penguinshooray

I know this forum is mostly for TAing, but I wasn't sure where the best place for this question would be. Sorry if this is not the right place. I am a mid-year PhD student in biology. I mostly work with databases/data mining type of stuff. I have a summer student who has been really great, motivated, and does quality work. I am wondering, at what point are his mistakes due to my ineffectiveness as a mentor? To be more specific, my advisor placed him with me on this project that we are just starting (ie, not an ongoing project). Because it's a new project to me too, I haven't worked out all the kinks myself. So as we are going through this data, I am realizing it's more complicated than I envisioned, and I don't always have a good answer for his questions. What makes it worse is that I started my qualifying exam (written) the same week he arrived in the lab due to poor timing, so I haven't had much time to dedicate to solving these problems. It's getting to the point that we are going back and forth on how to deal with certain issues that keep popping up. I just told him to keep track of the cases that were ambiguous, but due to us having different definitions of what "ambiguous" means, he hasn't kept track of all of them and now neither of us is sure about the quality of the data. We may have to go back and re-do a week or two's worth of work because of this. Is this type of thing par for the course? I remember as an UG and early grad student having to go back and re-do things all the time after I had thought more about them, learning through trial and error, and not getting much help from advisors (on purpose, to "build independence" as they say). So I am not exactly surprised, but he is feeling visibly frustrated and I think part of it is my fault. Thoughts?

The application says "3 letters are required but 4 is highly recommended." Does anyone know if this is because reviewers actually favor people with 4 letters, or just as a precaution in case one letter writer drops out?

Hi!

I got accepted to grad school, yay! It's a great option that I am seriously considering. The school says I must give a decision by April 15th. However, I am waiting to hear back from one other school, so I can't immediately accept. What is the standard procedure? I just got an email notifying me of the offer. Should I email back and say, "Great! I'm gonna wait tho?" Should I email anyone at all acknowledging the offer? Should I say nothing? (Saying nothing from now until April 15 seems pretty weird though...). I literally can't say anything until I hear from this other school, but is it polite to acknowledge the offer?

Sad that I don't see more EBE applicants! Undergrad Institution: Big R1 Public School Major(s): Ecology/Evolution Minor(s): Marine Science GPA in Major: 3.8 Overall GPA: 3.7 Position in Class: somewhere near the top Type of Student: Traditional, domestic, female. Currently a MS student. GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 159 (75%) V: 164 (93%) W: 5.0 (93%) B: lol nope Research Experience: about 5 years total. 3 publications in low tier journals, 7 presentations (oral and poster, 2 at conferences). Currently working on an MS thesis. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduated cum laude with Distinction in Biology (departmental honors at my school), Phi Beta Kappa, won REU funding and Smithsonian funding for research. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 years as a TA, a handful of RA jobs. Currently teaching elementary school science part time, including designing their science curriculum. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Special Bonus Points: Phone conversations with POI's, one said he will lobby for my admission. Also wrote on another POI's science blog. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: lol I dunno Applying to Where: schools with a focus on phylogenetics and museum-based work: Harvard OEB Yale EEB U of Arizona EEB U of Michigan EEB Probably too top-heavy. There is a decent chance I won't get into any graduate schools, but I'd rather apply again next year if it means going to a school that I'm really excited about.

I am applying to biology PhD programs, as well as the NSF GRFP. I am wondering if my personal challenges have any place in any of my essays? Specifically, my parents filed for bankruptcy right when I started college, so I worked 1-2 jobs throughout my entire undergrad. I was still able to get research internships, 3 publications, and a high GPA, which is a lot more than my friends who had college paid for accomplished. First of all, this kind of thing sounds pretty common nowadays with the recession. Second, I don't want to come across like I am entitled, or like I have a chip on my shoulder. After all, I am a single young person with no kids, so many people had it way harder than me getting through undergrad. Finally, does this information add to my essays in any way, or would it just take away valuable wordage away from talking about my research experiences and goals? Thanks!