<p>Sorry if I’m interrupting this thread, but I have a quick question-
Do you have to go to a university to attend their summer research programs?
For example, I’m planning on going to Purdue, and if I want to attend a Cornell or UChicago summer research program for undergraduates could I do that?</p>
<p>HSJunriorGirl:
No, you do not need to attend that univ to do their research programs. In fact, I have attended separate programs at both USC and Sac St university while not planning on attending either one. Sometimes they ask you about it, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t allowed to exclude you just because you’re not going to their school. In fact, my sister is doing a research program at UCIrvine but she is a senior at another school in california.</p>
<p>Hey CC land-
I’m a UCLA neuroscience graduate and after 2 yrs off (teaching and doing articles/publications), I am wanting to go back into the neuro world and get a PhD. I know that grad schools are competitive and going to a good grad program determines your future A LOT so I want to choose this well. I have 2 good job opportunities (one at UCLA and one at Tufts) but I am not sure which will allow for more advancement/opportunity in the future. Does anyone know how likely schools are to choose indivs that did research in their own dept for their respective grad school? I think the Boston guy has good connections but he’s relatively new, whereas the UCLA guy is older/more well established and I dont know how likely he is to use his connections. Sadly, I know that connections matter a lot with grad programs and I want to make a good choice. I want to work in “people neuroscience” and eventually become an academic (prof/researcher). I have a 3.3 GPA and lots of research experience from my undergrad days…do you think I can apply this fall and get into a competitive neuro program (I’m thinking UCLA/John Hopkins/Ivy Leagues etc) or should I do another yr of research and apply after that? Ugh, I hate playing the what if game…I just want to make sure I choose the right job for this next 1-2 yrs so I can get into a very good neuro program!! thanks so much for your advice!</p>
<p>So how would one know if graduate school is right for them? I’m interested in ecology and considered going into grad school and doing research in ecology/conservation biology. I worked closely with a grad student and been in a lab long enough to know the process of doing research. The thing that bothers me the most is the time-frame. Five or six years is a really long commitment and what if I got fed up with it in the middle. I know you guys talked about people dropping out a few pages back and I definitely don’t want this happening to me. </p>
<p>So let’s just say that I might be applying for a PHD program this fall which means that I will be taking my GRE (for the first time) in October. Because I only have one shot, should I take a prep course for it or just study on my own since GRE score doesn’t matter that much?
Thanks</p>
<p>I agree with you. I flunked in my Marketing 101 and I thought my future was over. Luckily, there are those companies willing to hire competent people and look beyond their academic scores.</p>
<p>And i think social life in college helps alot!</p>
<p>I have a question on the LOR for grad school. Can I get these from my supervisors at work since I have 3 years work -exp? Also, can I get it from my supervisor at my volunteering job(I have volunteered for 1 year)?
I am confused whom I should ask.</p>
<p>Hello all, I am a sophmore probably gearing towards a Software engineering concentration for graduate school. I have not stared looking, but I was wondering how to find professors who are doing research that I like for my field.</p>
<p>@sweetdream: My suggestion would be: if you are not absolutely sure you want to do a PhD, then don’t. Simply because six years of hard work for low pay should at least be fun to some degree, and the job prospects in ecology are not exactly excellent.</p>
<p>If you are sure that you’d like to do a PhD, then you need to be aware that there are a tons of ways a PhD can fail. You might hate your environment, your PI, your project, your workload, etc. it is always helpful to at least have a plan b, and think what you’d do when your PhD fails. At least for me that gives me a great deal of security.</p>
<p>@aaanesha: In general LoR should be from people that can tell anything about your ability to do research. So if your job involved any research, a LoR of your employer is certainly appropriate. If your job/volunteering had nothing to do with your research, I’d recommend against it.</p>
<p>@das222: The two simplest ways are: 1) reading research papers (or in CS more likely conference proceedings) and finding out who the people are that wrote the ones you really liked. 2) Attend seminars in a discipline that intrigues you, and if you like the talks directly contact the speaker (if you are courageous) or send him an email later (otherwise).</p>
<p>Thanks Jixani!!</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I was fairly active on CC for my undergrad search, now I’m back for grad school! To be honest, reading over this thread has just made me a bit more panicked than I had been before–but perhaps you can enlighten me.</p>
<p>I’ll be graduating from McGill in May with an Honours degree in History with a GPA of 3.5. What they have always told us here is that “a McGill B is an A everywhere else”, but from what I can tell from the various threads on the subject, this doesn’t actually mean anything, is this right? Looking to go into Humanities at so-called ‘top schools’ (UChicago, Columbia, as well as UToronto, Oxford, KCL, Edinburgh), is this relatively low GPA going to screw me over? My field is Late Medieval/Early Modern British History. </p>
<p>I am also aware of the need to apply to less competitive programs as well but am having a very hard time finding one (at least in the States) as all I seem to find are rankings list (which I know are for the most part irrelevant in getting a good education). </p>
<p>I’m scheduled to take the GRE mid-October (and of course it is not required for Canada or the UK) and have not yet started looking for LORs or my SOP but can expect them to be fairly positive (haven’t had a “click” moment with a professor but have worked with many in a seminar-style setting). I’ve been published in a departmental journal here; but aside from that have spent my summers working for an actual wage as I have needed to. </p>
<p>Is it even worth my effort and especially money (although UK does not usually charge application fees, the American ones are especially pricey) to apply to said ‘top programs’ or should I be looking elsewhere? </p>
<p>I just want to note that this whole process simultaneously makes me feel like clawing out my eyeballs and like I’ve wasted my whole undergrad by getting a few B+s amongst the A-s. I can’t go if I don’t get funding. AUGH.</p>
<p>Of course you should apply to the top grad schools! Only on CC would a 3.5 GPA from a good university appear to be unimpressive. Top US and UK grad schools fully recognize the nature of McGill. For US schools, a high GRE score would be good too. </p>
<p>Just my opinion but unlike medical schools, having a 3.8 or 4.0 versus a 3.5 GPA will not increase your chances for admission to a top grad school. Essays/interviews/recs/GRE’s will be crucial. That said, you should apply to one or two “safeties” too.</p>
<p>Can GAPs after college replace low test scores?</p>
<p>Hello. I didn’t want to start a whole new thread for this, so I thought I’d ask here.</p>
<p>I’ll start with a brief introduction. I graduated from the University of Oregon in 2005 with a BA in English. I have spent the last 4 years living in Japan, 3 as an English teacher, 1 as an advisor/counselor for foreign English teachers. I will be here for 1 more year in the same capacity. I was originally planning on becoming an English teacher at a secondary school in the U.S., but my goals have since changed. For years I have been interested in community/urban planning, and I would like to obtain a Master’s degree in that field. My decision to pursue a graduate degree is a fairly recent one and I’m not too sure where to start. </p>
<p>I’ve been researching Master’s of Community/Urban/Regional Planning programs, and have found a few I like. I’m curious, however, if anyone has had experience applying for a graduate program that differs greatly from their undergraduate work? </p>
<p>Having been out of school for 5 years now, and not currently working in a field related to community planning, what should I do about letters of recommendation? </p>
<p>What sort of things can I do (before applying) to make myself a more viable applicant? </p>
<p>Any other general advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>hello,</p>
<p>I was wondering if anyone could help me out here. I have a goal of going to a MA in AG Econ program, and have a target area of research (wine/vineyard econ). I kind of do a bit of everything as an undergrad, Econ/Accounting Double Major with a Finance Concentration. I have a culmulative 3.65 GPA, and will have taken Calc I, Calc II, Stat I, and Stat II by the time I graduate (as well as the normal undergrad econ courses). I’m at University of Richmond. I was wondering if I would have a decent shot to get into a Masters of Ag Econ for wine/vineyard econ (or more generally production econ).</p>
<p>I also will kind of have research experience through my job/internship, where I have been assigned the task of using knowledge of a local winery’s vineyard, take their data based on 10 year average yields (ton/acre) of grapes, then take historical data of how much juice/ton those grapes yield, take historical data of wine blends they use with sugar levels, maintanence of the grapes neccessary, etc to develop a budgetting system for the winery I work at. It’s a fairly comprehensive task that I would be given, and my Dad works with some local economists that do vineyard econ research that is similar in nature. If I did this task (even though it’s not under the supervision of a professor), would it help me at all with admissions? I would be able to release my results to grad schools if it would help, I’m just not sure if it counts as “research” or if it would help my admissions at all. </p>
<p>Also, would taking courses in Vineyard Management and Winemaking at a local community college help my chances at all by showing grad schools that I’m very committed to wine/vineyard econ, and that I would already go into grad school with a good base knowledge of grapes and wine, from the scientific and business side</p>
<p>Hi again,</p>
<p>I hope I am posting in the right place now.</p>
<p>Here is my situation, my name is Peter and I study in Greece (I am a US Citizen, I was just born n NY). I study marine sciences at the environmental sciences school in Greece. Sooner or later I will graduate so, I have started thinking about my future. I would like to do a PhD in something like environmental sciences/environmental engineering. When I 'll grad my GPA will be B or hopefully B+. The past 2 summers I did internship at the University of Michigan and hopefully I will go the coming summer too, my internship was at the environmental engineering. I also think I will have pretty strong recommendation letters. So, I would like to know in which universities I do have some chances to do my PhD. I would love to go to U of Michigan but it maybe be a bit tough for me, cause it is a very competitive school. So, do I have some chances at the top 30-50 or a lot of chances at the 50-100?</p>
<p>thanks everyone in advance,
Peter</p>
<p>Individual questions are best asked as a new thread in the forums. This thread isn’t really useful ad a grad school 101 thread because it is people asking more specific questions for their own background. Also you will get more attention in new threads. I haven’t read this thread for a year or more.</p>
<p>I’ve never been involved in the admissions process directly, but this is my perception.</p>
<p>As a general rule, grad school admissions are both less of a numbers game and less holistic than professional school admissions. Ultimately I’d say they’re about having stellar recommendations, the ability to do research and fit with the faculty’s interests.</p>
<p>Nobody gets in <em>because</em> of a high GPA or high GRE, while at most medical and law schools there’s places you’re pretty much a shoo in if you have the right numbers (probably more so for law than medical).
It shouldn’t be taken of grades don’t matter, but I think what really matters are your grades in your major and in related subjects at the upper division level. </p>
<p>For instance, let’s say I have a 3.6 GPA and took the LSAT and got 162. I’d be in at say, the law school at American University but not necessarily in the politics PhD program at UC Santa Cruz, if my recommendations say I did very well in the course but little about research ability, and my interests don’t fit with what faculty are interested in. On the other hand if I have a lower overall GPA of 3.2 and get 155 on the LSAT I’m probably out at AU Law. But my GPA of 3.8 in my upper division courses that of consist politics and related courses in history and sociology, stellar recommendations, a strong thesis and a match with the faculty, my likelihood of getting in at UCSC politics is good.</p>
<p>Can a student get into grad school in a biology field without majoring in science as an undergrad? Say, if a student is getting a B.Music at a music school of a university or a conservatory that also has a liberal arts college (such as Oberlin), and the student takes many bio and chem classes but does not actually get a B.A. or B.S. in bio, will grad schools even consider such a candidate?</p>
<p>@jkb1963 As long as you’ve taken the required classes (usually o-chem, biochem, cell bio, genetics, mol bio, physics, math, the program will usually list what they expect) and have enough relevant research experience you have a shot. You don’t have to have the major, but you definitely need research experience to be competitive.</p>
<p>Would it be more difficult to gain admissions into a PhD program if I have a master’s in a field that is not the same exact field of study?</p>