rockhopper

Hi all, just wanted to say that I accepted my offer PhD for TAMU Oceanography yesterday! Anyone else already attending/will attend in the fall with me?

I don't have any experience with WashU, as I've attended St. Louis University for four years, but I can answer any questions that you may have about St. Louis because I've lived here the whole time and I love it! PM me if you would like to ask any questions!

I have another question for current grads- how much socializing goes on between grad students of different disciplines? Or is it mostly just hanging out with your own cohort on the weekends, etc?

I would keep on them for it. Don't give up because that's a lot of money. Keep all your original receipts for travel. I'm still waiting for reimbursement checks as well...i keep checking my mail everyday...

I had the same thing happen to me. I was rejected from a school but I really clicked with one faculty member, and he even helped me write my research proposal for my NSF GFRP application. I emailed him saying that I hoped our paths would cross again in the future and he responded that he very well thinks that they would! I definitely think you should send an email.

I'm in Biology, so I'm unfamiliar with your field. But if you continue to raise your grades, study for and get a solid GRE score, and find professors to write you strong letters of recommendation, you should be in good shape! Poor grades early in college can be tough to shake off, but if you work hard to raise your GPA I think you'll be fine! An internship wouldn't hurt either!

I'm not Jewish, but my advice comes from the fact that it sounds like you have so much going for you and if NYU is your dream... FOLLOW IT! I'd probably be jealous of her, too. But seriously- she wants to be married with children at 19? No thanks. Go out and live life a little. Do what you want to do. You're going to have a successful career and higher education- in the long run I think those things are worth way more than rushing into marriage at 18!

nari27, i see in your signature that you're bio and waiting on hearing from Purdue. you didn't by any chance apply to the ESE program there, did you? because they are the only school left I'm waiting to hear from, too and I'm getting frustrated

I had several phone interviews or phone meetings with potential professors when applying to grad school. The key thing is to just relax, which I think you can do easily because you can be at home and wearing whatever you want! Make sure you're some place when you won't be disturbed. If you're relaxed and in a comfortable place, you can be yourself. Also, you can (and should) have a list of things that you either want to remember to say or questions you want to ask them in front of you. Almost everyone asked "Do you have any questions for me?" and someone told me beforehand that if you say "No" this shows you are unprepared and haven't thought enough about the program. Also when I'm nervous I tend to forget everything I wanted to say so this is why having a list in front of you can be great. The biggest thing for me was that I speak really fast, so I had to remember to slow down and to let them talk as well. Don't be afraid to take a few seconds before you respond back. It won't be an awkward silence unless you're taking 10 minutes to respond... don't do that lol. Good luck. I actually prefer phone interviews because you don't have to "get ready" and look the part like you do in a regular interview.

My school didn't respond but the PI I was interested in working with wished me well with my career and finding a graduate program that funds me. It was nice to hear.

It won't hurt to try and ask the other schools for decision extensions (I am not in this situation so I don't know anything about it) but I'm guessing if you write a professional and courteous letter/email they would be willing to give you an extension. If not, if it were me, I would pick a school where i know I'll be guaranteed admission before the deadline.

Wow thanks for the link and for all of the information! Sounds like A&M will be very different from my small, private undergrad school but I'm looking forward to it!

Coming from a Biology background, you sound like a really good applicant in terms of research experiences. I would echo what the others said and focus on raising your GPA to be the best applicant. Consider studying for/taking the GRE this summer so if you want to re-take it and get a high score you have the time! Good luck!

Definitely. What have you got to lose?

Exactly what happened to me. My actual scores were lower than on the day that I took the test but I'm not sure how they were converting between the two scores

If it's okay I'm going to steal this idea

Coming from someone else who is finishing up a Biology degree, I understand your struggle with finding a job after graduation. I definitely did not want a lab tech position or something similar (not that there's anything wrong with that I just know it wouldn't suit me!) I've always wanted to go to grad school, however, I'm not "burnt out" from school but a lot of my friends are, and they are all taking a year off. It sounds to me like you should defer and do the same if you can. I've heard a lot of the same things from grad students in my department. if you are going to grad school just because you feel you should or have nothing else to do, then you're probably going to end up hating your life. A lot of my friends have been interviewing for Teach for America recently so maybe try and find some volunteering or service (Jesuit Volunteer Corps/Peace Corps, etc) that you'll enjoy devoting yourself to! Good luck!

This question is for Waiting13, multiple people have told me that TAMU is very big on "traditions", especially for sporting events and such. Can you tell us some more about what these traditions are and their significance? I want to learn as much as I can about the school!

I would have to echo the same sentiments as before and say to follow the money, your life will probably be a LOT easier. And I don't know how it works in the Humanities but in the Sciences, going in unfunded would mean a lot of grant writing and scholarship applications. Plus, you'll probably have more peace of mind not worrying constantly about being able to afford grad school. TA experience and a good mentor are bonuses. And, personally I like the midwest... I've grown up here, born/raised in Chicago and currently finishing up undergrad in St. Louis. It's a good place to be!

Hello, just reading the forum and I think I'm also going to be at TAMU in the Fall! Not for ChemE, but for Oceanography. Anyway, I liked the university/town at first visit. I'm from Chicago and spent undergrad in St. Louis so I'll definitely miss the city atmosphere but I want to do Oceanography so this way I'm much closer to the ocean/Gulf of Mexico! I liked campus a lot on first visit, wasn't what I was expecting at all, very green! I'm really excited about all the sporting events too!

This may be a stupid question but do we receive an email if we are selected or do we have to find our name on the list once it's announced?

Hi jaylizzie, I'm in the same boat... going to have to move over 1,000 miles in the Fall and I don't know how I'm going to really choose a place! Starting to make me nervous even though it's not nearly "too late" yet... Related to what anthrodork said, I am asking grad students I made contacts with during the initial visit and asking them what they think of the complexes, location, etc. It really is helpful so far especially since one of them said HELL NO!!! to one of the places I was looking at lol I would have never known on my own if that place was terrible!

When I was applying to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign last Fall and went to visit, my then boyfriend and I had been dating for three years. We have since broken up, but I didn't mention him when I was talking to professors. I just felt like they would think it was the main reason I was applying to the school and it wasn't. I just didn't want them to think I wasn't serious about the program. Just my opinion!

I completely agree. I bought a new Kaplan book and highlighted the sh*t out of it, memorized all of the vocab words, and downloaded their app. If you set aside the time to do ALL of the practice tests you can find after going through the book a few times, I think you'll be ok! GOOD LUCK!

Everything that Vertices said is good advice. The test feels way different than the practice tests but I don't know how you did those practice tests. It was different for me. I ate a good breakfast that morning but by the time I could take a break I was STARVING so I went to a vending machine and ate an entire package of Oreos in 5 minutes. It gave me a bit of extra sugar for the end of the exam but I wouldn't exactly say that this was the healthiest/most efficient coping method...it was probably stress/hunger driven lol. For me the hardest fricking thing about the test was my EYES would get so tired from reading all of the passages and staring at the dumb computer screen. I wear contacts so it's not like I could just take my glasses off or anything. Best advice about this is to bring saline solution/spare contacts with you to keep in the locker in case you want to switch them for a fresh pair. Or bring eyedrops for breaks. RELAX and READ EVERYTHING CAREFULLY. I had more time than I needed and I'm a fast reader so taking my time and reading the questions all the way through were big issues for me. I was/am very proud with my score and REALLY glad I didn't have to take it more than once. I'm sure this is because I forced myself to read things slowly and fully understand the question that was being asked. Good luck!