Friday, October 14, 2005
Sigh. I wish applying to grad school was like applying to college, where
you just pick some schools and mail in your application. I am highly
annoyed so far with my success rate of even getting faculty to email me
back. Out of nine people I wrote to, I've only heard from three so far.
One was the UPenn guy, one said his lab was full, and one I've set up a
phone call with next week. Gonna wait til mid next week to hear from the
others, then send out polite second emails. Whoever doesn't respond to
those is dropped from my list.
I am very excited about the UPenn possibility. The professor seems very
friendly/helpful/accomplished, and the department guarantees five years of
financial support. The UPenn campus is just 17 miles from the Moorestown
NJ L0ckheed, but I'd still be able to do my field research on the coast of
New England. Thing is, the department only accepts as many students as it
can support, interviewing at most 12 people per year. So in this case,
while the professor I want to work with would be happy to take me, I'm
still competing against others for the limited number of total spots in
the department. My application will be "very competitive" for sure, but
it's not something I can count on 100%.
So I continue to search, and it's slow so far. It could all work out
great at UPenn, but I need some backup options.
