2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Geologizer]

I don't know much about atmospheric science, but one thing I will say is it's hard to tell what schools you're talking about. There is a difference between University of Colorado, and Colorado State University. Same goes for Michigan and Michigan Tech. Michigan, as in Ann Arbor, would probably be a stretch as previously stated. I don't know anything about Michigan Tech, but I feel pretty confident that they'll be less selective than UM. Also, with Colorado, I think U of Colorado (Boulder) might be more selective than Colorado State. I might be wrong on that one though.

[kev0476]

Undergrad and Gradute Institution: Willamette University
Major_Gradute: Environmental Science

GPA in Major: 3.3

Major_Gradute: Political Science

GPA in Major: 3.35

Position in Class: Unknown
Type of Student: USA

GRE Scores revised version:
Q: 161 (81%)
V: 163 (91%)
W: 4.5 (78%)

Research Experience:  Two Theses written while at Willamette Undergrad.  Politics thesis: Why the Human right to a clean environment deserves protection in the US constitution.  Environmental Science thesis: Using Lidar to Measure Biomass of Zena Forest at Willamette University.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Currently interning at the National Environment Commission of Bhutan (9 months total)


 I'm applying to Masters

Applying to Where:
Yale: MFS (Masters of Forestry Sciences)

Penn State: Masters of Science in Geography

University of Washington: Masters of Forestry

University of Montana: Masters of Science in Forestry

 

I have made contact with all of the schools, Yale and Montana have very close relations with the country of Bhutan and have spoke to them about the possibility of research within the country (to turn into a masters thesis).  Both schools have close contact to the head of the Department of Forestry who wrote introduction email for me.  Contact studied at UM, head of department came to Bhutan and we had an informal dinner here.  I have had multiple email conversations with professors at Yale.

Penn state contacted through mutual friend who worked under the professor.  Contact does work in bio geography in south-east asia.

University of Washington contacted through Department of Forestry (Bhutan) but response came about 2 months later (Was a very positive response).

 

Opinions?  Yale is unnerving, especially as they highly recommend 2 biology classes in undergrad but I completed my degree with only one course.  All other recommended courses were fulfilled.

[Souri_RS]

I think that UMD and UM are both going to be a stretch for you, but everywhere else should be do able imo. That verbal score should be dispelled by a strong statement of purpose: it really depends on fit and if they want to take on a international students. 

 

Dear GeoDUDE!

Thank you very much for taking your time to give me your opinion.

This Michigan is not what you are thinking..We have Michigan Ann Arbor and Michigan state that come first in Usnews ranking...Since they are looking for very high GRE test score, there seems waste of time and money to apply for them...Michigan Tech is just a good school located in Houghton..

Actually, I put a great of effort to find the most relevant professors....I am not the fan of rank-based-decision...Besides, I know that my GRE is a limiting factor; therefore I chose the schools more reasonably.

I am detecting that many of users here are native, so it is an utmost privilege to get your toughts for the schools...

Do you have some information about University of Houston and Hunstsville-Alabama?

I don't know much about atmospheric science, but one thing I will say is it's hard to tell what schools you're talking about. There is a difference between University of Colorado, and Colorado State University. Same goes for Michigan and Michigan Tech. Michigan, as in Ann Arbor, would probably be a stretch as previously stated. I don't know anything about Michigan Tech, but I feel pretty confident that they'll be less selective than UM. Also, with Colorado, I think U of Colorado (Boulder) might be more selective than Colorado State. I might be wrong on that one though.

Dear Geologizier

Yes, I understand..Colorado Boulder is the best place in atmospheric science field; however I could not provide my application by deadline...

Colorado State University: http://atmos.colostate.edu/ also specifically is a great department in this field and I have a low chance to get admitted...

Whats about you; do you have some information about University of Houston and Huntsville-alabama schools and city?

Regarding some contacts with professors, it is very likely to get TA/RA from these schools...

It is not a straightforward task for international students to leave so many things behind (family, gf, car, friends and so forth)

Do the schools that I am applying for really interest me sufficiently that I want to be spending 5-6 years working in it??

Edited February 10, 2014 by Souri_RS

[CC2014]

First of all, I should really express my apperciation for creating this topic. I would be thankful if other people (especially experienced ones) could let me know whether I have a chance to get admission from the schools I am applying for:

Undergrad and Gradute Institution: University of Tehran (Best in Iran; who cares?)

Major_Under(s): Surveying and Geomatics Eng

GPA in Major: 3.28

Major_Gradute: Remote sensing

GPA in Major: 4

Position in Class: 7 in 40, I guess!

Type of Student: International-Male

 

TOEFL score: 104 (R:27 L:25 S:24 W:28)

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 169

V: 146 (ouch!)

W: 3.0

Research Experience: 2 ISC papers under review process; two SCOPUS published; 8 international conferences and 3 mediocre journals!

My thesis was related to water vapor modeling and atmospheric corrections on InSAR technique.

My research interests are: Cloud/aerosol detection and their properties, GPS and radio meteorology, atmospheric sounding, signal/image processing, time series modeling, ray tracing, artificial intelligence in remote sensing.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA both in courses and teaching relevant software.

 I'm applying to PhD programs

Applying to Where:

University of Maryland: Atmospheric and Oceanic program

University of Colorado State: Atmospheric science

University of Michigan Tech: Atmosheric science

University of Houston: Atmospheric science

University of Huntsville-Alabama: Atmospheric science

 

Whats your opinion about my application?

 

Colorado State is arguably the best Atmospheric Science program in the nation so I don't think anyone applying there can be confident of getting in.  I think your aerosol interests will fit well with Houston and you probably have a good shot there.  I don't know much about Huntsville, Michigan Tech or Maryland, though.

[CC2014]

I don't know much about atmospheric science, but one thing I will say is it's hard to tell what schools you're talking about. There is a difference between University of Colorado, and Colorado State University. Same goes for Michigan and Michigan Tech. Michigan, as in Ann Arbor, would probably be a stretch as previously stated. I don't know anything about Michigan Tech, but I feel pretty confident that they'll be less selective than UM. Also, with Colorado, I think U of Colorado (Boulder) might be more selective than Colorado State. I might be wrong on that one though.

 

Both programs are top notch and really very selective (Colorado and Colorado State)

Edited February 10, 2014 by CC2014

[Souri_RS]

Both programs are top notch and really very selective (Colorado and Colorado State)

Thank you; yes Colorado is the state of atmospheric science

When I took a glance over previous admitted students, most of them were native and come from MIT, Berkeley, A&M...The only international person was a diligent Chinese man; who dares to confront with these students?

Edited February 10, 2014 by Souri_RS

[Geologizer]

Well cool, I learned something new. Glad other people more in the know we're able to correct that one.

@Souri_RS I don't know anything about the other schools on you list. Like I said before, atmospheric is well outside my knowledge range, so I don't think I'll be much help as far as answering the questions you posed to me. It sounds like you've selected some pretty top notch programs. I wish you luck with the admissions.

[Crazy454]

The "official" invite to the prospective student weekend at the Jackson school of Geosciences (University of Texas) came this morning.

Starting to get real. .

[RockSniffer]

I need to put something similar to a parent lock on this site and university admission sites. This is killing my productivity on a level that I cannot even describe.

[Souri_RS]

I need to put something similar to a parent lock on this site and university admission sites. This is killing my productivity on a level that I cannot even describe.

If you are using Google Chrome, you can make use of StayFocused extension (download from here)

Description : "StayFocusd is a productivity extension for Google Chrome that helps you stay focused on work by restricting the amount of time you can spend on time-wasting websites. Once your allotted time has been used up, the sites you have blocked will be inaccessible for the rest of the day."

---

BTW, regarding my top notch selections, I should buy something to be able to sleep!

[Wander]

I need to put something similar to a parent lock on this site and university admission sites. This is killing my productivity on a level that I cannot even describe.

 

hahaha, I completely agree. I have StayFocused set on thegradcafe.

[RockSniffer]

hahaha, I completely agree. I have StayFocused set on thegradcafe.

 

Haha, even with acceptances you worry? You should be outside! Moonwalking! Yes, that's what happy people do!

 

@ Souri, thanks for the tip! I really needed this for some sites.

[turbidite]

The "official" invite to the prospective student weekend at the Jackson school of Geosciences (University of Texas) came this morning.

Starting to get real. .

So for those who did not get the invite, can we assume a waitlist/rejection? I'm not sure if prospective student weekend is synonymous with acceptance, but I'd imagine the absence of an invitation does not bode well.

[GeoDUDE!]

So for those who did not get the invite, can we assume a waitlist/rejection? I'm not sure if prospective student weekend is synonymous with acceptance, but I'd imagine the absence of an invitation does not bode well.

 

 

it all depends. Sometimes professors are waiting to get grants before they give an invitation to visit..... it's very hard to tell either way.

[Crazy454]

So for those who did not get the invite, can we assume a waitlist/rejection? I'm not sure if prospective student weekend is synonymous with acceptance, but I'd imagine the absence of an invitation does not bode well.

I don't think you can assume that it means waitlist/rejection. The invites probably go out as they are requested. I think geodude hit the nail on the head.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Crazy454

[vaalbara]

Rejected from Princeton (surprise!), invited to a campus visit by my POI at UDel. Still waiting on news from Oregon State, UW, and WHOI.

[Pacifico]

So for those who did not get the invite, can we assume a waitlist/rejection? I'm not sure if prospective student weekend is synonymous with acceptance, but I'd imagine the absence of an invitation does not bode well.

I wouldn't worry yet: My POI let me know I was invited a few days ago, but I still haven't received anything official yet from UT. It seems as though the invites aren't being sent all at once. Even still, you never know what can happen... good luck!

[anthony333]

Rejected from Princeton (surprise!), invited to a campus visit by my POI at UDel. Still waiting on news from Oregon State, UW, and WHOI.

 

hoping to hear from oregon state soon

[Geologizer]

I just had a conversation with my POI there, and got "unofficial" word from him - basically barring some unforeseen complication yada yada yada. I have nothing in writing, so I'm trying to stay planted on the ground. From what I was able to gather, the department as a whole is very near the "recommend for admission" status from the faculty to the adcom, which is probably followed up pretty swiftly by official notice of some sort being sent around (who knows what the turn around is, just guessing). Depending on how long it takes for them to start getting everything going, I'd assume later this week or next is when people would be hearing things. That's essentially right in their "mid-late February" generic target date that they set after the deadline closed, so I guess I'm not providing much new information except some indication that they're on schedule. ish. maybe.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Geologizer

[chrissytine]

Did anyone here have the Hawaii acceptance? I heard they don't often take MS students, so that's impressive!

I had the UHawaii MS acceptance into the Geology & Geophysics department. Thank you! I've heard it's a great department, but am still unsure of where it falls on my list of schools. Any personal knowledge on the department?

 

[GeoDUDE!]

I had the UHawaii MS acceptance into the Geology & Geophysics department. Thank you! I've heard it's a great department, but am still unsure of where it falls on my list of schools. Any personal knowledge on the department?

 

 

It's a very good department (SOEST always has a huge party at AGU). The people i've met have been nice, thats all I know about it. Who do you want to work with there?

[felipep]

Someone have heard something about Scripps ( UCSD ) or Arizona State ? :/ 

[geographyrocks]

It looks like someone was accepted into the Scripps Earth Science program today with full funding.  I don't know who, but CONGRATULATIONS!

Edited February 12, 2014 by geographyrocks

[chrissytine]

Another random question...how have people been responding to advisors/departments who have offered acceptances that you're not ready to accept (w/out coming off as disinterested)? I applied for a NSF GRFP and want to wait until then to accept an offer because that will change the program I enter into...



 

[GeoDUDE!]

Another random question...how have people been responding to advisors/departments who have offered acceptances that you're not ready to accept (w/out coming off as disinterested)? I applied for a NSF GRFP and want to wait until then to accept an offer because that will change the program I enter into...

 

 

 

you have until april 15th at most places. Most places will also pay for you to come and visit so they do not expect a decision before then. If you applied for a  masters degree that may not be the case.

 

IT really depends on what kind of funding you have; but most people abide by the april 15th deadline. If you have no funding there shouldnt even be a deadline except registration.

Edited February 12, 2014 by GeoDUDE!