fes_alum

CFarrell19 - Do you want to be a marine biologist or a marine conservationist? Sometimes there is a distinction between the two. For instance, conservation generally tends to combine the sciences with education, policy, and law. Biology tends to focus on organisms, the interactions between them, etc.. Also, biology is generally based entirely in the math and sciences, and at the master's level, will have a research component. If you're considering a career in marine conservation, there are programs that you can find (e.g. Scripps Insitute of Oceanography at UCSD) that don't explicity require a degree in the life sciences. These programs, however, may require extensive work experience in the field. A master's program in biology generally requires a bachelor's degree in the life sciences (zoology, fisheries, biology, etc.). If you're set on a biology degree, you may consider taking a second bachelor's degree to obtain the basic prerequisites that you may be missing (chemistry, physics, calculus, etc.) and to gain valuable lab or research experience. As anyone who participates in this forum can tell you, admission to graduate school is becoming increasingly more competitive--especially when you don't have the right credentials. Regardless of what anyone tells you in this forum (myself included), the only way to determine if you are eligible for admission into a master's program is to: 1) Find a program that interests you; 2) Check out their minimum admission standards and determine if you meet them; & 3) Contact the admissions office, the graduate coordinator, or even a professor to find out if you'd be a competitive application (they will tell you). Also, if you're looking to do a traditional master's degree in marine biology that has a research requirement, you will also need to find a professor who will support your application to their program. I hope this helps...and thanks for your 4 years of service! FES_ALUM

Well, it looks like I didn't make a mistake after all. I received my acceptance this morning!

I think this is less likely to happen in the U.S. than it is in Canada. For one, U.S. PhD programs generally require two (or more) semesters of coursework . This gives students the opportunity to address any deficiencies in their training. Whereas Canadian PhD programs generally tend to be focused on research (i.e. limited to no coursework) and are completed in 3-4 years. Hence, students are generally required to have completed all the of the required coursework BEFORE entering a PhD program.

Coonskee- I am interviewing this weekend and will receive a final decision one to two weeks after my interview. I am feeling pretty confident that I am a good match for the program and my POI. However, departmental funding and politics will play a role in the admission decisions. Check back for another update in two to three weeks! ~fes_alum

As long as five years have passed since completion of your criminal sentence, you may apply for a waiver to enter Canada. Even George W. Bush had to get a waiver to enter Canada because he had an drunk-driving charge from the 70's. It may take 6-12 months to get the waiver, so you will need to consider this when deciding to accept an offer from a Canadian university (particularly if you plan to enter in the fall). For more information on this waiver, check out the following site: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/rehabil.asp I hope this helps and good luck!

Well, I am happy to say that my total cost for this application cycle was $0. I only applied to one program and my application fee was paid for by the department. All costs associated with my travel to the attend an on-campus interview were also covered by the program. I will have to pay $8.00 to have official transcripts sent to the University's Graduate Admissions Office once (or if) I receive an acceptance.

BirdBrain - Don't forget that you will need to form a doctoral committee consisting of five or more faculty members. With only one faculty member specializing in your area of interest at University A, will it be possible to form a committee who can support your research and/or is familiar with your topic?

If you have doubts, don't do it...especially if you're not passionate about it. Two years ago I was admitted into a PhD program and within three months, I realized that I wasn't passionate about my research and withdrew from the program. This is problematic for a couple of reasons: 1. I was selected for this particluar PhD position from a pool of 89 applicants. After I left, the position AND funding was axed. I had taken this opportunity away from a deserving student. 2. Two years later, I know what I am passionate about and have re-applied for doctoral studies (similar field but different area). Now I have to defend my decision to withdraw from my previous PhD program and explain why I should be given a second chance. When applications are up and department budgets tight, I find that I am not as competitive or desirable as I once was. If you think that you may withdraw after a semester or even a year, don't do it. It'll be a year that you could use to pursue the true passions in your life or re-evaluate your educational goals. But more so, you won't be taking away the opportunity from another student. Best of luck with your decision.

I am 38 (turning 39 next month) and will likely return to graduate school full-time this fall. I am a "late bloomer" and didn't get my bachelor's degree until I was 33 or my master's degree until I was 36. After a spending two years abroad on a research fellowship, I returned home and found a great job last year. One of the biggest concerns I have about returning to graduate school once again is my student debt. Currently I owe $67K on my loans, which isn't too bad considering my education cost me almost $200K (including tuition, books, cost of living, etc.). I know that once I return to grad school I can defer my loans and the feds pay the interest on them. However, with my current job, I can easily pay off that debt in 5-years. I like the idea of starting a PhD program debt free but there is no way I can wait 5-years to start a doctorate--it's a "now or never" situation for me. After all, my long-term career goal is to be a college professor (and knowing what professors make, I like the idea of being debt free when I graduate). Is there anyone else out there with a lot of debt and if so, how is this factoring in your decision to pursue a graduate education?

You are not obligated to accept their offer. However, if you do accept their offer and later change your mind, you need to get the program/grad school to "release you" before you can accept another offer. If the grad school doesn't grant you a release, you're pretty much SOL for a year.

Hi ksalt- It is not uncommon for science programs to fly students out for campus visits and/or interviews. Reputable science programs are generally well funded and have pots of money to pay for potential students' travel. As for campus visits, there seem to be two types for biology/ecology programs. The first type generally involves a one-on-one visit with the professor who will usually arrange a tour of the campus, schedule meetings with other professors who can support your research, arrange lunch with other grad students, etc. It tends to be more informal and generally a good sign that a program/professor is interested in you. Of course there will be indepth discussions about your research interests and goals, so be prepared to discuss how that particular program or professor can support your research. The second type of visit is the "recruitment weekend" where all potential admits are invited at one time. Many informal gatherings are held throughout the weekend, as well as formal interviews (but not always). One purpose of these recruitment weekends is try to identify a core group of first-year students that not only get along but would likely support one another throughout their graduate studies. Any students that are socially inept and/or wreak havoc on group dynamics will likely be weeded out. The other purpose generally involves the more "formal" interview process with the your potential advisor and/or other faculty in the department/college. As stated above, be ready to discuss your research interests in-depth and how the professor/program can support those interests. But remember, a campus visit (i.e. paid flight, hotel, etc.) does not guarantee admission. I was invited to a recruitment weekend several years ago and found myself competing for one of 15 spots among 46 potential admits (and yes, the university did pay for all 46 potential admits' travel expenses). That meant 31 people did not receive offers after recruitment weekend. Best of luck with your application!

I am 38 (soon to be 39) and plan to return to grad school full-time this fall. My story may be different from the rest though. I didn't start undergraduate studies until I was 31. I completed a four-year degree in just 5 semesters, and obtained a master's from an ivy-league university degree immediately after undergrad. I held a two-year research fellowship at a university in northern Europe and have one year of work experience in my field since completing my masters degree in 2008. I also co-authored a book chapter and have three published papers. I was awarded several fellowships, scholarships and other awards as an undergrad and grad student, including four national scholarships. I initially planned to pursue a doctoral degree immediately after completing my master's degree and applied to PhD programs at Harvard, NYU, and others. Amazingly I was admitted into all five programs I applied to but turned them down in the end in favor of the research fellowship in Europe. I have decided that now is the right time for me to continue advanced studies. This time, however, I have only applied to one program and interview for that program next month. As for my age, it has never been an issue because I think my academic record speaks for itself.

I've been reading some of the various threads and noticed that a lot of people are applying to numerous PhD programs (some up to 15 different schools/programs). I was always told that a PhD is like a marriage and to make it work, it's important to find the right school/program and more importantly, the right advisor. I've spent the last year communicating with potential advisors and even visited a couple schools to meet with them. In the end, I decided to apply to only one program because I feel it's the "best fit" for me and the program/adivsor can best support my research. Did I make a mistake by only applying to one school? Should I have applied to more than one school even though the other programs were probably not best fit for me? Does anyone have any experience with choosing a program or advisor that wasn't a good fit for them? And for those of you who applied to numerous programs, do you think you'll be happy with your second or third choice school if you don't get accepted into your first choice school? Thanks for reading and I look forward to your response!

Hi Aus1983- As someone who recently withdrew from a PhD program, the best advice I can offer is to choose the program that will best support your intended research. My decision was primarily made based on the level of funding I received and the school's reputation. In the decision-making process, I had convinced myself that my major advisor and department's faculty could support my research. Was I wrong! While my major advisor was a "close" match, she wasn't a very good fit. I also had difficulty forming a committee that could advise/mentor me throughout my program. In the end, I decided that I needed to find another program where the faculty could better support my research. Fortunately, I was able to find a program in Europe that is an excellent fit and was fortunate enough to receive full-funding. If you decide to base your decision on money and accept an offer from school B, you will need to get a written release from grad school A. You cannot accept another offer until you get a release. Contact the graduate school at university A to begin the process and to get a release. Remember that a PhD is like a marriage--you're in it for the long haul. The program and your advisor need to be a great fit for it to work. Good luck with your decision!

Personally, I think GRE scores are becoming less important in admission decisions. I am a horrible test taker as well and received a combined score of 990 (480 verbal, 510 quantitative, and 5.0 on my analytical writing). Given these scores you wouldn't think I'd be able to get into any grad program! However, I have a masters degree from Yale and was admitted into the Harvard Kennedy School again this year (I declined their offer of admission for a second time in favor of a grad program overseas). I think what worked for me--depsite low GRE scores--was a competitive GPA, strong letters of recommendation, a somewhat impressive C.V., and a well-written statement of purpose that clearly indicated why their program was the best fit for me (probably the most important part of the application). I don't think there is any "formula" that graduate school admission committees come up with when reviewing applications but they DO want to know why you are applying to their program. I've heard that GREs may be a factor when awarding scholarships. Nevertheless, I was awarded a 50% tuition scholarship at HKS this year but wasn't awarded a scholarship to attend NYU-Wagner (the only other policy program I applied to this year). Best of luck with your GREs and future educational goals!