MadScience

I do the whole paleo eating thing, so it makes cooking insanely simple. No processed foods, only things with a shelf life (i.e., veggies, fruit, fish, chicken, eggs, meat) and lots of herbs for micronutrients. Although, sometimes I dabble in fancy paleo cooking with recipes I find on different blogs And if you go to farmer's markets to buy your produce it's super cheap. Breakfast is eggs and an avocado, lunch is a salad with chicken and lots of veggies (no dressing), dinner is steamed salmon (or whichever fish is on sale) seasoned with sage, garlic, onion powder, etc over a bed of kale with some raw carrots and broccoli on the side. Easy peezy lemon squeezy!

Waitlisted today to my top choice...oh, the agony!! But, at least grumpy cat is also feeling the pain.
 

 
Hang in there everyone!

I would only mention the other schools in a relevant way, not just to boast about other acceptances because that might not look too good. For instance, when I have inquired about the status of my application I have mentioned the reason why I am asking is because I am trying to plan my travel schedule for the various visiting weekends and don't want to schedule anything during the time of their visiting weekend in case I might hear back from them since they are my top choice/one of my top choices. But don't say this if it is not true!! I would only inquire with schools that are game changers, that you are likely to attend if accepted. If you think there's a chance you'd be happy at all of the schools you're waiting on, I would contact them all.

If you already know that you don't enjoy the area and this is the exact area, or close enough, that you've already worked in, I see no point in actually attaching yourself in that lab.  I would ask the department how flexible mentorship is - once you are admitted to the department, are you funded through a particular PI's grant and thus tied to that PI, or do you have some room to move around and switch?  If you do have room to move around, the next step would be wondering whether you would be willing to work with this PI for 1-2 years while you want for your desired PI to get money - of course, running the risk that you never move out of the lab doing things that you don't enjoy.
 
I'd say if there are better fits among your other top choices, those are probably better choices at this point in time.  You just say that you don't think the fit is good.

I don't think you're overthinking it -- it does sound like you are being sought after by the professor who contacted you.  There are a few possible alternate explanations -- for example, it's possible that this prof is the admissions chair or something (and thus, contacts everyone), and it's possible that your host assignment was coincidence (I've been given hosts who were not in my area).
 
However, if this prof is recruiting you for his/her research group, you have a few options.  You should try to feel out what his/her students are working on -- it's possible the prof has students working on things that will interest you, or that the prof wants to expand/shift into your area.  Also, you should try to find out how flexible the mentorship is at this department.  In my field, it is not uncommon for there to be a lot of mobility and flexibility -- students are often encouraged to work with multiple profs.  In that case, you could still work with one of your POIs at your top choice.  You can also reach out to your POIs to try to get a feel for whether they are interested in you.  Otherwise, I think the way to decline is just to treat it like any other offer, and cite fit issues as the reason for declining.

I was actually in a similar situation - signed up for an interview weekend with a school that accepted me very early on and was pressuring me to decide to schedule a visit ASAP before receiving some of my preferred offers. I wasn't thinking straight and so agreed to attend the weekend and they arranged my flights. A few months later, I had acceptances from programs with much better research fits for me and could no longer see myself attending that first school, despite how well the visiting weekend might go. The day I realized this, I emailed them, asked them to cancel my flight and apologized for any inconvenience.
 
This is my logic. If I know with 99.99% certainty that I am not going to attend there, I am not only wasting my time but theirs as well. By cancelling, even though they may be charged a cancellation fee, they at least get some of the money refunded to them versus if I had gone with no intention of accepting their offer they would lose 100% of the cost. MOST IMPORTANTLY - I would be hindering another person's chances of getting accepted to the program. I think of it like "treat others the way you'd like to be treated" - I would feel really bummed if I was wait listed to my top choice and there were many accepted students going to the visiting weekend with no intention of attending the school. It would put my planning on hold until they declined their offers, so I wanted to decline offers from my 0% likely to attend schools ASAP as a common courtesy.
 
Just my two cents

I've gotten both suspiciously overly-positive responses and critical, candid ones about the programs I've applied to. As long as you take everything you hear with a grain of salt to account for the fact that the students might have been instructed to recruit you or are worried about annoying their PI, I think you can learn a lot from talking to current students. The more the better really, and you can form a good picture of the types of people who are at that school and how they like the program they're in. I'd say there's no harm in asking.

Just curious, do you think they answered this honestly? I would be worried they'd always give a positive response, even though they may regret the program, out of worrying that their PI might find out something negative they said.

The accreditation warning was lifted months ago.

The student body just raised $12.3 million for pediatric cancer. Sounds like a terrible "culture" if you will.

Look, I'm not here to give you reasons why you should attend Penn State. In fact, after reading every single reply in this thread, I HIGHLY encourage you to go somewhere else. You are clearly uneducated on the events surrounding the Sandusky incident and using that as a basis for making a life decision. Educate yourself on this matter. Don't come to a forum and ask for advice from people who also have no idea what they're talking about. As someone who follows every angle of the story, not a single poster in this thread has any idea what they're talking about.

One poster pointed out above the it was PROVEN that Joe Paterno covered up for a pedophile. I would like to know where that information was found. Everything has been pure speculation thus far.

I thought you people did your homework.

Not to beat a dead horse, Penn State isn't for you.

True Story...even if you skip all the rubbish(!) below, do see STEP 7.
 
Step 1: Prepared a table including subjective ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 for POI personality(scale of Nice to Awful), POI pedigree, POI publications, POI research agenda (fit), departmental research agenda (fit), departmental ranking / reputation, school ranking / reputation, funding offer, placement record, profile of existing grad students, city/location (livability).
 
Step 2: Built scenarios - experimenting with different weights for different criteria to test variability of results and discarded outlier choices
 
Step 3: Repeated the process excluding outliers
 
Step 4: Repeated steps 1 to 3 by ranking programs for each criteria rather than rating
 
Step 5: Deleted the file and decided to go with gut feel
 
Step 6: Recreated a new file next morning, repeating steps 1 to 4.
 
Step 7: Decided to sit down with the most typical and latest research publications produced by each of these programs (areas similar to that I might be working on if I joined the programs), and spent an hour on each, trying to think through how I might have changed, improved or continued on this line of work, etc. Believe me, after I was done, my choice was made ! 

Ok this doesn't apply only to grad school but life in general. To make friends, you have to be available  -  not just by having spare time but actively engaging people and activities. The easiest thing you can do is to ask the people around you if they would like to go for a drink. Try saying something like "this has been a long day, I need a drink - wanna come?". I think that people may be more likely to go for booze but you can try coffee or lunch too. If they say no, don't be on them to schedule an appointment - just be like ok cool, see ya later. Do not be pushy and actually go get that drink, even if it is alone! Requiring more effort but perhaps more satisfying is to join a group of some sort. Since you are having little luck with your peers, you may be better off doing something non-school related like a class at the gym, or joining some kind of hobbyist group or sports team or like a hiking group or whatever. Volunteering is also a good way of meeting new people. In all of those situations you could easily ask people if they want to get food or a drink after the activity. If they ask you out, say yes more than you say no! Be cool not creepy. Do not ask vague questions like "so what do you do on saturday nights" rather say "hey do you want to come over for dinner on saturday night". It just takes meeting one or two people. By the way (assuming you are a guy) do not expect that the first girl you befriend is going to be your lover <---- this is very important. Don't even let your mind go there because you could sabotage your chance at having a persistent friend group.

Why are so many of you preening over these PI's like they're athletes? I fully understand that who you've worked for and where you went is certainly something to keep in mind post-graduate school, but seriously.  Find a school you can get into, and pick the PI with whom you'd be happiest over the next 5 years.  If that means being a 14-16 hour hard-worker (lab slave), go for it.  If that means finding a human that'll let you stick to 40-50 hours, have a life, and have free time to serve as an excellent mentor, then go that route.
 
In any event - don't look to others for their opinion, because those are certainly not going to reflect what you personally feel.

First of all, congratulations!!!
 
Since we are in different programs, some of these may not apply, but some of the questions I have asked  are (and these are to students working in the labs I am interested in joining):
 
1. Could you describe the lab dynamics, especially in regards to how students are guided through their initial year? This will help you to understand if you are expected to figure everything out on your own, or if maybe they will pair you with a senior member of the lab as your "go to" person for any questions you may have. It also helps you to understand if the lab is very competitive (in a bad way) or if everyone gets along and likes to help one another out.
2. How often do you consult with the PI? Is he/she very involved or more hands off?
3. Were you assigned a research project or did you choose your own?
4. What is a typical week like in your group? (this will help you understand if you are expected to be there 80+ hours a week, or if a 40-60 hour work week is more typical as long as it is productive)
5. Are there any opportunities for leadership positions (i.e., student organizations)?
6. How do you like X University? How do you like working for Dr. Y?
7. What are some fun things to do in the area?
8. What communities are the safest to live in? Do many students commute? What is parking like on campus?
 
Those are just some ideas though to hopefully get you a better understanding of what living there and working there might be like

First of all, congratulations!!!
 
Since we are in different programs, some of these may not apply, but some of the questions I have asked  are (and these are to students working in the labs I am interested in joining):
 
1. Could you describe the lab dynamics, especially in regards to how students are guided through their initial year? This will help you to understand if you are expected to figure everything out on your own, or if maybe they will pair you with a senior member of the lab as your "go to" person for any questions you may have. It also helps you to understand if the lab is very competitive (in a bad way) or if everyone gets along and likes to help one another out.
2. How often do you consult with the PI? Is he/she very involved or more hands off?
3. Were you assigned a research project or did you choose your own?
4. What is a typical week like in your group? (this will help you understand if you are expected to be there 80+ hours a week, or if a 40-60 hour work week is more typical as long as it is productive)
5. Are there any opportunities for leadership positions (i.e., student organizations)?
6. How do you like X University? How do you like working for Dr. Y?
7. What are some fun things to do in the area?
8. What communities are the safest to live in? Do many students commute? What is parking like on campus?
 
Those are just some ideas though to hopefully get you a better understanding of what living there and working there might be like

First of all, congratulations!!!
 
Since we are in different programs, some of these may not apply, but some of the questions I have asked  are (and these are to students working in the labs I am interested in joining):
 
1. Could you describe the lab dynamics, especially in regards to how students are guided through their initial year? This will help you to understand if you are expected to figure everything out on your own, or if maybe they will pair you with a senior member of the lab as your "go to" person for any questions you may have. It also helps you to understand if the lab is very competitive (in a bad way) or if everyone gets along and likes to help one another out.
2. How often do you consult with the PI? Is he/she very involved or more hands off?
3. Were you assigned a research project or did you choose your own?
4. What is a typical week like in your group? (this will help you understand if you are expected to be there 80+ hours a week, or if a 40-60 hour work week is more typical as long as it is productive)
5. Are there any opportunities for leadership positions (i.e., student organizations)?
6. How do you like X University? How do you like working for Dr. Y?
7. What are some fun things to do in the area?
8. What communities are the safest to live in? Do many students commute? What is parking like on campus?
 
Those are just some ideas though to hopefully get you a better understanding of what living there and working there might be like

Mom: "What are your top choices of the schools you applied to?"
Me: "Well, it's a long shot but my dream choices are definitely MIT number 1, and then Harvard.."
Mom: :Laughs: "You'll definitely get into MIT! No problem! Probably Harvard, but I know absolutely MIT, easy."
 
For some reason, my mom thinks MIT is some small unknown technical college. And no matter how many times I explain to her that MIT is ranked #1 for my field and Harvard is #4, she can't believe it and will continue to tell me how MIT is a shoe in while trying to convince me that I should chose Harvard instead (assuming I end up lucky enough to have a choice between the two, not likely lol). She went so far as to say I was "too good" for MIT...oh Lord :/

Mom: "What are your top choices of the schools you applied to?"
Me: "Well, it's a long shot but my dream choices are definitely MIT number 1, and then Harvard.."
Mom: :Laughs: "You'll definitely get into MIT! No problem! Probably Harvard, but I know absolutely MIT, easy."
 
For some reason, my mom thinks MIT is some small unknown technical college. And no matter how many times I explain to her that MIT is ranked #1 for my field and Harvard is #4, she can't believe it and will continue to tell me how MIT is a shoe in while trying to convince me that I should chose Harvard instead (assuming I end up lucky enough to have a choice between the two, not likely lol). She went so far as to say I was "too good" for MIT...oh Lord :/

It depends.

If you plan on getting a good job in the industry then focus on overall ranking, business people tends to focus on brand name more.

If you plan on getting a good post-doc job and eventually become a professor, then focus on chemistry program ranking.

If you plan on getting a good job or a good post-doc job, then focus on research fit and networking more than schools' rankings.