs that were sent on Nov 4th. After multiple e-mails and a few phone calls found out that they can't locate my scores. I've sent them a copy of my score report - Waiting for resolution

UMich - lists application incomplete pending LORs that were submitted online Nov 8th and 9th. E-mailed the department and the person is having trouble downloading applications but says she will update the site this week. - Waiting for resolution

SOPHAS (General app for public health so I have 3 school apps through this site) - received an e-mail saying my coursework was verified and my GPA calculated and my application will be mailed on the next mailing date. Upon reviewing my coursework several of my social sciences classes are not listed as social science classes affecting my social science GPA (I'm applying to behavioral programs- this is not good). I send a detailed e-mail with course descriptions and asking for the reclassification and recalculation of my gpa. - Waiting for resolution (and praying my apps aren't mailed out before my courses are corrected)

I'm starting to think that the biggest hurdle to getting into a doctoral program is making the actually gets a copy of your completed application.

So what problems (if any) are you running into with your applications post submission?

[jerk academics]

More than likely that was somebody with a BS story trying to get a rise out of people (i.e. a troll). On the other hand, this is no different than any other job in this world. Even religious sisters have these office politics related conflicts. So if this teaches someone a lesson, so be it.

I have to admit this would be a funny joke to pull on someone who was actually granted it, to bust someone's chops.

Uh, I don't even think this would be funny as a joke. You have no idea how a person will react to not getting something they desperately want.

Remember this - http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100216/full/463856a.html

You really have to be soulless to fire someone in such a cruel way. I've fired a few people and every single time it was extremely difficult.

[Studying isn't that necessary...]

Here's the thing, do what you feel comfortable with in regards to studying. Everyone has different backgrounds and circumstances. The main thing is you don't want to be wondering "What if"? If you know from your past experiences that you need to take a longer term approach to studying then take that approach. Don't let anyone discourage you from that as you don't want to get your scores and think "I wonder if I had studied for another ________ would my scores have been higher?" Consequently you don't want to spend so much time studying that you are left trying to hustle to get your apps and SoPs together.

I for one tend to do well on standardize tests but 1) I'm not good at cramming 2) The last time I took this test was in 2001 (that was before the writing section was created) 3) I have demanding job and personal obligations so I didn't have the luxary (or frankly the energy) of taking this test multiple times or putting off my studying. So purchased my books in April and I studied off and on from April to the end of Sept. I did okay for me and I have no regrets about the amount time I put in. I don't believe any additional time would have helped my verbal score (163) or AWA (4) in any meaningful way and with my concentration in soc/behavioral sciences the math is not an issue.

End of the day if you are satisfied with the time you put in and you believe that you did the best you could it doesn't matter what a bunch off overachievers post on an internet forum.

[When will I get my damn scores?]

I gave my test on 13th sept, I can see my scores online but I still haven't received them in the mail. Also the online report says the scores are not valid to send to an institution. What should i do?

You need to call them. You should have received your scores in the mail already. They mail your scores to you and your schools at the same time, even if you order additional score reports you will receive another copy of your scores in the mail when the additional scores go out. If you haven't received anything in the mail, your schools haven't either so I'd advise you to call them.

[Time on new GRE]

The biggest thing is not to let the time get away from you. In my practice I routinely ran out of time on the Quant and always had 10 mins left over on the Verbal. So what I would do is when I had 10 mins left in the Quant section I would move forward and select answers for every remaining question and then come back to the original problem I was working on. As I moved forward any question that I could not easily solve or eliminate answers I would just leave the random answer I had previously selected and then move to the next question. The strategy isn't perfect but I got a 153 which for me is good enough.

[When will I get my damn scores?]

You should have already received your scores. I took mine on Sept 28th. I was able to view my scores online Nov 4th and I received them in the mail Nov 11th. You need to log on to ETS right now and if your scores aren't there you need to call them.

[Was your experimental section verbal or quantitative?]

Mine was quantitative. I know this for a fact because my first math section was medium and as I was running out of time I had to guess some answers. The second math section was soooo easy, I mean it was all algebra, no figures, coordinates, graphs or anything. I needs this couldn't really be my second math section because there was no way I had missed that many questions. Ofcourse my 3rd math section was medium difficulty so I knew it was my real section.

[Finishing MPH Early]

Hi everyone!

I just began my MPH this semester and I love learning, but I think I would like to finish next December instead of the following May if possible. My only concern is that this will be a lot of work to cram in. I would have to take 14 hours this Spring and next Fall as well as 6 hours (hopefully online) over the Summer while doing a Practicum. Has anyone done this before? Is it doable? I searched the forums and didn't find anything like this. If someone could help me out, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Anything is possible but the question is given your constraints is it possible for you? Are you working? Full time? Part time? Do you have any other responsibilities? What does your program require for you to finish? Do you need to complete original research or a thesis in addition to a practicum? Do you already have placement and suitable preceptor lined up? Is there a requirement for you to be registered for a certain number of semesters before starting your practicum?

When you answer these questions then you will know if you can finish early.