<p>Long story short, I need to submit one of my apps tonight but there's a change in my SoP I'm not sure about making:</p>
<p>I don't have any undergrad research experience. Only industry research experience (2 years). Do you think it would be wise to in my SoP? When I talk about my college experience, I was thinking of saying something like: </p>
<p>*"Regrettably, since I held an on-campus job at the computer labs, I could not afford the time for academic research." * And then go on to talk about my industry research...</p>
<p>Is this a good idea? Should I even mention it? It was brought up somewhere that I should address my deficiencies, but is this wise or will it seal my fate for rejection? </p>
<p>3.55 GPA from a large public school
1250-1300 GRE score</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mention that. It will be clear to them that you didn’t have academic research experience just by them looking over your CV/application. It probably wouldn’t be good to draw more attention to that fact (especially with the excuse, “I didn’t have time…”). Usually discussing deficiencies is helpful if you were very ill one semester or had some emergency and had poor grades as a result, or were ill when taking the GRE - you can explain that. But to say that you didn’t have time for academic research in the couple of years you spent in undergrad isn’t a good reason and might make them wonder whether you have the time management necessary to commit to graduate level research and responsibilities.</p>
<p>Definitely elaborate on your industry experience if it is relevant to what you are pursuing. You could put a strong, positive spin on that if you write it out well. Two years is a respectable amount of research experience when applying to graduate school.</p>
<p>No, don’t mention it like that. Of course I don’t know about your situation, but it certainly doesn’t <em>sound</em> like a good excuse. There are people with very crazy schedules, (possibly full time jobs outside of school to pay for their familes?) who made time for research. You have research experience, focus on what you have.</p>
<p>Maybe if your school didn’t have much going in the way of research, but your desire to experience the world of research led you to job X? I don’t know…</p>
<p>Thank you sooo much guys! That’s exactly the kind of feedback I wanted to hear. I thought it sounded like a lousy excuse too, but I wasn’t sure…you know what I mean. Makes sense now. Thanks again.</p>