Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with university and application

Questions about Grad App Questions

davidstandaford — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:32:38 -0800

A few questions that I'm running into while submitting my graduate school applications about fellowships, diversity statements, other schools I am applying to, and accepting admission without funding. I'm applying for PhD programs in Political Science, and have about 7 programs left, and I've run into the same thing on a number of applications and I'm not sure how to handle it.

1) Most applications have a place where I can note any fellowships that I have applied for. I hadn't identified any to apply to (although I haven't looked very hard) and I'm wondering if it hurts me that I'm not applying for any outside sources of funding? Will it help my chances at the remaining schools if I apply to some fellowships?

2) Some schools allow for an optional diversity statement. As a generic white/upper middle class student of two people with post-bachelor degrees, I don't have a very compelling diversity/adversity statement. Although I'm a good writer and could probably craft something good, it doesn't feel to me like I have exactly what they want and my statement might not compare well to others, so I'm wondering about whether I would be better off writing the best one I can or not submitting one at all.

3) Most programs ask me about which other schools I am applying to. Does anyone know what they use this for and how it might hurt or help my chances at any one individual school?

4) Finally, for programs that don't fully fund all students, some ask me whether I would accept admission with partial or no funding. Ideally, I would want full funding, but to be accepted anyway even if they couldn't offer financial support, but I don't want to mark yes that I would accept admission without funding because then it would allow them to admit me without funding, even if they were willing to admit me with funding. Any idea on how best to deal with this?

How to get into Harvard with average-ish grades!

freddymetz — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 04:03:51 -0800

How to get into Harvard with average-ish grades! After a lifetime of british education, i was dropped into the deep end when my parents sent me to a German school when we moved to Germany four years ago.
I've really improved my grades since the beginning, but i've been unable to attain the grades i used to get in England.
This put a considerable damper on my Harvard ambitions, but i have other tricks up my sleeve.
I'm in my last year of high school, but i go to university two days a week alongside school. I also took the SATs and, although not having received the results yet, i think i got marks in the 650-750 area in each section.
I will also try and get letters of recommendations from two professors at university.
Should i even attempt to apply to the ivy league universities, with my momentary average grade being approximately 1.8 (1=A, 2=B)?

This would be for the application for fall 2009, but i also have the possibility of taking a gap year as a social worker in south america next year, and then applying for fall 2010 - this having the advantage of me also having "social" qualifications, which i heard was also important.

What can i still do to raise my chances of being accepted to harvard (or other ivy league universities) and should i wait till after i've done my gap year?

Questions for Grad Programs I'm Interested In

davidstandaford — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 19:21:57 -0800

I will be applying to graduate school soon and I cannot visit all of the campuses that I am applying to. I have been contacting these schools so that they can put me in touch with current graduate students who I can ask about their campuses, and I wanted to make sure I'm not missing anything important in my list of questions below. [For what it's worth, I'm applying to political science phd programs, but I'm assuming generic concerns applicable to humanities in general would be helpful for me.]

What is the relationship between graduate students and the faculty? Are grad students treated as colleagues and respected or are they a source of labor and looked down upon?

Does the department provide adequate funding or do students have to seek outside grants and scholarships?

What sort of research and teaching positions are required for funding? Does this interfere with a student's own research priorities?

Does the department attempt to rush students out as quickly as possible? Or are students delayed from finishing in a reasonable amount of time because of other responsibilities that they have?

Is it a large program in size or character where many other students and professors are distant acquaintances, or does everyone get to know each other well.

What is the best part about the program? What would you like to see improved?

If there is anything missing from this list that I should be sure to ask, please let me know.

Advice on Emailing Professors When Applying to Grad School?

davidstandaford — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:40:09 -0800

Any advice concerning email communication with professors who I'll be contacting at the various schools that I will be applying to for PhD programs in Political Science? As part of my application process I've been identifying the schools that I want to apply to and the professors at each campus that I would want to work with. I've been reading some of their recent writings so I can begin contacting them via email.

At the moment, my plan is to email them sometime soon letting them know I'm thinking of applying to their school, my planned research statement, and letting them know which of their articles I've read. I was going to include a comment about the articles I had read and ask them some question about something I'm unsure about or how their article might be in conflict with some other research.

If/when I get a response I was planning to follow up by asking to see any unpublished articles if they are working on something that also fits with my interest.

Firstly, I was wondering if anyone involved in academia has any thoughts about communicating with professors during the application process.

Also, is there some maximum number of emails that should be exchanged and at some point I would begin to annoy them, or it's ok to email back and forth for a couple of months?

Is there some number of emails I should exchange before I tell them explicitly that I am applying to their school and explicitly ask them for any help they can provide in the admissions process?

What about arranging a time to speak to them on the phone? Also good?

And finally, anything in my emails that I should be sure not to mention/include, or anything I should be sure to tell them?

[I'm focusing on email communication because, alas, I am out of the country and not able to make any more campus visits.]

How to Improve My Grad School Chances

davidstandaford — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:35:35 -0800

Is there anything I can do to help myself get into grad school (PhD, political science/international relate) between now and January? I'm working on my grad school applications and I'm wondering if there is anything I can be doing over the next six months that might help me get into a good program.

I graduated from college three years ago and spent the last two years working on a college campus and this year I'm in a foreign country doing a one year study program (both unrelated to what I would be doing in grad school).

One of my thoughts was to start a blog about something I'm interested in concentrating on in a grad program (Sierra Leone) and writing about it for the next six months. Would grad school admissions committees consider something like that a plus?

Is there anything else I can be doing that would make me seem like a stronger candidate? Any info or advice would be a big help. Thanks!

Send me back to skool

sambosambo — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:00:07 -0800

How does a 25-year old college dropout go about getting a fresh start at a new university? I dropped out of San Jose State about 2 years ago. I want another shot at getting my degree, but I have no idea how to go about choosing a school to attend.

I chose San Jose State mostly out of fear and laziness, as it was the closest and cheapest university that I was accepted into. After an on-again-off-again relationship with the school, I eventually dropped out. It's been 2 years now, and I have a better idea of what I'd really like to study, and have glimpsed what the future holds for me without finishing my education.

For a number of reasons, I don't want to go back to SJSU. The top reason being that it just wasn't a good fit for me. The second reason is that given the amount of credits I'd have to makeup I'd simply prefer to use the time to start over again rather than play catchup.

I'm very open and would love to get away from the SF Bay Area and California, so how do I narrow my choices and find schools that will fit me?

Advice about applying to graduate school while abroad

andoatnp — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:07:22 -0800

I'm looking for information for applying to grad school while abroad. (PhD programs in Political Science/International Relations). I graduated from college in spring 2006, and I'm planning on applying next year (Fall '09) to start in Fall 2010. I'm also considering going to Israel in July and staying for about 10 months, and I want to make sure this won't impact my grad school plans in any way. All I've really done so far is had 3 professors write letters of recommendations that are on file at my undergrad school. In Israel, I would have to take the GRE (which is offered regularly) and do my personal statement and applications for the schools I'm applying to.

Is there anything else about the process that I'm not realizing that would make doing an application while in a foreign country particularly difficult? I tried googling, but all the results I got were about going abroad as an undergrad to prepare for grad school or grad schools that feature an abroad component.

I would almost certainly not be able to visit any of the schools I'm applying to, which I'm ok with in terms of picking a school because getting a real physical feel of the campus isn't important to me, but is that an expected part of the process, and would it weaken my chances if I can't visit anywhere I'm applying to?

Does anyone have any experience applying to a PhD program while abroad, or receiving applications to a program from someone that was abroad? Anything that I should do in advance to make things easier for me when I'm abroad? Thanks!

Personal Statement Woes

tickingclock — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:33:32 -0800

Applying for a university summer school program, which requires a personal statement of 150 words. What could I say with such few words? I am applying for a rather competitive university summer school program designed to train undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate studies in the cognitive sciences. Most of the application is fairly standard -- a transcript, a letter of recommendation, &c. -- but I am stumped at the personal statement, which has a rather restricted limit of 150 words!

The personal statement field asks for "academic experience, research experience and interests, [and] career plans" -- I have no idea how I could describe all of those in 150 words or fewer. This is particularly difficult because I am in a rather unusual multidisciplinary program that is not really offered at other universities, so it takes me a few sentences to even describe my undergraduate degree, never mind explain my interest in it and why my education is appropriate for the summer school. Furthermore, having a lengthy description of my academic background prevents me from delving into my involvement with research projects, which are very much related to topic of the summer school -- although, I suppose the letter of recommendation from my supervising professor could probably cover that fairly well.

The application form does not ask for a CV, nor does it have a section for attaching other documents, so I am not really sure of how to best discuss my academic and research background outside of the personal statement section. It does, however, have a free-form "other comments" section, whose purpose I am not entirely sure of at the moment.

I really, really want to accepted into the summer school this year and I feel that improving my personal statement would definitely help. Last year, I wrote one or two sentences tackling each of the categories listed in the personal statement; I was not accepted into the program. To be honest, I thought my personal statement was rather boring and did not express my aspirations very well -- it gave a rather dry overview of who I am as a student.

How could I best tackle the personal statement? Should I be enthusiastic? Should I focus on one aspect of the personal statement, such as my research aspirations, and rely on my letter of recommendation to describe other relevant experiences? Should I go crazy packing my background information in the "other comments" section? How do I limit myself to 150 words and yet still stand out among other applicants, many of whom are likely more qualified and interesting than I am? I should add that I have a rather dry, boring writing style, which really does not help my cause.

Most of the advice that I found on the internet seem to be geared towards longer personal statements, in which there is more wiggle room for being interesting. I'm really not sure of what to do. Ask MetaFilter, please hope me!

Should I include a picture of myself on my uni readmission application?

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:57:37 -0800

Is it appropriate to include a photograph of yourself in a readmission application after academic exclusion? I was suspended from university at the end of 2006 for a period of 12 months due to poor attendance. This stemmed from a pretty nasty social anxiety problem - ultimately I became housebound shortly before the first semester was over. My anxiety had been pretty much lifelong, but did not affect my studies or work prior to 2006. I finally decided to speak to a professional after semester one. I was treated successfully over the course of 12 months with a combination of antidepressants and weekly CBT sessions.

As part of the readmission process I am required to write a letter outlining the circumstances that led to my suspension, and give evidence that I have taken steps to make sure it won't recur. I've kept the letter fairly terse, and also enclosed a letter from the doctor who diagnosed and treated me, confirming my recovery and ability to resume my studies.

Would it be appropriate to stick a photograph of myself (à la a CV) in the top right hand corner of my letter? On the one hand I feel it would add a more personal touch and perhaps increase my chances of being readmitted, but on the other hand I feel it might be a bit manipulative to have a photograph of me beaming back at the course coordinator as she decides my fate, especially given the sob story (which I have tried to tone down as much as possible).

I'm rather unattractive if it matters, but I'm good with photoshop!

Any other advice regarding this application is most welcome. Thank-you in advance, askmefi!

How do I get over my academic past?

Asherah — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:49:30 -0800

Is is a good idea to be blunt about academic missteps during my undergrad? I'm applying to several BSN/MSN combination programs for Nursing and my undergrad GPA counts significantly. Many schools only consider your last 60/90 units and for me, that means we're looking at below a 3.0. Since then I've taken over 45 semester units of Bio, Chem, Epidemiology, Pharmacology, Pathophysiology etc. In addition to the undergrad GPA, they look at your science GPA (I have a 4.0), clinical experience and leadership experience (I feel I am covered in those areas as well).

Regaring my personal statement(s), how blunt should I be about how my undergrad GPA came to be so low? I really wasn't focused during that time academically and wasn't feeling at all motivated to do well. I honestly didn't think I'd be going back to college for quite a while for further education. Should I simply state that and elaborate why this time its a whole new ball of wax and I have a clear idea of my path and why I want it? Is it really that simple?

Note: I do not want to lie and make up some personal emergency/situation that distracted me, as that was not the case and although it might help me get my foot in the door I just wouldn't feel good about it.

How to appeal a university's rejection?

petah — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 17:50:44 -0800

Does anyone have an experience appealing an admission decision by a university? I recently applied as a transfer student to a private university in California and was rejected. I'm putting together an appeal now and I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice from first hand experience. I'm currently at a UC right now with a 3.4 GPA and applied to a large private university in the LA area with strong extracurriculars.

I know that quite a few people with my stats have gotten into this school, and I feel that if I wrote a strong appeal they might reverse my decision, or at least offer me spring admission.

Options when you don't get accepted to your first choice graduate school?

hummus — Mon, 10 May 2004 07:44:20 -0800

Graduate school acceptance. Or really, not. I need some advice from all of you over-educated metafilterites. What do you do when you don't get accepted to your first choice graduate school? Besides, obviously, not attend. Have any of you had any luck with reapplying, and if so, what did you change on your application to "do the trick?" Anyone have luck with taking classes as a non-matriculated student just to get your foot in the door? Any advice is much appreciated.