Queen of Kale

These numbers sound about right for the science phd programs I applied to. My current program graduates about 60% with a phd and many of the rest leave with a masters. Of the people I know about leaving they've all had pretty impressive job offers - offers they couldn't refuse.

crime boss

Several department buddies and I have been lolling over lolmythesis the past week or two. Pretty on the nose in my field. I haven't submitted mine yet as I'm too early in my program. I could submit if there were a lolmyNSFproposal….

I was completely honest on my applications last year, and not only did it not hurt me, but it became a central talking point with my POIs (who all brought up my answer without fail). It seemed they used my answer to evaluate how well I had researched my fit with each program, as well as my research fit with each advisor. It was something easy to discuss in interviews with my POIs which demonstrated that I had thoroughly considered my options and had a clear plan for what I was hoping to accomplish. My advice is that if you feel 100% confident that you whittled your school list down to all good fits - you have nothing to hide and everything to be proud of. If anything, my Ivy-tier schools seemed impressed that I wasn't a snob and my less than name brand schools were impressed that I was informed enough about my research topic to be following the work of individual POIs and not just shopping the top shelf of US News.

A letter of recommendation from this professor would be more valuable than an "A" IMHO. While it's always worth following up on your finals (tests are ideally learning experiences and not just for evaluation) - I would try to get more from this professor. If this is your first graduate course in a field you hope to go to graduate school to study - that seems like the more rewarding and exciting thing to discuss with the professor. Sure, check on the grade, but I think that's a second tier priority.

This is pretty far from the Godspeed-type bands, but it's all I want to listen to lately: Rich Homie Quan - Type of Way

Final Countdown

I am in your field and applied with very similar scores and was very successful with my apps. And, coincidentally, I met two people on my interviews with the exact same scores as me - so these must be pretty standard/average scores for accepted applicants at top 20 programs. The few people who have disclosed their scores to me in the program I am now enrolled in (which isn't something we talk about but once in a while it comes up) also have similar (or lower) scores. I would not fixate on retaking the test unless you bombed the written component. Edited to add - GOOD LUCK!

permanent marker

party hardy

I mentioned the main advisor I worked under when describing each of my research projects. This could be short & simple & in the beginning of the paragraph describing that research. Something along the lines of: "The following summer, I began an internship through the XYZ Program where I worked under the advisement of Dr. Fancypants to study the correlation between breakups and watching Love Actually." This let me connect the SOP to the authors of my LORs as well as my CV. I would not try to call extra attention to famous advisors. If the admissions people recognize a name when it is subtly imbedded in a SOP - great. If not, than all the emphasis in the world wouldn't make them care but it would take the emphasis of your SOP off of you (where it belongs). Also, I wouldn't mention working with anyone that you didn't work with closely enough to feel comfortable asking them for a LOR. Maybe you didn't ask them because you had 4 research advisors but only 3 letters. That would be fine. But make sure you'd be comfortable asking them for a letter as a thought experiment/litmus test. If not, they may be famous but not close enough to your actual work to count, IMHO.

old bones

This will depend on your program and the input of your advisor/committee (if you have one). A full load in my program is three classes a quarter. My advisor recommend (as a maximum) I take two courses and a reading/research each quarter. If you feel unconvinced you will make satisfactory progress in a timely matter; you could sit down with your advisor/committee (if you have one) and come up with a full outline of courses you'd like to take. I like to have a roadmap, so although my advisor/committee and the other students in my lab are more given to flying-by-the-seat-of-their-respective-pants; I drafted a two year course plan & solicited feedback from my advisor/committee until it was something everyone was comfortable with it. Of course, even with all the planning in the world a graduate degree is less about the student's planning or speed than it is about their flexibility and durability.

I wanted to up-vote you, St Andrew Lynx, for being the first to give the perfect response "Congratulations" - but as usual I'm out. But thanks for keeping it classy on the inter webs

home invasion

I don't have any types to add but I did want to say that you should't read too much into each personality type as far as your odds of acceptance. I had one of each type of POI that I corresponded with (except 3) at all different programs and was accepted by each. I was really surprised by that! Also, the friendliest email writers does not equal best advisor or even friendliest person IRL.

I accepted my recruitment visit invites (post-acceptance) as they occurred, which was roughly in the reverse order of my preference. I had an overlap at the end for my top two schools and both let me come on alternate weekends. But, both programs were also ones which did not emphasize big group orientations as much as one-on-one interviews. I was glad to have individual meetings for both these schools as the content was much more focused and less 'fluffy' and I was able to confidentially choose between these two schools afterwards. In this way it might even be a plus! Also, and this is purely anecdotal also, it was my experience that schools which emphasized group orientations scheduled earlier than schools which invited students to meet individually with professors. That helped everything sort itself out. I think schools know that if they are going to be rigid about the dates of attendance for students that they need to beat other schools to inviting applicants so they can ensure the success of the event attendance.

In five years if he chooses to marry this girl and raise a child with her he will be exactly the sort of person you envy for "having it all" - so I don't know why you decided to reprimand him. It sounds like he has things at least as together as your shrink who you cited as an inspiration. Everyone should take a moment and give the other person benefit of the doubt when these things happen. Assume MrPootawn is an intelligent person who understands 'baby creation' and that sometimes things just don't go as planned. And I don't intend this to be a personal attack Pinkster; but I do want to have this guys back while he makes a complex and nuanced decision. That said MrPootawn, I used to work in an industry that put me in contact with many people who opened up to me (ahemhairdresserahem) and the secret I found out is that almost no one has children the way they planned. And yet almost everyone you meet is thankful for their children and wouldn't change a thing. Conversely, marriage is something we try to plan and make perfect and plenty of people regret it. Bottom line - don't assume that the wrench in your plans is not better than your plans. And good luck whatever your choice!

I'm feeling grade impatient too - especially since I haven't had any graded materials or homework along the way to help me evaluate my own progress. One grade was posted today - an A-. I think I'm pleased? I don't know, I've dealt with a +/- system and I don't know my school's culture well enough to know if an A- means anything besides I'm not being ejected yet. At least, until the next grade posts

flash sale

I agree with nnnnnn that this is a great time to bring this up as many of us are in finals this time of year. For 'local stress' I think a funny movie, a hot shower, sex, and a drink or two is the perfect fix for me. Although, maybe in the reverse order. For more overarching stresses, I try to keep them at bay by smoothing all potential speed bumps in my path. I have all my bills auto drafted so I don't miss payments when I'm busy, I have a set time of day that I maintain the cleanliness of the house so it doesn't get away from me and create a diversion, I go to the gym regularly, and try to eat sensibly. This helps keep things from spiraling at the worst possible time. In the past (and hopefully the future) I also had a therapist I saw monthly. This was I time I would let myself just vent and be a whiney baby for a whole hour. As it turned out, just knowing I had such an outlet kept me from accumulating too many resentments, kept me from unloading on my family or friends (in turn enriching our relationships) and became a ritual I really looked forward to.

I don't consider my FB academic because it's set to private & based on a nickname and not my legal name. But the only place to find CV-type information is my personal page through my department. Closer to graduation I might branch out a bit but I also feel like networking at conferences, publishing frequently, and maintaining an up-to-date personal page are the three best ways to get your name out there in my field.

nude painting

I just wanted to give a vigorous head nod & a thumbs up to TakeMyCoffeeBlack - but of course I'd already hit my quota of positive votes for the day. But since I'm already typing let me just add that I agree with both ideas that: 1) given the perceived equality of a man & a woman in science at any level it's likely the woman worked harder to get to the same place 2) if everything truly is equal there is still inequality in the system AND IT'S NOT BETTER YET, only ~24% of STEM workers are female and now I'm just going to add this: 3) having more women in STEM fields isn't only good for women, it's good for everyone. In the same way that having more male teachers for younger children isn't only good for men.