Some questions

[GeoDUDE!]

Hello all,

 

I'm currently in need of some advice. I know this is a bit early, but I'm starting to prep for FALL of 2014 admissions cycle. I have a BA in physics from a high ranked liberal arts school(top 50), but with a low gpa (3.08). I am currently in a MSc program (funded by TAship), doing research in my field, at a pretty terribly ranked school(not ranked on US news) but with an advisor with good connections. My expected GPA for when I apply will be in the 3.7-3.8 range for my masters, tanking graduate level math(I got an A in graduate level real anaylisis !) , geophysics, and geology courses obviously. My GRE scores suck. I am planning on retaking the GRE, but honestly I never do well on standardized tests. My theisis work is going really well (if everything continues to plan I will be presenting it at AGU). Its very applicable to all the places I have been thinking of applying to, and furthermore I am using one of the most diffucult/useful standard modeling codes in the field.

 

I did tons of undergrad research, including prestigious internship at a top 5 school(not like that matters anymore), and two poster sessions at AGU (my guess is all my undergrad work doesnt matter).

 

Anyway, now that my background is taken care of, I would Like some advice on some things:

 

1) I am pretty sure my advisor took me on with the intention that I would become his PhD student. Most of his students are seismology, but his speciality is Geodynamics (which is related, but slightly different) and I have been his only Geodynamics student since he started teaching, 4-5 years ago. I am wondering how I approach him, as I would really like to go to a better program for my PhD, with this school being my fall back( he really is a GREAT advisor, and I have no dobut that i would publish atleast 2-3 times with him If i did my PhD here). Part of the reason I came here, is he went to grad school with my undergrad advsior and his PhD advisor was someone I wanted to work with at a much much better school. I kind of feel bad using this school as a backup. Should I make that clear to him? How do I do this.

 

 

2)What level schools should I realistically be applying to? I think my GPA and GRE held me back (also the fact that I took 0 geology classes in undergrad) last time.  I know my masters GPA will be much higher (as stated) but its from a much weaker school AND my gre scores probably wont be much better. They could be. Am I a candidate for a top 10 school? I am not really sure how many people have the expierence that I have, From what I have been told by a few people, including the people who have written the code, is that my work generally is more suited for a PhD student given the difficulty of understanding how to run the model.  That being said, I am not sure how much I believe that as more and more geology students know C++ from the get go.  I guess I am rambling.

 

3)A very big up and comming geodymanicst gave a talk here and after that we talked about my theis and we have been in email contact; he has been helping me with understanding my work.  I am wondering when it is appropriate to contact him about doing PhD work with him. I have a little anxiety about asking other people about doing work with them, because I haven't really talked about it a lot with my advisor. He mentions things like "when you do your phd, perahps we can look at this deeper, but this is outside the scope of your masters thesis". When is it appropriate to contact people in general?

 

 

Perhaps I am just being neurotic, which in that case you can just tell me to take a chill pill.

 

thanks for your guy's time.

Edited April 22, 2013 by GeoDUDE!

[emie]

I think your background actually sounds pretty strong.  People get in to top 10 programs from unranked schools all the time, if they have good research skills, and good recommendation letters.  Advisor connections help too.  Don't discount your undergraduate research, either!  Even if it's not quite the right field and it was a long time ago, a history of successful research and conference presentations shows a solid ability to do research, which is the number 1 thing they are looking for.  So make sure it shows in your application.  The most important things for PhD admissions are research experience and recommendations, and everything else like GRE, GPA, and school name come after.  

 

As for the GRE, buy some prep materials and/or consider taking a test prep class.  My feeling is that your GRE scores just need to be high enough to show competence, and above some level the exact score doesn't matter.  Not sure what that level is.

 

It is important to talk to your advisor now about your desires to look at other schools, and tact is really important since his letter is going make you or break you.  I would just approach him and say "I wanted to let you know I'm thinking about exploring PhD opportunities at other schools.  Are there any schools you think would be a good fit for me?"  If you want, perhaps mention that you could continue to work together during your PhD even if you are elsewhere, as many students collaborate with profs at other schools.  My guess is that while he may be disappointed, he will understand and want you to succeed.  If you wait to talk to him about it though he could feel he misled by you, so do it soon.

[GeoDUDE!]

Well that's somewhat assuring. It's weird as I am just getitng to the point where I am starting to get results (going to have to work hard this summer to get good results) and am already starting to do the application process. I haven't even defended my research propsal( though that isn't my fault, the head of the dept is taking forever to give me my comittee). I guess everyone who starts out in an MS program goes through this weird stage. 

 

I was thinking about approaching him after the semester is over. I am staying here, forgoing a summer job, and working on my thesis. I dont think I will be able to get it published until the summer after I apply, unfortunately.

 

Anyway, thanks for the advice.  I guess that I am a bit jaded since when  I applied for PhD last time, I got 3 waitlists 2 rejects and 1 acceptance into an MS(the one im attending).