Waves

I've not originally participated in this thread but word from the grapevine is that UW-Seattle had selected their candidates and have scheduled them for visit in early March.

Hi kphd! I think the most important thing you need to think about is the fit of your research interest to the interest of the faculty of the school you are going to apply to. Applications are not viewed solely based on your GPA or GRE scores. Sometimes, even if you have high scores on both if there is no fit, you would get rejected. What is your primary research interest? Once you identified that, I would suggest that you do a search for scholarly articles in that area, look for the scholars that have projects along that line, visit university websites and read the CV's of the professors. Then email them, have a chat with them (over the phone is ok if that's possible while you're overseas.) You need to establish the "fit" and show in your essay that you are applying because you know (or at least you hope) that the program has the capacity to support and mentor you in your area of interest. Sorry for this round about way of answering your question. What I'm trying to say is I wouldn't know how your application will be viewed, but if you've done your research, you can justify your acceptance to the program based on a very good fit. This is coming from someone who had a dismal GRE score and was accepted to a reputable PhD program at an R1 university. PM me if you'd like to chat.

No interviews at WashU. ?

Finally!!!! The wait is over!!! I got accepted to University of Washington Phd in Social Welfare program! 3 years full funding plus hopefully a 2-year graduate diversity fellowship. I still cannot believe it. I am a living proof that low GRE score is not a factor!!!!!!! I'm in cloud nine.

I'm thinking, "Reject me already!!!" I'd rather know that I'm rejected than having to wait forever!

Waiting is driving nuts. Could barely concentrate at work (it involves a lot of writing) and finding myself either daydreaming or despair-ing. Having a smart phone doesn't help. I check my email mulitple times even when driving. :-( I want this agony to end!!!

UPenn does not make the GRE cutoff explicit on their website. But when i emailed them for a pre-application interview, their response included that information. I was supposed to meet with them anyway but I cancelled since I don't think there was a good match. My GRE score is exactly the reason i went and met with POI - to give them a broader sense of who I am, past my GRE score. If I do not get in this round, I will definitely meet with PO's again next round. It helped me refine my specific interests. On a side note... I just checked my email and saw an email from the school I applied to and my heart made a big thud - then I realized I had requested my password coz I had forgotten it. LOL. Crazymaking.

Yes, I am applying to ONE (crazy, huh?) SW PhD program. I met with several POI's (5 schools - very costly travel cost and missed lots of workdays) and only two schools (POI's) really matched my research interest. Unfortunately, with a very demanding workload, i missed the deadline at USC. It was a growth experience for me just meeting these experts in the field - if that's all that I could take from this application round. I did look into Cal, WashU, UPenn, and UHawaii (for the weather, obviously - LOL) but no faculty matched my specific interests there. I would have considered UPenn (but they seem to have a 1200 GRE cutoff.) I wouldn't want to make my decision based on the weather, although Hawaii weather sounds really good, I've to admit. If there was a faculty there that matches my specific interest, I would definitely apply. I visited Columbia in December and it was very, very cold. Not sure if I could live in that weather but if there was a perfect match and great funding, I would definitely go for it. Good luck on the PhD app and/or the baby plan! Either way, it will be an awesome year for you!!

I also put all my eggs in one PhD basket. Seems like a foolish decision now that I am experiencing the agony of waiting. I just posted on waiting it out about my nightmare last night. Not good. I could barely concentrate here at work. I keep telling myself that maybe there is a good chance: I met with my POI, he offered to help me with my essay, interviewed with the director, POI connected me to two grad students that I eventually met with. But then my GRE scores, oh boy. They barely made the 1200 mark. So now I am agonizing... fretting.... :'(

I woke up panicking. I had a dream that they put the names of those accepted in the program on a big electronic scoreboard. Last name and first name initial only. They had my last name but they had my middle name initial. And the assistant director (who I had met with) came up to me and said that my POI gave me another shot. I was confused and then she added, "You know I was really disappointed with your GRE scores. You should defer till next year." Then I woke up. Just wanted to vent. Ooooh, the agony of waiting. And I put all my eggs in one basket this application round. Why, oh why???

The PhD program I appied to has a Fellowship/Training program that I am potentially interested in and had mention this in my Research statement (as suggested by the professor at that School that I contacted, met with and offered to review my research statement.) This professor expressed that I am a good fit for the school and his interest and that I would make a good addition to the program. Now the problem: In order to be considered for the training program, at least one recommender must write about my qualification/potential for such training program. Since I did not inform my recommenders about this (because they had submitted all their letters before the prof from the School I'm applying to suggested I should consider the training program,) this requirement was not addressed in their letters. Now I'm freaking out. Could this be a deal breaker to my application?? I am about to ask one of them to write an addendum. What to do? What to do?????

Thank you all! DrFaustu, thanks for putting it in perspective. yes, that holds true also over here where I work. I'm fortunate that this Judge sees the value of my work and respects it. I had asked her back in July and had recently gotten an email from her asking for the forms because she would like to help me as much as she can. so today i emailed her my reply and the automated email for request for reference. Thanks again!

Yes! Definitely contact them. It is not brown-nosing. It is exploring about the "fit." I contacted professors for this application season and had gotten great response. I met with them as well as the director of the program and got great feedback: "yes i would love to work with you," yes, ill help you with your application materials if you want." etc. having a pre-application interview will also set you apart from the other applicants who don't. it will show you're serious about it and that you're willing to invest in finding the right fit.

Hi Yaronatov! Thanks for your reply. I did not report directly to the Judge as I have a supervisor but my cases are heard in her court. She reads my court reports (that includes facts, assessments and recommendations) and she sees me in her court room a lot of times, discussing cases with attorneys, professionals from other disciplines, and with her and have been qualified as an expert witness in her court room during a trial. Not sure though if she is going to point this out in her letter. So yeah, not directly reporting to her but the bulk of what I do are written in a court report and that makes her familiar with my work. I hope that my explanation made sense.

Thanks Kitkat! I had asked them and the ysaid they would take 5 although they said they only typically read 3 or 4. So not sure what to do and the Judge just wrote me an email asking where the recommendation materials are. :-(