saveweyard
Banned
Just heard back from my first neuroscience program with an invitation to their recruitment weekend! Super happy.
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Is there an MBA. graduate, doctorate crowd here on GAF?
- Thread starter Dr. Feel Good
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opticalmace
Member
Never heard of this... I would convince her to write it. In fact I have never seen any of my reference letters. They always get submitted directly.
Seems weird, at least in my field...?
I don't think she wants to take the time to write the whole thing herself.
The Last Emperor
Member
Rofl some boss
It is what it is. I need the letter though, so oh well. I really have no sense of what the expected length should be.
kamineko
Does his best thinking in the flying car
Halfway through an MFA in creative writing (specializing in poetry).
Will probably go for a PhD in English next... some programs will accept a creative doctoral thesis.
Just saying hi
In my professional life, I was asked to put together my bosses' paperwork for my own promotions. This was at a well-regarded large corporation.
When my time came to promote others, I did it all myself. I didn't want my direct reports to think I couldn't see their value for myself.
Perhaps it is a case of corporate culture bleeding into the academy?
Will probably go for a PhD in English next... some programs will accept a creative doctoral thesis.
Just saying hi
In my professional life, I was asked to put together my bosses' paperwork for my own promotions. This was at a well-regarded large corporation.
When my time came to promote others, I did it all myself. I didn't want my direct reports to think I couldn't see their value for myself.
Perhaps it is a case of corporate culture bleeding into the academy?
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
My friend's boss also told him to do the same.
It was for med school and his boss was the head of the biochemistry department :lol
RumblingRosco
Member
I've had to do this before. Then I gave the letter to my reference and they revised it as they saw fit; I never saw the final letter that was submitted. I can't speak for your MPA program as I'm in a biological science, but, most letters that I've needed request them to be confined to one page, single-spaced.
It's awkward to write your own letter, but it is not the time to be modest. Boast about your best strengths and highlight what you want that reference to specifically mention about you that your review committee wouldn't be able to learn from any of your other application materials.
This the part I'm struggling with, because I touched on some of this stuff in my personal statement. Hmmm.
Same here. My PhD advisor did this with all of her students. It is annoying, but probably a worthwhile exercise, since you are often expected to hype yourself in academia.
Laevateinn
Member
I did this with one of my professors when I was applying to graduate school. I figured it was because he was a Chinese immigrant and isn't fantastic at English.
Laevateinn
Member
My committee didn't give me any work to do which makes me think that none of them really read it.
RumblingRosco
Member
Thanks!
saveweyard
Banned
I've heard back from two neuroscience programs now, both with invites to interview! One of them in Portland, Oregon (OHSU) which I've never been to so I'm super stoked for that.
opticalmace
Member
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Got my BA three years ago and now I'm thinking of going back for an MPA. While my BA degree helped me fill the prereqs for certain jobs, it really didn't help me achieve my goal for a career in law enforcement (color-vision deficiency and other factors). So I've had to re-adjust my career path. Hoping an MPA will help me in a different field of law enforcement: oversight. Working for the Office of Inspector General or something of the like.
Congrats! I'm so jelly. In my 5th year and still have at least another half to go (probably closer to a year)... I'm so jaded and demotivated these days. I burned out over the summer and can't force myself back into the swing of things.
I think everyone feels that way at times, just keep pushing, getting a PHD is a test of resiliency and not necessarily intelligence
Dedication Through Light
Member
zotero
RumblingRosco
Member
I didnt use anything specific to help with my studies app-wise. Just good old Google Scholar.
I never used LaTeX. Just Microsoft Word. I think it would have been a good investment to learn it, but it doesn't seem to have hindered me through my PhD or post-doc. And finally, I used and loved RefWorks. Most people seem to not use it that I know personally, but it was my favorite reference manager by far.
Dedication Through Light
Member
hadnt heard of it, but it seems my university gives access to it.
Laevateinn
Member
I like LaTeX but my advisor refused to work with it. It's pretty powerful if you can master it but without external tools it makes collaboration difficult. For that reason, unless you're some kind of open-source loving Linux nerd like me I would just stick with MS Office.
Yeah. If I ever wanted to use LaTeX, I would have to write the doc first in Word or Google Docs for the Track Changes features, and only after my advisor signed off could I then convert everything into LaTeX.
The other important thing about Word is that if you are writing for a conference / journal with a page limit and you are over the limit (which was pretty much always the case with me), it is easier to play tricks with Word to reduce the page count than it is with LaTeX. e.g. slightly reduce the line spacing on a single page or minutely adjust the position of images to make sure there is no wasted margin space.
Hey, I'm finishing up applications for MPA programs too! I'm applying to two MPA programs (Syracuse's Maxwell School, University of Pittsburgh) and one Public Policy program (Carnegie Mellon). I'm looking to get into policy analysis in the environmental sector. Pulling hard for CMUt though, their program is perfect for what I'm interested in. I'm fairly confident I'll be admitted (over two years working at an environmental advocacy organization + good undergraduate records), but it'll come down to whether or not I can get enough merit-based scholarship; there is no way in hell a public policy program is worth $88,0000, even at a prestigious school like CMU. However, if I can get total tuition down to $45K or less then I'll definitely enroll.
Thanks for the answers, I will check those apps and see if anything useful comes out of them!
Right now I right in Word and like to keep my references in a separate .txt file (hahaha). As I am working mostly on gathering data it hasn't been a problem, but I need to write a report for next January so I want to have the best tools for doing so.
Right now I right in Word and like to keep my references in a separate .txt file (hahaha). As I am working mostly on gathering data it hasn't been a problem, but I need to write a report for next January so I want to have the best tools for doing so.
Wow. Good luck to you!
I'm barely in the research phase. But more than likely I'll be applying at my alma mater for the MPA. It's around $30K which is somewhat doable for me. Thankfully my GPA was stellar throughout my collegiate career. My only concern is that I've been unemployed for quite some time and I'm hoping it doesn't affect my application.
If you're just in the research phase you should have a lot of time between now and when you would submit your application, so perhaps look into some relevant volunteering opportunities to help fill out your resume. I know this boilerplate advice, but MPA programs really value real-world experience.
Unrelated question: So my CMU application requires two letters (both are done now) but allows for a third. Do you think it's looked upon negatively at all to only submit two? I got one of my letters of rec written by the executive director of the non-profit I work for, so if I got a third it would be from my direct supervisor at the same place, which seems redundant. My other letter writer is my advisor from undergrad.
RumblingRosco
Member
My personal philosophy is to submit as many rec letters as they allow (assuming it's no more than 4). Not sure what the standard practice or advice would be.
I have a final exam on the 20th, a flight home on the 21st and a final project due on the 22nd and yet I just sit here staring at the wall feeling depressed, not getting anything done. I just feel so drained. It's really frustrating, I don't think I've ever felt like this about school. I've been exhausted and had rough final seasons before, but I always worked through them determinedly.
I'm finishing up my final semester of graduate school and it seems like I'll be finishing Linear Algebra and Differential Equations with an A- each, possibly a B+. How much should I be freaking out about my chances for top 10 masters programs in Statistics if the rest of my grades in my math and statistics classes are A's and A+'s? :/
Congrats! :3
RumblingRosco
Member
Congrats! I just graduated with my PhD in August, so I think we were on a very similar time-line.
Thanks Pau
And thank you! What are you doing now if you don't mind me asking? I actually don't have anything concrete planned which scares me. But I'll be working on journal articles based on my work, and doing some contract work with a startup. I should have taken the time to apply for postdocs lol...
The_Inquisitor
Member
I GRADUATED. Oh my god, finally. There is so much I want to do now that I am free of school while also working full time.
I have a MSc but just got accepted I to a MBA program. I also work in finance but with no background in it and i feel like it's keeping me pushed under in terms of career progression. I tried studying CFA a couple times but I just hate it.
RumblingRosco
Member
1) Dress as if it were an in-person interview.
2) Test a Skype call at least a day before with a friend's to make sure your video and audio settings are good.
That's all I got!
Two is a valuable reminder. Living in rural South Africa, this is damn important.
And thankfully I had #1 already planned. Appreciate the tips!
Dedication Through Light
Member
Got contacted to go for an interview for a post doc next month. I dont even know what to expect beyond meeting the lab and giving a presentation on my PhD work, is this typical?
Laevateinn
Member
I got out of academia but my lab had a lot of post-docs. What we typically did was have them come, present their defense, spend some time with us during the day and then my advisors and maybe one or two students would go out to dinner with them.
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