I guess it's tougher to get a job after 4 years of college with Biology Bachelor degree rather that Masters in Physical Therapy because GPA is 3.0 in the major instead of 3.2.

Lor
 

I know this ex-professor of mine who could write me an outstanding recommendation, but due to many reasons, he left mid-semester. So i dont have a completed course with him, nor is he affiliated in any way to my university. Is there any way his recommendation will carry any weight?

PLS help.

"My D just told me a sad news. The college just change an admission process to graduate school from the one that they had for her program prior her applying to college 4 years ago. Looks like her 4 years might go to waste since her GPA is lower than the new standards for admission for graduate school.
What can we do? We're in totally panic mode. SOS!"

Be sure to explain in your daughter's SOP that the school will benefit from the efforts and academic dedication of not one but TWO members of your family. They'll be thrilled to know they are getting the Parent/Daughter package deal...

I only read the first several pages of this thread so I'm not sure if this question has been answered.

Research and extracurricular activities seem to matter only if they are relevant to your major. So then what is the point of doing an extracurricular such as a culture club or a gaming club other than to show that you are "human."

I may be starting research in the cognitive sciences department this semester but I'm a tentative economics-maths major. Bad idea?

[quote]So then what is the point of doing an extracurricular such as a culture club or a gaming club other than to show that you are "human."[/quote]
Because you enjoy the extracurricular. That's the only reason to do it. Most grad school applications will not ask for extracurriculars, nor will they be interested to hear about them.

Wouldn't it be prudent to drop them as soon as your course work loads up, and maybe return when you have some spare time, provided the extracurriculars aren't super strict on dedication?

Often ECs are seen as a way to unwind from the stress of classes. The times you'll need them most are when you're completely overwhelmed by work.

Wouldn't it be prudent to do what you want to do in the first place?

I agree with RacinReaver -- when I went through my craziest weeks and semesters, I was so glad to be able to escape to my extracurricular for a few hours a week. If you can't balance an undergrad courseload and an extracurricular, it may be difficult for you to get through grad school, which requires something more of a balancing act.

That definitely makes sense :P

How common is smoking among the graduate students you know?

I talked to some people in my math department and they said that attrition for PhDs are pretty high. Is this more dependent on the major or the school?

It's somewhat dependent on the field and somewhat dependent on the individual program, but most PhD programs have high attrition rates. In my field, at least, this is because people choose to leave the program, rather than people being kicked out.

Attrition rates at the University of Colorado Health Science Center appear to be on the order of 25% which reflects the national averages but as Mollie had suggested, this is primarily people who leave with a masters because they no longer see the utility in finishing their thesis.

The question about smoking is close to my heart (your pulmonary system is very close to your heart). You will find that very few grad students smoke tobacco, in fact a lot of campuses including CU and Texas Medical Center don't even allow smoking outside on university property.

I don't think I've noticed as many grad students here at Caltech smoking as I did at CMU, but that might be more due to the sheer number of people at CMU being on a campus that feels about the same size.

I think maybe 1/10 students in my program smoked... maybe fewer. I kind of felt bad for them sometimes, having to huddle in a lonely corner, hiding from the wrath of the health police.

Then again, the smoke gives me a headache, so I didn't complain.

As for attrition rates, I didn't do my PhD (wahoo), but I know that at least a few of the PhD candidates I knew at UCSD dropped out pretty fast.

I'd be really interested to see if there's a relationship between the economy and attrition rates, though.

I actually imagine that this economic collapse won't be nearly as tough on scientists in industry as it will be for people in other occupations. It is true that venture capital has dried up. However, this has lead pretty much every biotech company to be for sale to pharma (which has secured sources of income) and might actually increase the need for scientific recruitment. I would bet that hiring of scientists in biotech rich south California might diminish but elsewhere, particularly on the East Coast in Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Research Triangle where more pharmas have research operations, hiring will pick up.

belevitt,

My question is not about hiring scientists, but whether or not more people will stay longer than they would otherwise simply because of the "academic safety bubble." Kind of like how MBA applications shoot up as a recession sets in.