the defenestration

Finding programs to apply to can be really hard! I am an entering student now, and I took quite a bit of the summer before my application season to figure it out. Gradschools.com was a pretty good resource. I entered in my criteria and search terms and basically just spent a lot of time reading program web sites, looking at research, and narrowing it down from a couple hundred to about 10 (definitely on the high end for number to apply to). If you're like I was and don't already have a clear idea of where to go, then it basically just takes a lot of time and research - no easy way around it that I found. It sounds like you have not taken nor plan to take the GRE. I don't know if it's different for your programs, but I don't think I even heard of any schools not requiring GRE when I applied. Unless you know for sure that most of your potential programs do not require or recommend it, I would absolutely take it (unless you're referring to the subject tests, which is a different story). As for your criteria, that may actually help you to narrow it down and make your search easier, but I would hold those thoughts until you've looked around some. You may find a program that you would be willing to let one of those things go for. Also - it is definitely not necessary to drop tons of money on application fees. My fees averaged around $30, and at least for my programs did not correspond to the school's ranking. If you really have your heart set on Columbia, talk to some advisers you may be interested in working with and get them interested in you! Of course, even if that ends up being your dream school and they seem to like you also, apply to at least a couple more schools - you never know. Good luck with applying, and hope I could help a bit!

Thanks, all I am going ahead with the paperwork to School A (Baylor College of Medicine's Cell and Molecular Biology program if anyone is interested). It's nice to know I am not the only one who's nervous about sending in the paperwork, but I do feel good about the decision. In my case, the program is in a city I like better and will have more funding, but that is an interesting dilemma. I would probably look at what the job placement rate is like for each school - for example, maybe at AU you will have better job prospects and therefore you will be able to pay off your loans more quickly. If you would be looking at similar opportunities from both programs, you may want to consider going to the better-funded school and moving to DC later to work. Prestige and location are always important to consider, especially in terms of job opportunities, but minimizing debt is also very important. Best of luck making your decision!

I am currently deciding between two biology PhD programs. Both are good programs and have faculty I would love to work with, and both have good placement rates. School A is really where I see myself now - closer to friends and family, I like the city better, better financial support, and the students seemed very happy and well-supported. I feel like my mind was made up pretty early on, but I'm reluctant to send in the paperwork. I don't dislike School B (it was my top choice when I started applying to grad schools), and I'm trying to make sure there are not factors I'm overlooking. What are some things that some of you felt were important in making a decision?

Nice topic! I interviewed with and was accepted to three schools for Cell/Molecular PhD programs this past application season - Baylor College of Medicine, University of Maryland, and University of South Florida. My area of interest is Cancer Biology; only USF has a program entirely dedicated to cancer, but the other two have Cancer Bio tracks and many great researchers studying what I want to study. I really found that my interviews resembled conversations more than they resembled a typical job interview. I was never asked "What is your greatest weakness?" or anything like that (though I prepared answers for those types of things, just in case). Generally, when I walked in the room, the interviewer would start off the conversation by making a friendly comment on where I was from or where I did my undergrad, and then they would ask me to tell me about myself. I talked for about 3 minutes or so about my major, my lab work, and how I became interested in cancer biology - this length of time seemed to work very well, and they would ask questions so it wasn't just me rambling. After this, the conversation could take a number of turns. I had a few interviewers who wanted to know about my research in great detail, so I explained exactly what my project entailed, drew some diagrams, etc. More often than not, though, the interviewer would talk about their own research for at least half the interview (I had a couple of interviewers who launched into explaining their own projects without even asking me about myself). I was a little worried that maybe I wasn't giving them enough information about myself since they were just talking about their own research, but people really do love talking about their own interests. If you can get your interviewer talking about their own research, they will remember your interview positively, even if you don't use the full 30 minutes to talk about how awesome you are. When they are explaining their research, take notes, act interested, and ask an intelligent question or two at the opportune moment. All that said, there were a couple of questions that I got quite a bit: 1. Why do you want to be in this program? Not a hard one, but make sure you do your homework. Pay attention to what the program directors emphasize about the program as well - chances are, these are the reasons they want you to like their school, and it won't hurt to mention some of those things that particularly stand out to you. 2. What other schools have you applied to? As far as I can tell, they are trying to decide whether you will actually attend their program. Be honest; they know you're applying to more than one program, but it's unnecessary to mention schools you have been rejected from or are no longer considering. The interviewer will probably ask a question or make a comment about your answer, after which point you can re-state the reasons why THEIR program is such a great fit for you. 3. Why were your grades so terrible during this particular semester? If you have a weak point in your application, be prepared to explain it. When they ask about this weak point, they are not out to get you - they want you to have a good, reasonable explanation, and if you have an interview chances are you have the explanation. 4. Do you have any questions for me? Always have questions! Remember, you are trying to evaluate the program as much as they are trying to evaluate you. You may end up asking the same questions toward the end of the day, but you may also get different answers. Really, I think that is about it. If I think of any other questions I was asked, I will add those. However, I would like to add a few interview tips that I could have used coming in: 1. You have control over your interview. This is huge. It really is a conversation, and you can steer that conversation in whatever way you want. Obviously, don't sidestep a pointed question, but focus on the things you want to talk about. Come in with some things you want to say about yourself, and say them. You don't have to wait for the interviewer to ask a particular question, because they probably won't. Work it into the conversation. 2. Elaborate on the things you are interested in. This kind of ties in with my first point. From speaking to other interviewees, I learned that one interviewer could be very difficult for one person but another person would find the same interviewer to be easygoing and kind. The difference was usually a matter of perspective. Those who had trouble generally answered the question, shut up, and waited for the interviewer to fire another one at them. Those who actually enjoyed the interview saw it as more of a back-and-forth. If you talk about the things you know and are interested in, the interviewer gets to see that you are smart and knowledgeable, and you can prevent the interview from becoming a grill session where you may be asked about things you are not as knowledgeable about. Caveat: don't ramble. If you're done talking, you're done talking, and if you keep talking just to fill silence, you are likely to say something dumb. 3. Get them to talk about their research. Takes pressure off you, they enjoy talking about themselves, and you get to gain more perspective on the program. 4. Prepare, but don't overprepare. I think a good thing to do is to take a sheet of paper for every interviewer and write a few short bullet points about them - what they're doing, where they got their PhD, specific questions you want to ask them. Then, take the sheets to the interviews and use them to take notes. At least for my interviews, it was overkill to read papers by every single interviewer. If you are very interested in working with a particular professor, by all means read a paper or two and ask them about it. Otherwise, keep it simple and don't stress about it too much. 5. Know your research. Be able to explain it inside out. If your current research is in a field other than what you want to get your PhD in (as mine is) then know how to explain it to someone outside the field. Interestingly, I found it was not as important to be well-versed in what I want to work on at the PhD level. In fact, I was told by several interviewers that many students' interests change after the first year and that having your whole PhD planned out was not that important. This may depend on the school, though. 6. Relax! Your interviews will be fine. Your interviewers want to like you. Be engaging, be interested, be excited to meet your interviewers. If something goes wrong during your interview, brush it off and recover. During one particular interview, I was convinced that I had made the biggest idiot of myself and that the interview had gone just terribly. I later found out that my interviewers recommended me unanimously for admission - so it can't have gone too badly! I hope this helped! I know it's quite long, but I was so nervous before my first interview that I was reading as much advice as I could get my hands on... so maybe some of you made it through. Cheers, and good luck!

Thanks guys

I would say don't draw attention to minor mistakes. Obviously you have good qualifications, and small errors are probably relatively common. I submitted a SOP (to my first-choice school, no less) that used "an" where I should have used "a". This was after proofreading and sending to several people for advice. I was rather mortified, but chances are they aren't even going to notice.

My graduate student mentor has been quite influential in my decision to pursue graduate study in biology, and as such she is mentioned a couple of times in my research statement (basically an SOP but only talks about my lab work). Is it appropriate, after introducing her by her full name, to just call her by her first name? My sister, an English major, recommends that since it is formal writing, I should refer to her as "Ms. Last Name." I would not call her that in person, so to me that sounds odd. Thoughts?

I had a projected range of 750-800 for both. Actual: 170 on verbal, 161(86th percentile) on quantitative, 5.0 on writing. My quantitative was on the very lowest end of my predicted score. My main concern is that adcoms are not going to like how much my scores vary - specifically because I'm applying to science programs and my quantitative should be higher. But, I guess there's nothing to do at this point but hope for the best! Also - I thought the quantitative was WAY easier than verbal! Weird.

I have 4-5 courses that I would like to include on my resume for grad schools. These are the courses that influenced me the most or that helped me develop relevant skills. I am just not sure how much detail to go into. They already have a list of my courses on my transcripts, so I think it should be more than just a list. Any thoughts? I'm thinking maybe 3 bullet point each, to name the professor, give an overview of the content, and mention any special projects. Is this going into too much detail?

I suppose it depends on the program you are applying to. I think in the sciences it is unusual to not receive funding of some sort whereas for a lot of other degrees you might expect to be paying for it yourself. But the way I see it, you shouldn't need to be paying off your degree for the rest of your life. If I got an offer with no funding I would think it unwise to attend (especially straight out of undergrad when I have no money in the first place), and it would basically be the same as a rejection. I have gotten some of these types of questions and I'm unconcerned about answering honestly.

fuzzylogician - I am applying to cancer bio PhD programs. I should have pretty good LORs, and my research experience is good (though it's looking like I won't have publications until several months after I apply). I took the new GRE and they gave me an estimate of 750-800 for each section of the test, so my scores shouldn't be a problem. Overall my application (other than the GPA) will look decent. adinutzyc - the problem is that I am applying to a research-based program. If professors are only looking for one or two new students to accept into their labs, then it is possible that these positions are going to be filled quickly. I suppose I am answering my own question - waiting is seeming like a less attractive option.

Most of my applications are due in January or late December, but I know they are reviewed on a rolling basis, and one or two have specified that they begin the review process in November. So I was thinking it would be best to have all my admissions stuff submitted by November, which is when my GRE scores come in. However, I'm increasingly worried about my GPA. During my freshman and sophomore year, my GPA was pretty abysmal. I completely turned that around after switching majors, but my GPA is now a 3.0. So I have 4 semesters of terrible grades followed by 2 semesters of mostly A's. Are the last two semesters going to be convincing enough? After this semester I will have about a 3.15, plus another semester proving that I can excel in upper division coursework in my field. Does this make much of a difference? Is it better to just not risk spots filling up when I can submit my applications so much earlier?

And thanks! That does help

Oh - I'm applying to biomedical programs, if that makes any difference.

Interviews are not all that imminent for me, but I figure tax-free weekend is a good time to expand upon my practically-nonexistent professional wardrobe. Any tips on how to dress for the application interview? I've heard lots of differing opinions. Some say wear a full skirt/pants suit, some say a jacket would be considered far too formal. So - invest in a suit, go for a skirt and nice shirt, or just wait until I actually have interviews and ask someone who's already at those schools?