TakeruK

For most US schools with online LORs, what happens is that you have an online application form to fill in. The form usually contains many pages (e.g. one for your schools, one for you to upload your SOP, etc.) and one of them is a place to fill in your LOR writer information. They tend to ask for the name, school, and email address of your LOR writer. Some places will also ask for their position (i.e. Prof, Assistant Prof. etc.), their phone number, and their physical address. So, it's useful to have this info on a post-it near your computer during application season. Use their office phone # and their departmental mailing address of course. There are usually two main ways this works after you type in this information. (1) [more common] As soon as you save the information, the system automatically sends an email to your LOR writers informing them of your request. They will usually get a link to log onto the system and type in / fill in your LOR. or (2) Sometimes, the request is not sent until you have submitted your own application too. It's important to find out if this is the case so you can make sure to submit your own stuff well before the deadline. In either case, Profs are used to writing a ton of letters and most likely, they will be copying and pasting and perhaps making a few edits. You sometimes get a confirmation email when the request is sent and maybe when the LOR is submitted. But it's important to make sure you have contacted your LOR writers before they get that system email!! In response to your second question -- yes there is another way, but not all schools/fields use it. I've heard of some "online portfolio" type things where your LOR writer just writes one version of a LOR for you and uploads to the online portfolio. You provide the portfolio information to schools that accept it and they can access your LOR through that system. At least that's how I think it works -- I've not done it myself!

You should aim to have to submitted by the same deadline, but don't sweat it too much if they don't come in at the same time. As for how late you can wait, it depends on the department's protocol for processing admissions. Basically, if they arrive before people start actually looking at the applications, you should be okay. That said, you should definitely communicate the deadline to your LOR writers (and even send a reminder email a few days before). If the letter does not arrive on time (usually you can check the status), I'd send my LOR writers another reminder email and follow up with them every week or so. Meanwhile I'll probably email the admissions staff at the department you're applying to and let them know that more letters are on the way. However, if you know ahead of time that an LOR will be late (prof is away perhaps), then you should let the department know ahead of time so that they can expect it late. They might even give you an alternate deadline for that LOR.

If it helps to know, in my CV, I didn't separate it by "Employment" and "Academic Experience". Instead, I had a heading for "Research Experience" and one for "Teaching Experience". Under "Research", I included paid stuff (e.g. RAships, paid co-op jobs during undergrad) as well as unpaid stuff (e.g. senior/honours undergrad thesis work or volunteer research stuff). Same for teaching -- that section includes both paid TAships as well as volunteering to teach classes to a youth group, etc. The description of each position do make it clear whether a position is paid or not (or how I was funded), but I thought it made more sense to divide the CV (for grad apps) into types of skills learned (Research vs. Teaching) instead whether or not it was employment or volunteer.

I don't think it's too late. I'd say that anytime now is a good time to initially ask your LOR writers for an LOR, and you should definitely get all of your details (list of schools, deadlines, your CV, your GPA, GRE scores, etc.) about ~4 weeks before the first deadline. The profs will likely not write the LORs until closer to the deadlines anyways. However, it's good to give them the heads up now because if they are going to be away in the next few months or something, they might want to start writing now to get it out of the way! At this time last year, I was mostly working on fellowship applications (they were due in mid October) and I had already asked for LORs for these so I just let my profs know that I would be needing many more LORs in Dec/Jan. I took my GRE early but my subject GRE was in November too. I started writing my SOP around 2 weeks before the deadlines. So I don't think you are too late!

In addition to what the above person said, I'd also say to apply everywhere anyways. Especially the point that you should really visit/interview before making a final decision. I know that some of the departments I visited looked much different "on paper" than it did in real life. Also, the POI you're interested in might change their mind and take a student anyways -- especially if you get external funding. Or there might be a possibility to switch over after a year. Or, if after visiting and you and your "dream POI" make a good connection, there might be a possibility to defer admission for a year? The bottom line is that it's better to just apply to everything you're interested in now to keep your options open. Like the above person said, you can always just decline everything and reapply next year if you don't think you like any offer you got! Just remember that if you do this, you're not guaranteed to get the same offers as before!!

I think it's definitely field dependent. In physics and astronomy, one submits an abstract of just a few hundred words, and the conference organizers use that information to decide who gets a talk, a poster, or no presentation at all (usually you'd get at least a poster slot though). Talks are generally short -- as little as 5 minutes for big meetings or as much as ~20 minutes for smaller meetings. Thus, conference presentations are more of a "sneak peek" into what is coming up as well as a quick way to get updated on what your colleagues are working on. If you are really interested in their work, you'd talk to them afterwards or go find the published paper (if it's already out). So, usually, you are presenting some result in-progress, or a recently published paper, or something that is near-complete and about to be published. In the last case, it's also normal to present work-about-to-be-published in order to solicit comments from your peers before submitting it to a journal. Like what lewin00 said, it's best to present these when submission is very close to avoid being scooped! But I know in computer science, conference proceedings are much more valued (and competitive) than traditional journals. And I've heard that in the social sciences, one might submit the entire paper, not just a short abstract. Finally, it's not always tacky to present the same material at multiple conferences -- as long as there isn't a large overlap in the attendees. For example, I might present my thesis work at both large, national conferences for all astronomers as well as small conferences for specialists. Of course, the way the material is presented would be different! In addition, if your work crosses two major subfields, you might want to present it at both subfield's major conference/meetings. But either way, to avoid looking like CV padding for those who view my CV, I wouldn't repeatedly mention the same work -- just title it "Selected Presentations" or something and only show the most prestigious conference presentation.

Since there's still lots of time before most applications are due, maybe wait a few days and then try to contact her via a different method. I personally don't think text messages are very reliable -- phones might be off, etc. (unless you regularly text this person). I think most busy people prefer to get emails, since they can respond at their leisure. But you know your relationship with your supervisor best -- maybe they would like a phone call and get an update from you. You can do both -- maybe a phone call to personally connect with the supervisor (i.e. so you know they got your message), ask if they would write you a letter in the coming weeks and then say you'll follow up with an email containing the details (so they can refer to it when they write the LORs).

Just to be clear -- most people apply to graduate programs while they are in the final year of their degree. That is, most people have NOT completed their undergrad degree yet while applying for the graduate degree. In your case, if you wanted to go to grad school right after your undergrad, you would apply in Dec 2013/January 2014 for programs that will start in September 2014. Grad schools will accept students who are not graduated yet -- usually your admission is conditional on actually passing your degree! Taking some time off between undergrad and graduate school could be a good idea, depending on your own experience, goals, qualifications and field. I'd say that the majority of students apply while in undergrad, though.

I really don't think they would deduct points for incorrect spellings of words like "colour" and so on. Unlike some other languages, there isn't a governing body that determines how English should be written and usually British/American spellings are equally valid. Spelling and grammar are not going to significantly affect your score, unless your spelling/grammar makes it hard to understand your arguments.

I just recently got my SSN (as a non-citizen). According to the International Student Program here, International students need to already have a job lined up before you can get a SSN -- in fact, we can not apply until we have been in the US for at least 7 days and we can only apply within 30 days of the first day of work. You also need a letter from your school to support your application. My school informed me that I would not get paid until they have a SSN. For US citizens, I am guessing you can apply anytime (in person). In any case, the turnover time is 10 business days, although if you really really need the number you can return in person after 5 business days. I got my card in about 6-7 days. In any case, this is something you don't have to worry about until you've already started/arrived, as far as I know. Even in Canada, when I apply for jobs, I always leave the SIN (our version of SSN) field blank until they actually hire me -- you don't usually need those things to just apply.

Private sales come with no guarantees. I'd also feel bad in your shoes, but in the end, it's not your fault that she changed her mind about wanting the books. I would repeat myself one last time that the sale is final, and ask her to stop contacting you. If it escalates, I'd considering talking to campus security or something like that.

For most of my courses, studying consists of doing the homework. In the sciences, I would say that the homework/assignments are generally more difficult than the exams will be since you have a lot more time and resources than a timed, closed-book exam. So, I use the assignment to judge my ability/grasp on the material. Some people like to learn/study all the important points to make sure they have a good foundation and then go and tackle the homework. For me, I prefer to just jump right into doing the assignments and looking things up as I get stuck. Then, I just learn whatever I was missing in order to complete the homework. There is a problem with this method though -- most grad courses are more intense than undergrad courses, so the assignments cannot cover everything that you would be expected to know. So I supplement my studying through assignments by going through each chapter / section of the course and make summary sheets of important things I should know from that part of the course. I try to do this once a week, after doing my assignments (so that I know what parts I need more work in) but this can slip to once every 2 or 3 weeks if I get busy. I like having the summary sheets because if I have to study for a midterm or final exam down the road, I can just study these summary sheets instead of reading the textbook again. Also, these sheets are helpful after the course is over if I need a reminder about how something works!

You can check the deferment policies usually on the admissions page. Also, once they accept you, they usually point you to their deferral policy as well. I don't think it's frowned upon or is abnormal for a student to want to defer, but it depends on how you do it. If you accept their offer in the Spring then suddenly decide to defer in the late summer (e.g. your husband thought he would finish but was not able to), it would be a pretty bad thing. But if you exercise your right to defer (if one exists in their offer) when you initially respond to their offer (i.e. before April 15), then it should be okay. I guess if you decide to ask for a deferral sometime between April and August/September, the amount of "frowned-upon-ness" would increase proportionally with time! I don't know if your husband will know his chances of finishing by the time you need to respond to your offers. But there's definitely no need to include this factor in your applications! If you ask for a deferral when you respond to their offer, the worst that could happen is that they deny your request and you have to reapply all over again next year. That's not great, but I don't think the school would hold it against you since you told them early enough that it does not mess up their plans!

I'm not sure why you chose to respond to people in a rude manner. From the layout of your post, I thought you were asking about Stats/Econ programs because you list those as the programs you are applying to. Only after reading your response and then re-reading your post a few times, I saw that your real question is the paragraph after that list, where you say you also want to apply to the NYU Physics PhD program and asking what are your chances. (If I understood you correctly) Since each school tends to have its own procedures and you are asking about a very specific case at a single school, I think your best bet is to contact the NYU Physics department directly, unless someone here is a NYU Physics PhD student, we won't be able to help you very much. However, I do know someone who is currently a NYU Physics PhD student doing astrophysics research. That person finished a MSc in Astronomy in Canada before being accepted to the NYU Physics PhD program, and I understand there is a lot of coursework (especially graduate level physics courses which will require core 3rd/4th year undergrad physics courses). This means it will likely take you longer to finish the program, which might hurt your chances of admission since you will probably need to be funded longer! But you should probably contact NYU Physics directly.

I treat sausage meat like ground beef/hamburger (because that's pretty much what it is!). So make sure you cook it thoroughly to avoid food poisoning. There is a certain temperature that you should cook ground meats so if you want to be super safe, that's something you should check.

There was one school that I attended but did not get a degree from. I attended it as a visiting student with credit towards the MSc at my "home" school. I listed it on the CV with "visiting student" status so that the adcomm understand why I have a random 3rd transcript. But I guess if I had a lot of schools then I might only put the relevant ones, as the above poster wrote. For professional memberships, I would list those that are related to your field. For example, in CVs that also asked for professional memberships, I listed myself as a "Student Member" of the Canadian Astronomical Society. However, this isn't very "useful" so I usually don't put this on my default CV. I would list it if I was, for example, a member of the Grad Student Council of the society, or something similar. But I might also list this under volunteer/service sections. But I think these things are much more useful to list when you are applying to faculty/post-docs than grad school.

I also do the same as Eigen. It's just me, but I think signatures in emails from people I know make the message seem overly formal. Personally, I'd expect to see one if e.g. the Registrar's office is letting me know that my transcript is ready for pickup (for example), but not if it's a colleague asking about a study group or a prof letting us know when the class times are.

I feel that the "additional information" section is like the "any other comments" section in surveys etc. It's meant for special cases only -- things you can't fit in anywhere else on the application. For the thing you want to write, that is something that belongs in the Statement of Purpose -- it's actually exactly the type of thing you want to write in the SOP!

I think you should if you don't have a couple of publications already in non-student journals. For me, I only try to list each presentation once, I replace the student conference listing if I end up presenting it somewhere else. I think student publications/presentations are good for CVs but eventually you'd replace them as you progress through your career.

Yes, mine were -- as far as I know that score shouldn't change over time, only the percentiles

I definitely agree with sareth to "diversify" your research experience. You should think of the end-goal, which is having 3 strong LORs by the time you apply to grad school. If you keep working with the same person, you will only get one really strong LOR. In addition to what sareth said about grad schools wanting "any" research experience, I believe they also value a diverse research background. If you've only worked for one prof, you've only learned "one way" of doing things. Every prof/research group has a different way of running the lab (e.g. communication, computer software/hardware, publishing styles, etc.). Having good experiences at different labs shows that you are an adaptable researcher who is able to apply skills from previous experiences in new situations. This is related to the reason why many schools don't want their undergrads to stay for grad school -- it's important for a scientist to be diverse! It would be nice if your honours/senior thesis matched up with the field you want to do graduate studies in, but that's not even necessary. For one of my REU-equivalent projects in Canada, I purposely chose something outside of my field (medical physics instead of astronomy/planetary science) because I wanted to try something other than astronomy before going into astronomy for the rest of my life. I said this in my SOP and people at schools I visited commented that they thought it was a good thing that I had experience in a "foreign" field. In your position, I would take it one year at a time. I'd definitely do something else for my junior year project -- not because the prof would be on sabbatical (I've done many projects under profs who are away!) but because I'd want to have different experiences!

Agree with what fuzzy said! It depends on the field -- in my field, sometimes courses (especially lab courses) might have a "final project" or a "term project" where you do a fair amount of research work but rarely does this work become published (unless it ends up being really good and/or more work is done on it after the course ends). Putting these types of projects on your CV is an obvious attempt to beef up your CV. However, not all research done (especially at undergrad level) will result in a presentation or a publication. I'd go with the rule of thumb that if you were paid to do the research work, then you should put it under "research experience". Sometimes an undergrad will volunteer to work with a research group in the summer after their first or second year (since it could be hard to find a job with that little experience), and that might be something you could put too, depending on what it is!

I took a computer based test and I got my results between 14 to 25 days after the test (I was away for 11 days and when I came back, the results were in!). I was in Canada too, so I guess the mail might have taken longer.

For what it's worth, I didn't contact my professors until about 2-4 weeks before the application was due!

I'm not sure what "xyz" is supposed to replace here! My application (rejected) to Berkeley referred to the school as "UC Berkeley". I referred to the program/department as "the Astronomy Department" or the "Astronomy PhD program". I wrote the essay as if I was sitting in a room with the admissions committee and they asked "So, why do you want to do a PhD with us?". I guess the tone was more formal because we tend to write differently than we speak, but I assumed that it's known that I would be talking about their department and their school -- so no long winded phrases like "the Department of XYZ at the University of ABC". I only used the University name when I was referring to the actual University (e.g. The University of ABC operates many telescopes such as X, Y, and Z, which would allow me to develop skills in observational astronomy.) I definitely did not have a useless sentence like "I am applying to the Department of XYZ at the University of ABC" because why else would I would be writing this SOP!