TeaGirl
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Posts posted by TeaGirl
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If it's a rejection, I post right away. It seemed to let off steam. With the one acceptance so far I was kind of like a deer in headlights and didn't even think of posting I think till a day or two later.
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And what about getting a PhD but without the end goal of working in academia?
That's actually my goal. I want to work in industry research and I need a PhD for that. I have a parent in academia so I grew up hearing frequent stories about students, PhD, coursework, etc. While it isn't something I hate, especially now that I'm teaching as an instructor, I just don't have much interest to pursue it as a career.
It seems to me that many of these articles refer perhaps to non-STEM fields. I think it differs significantly from one field to another.
I was reading the PhD guidelines for one of the universities I applied to and it isn't actually that open ended. You have to take quals after year 1, advance to candidacy at year 2, and are allowed a maximum of 5 years total to finish your PhD. That doesn't sound very bad at all, especially since after the first year you usually get funded through an RA and the work you do for that usually is your PhD work.
I think the most important thing of course, is to get a good advisor who is willing to guide you a bit when you stumble. I have heard some horror stories, so research a prospective advisor well and ask his students about him/her.
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This really is a helpful thread.
It's interesting because my own sense of fashion lies somewhere between comfortable/casual and dressed-up. When I was doing my MSc. all the guys were in shorts and flip flops almost year round. Sometimes I'd feel dressed up in a simple jeans, top, and ballet flats. The only saving grace was that my advisor was always dressed in formal slacks and a button down shirt.
On the other hand, where I am now, the culture is too obsessed with appearance and there is no such thing as overdressed.
Thankfully though, over the past 2 years, I've developed my own sense of style and I think I've matured enough to wear what I think looks good and appropriate without really caring what others think. I like wearing nice fitting jeans or pants. I also wear boots/flats with a blouse/sweater with a necklace/scarf. I sometimes layer my tops, or will wear a dress with leggings. I also love color, which is why I really love the recent fashion trend of bright colored pants! I can't stand being dressed in all black or navy or grey... it's just not me.
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I'm not sure what "real" is here. My reactions are real, however, the persona I may present online isn't the real me simply because it's limited. The comment or post or reaction is simply one very limited part of who I am. I don't really feel like there are two personalities, a virtual one and a real one. I think of it more as I'm me, and the online world may get to see a side or snapshot of who that is when I contribute something.
I have however suffered a little anxiousness over online things in a similar way to how I suffer in the real world. The difference is when something bugs me online, I can simply close the webpage, unsubscribe, hide the post, and then I really don't care anymore. I don't really know or have actual contact with these people, so I don't have to deal with them if I don't want to. While logically I know that they are real people and may sympathize with them, I don't really think of them as real people, at least not in the same way as people I actually know.
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I don't think there's a problem with Ugg boots particularly or with any other comfort clothing. I just found it hilarious when I'd see students wearing them with mini shorts and tank tops in 100F plus Arizona weather. Don't their feet get hot? Or smelly?
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I don't know too much about the details of these programs or how competitive they are, but if the deadlines give you time you should go for it. If you could look up the average statistics on students who are admitted into these programs, you'd get a clearer idea of where you lie.
Make sure you address the GPA thing in your SOP though. Don't make excuses, just offer a brief explanation and focus on the relevant work and research you've done since. If you're applying next year or have time, it can't hurt to retake the GRE for somewhat higher quant scores to offset the lower GPA in your last 2 years.
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It depends. How good your grades are, your research experience, etc.
Five is a good number in general but all of the schools you mentioned are pretty competitive so it may not be enough. Honestly, I'd highly recommend you throw in a couple more applications to somewhat safer schools.
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The scanned transcripts were by far my biggest annoyance this application season. I thought that I could just sit down, scan on my printer, and keep it moving. The limit would be 1000 KB, and I would be at 1019 KB. So frustrating! I kept having to change little settings on my printer, still keeping the resolution the same so that they were clear. After about 2 hours, I finally edited it down to a readable copy at 947 KB.
Ooh, this was so frustrating for me too. This year, most of the universities I was applying to asked for scans of my transcripts.
My undergraduate transcript is 5 pages and a regular scan put it at a few Mbs. I spent half a day fixing my scanner settings and trying to get a good readable black and white scan under the file size limit until I realized I need to play around with some threshold tool thingy.
Speaking of Maryland (AGAIN) I get letter from them in the post today (cue freakout), only to open it and see something about an application fee they need me to pay which I paid months ago. Even my application status says everything is paid for and complete.
I emailed them to clarify. False alarm...
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On the other hand I think I was very naive about the whole graduate admissions process in 2012. I didn't know how strong my application was compared to everybody else's, I didn't know just how competitive the programs I applied to really were. I didn't even know when I could expect to hear back from my chosen schools...
^That was me as well last year. I applied to all really top reach schools with no clue on how competitive it really was to get in.
I was more confident about my applications this simply because I picked programs that were much better suited for me. I guess it also helped that I did some additional research and retook the GRE with much better scores. Just the experience I think and having an extra year to refine what you want/expect will show up especially in the SOP. I guess it worked because I already received a funded offer from one program and did an interview with another.
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I've seen grad students who wear dress pants and button down shirts every day, and others who live in t-shirts, shorts, and flip flops. It really depends on you.
I usually wore jeans and a nice blouse, sometimes with simple accessories or jewelry, nothing too fancy.
On days where I had teaching or presentations, I dressed more business casual, and definitely more formally than the undergrads.
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I don't know if works the same since I'm in a STEM field, but I did my Master's with a non tenured assistant professor. He was working hard to get publications done and putting out a lot of research to get the tenure, but I still got a lot of mentoring and personal attention to my work. They really get swamped especially if they're taking on several new projects, as a result, even though I was only a Masters student, I was asked to write a couple of papers and got the chance to present at a conference. I got almost half a dozen publications out of it, and my name first on a couple.
It depends what your long term goals are though and how it works in your particular field. They may not be able to provide a strong network like someone who's been there a while, but seeing as you're a PhD student, I'm sure you could get to know some other older professors as well to build those networks.
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I applied to Maryland and never got those reminders after I submitted it.
I just went in an checked for the zillionth time and it says "This supplemental application has been submitted." Even my app status says complete.
I don't know why it keeps sending me reminders. Sigh.
That and another bizarre auto generated email I get from them monthly with a link telling me I can view my tuition fees online. The link leads to a sign-in page that you can't access without having a student ID, which as an applicant, you don't.
Yeah, Maryland has definitely been the strangest application I completed. I feel like I mistakenly ended up on the wrong email list.
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I guess I don't have a spouse or kids to worry about. What was in the balance for me was a different future and moving half way around the world versus staying where I am, stuck in my job and putting my life on hold for yet another year, getting depressed and feeling left behind.
Now that I finally got in somewhere, I'm a bit thrilled but a bit apprehensive. I'm not sure yet where I'll be going (I'll definitely be going somewhere at least).
In any case, knowing that I'll have to pack up my life, everything I buy undergoes the "does it fit in the suitcase and can I live without it?" question.
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Maryland's supplemental application. They still send an automatic email every couple of weeks to remind me to fill it out. Frequent freak-fests at first every time I looked at my inbox and saw the sender. Never mind that I filled it out almost 3 months ago.
I second the annoyance at being unable to login to more than one applyyourself app. Sometimes I'd forget to logout before closing and I'd have to close my browser and everything else so that I can sign back in.
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I applied to 7 programs and received an offer from one of my top choices, got contacted by a POI from one of my safeties (which I declined since I hate wasting people's time if I already know I won't go there).
I'm so glad though that I have this one offer, makes the wait not so bad... compared to last year.. shudder.
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I think since you're an international student, you may get away with the low verbal score. Your low quantitative score is more worrying, but since your GPA is high it may make up for it, especially if your grades in math and engineering courses are good. I would ask the departments on the deadline for having the official GRE scores sent and schedule a retake of the exam.
If you apply with these scores to these schools, you'll have to make sure that your SOP and your LOR's are exceptional.
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teagirl, did you make a new SOP?
i'm really worried that if i get rejected i'll have to change my SOP (come up with a different research proposal). seems like the most obvious thing to do I guess.... but I really want to study what I proposed. I was only able to find one school with a perfect fit in terms of my ideas, the other 3 are only indirectly related.
Not completely. I stuck with the same field I wanted to study, but I refined my SOP to be a bit more specific and tailored to the respective program. I found some news schools (there are always schools that you missed the first time looking for a program) and new profs I was interested in working with.
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I'll bite
This is the second round for me. All rejections last year Undergrad Institution:Accredited international university. Top in my country.
Grad Institution: Top 50 U.S. university (M.Sc.)
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
GPA in Major: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.64 (3.63 for M.Sc.)
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: No idea. Probably top 10%.
Type of Student: International, F.
GRE Scores:
Q: 168
V: 163
W: 4.5
TOEFL Total: 118
Research Experience: 2 month research internship abroad, published research project in Senior year, Master's thesis research. Spent the last year doing research with a couple of profs. In total, about a dozen publications (conference + journal) first author in 4.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: undergrad Dean's honor list. Big name conference award in my senior year.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: In the past did TA, RA, currently an instructor.
Applying for PhD at:
Virginia Tech:
University of Maryland-College Park:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Accepted - Nov. 6 - Full TA.
University of Washington-Seattle:
University of Colorado-Boulder:
Arizona State University:
North Carolina State University:
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Been there. Just last year in fact.
You'll get a little depressed. Then you'll pick yourself back up, and if you're really set on grad school, you'll begin working again on next year's application and trying to do everything better. I highly recommend having a simple year-long plan in the event this happens, so you'll have something to do. For me, I just continued working, did some research with a prof. of mine, and worked on better applications and picked better fit schools.
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When I did my Master's I found it pretty lonely at first, but then I met some people who were not in school, and not all were in my age group, and that was great. It helps because it's easier to talk about things and confide in older and more mature people. They pull you out of the study/work all the time that you may find yourself in.
I think you have to put in the effort. Friendships aren't going to just happen, you have to reach out and you'll often have to make the first move. Asking people out to dinners, outings, etc. even if you don't know them all that well. I can honestly say though that it's worth it to put yourself through the initial discomfort and resist the temptation to just tune out and stay home (I'm a bit of an introvert, so I have to fight it sometimes).
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It's good that you have research experience and work experience. Those are competitive schools to get into, so with your GPA which is good but not very high, you're gonna need a pretty high GRE score, a strong SOP and excellent LORs. I'd suggest Picking around 4-5 from this list and adding 2 schools from the 20's and 30's ranks.
Good luck.
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I think it means that you should mention any practical experience you have, whether in a course lab or project. That is, occasions where you actually did experiments yourself according to certain protocols in a lab setting rather than simply read about them in the scope of a lecture, even if you didn't come up with the protocol yourself.
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If you can fill out an alternative name do that, otherwise make sure you email the graduate program/school and explain the name confusion, just so you make sure that they match your name to the scores sent.
Ohio State, Arizona or Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
in Decisions, Decisions
Posted · Edited by TeaGirl
I can't speak for the strength of the programs because I have no idea. However, I did do my Masters at U of A and lived in Tucson for 2 years so I can at least tell you what it's like over there.
It's a pretty nice city. Not too big, but plenty to do.
The weather is hot. Actually the weather is wonderful from around October till May. I've seen people in tshirts during winter. June-August are really hot but manageable. Everywhere has A/C.
The university campus itself is really nice too. Housing and apartments are very affordable. The bus system is not bad and you get a reduced price for annual or semester bus passes as a student. There are also decent biking lanes.
My favorite things about it were the hiking and the food. Lots of outdoor activities and hiking available if you like that. Lots of really great affordable multicultural food. I spent the 2 years looking up the best reviewed restaurants on google and going there
Something I highly recommend.
It's not the shopping center of the world though but it has a couple of malls. There's 4th Avenue which has all the student bars and nightlife.