Vidoory

Thanks for the replies guys. I haven't received my official grades yet, and just know from my preliminary calculations that I probably didn't make the cut-off average. I'll contact the school once I receive my final marks. When I previously went to the program, they mentioned (someone else asked) that they would not automatically rescind offers, but will look at your application on a case-by-case basis. There's not much I can do now I guess.

I really struggled during the last semester as I was juggling work and demanding coursework at the same time. The result is that my average is now 1% below the average that my grad school conditional offer says I must maintain (76% instead of 77%). Do you think they'll rescind my offer based on this? All my previous years are well above this cut-off, and I also had a low 90 on my research thesis, which I really hope they weigh more than my marks in courses that had nothing to do with my degree...

A PI I met with a few weeks ago sent me a "thank you email" letting me know that she would love to have me rotate in her lab. I've already accepted my offer to this program, but really not that interested in her research (and therefore didn't send her a follow-up letter like I did other researchers). I think she's a prominent researcher in the program though and really don't want to burn any bridges. How should I reply nicely, but still let her know that I won't be doing a rotation in her lab...? I'm so flattered that she would send such a email, that I'm seriously considering doing a rotation anyways.

All of the programs I applied to had a section on their website describing the funding situation. If you can't find anything though, I would just email to ask, that's really important information!

Thanks for the feedback guys! Yes, I think I definitely was overthinking it and he probably just didn't feel that it was necessary to reply. I try not think too much most of the time, but just couldn't help it this time since I haven't wanted something this much in a while haha

Thanks for the quick reply! Do you think that would be a good idea though, because it's not really a requirement to reply to thank you emails? I just don't want to seem pushy, and since it was just an email thanking him for his time, I'm not even sure what I can say in the followup. It's not like I can thank him again....

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice and input on what this situation could mean. I was accepted into the PhD program of my choice a while ago, and went in for "interviews" with some of the PIs whose research interested me and who I wanted to do rotations with a week ago. There was this one particular PI whose research I loved, and I also thought our meeting went really great (and I mean like one of the best interviews I've ever had type thing). Even though he didn't specifically say anything about me doing a rotation in his lab, he did describe potential projects for next year. I felt great about that meeting at the time, and sent him a thank you email the day after our meeting to reiterate my interest in his research, but have not heard back from him after a week. Just to clarify, he is not a super busy PI that might just not have time to reply to emails, but only newly established. Although there are a lot of other amazing researchers in this program who I would be considered lucky to work with (most more prestigious), I can't help but feel a little depressed because I find this PI's research truly exciting, and have already read so much into the topic just for my own interests. Do some PIs just not reply to thank you notes/emails (even though I did phrase my last sentence as more of a question of whether I could do a rotation in his lab), or do you think maybe our meeting really didn't go as well as I originally thought? I have had my fair share of interviews in the past, and all of the ones I was successful at had quick replies to my emails, and even one who reached out to me without anything done on my part, that I'm feeling a little hopeless at the moment. Also, do PIs normally invite students to do a rotation in their lab at the first meeting, or is this something I should have brought up? I'd appreciate any input! Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice and input on what this situation could mean. I was accepted into the PhD program of my choice a while ago, and went in for "interviews" with some of the PIs whose research interested me and who I wanted to do rotations with a week ago. There was this one particular PI whose research I loved, and I also thought our meeting went really great (and I mean like one of the best interviews I've ever had type thing). Even though he didn't specifically say anything about me doing a rotation in his lab, he did describe potential projects for next year. I felt great about that meeting at the time, and sent him a thank you email the day after our meeting to reiterate my interest in his research, but have not heard back from him after a week. Just to clarify, he is not a super busy PI that might just not have time to reply to emails, but only newly established. Although there are a lot of other amazing researchers in this program who I would be considered lucky to work with (most more prestigious), I can't help but feel a little depressed because I find this PI's research truly exciting, and have already read so much into the topic just for my own interests. Do some PIs just not reply to thank you notes/emails (even though I did phrase my last sentence as more of a question of whether I could do a rotation in his lab), or do you think maybe our meeting really didn't go as well as I originally thought? I have had my fair share of interviews in the past, and all of the ones I was successful at had quick replies to my emails, and even one who reached out to me without anything done on my part, that I'm feeling a little hopeless at the moment. Also, do PIs normally invite students to do a rotation in their lab at the first meeting, or is this something I should have brought up? I'd appreciate any input! Thanks!

Thanks Unfortunately I've sent out most of my applications at this point to really make any changes, but I appreciate the input. I seriously considered taking out anything personal as well, but the end product was so sleep-inducing to read through I really didn't want to send it out haha. At this point all I can do is hope for the best :S For the Magic School Bus section, there was another reason I included this which is that I am also interested in medical illustration and animation. I think it's a great way of communicating scientific ideas (beyond all the convoluted science jargons I'm embarrassed say sometimes completely passes over my head), and I'd like to incorporate it into my research. I used MSB since it was really my first attempt at illustrating science in an easy to understand manner. I brought it back near the end of my SOP and said I'd like to continue the marriage of art and science in my life, as it is what started me on this journey.

thanks for the suggestions! That's funny though, I actually did elaborate on the sentence you mentioned (outlining the different aspects of the nervous system I found fascinating) previously, but decided to delete it since it had little to do with genetics. I guess I'll add it back!

Hey guys, Would someone please read over the intro section of my SOP? I've made the rest of my SOP very professional and am happy with it, but I'm still not so sure about my intro... I'd appreciate any advice! "My intended area of specialization at XXX University is translational genetics, with a special interest towards the implementation of novel genetic biotechnology to aid human diseases. Throughout my undergraduate career, I have become increasingly captivated with the field of genetics, as well as its undeniable potential in the future of medicine. My love for biology began in high school. We were assigned the task of “publishing” an educational children’s book on a human organ system of our choice. Mine was the nervous system. It was the first time I indulged in my newfound fascination with the intricate workings of the human body, and I found myself poring, for hours on end, over different textbooks, research articles, and websites (not to mention the never openly-appreciated Wikipedia). I was in complete awe of nature’s capacity to design such a sophisticated organism; superior to anything even the best human architect can conjure. The end product of my assignment is a “Magic School Bus” storybook. It followed Ms. Frizzle’s class as they were injected into the bloodstream, crossed the blood-brain barrier, travelled through the cerebral cortex, and finally down into the spinal cord. It became the perfect beginning of my academic career in biology: an assignment of top grade, and one that is still passed to incoming students as exemplar." Thanks!

Thanks for the reply! All it says is "Report Date" beside my schools/programs that list the date I ordered for the scores to be sent? I might be wrong about this, but does ETS not send the scores by mail, and if it does, how should I check if the scores have been received?

The majority of my grad school applications are due tomorrow, and I'm not sure if my scores have been received? I sent in most of my scores on Nov 19th, and one on Nov 26th (I sent this one to the wrong department number during my GRE, and so ended up re-sending it rather late). All my applications ask me to self report my scores, but no where does it tell me whether the official scores have been received. Should I call up the individual schools to ask whether they have been received, or is there another way to find out? Thanks!

Oh OK, thanks a lot for the clarification! A lot of people around me seem to have OGS or another scholarship. There was also a phD student in my lab a few months ago that had her scholarship run out (I think it was only for 3 years). Our supervisor said he would fund her even if she could not get another scholarship/fellowship, but everyone reacted like that was a really bad situation and that your PI shouldn't have to pay that much.

Thank you! I'm in a bit of a difficult situation then because the deadlines for CGS-D has already passed... The CGS-M and OGS deadlines are not until December and January that I didn't think to apply to scholarship until now, but does that mean I probably will not have any external fundings for next year if I attend an American university? Would that seriously hurt my chances of getting into a program? Although the previous poster said it's not bad to apply without fellowships (and I guess I can apply next year), all the grad students around me have some sort of funding coming into their programs, because from my understanding their supervisors would have to pay out otherwise. Would that not mean PI's will much prefer students with external funding?