2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[zerozircon]

8 hours ago, SickSlickensides said:

I know I'm late to the party, but I decided to make a profile since I lurk in the Earth Sciences forums all day.  

Undergrad Institution:  University of Washington Seattle
Major(s):  Earth and Space Sciences
Minor(s):  Oceanography
GPA in Major:  3.77
Overall GPA: 3.64
Position in Class: Above average
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):  Submitted test scores on left side 
Q: 157 / 155
V:  155 / 156
W:  3.5 / 3.0

Research Experience: 1 year of undergraduate research + poster presentation (both unrelated to graduate school interests).  3 small geology related projects.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 2 large departmental scholarships (separate years)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  TA's assistant for geology and oceanography courses.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:  Several science club memberships, many with leadership roles

Special Bonus Points: female, connections at two schools, one famous recommender 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:  I'm applying to MS programs.  Had a Skype interview with Lehigh in October, and face-to-face meeting at IU in December.  

Applying to Where:

Lehigh University, Structure
Indiana University Bloomington, Structure/metamorphic petrology
University of Texas at Austin, Structure/petrology

I'm very concerned about my GRE scores, letter of intent, and the number of schools I applied to. 

I actually applied to Washington... haha.

Anyway, your GRE scores are average for Austin, at least according to the things I found published by UT.  I also applied at UT; who do you want to work with?  This means they probably won't help or hurt you.  As for your letters of rec, most professors say nice things.  And your letter of intent, what issues did you think you had?

[columbia09]

11 minutes ago, zerozircon said:

I actually applied to Washington... haha.

Anyway, your GRE scores are average for Austin, at least according to the things I found published by UT.  I also applied at UT; who do you want to work with?  This means they probably won't help or hurt you.  As for your letters of rec, most professors say nice things.  And your letter of intent, what issues did you think you had?

Who did you guys apply to work with and did they have funding ? I applied to work with about 11 professors and 5 already got back saying they can't take students because of funding or they just aren't looking for students at all. 

[GeoMex]

28 minutes ago, columbia09 said:

Who did you guys apply to work with and did they have funding ? I applied to work with about 11 professors and 5 already got back saying they can't take students because of funding or they just aren't looking for students at all. 

UT Austin has a lot of applicants this year, is going to be though to enter. One of my coworkers applied late and has low scores so the PoI said he wasn´t as strong candidate as others, which I understand because of the scores but he has a masters in the subject the POI works and about 10 years of experience and would be going with a scolarship already, which I think are good things. 

I didn't get a no or a yes, just somehow neutral-positive responses

[sjoh197]

Maybe I should have written in big bold letters on my application.... my dad will pay for everything lol.

Last year I got a lovely email from the person I applied to work with at UH saying... your app was great, and your letters were great, but even though I said I was taking students and you should apply... I don't have the funds for an RA, and the department doesn't like to admit people that aren't funded. Le sigh.

[columbia09]

17 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

Maybe I should have written in big bold letters on my application.... my dad will pay for everything lol.

Last year I got a lovely email from the person I applied to work with at UH saying... your app was great, and your letters were great, but even though I said I was taking students and you should apply... I don't have the funds for an RA, and the department doesn't like to admit people that aren't funded. Le sigh.

Oh don't you just love that ?! I applied to UH this year as well. I'm just waiting for all these schools to get back to me saying, sorry we told you to apply  but we got nothing for you. One of the professors from UT I applied to work with said that he can discuss why I didn't make his list over the phone today so this should be interesting 

Edited January 26, 2016 by columbia09

[Miner 49er]

Has anybody heard from Scripps (Climate Ocean Atmosphere Program) or Yale (G&G) yet? I guess the Yale departmental open house is 5-6 Feb. I haven't heard back from them!

[sjoh197]

@columbia09 In a way I am very happy that I didn't get in. I was only in my geology program for 1 semester when the application season rolled in. (I transferred to geology as a second semester Junior.) 

This year I really have a solid idea of what I want to do, what kind of research I really love, and what career path I am more interested in. I have solid undergrad research experience now, and much better relationships with the people I asked for LOR's from this time. I really love the research of my current POI and am much more excited this time round. 

[columbia09]

2 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

@columbia09 In a way I am very happy that I didn't get in. I was only in my geology program for 1 semester when the application season rolled in. (I transferred to geology as a second semester Junior.) 

This year I really have a solid idea of what I want to do, what kind of research I really love, and what career path I am more interested in. I have solid undergrad research experience now, and much better relationships with the people I asked for LOR's from this time. I really love the research of my current POI and am much more excited this time round. 

That's great ! Last year I only got into two schools but they were both unfunded so I couldn't take the offers. Hopefully it will be different this time around 

[GeoMex]

7 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

Maybe I should have written in big bold letters on my application.... my dad will pay for everything lol.

Last year I got a lovely email from the person I applied to work with at UH saying... your app was great, and your letters were great, but even though I said I was taking students and you should apply... I don't have the funds for an RA, and the department doesn't like to admit people that aren't funded. Le sigh.

A coworker and I are applying for a scolarship here in Mexico, so we wouldn´t cost much or any to the professor, still he said to my coworker that he was a weak candidate, I´m assuming because of his scores on the GRE and TOEFL, but still, the guys has a masters and his thesis was on the subject the professor works with, his masters was in English, altough it was on France, so it´s not proper English, and the guy has around 10 years of experience. Anyway, sometimes it´s hard to understand .

[DrZoidberg]

6 hours ago, Miner 49er said:

Has anybody heard from Scripps (Climate Ocean Atmosphere Program) or Yale (G&G) yet? I guess the Yale departmental open house is 5-6 Feb. I haven't heard back from them!

@Miner 49er Looks like someone in the results section was invited to Scripps open house today. 

[Different_Name_111!!!]

11 hours ago, zerozircon said:

I actually applied to Washington... haha.

Anyway, your GRE scores are average for Austin, at least according to the things I found published by UT.  I also applied at UT; who do you want to work with?  This means they probably won't help or hurt you.  As for your letters of rec, most professors say nice things.  And your letter of intent, what issues did you think you had?

Who did you apply to work with at UW?  I might have some insights.  It's okay if you would rather PM me with this info.

I corresponded with Peter Eichhubl at UT.  He told me to send him an email after I submitted my application materials.  I'm hoping I did well enough on the GREs - they seem to be an important component of the application for Eichhubl.  I spoke to one of his current grad students who said he's fairly hands off, so I'll only hear from the committee until I actually work for him (you know, if I get accepted).  Did you apply with him too?  

I'm not worried about my letters of recommendation; I'm worried about my letter of intent.  In hindsight, I feel like it's a shitty dry letter.

10 hours ago, columbia09 said:

...did they have funding ? 

One prof has RA funding, one said fellowships are possible, two said TA funding may be possible.  So, only one of the profs I spoke to has funding, but I still have potential to be funded at the others.  None of the schools I applied to admit students without funding.  IMO, an acceptance without funding is a nice way to say you've been rejected.  

[sarah0942]

i'm a little late on this train but the waiting is killing me so i guess i've gotta do something to pass the time.

Undergrad Institution: liberal arts, women's college
Major(s): geosciences
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 3.58
Overall GPA: 3.40
Position in Class: pretty average i think
Type of Student: domestic, female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 151
V: 160
W: 4.0

Research Experience: research intensive study abroad program for biology, year-long research project in sedimentary geology and i'll be presenting at a couple symposiums (still in progress)

Special Bonus Points: lgbt female, which i guess might be helpful? only one school asked about sexual orientation in the application so. i'm also the first person in my family to go into the sciences and i'll be the first to get a phd (eventually lol). my school is pretty well known so generally all of the POI's i've talked to have thought that was something of a "bonus point," i guess. one of my recommenders is an alum from one of the schools i'm applying to, and from that department, so i think (hope) that helps as well.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: i'm applying to everywhere but USC for a master's, but i've mentioned to a POI at UCR that i'd be interested in switching to a phd. i've had skype or phone conversations from POIs at every school and they went really well, but i'm still pretty nervous since none of them had seen my application yet.

Applying to Where:

uc riverside - earth sciences - astrobiology/geochemistry
uc davis - earth and planetary sciences - astrobiology/paleobiology/geochemistry
university of southern california - earth sciences - astrobiology/geomicrobiology
cal state fullerton - geological sciences - invertebrate paleontology

 

Edited January 27, 2016 by sarahd02

[magnetite]

Yeah, er, I'm really kicking myself for not contacting the POI at my top choice school after I submitted my application. We spoke on the phone a few months before the application deadline in mid-December.

Sarah, I'm curious: What interests you in astrobiology? I'm looking to study hydrothermal vents on Earth to get an idea for what might be happening on Europa/Enceladus.

[zerozircon]

11 hours ago, GeoMex said:

UT Austin has a lot of applicants this year, is going to be though to enter. One of my coworkers applied late and has low scores so the PoI said he wasn´t as strong candidate as others, which I understand because of the scores but he has a masters in the subject the POI works and about 10 years of experience and would be going with a scolarship already, which I think are good things. 

I didn't get a no or a yes, just somehow neutral-positive responses

Hey, how do you know there are a lot of apps at Austin this year?

[gelologist]

13 hours ago, columbia09 said:

Oh don't you just love that ?! I applied to UH this year as well. I'm just waiting for all these schools to get back to me saying, sorry we told you to apply  but we got nothing for you. One of the professors from UT I applied to work with said that he can discuss why I didn't make his list over the phone today so this should be interesting 

NSF geology proposals are due in january, i think this sometimes has to do with profs having applied for $ and saying "sure apply" but then if they don't get a grant awarded they don't actually have the $ they hoped they would to take on someone new.

 

2 hours ago, SickSlickensides said:

 

I'm not worried about my letters of recommendation; I'm worried about my letter of intent.  In hindsight, I feel like it's a shitty dry letter.

Everyone (I think) feels it's dry and shitty after they submit heck, I know I started re-touching my SOP after starting to worry if it was any good, and then got my first acceptance the day after haha.

 

1 hour ago, magnetite said:

 I'm looking to study hydrothermal vents on Earth to get an idea for what might be happening on Europa/Enceladus.

Wow, super specific; how'd you end up on that?! I have the opposite problem: I had a full-day interview at a school today, and my POI and I got along really well but both laughed when we realized I might run into the problem of not graduating on time since he and I have so many ideas for things to do.... *lol shrug*

 

Glad to see some people coming out of the woodwork to revitalize conversation here  earth nerds ftw!

[magnetite]

17 minutes ago, gelologist said:

Wow, super specific; how'd you end up on that?! I have the opposite problem: I had a full-day interview at a school today, and my POI and I got along really well but both laughed when we realized I might run into the problem of not graduating on time since he and I have so many ideas for things to do.... *lol shrug*

Well, that's just the topic I'm most keen on. I added other examples in my statements of purpose, such as sinters in Chile as analogues for a few spots on Mars. I got interested in hydrothermal vents by doing an independent study project on Enceladus.

At this point, I only know more or less what I want to study, but nothing about how to actually go about doing it. I've read some papers, but I have a feeling my general lack of knowledge will be pretty clear when an ad-com reads my statement of purpose.

[columbia09]

2 hours ago, zerozircon said:

Hey, how do you know there are a lot of apps at Austin this year?

My advisors told me 

[Yunix]

@sarah0942 I'm currently an undergrad at USC Earth Sciences. Who did you propose to work with?

[klippe]

6 hours ago, SickSlickensides said:

Who did you apply to work with at UW?  I might have some insights.  It's okay if you would rather PM me with this info.

I corresponded with Peter Eichhubl at UT.  He told me to send him an email after I submitted my application materials.  I'm hoping I did well enough on the GREs - they seem to be an important component of the application for Eichhubl.  I spoke to one of his current grad students who said he's fairly hands off, so I'll only hear from the committee until I actually work for him (you know, if I get accepted).  Did you apply with him too?  

I'm not worried about my letters of recommendation; I'm worried about my letter of intent.  In hindsight, I feel like it's a shitty dry letter.

One prof has RA funding, one said fellowships are possible, two said TA funding may be possible.  So, only one of the profs I spoke to has funding, but I still have potential to be funded at the others.  None of the schools I applied to admit students without funding.  IMO, an acceptance without funding is a nice way to say you've been rejected.  

I think Alison Duvall at UW is awesome. Her talk at GSA last year was great. I would love to work with her.

Edited January 27, 2016 by klippe

[Different_Name_111!!!]

12 minutes ago, klippe said:

Alison Duvall at UW is awesome.

Double confirmed - very true.  Alison is also the best story teller I know.  

[sjoh197]

9 hours ago, gelologist said:

NSF geology proposals are due in january, i think this sometimes has to do with profs having applied for $ and saying "sure apply" but then if they don't get a grant awarded they don't actually have the $ they hoped they would to take on someone new.

I know  but it still makes me frustrated and sad... even if it's out of their control. I guess I'm just worried that it will happen again this year. 

[zerozircon]

@klippe @SickSlickensides Alison Duvall is, unfortunately, not taking students

[GeoMex]

11 hours ago, zerozircon said:

Hey, how do you know there are a lot of apps at Austin this year?

I read it in some thread here, they said there was around 700.

[sjoh197]

@GeoMex If I remember correctly both UT Austin and UH got like 600 apps last year... or something like that. 

[columbia09]

23 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

@GeoMex If I remember correctly both UT Austin and UH got like 600 apps last year... or something like that. 

Wow even UH got a lot