Graduate Pre-Application Survey

In order to expedite your application process, please fill out and submit this pre-application survey immediately. The Geosciences Graduate Student Affairs Committee will review it and quickly respond. We use the information you provide to improve your access to possible research advisors and select applicants for fee waivers and travel grants for visiting Virginia Tech. This material will be reviewed by Geosciences faculty only and will otherwise remain confidential. Submitting this pre-application simply indicates your interest in our program and does not incur any cost or obligation on your part.

The department begins reviewing applications January 15 for Fall admission and October 31 for Spring admission. We recommend that prospective students submit applications by the listed dates, but we accept applications at anytime.

It is a university requirement that international students, except those who (1) are native English speakers (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada) or (2) have a score of 50 on the Test of Spoken English (TSE), who are offered Teaching Assistantships are required to pass an institutional version of the Test of Spoken English (SPEAK) before actually discharging teaching responsibilities. Students who do not achieve a satisfactory score on the SPEAK test are required to enroll in English 0014, "Oral Communication for ITAs." International Teaching Assistants who do not pass the SPEAK test may be assigned other department duties in lieu of teaching while they are completing the "Oral Communications" course.

Application forms may be obtained from the Graduate School. Application evaluations for admission and financial support are done in the Department, not the Graduate School. We, therefore, suggest that applicants send completed forms (or copies, if done online) to the Department at the address given at the bottom of this page. Also, please direct all accompanying materials (transcripts, letters of recommendations, GRE and TOEFL/TWE/TSE scores) to the Department. The Department will forward all materials to the Graduate School.

Students sometimes ask us for guidelines regarding scores on standardized tests. While we do not have any strict cutoffs, the following are typical lower limits for our graduate students:

• GRE: 550 (Verbal); 650 (Quantitative); 4.5 (Analytical Writing)
• TOEFL: 250 (computer-based, 600 written version); TWE: 5.0; TSE: 50

If you have any questions or need any assistance in filling out this survey, contact Ms. Connie Lowe at +1 (540) 231-8824 or clowe@vt.edu.

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Step 1 of 3: Fill out the pre-application
Personal Information
First name:
Last (family) name:
Mailing address:	If outside of the United States, please include your country.
Telephone number:	If outside of the United States, please include the appropriate country code.
E-mail address:
Academic Information
Undergraduate
Major:
Name of school:	Please do not abbreviate your school's name. For example, there are several schools known as ASU.
Grade point average:	Overall: Major:
Graduate (if applicable)
Major:
Name of school:	Please do not abbreviate your school's name. For example, there are several schools known as ASU.
Grade point average:	Overall: Major:
Examination Scores
GRE scores:	V: Q: A/AW:
SAT scores:	Verbal: Math:
Are you applying for a teaching assistantship? Yes No Unsure
Are you an international student who is not a native English speaker? Yes No
English scores:	TOEFL: TWE: TSE: International students only: Please provide your TOEFL, TWE, and TSE scores if available.
Application Information
Applying for:	Degree: MS PhD Starting Semester: Fall 2007 Spring 2008 Fall 2008 Spring 2009 Fall 2009
Areas of interest: To help us route your pre-application to the appropriate faculty, please check the boxes next to your areas of interest. Please select no more than three areas of interest. Geodynamics and Geophysics of the Crust and Mantle Exploration Geophysics: Seismology and Electromagnetics Earthquake Seismology and Seismic Hazard Assessment Marine Geophysics Planetary Science Structure, Tectonics and Neotectonics Geomorphology and Quaternary Studies Paleoclimatology and Climate Modeling Sedimentology, Sequence Stratigraphy, and Diagenesis Geobiology and Paleobiology Hydrogeosciences: Chemical and Physical Aqueous and Hydrothermal Geochemistry and Fluids in Earth Processes Biogeochemistry of Earth Processes Nanogeoscience and Mineral-Migrobe Interactions Crystallography, Mineralogy, and Mineral Physics Metamorphic and Igneous Petrology and Isotopic Studies Other
Brief statement of research interests and career goals:
Comments or questions regarding your pre-application: