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Crucial BBQ

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Everything posted by Crucial BBQ

  1. Because you'll come across as being unsure of yourself and your abilities, not fully understanding your potential career, or desperate. While it may seem like you are upping your chances, the reality is you may be hurting your chances if the applications are read by the same people. An MS track and a Ph.D. track are totally different from each other and attract different types of students. At this stage in the game you are expected to know which type you are. If you really want to go this route, I suggest contacting the programs and asking them. Some MS programs are funded (likely with working as an RA), and there are certainly scholarships available. If it is worth paying out-of-pocket for is something that only you can answer.
  2. Bummer I didn't see this when it was posted. Complexgenome is correct. If wanting to into industry then a project is the better choice, and I imagine your project would include a paper/report and presentation, anyways. Bioinformatics is a huge field with at least 10 major subfields under it, so trying to chose a project can be tricky.
  3. Professors receive a lot of daily emails. It's possible that your emails were lost in the mix, shuffled off to the side, not deemed important, and so on. For biology-related fields it is common, and sometimes required, to contact at least one potential advisor prior to or shortly after applying. However, in some disciplines this practice is not applicable if not outright discouraged. If this sort of thing is common to your field, then JQRocks lays out the most likely reasons and with #2 - 4, if they are not interested for any reason they are most likely to simply not respond.
  4. I would guess the average is around 3.4. In the U.S., the standard cut-off is 3.0 but if you have a sub 3.0 GPA you can offset with other experiences, LORs, SOP, etc. A good number of programs will also admit you on the condition that you make up any deficiencies while in your first year or so. Some programs will automatically consider you for both. That is, if you do not meet the requirements for the Ph.D. program you will be offered a spot in their M.S. program if you qualify for that. I am pretty sure that all programs will allow you to apply to both (in reality, it is the online application system that allows it) and happily take your money, however, it is not a good idea as your reasons for a Ph.D. are (i.e., should be) different than for wanting an MS degree and if you apply to both you will come off as being unsure of a Ph.D. In this case, it is best to apply to MS programs only.
  5. I had written about this previously... back in 2014 I believe. I was waitlisted to one program, then ultimately denied. I reached out and was told that my GPA was a little low but I had solid experiences (research, field work, volunteer work...) and a few skills they liked (like small boat handling). I was told it was between me and another applicant and the other applicant got the admit for having slightly higher GRE scores. Another program told me it was not completely clear in my SOP why I wanted grad school and they were also baffled that I did not mention a low grade (a C-) in my SOP, either. For the program I was waitlisted to I called the advisor I was in contact with and for the other program I had called the program director.
  6. It's always worth getting feedback on your application[s].
  7. As an aside, University of Delaware has rolling admissions for Bioinformatics with the latest priority deadline being April 15th, iirc. Currently, the GRE requirement is waived as well.
  8. Are you asking about health insurance? If so the answer is yes, you can get dual coverage for both you and your husband. If you are asking about him transferring into the same school, then maybe they can pull some strings to get him accepted assuming that he applied/applies and qualifies.
  9. Good luck. My building wanted $175/month for a dedicated parking spot and on-street parking is a pita. Found it better to sell the car and just take the T.
  10. Well, I lived in Boston (Technically in Brighton) during undergrad with a roommate and both of our combined income was certainly way less than $63K/year. Not sure if that helps. The commute from NH to Lowell won't be too bad but be advised that the area gets a good amount of snow.
  11. I am originally from the West Coast and first moved to the MidWest. Then back to my hometown. Then back to the MidWest, but a different State. Then to New England. Then to another New England State. Then to Maryland. I found the hardest part about moving is not coming to terms with how much stuff you actually own. The packing, even if you think you don't own much, especially when you don't own much, takes way longer than you think it would. Okay, so maybe that is not the hardest part. Leaving friends and family is certainly hard, but you don't really lose them.... until you do. I find that you will be attracted to the same types of people no matter where you go. I also find that once the newness and excitement fades there is this realization that where you are at now is not that much different from where you came. Of course it is but those differences are only unique to you and your memories. Don't feel guilty about finding a new group of best friends, your old group of best friends are still your bestest friends of all. Who you are doesn't change and you'll gravitate towards that which you always gravitated towards. I think the hardest part about moving is not allowing yourself to accept that your new location is not your old location and that you made the choice to move there in the first place. What really helped me was the understanding that I could always move back if I really wanted to. I always had a good time in Northampton and could see myself living there for sure.
  12. If you were to do an in-person interview would you bring an easel and posters? I am not being cheeky here, but if you feel it may be difficult to talk about past research without visual aids I suggest to start practicing mock interviews to the question Tell me about your past research. The interview is just that, an interview. You won't be giving any speeches. Your past research is indicated on your CV, likely discussed in your SOP, and (hopefully) reinforced by an LOR or two. You likely will not go in-depth over past research and in reality who ever is interviewing you won't care that much about it beyond that you did it, that you loved it, and that you want to do it for a living (but not necessarily the same research or the same project).
  13. You can ask, but you likely won't get an answer. There is a chance three interviews will fall on the same day but I doubt that you will receive all three invites on the same day (although I suppose that could happen, too). When the invites come in it is up to you to accept (RSVP) or decline. I wouldn't wait until all three come in before doing this, so accept each as they come in. If there is a conflict with date[s], contact the program[s] ASAP and ask if the date can be rescheduled and suggest a few dates that work for you. The programs are trying to sell themselves to you as much as you are trying to sell yourself to them. No one can reasonably expect to hold your calendar open from the time you submit your application to when ever they decide to send you an invite on a date that you cannot predict will come in.
  14. Keep in mind that it is the application, and not you, that gets rejected. Scholarships in general tend to be very competitive, too. It looks like the two scholarships you mention are for U.S. residents to study abroad in the U.K. Is that your plan? There are tons of scholarships out there. What do you mean by a technical degree?
  15. For schooling, all you really need is a basic background in biology. For math, statistics, Calc I and Calc II are good enough but you might want to take linear algebra and differential equations as well. If not, perhaps an advanced statistics course but you'll cover this in grad school. What you really want is experience in ecology and/or evolutionary biology. Do as much research as you can and/or do volunteer work in this area. You are not going to become rich and famous doing EEB. It is imperative that you show a passion for this field.
  16. Two of my programs are specifically EEB, but in general they are all under that umbrella (the rest are marine science/ecology). Historically, we have been in pretty low number here on Grad Cafe. I am applying to six programs. What about you?
  17. No, but some programs might push you into that direction. The general agreement amongst graduate programs is to give until April 15th. One thing to consider is that the longer you wait the longer someone on the waitlist is also waiting. I agree 100% with visiting the campus prior to making decisions, though.
  18. Interesting about Bloomberg SPH going virtual. Back in 2011 when my ex got admitted her interview was over the phone. As an aside, Zoom fatigue is real... but funny considering the popularity of FaceTime and Duo and that Skype has been around forever. My courses were virtual this last spring semester but it was more like a Blackboard experience. I only Zoomed twice and it didn't go so well.
  19. Hard to say, but pretty high. In general a few more students are going to be accepted knowing that not all invites are going to say yes.
  20. Based off my own experiences, yes, they will be casual. That said, while you do not need to wear a suit, you also do not want to be too casual. Sweat pants and lounge wear are out. Take the time to properly groom before hand. A solid color long-sleeved collard shirt in white or blue is a good a choice. If striped, checkered, tartan, etc., pair it with a sweater. As mentioned by essiec, patterns can be distracting. Wear pants, even if you will be seated the entire time. Set up the location before hand as well, test and adjust the lighting as necessary. Make sure the background is appropriate and professional. Ideally, no one else will be home during the meetings but if someone else will be in the house let them know they need to be quiet. With my meetings of this nature, they were more like conversations. I went in to each with only one question, tell me about your lab/the program. Perhaps not the best strategy, so you might want to have a list of questions to ask before hand, but I have found the questions to organically arise as the conversation progresses. To prepare for the meetings, do your research into the programs, the associated labs, read papers by the POIs, and so on. You want to be able to answer the question why this lab/program?
  21. The point of visitations are to sell the program to you. They know that not everyone who gets invited will attend. This is not directed at you Newstar2020, but to those who would visit schools/programs they know they are not going to attend, well, that says something about their character.
  22. You can get a general vibe by reading the student handbook associated with program[s]. Another thing you might do is email students in the program/lab and ask them directly. I did this in the past and got good results; sent out about 90 emails and had received about 70 responses. No joke. Yeah, it's tedious but you are looking at potentially spending 5 - 7 years in a new location, doing your research on the program is imperative. Professors/PIs are also pretty honest. What I didn't realize until I was in my MS program is that graduate school puts emphasis on extending invites (interviews) and admits to those deemed most likely to say yes. Resources are going to be invested to bring, and keep you, in the program for half a decade or longer. No one wants to waste their time, or yours. Because of this it is also worth your time to get in touch with professors, PIs, program directors, etc. before you get an interview. Ask them if they are willing to chat about the program and their lab/research. Like with students, you might be surprised at how many faculty are willing (and excited) to talk about the program and/or their own research with you. Not all interviews are on-campus. Even before Covid-19, some interviews were over the phone or Skype. Some programs do not interview at all and of those that do you could still be admitted without an interview. Other programs may also invite students to the campus after they are admitted, whether they had an interview or not.
  23. The prompt is asking you two separate questions: are there any influences or experiences that pushed you desire a graduate degree; and, why Michigan? Your example is pretty good. Growing up in a nation caught in civil war, I found beauty in numbers when despair was all around me. Initially a means of escape, I quickly learned that not only was I good at math but that I had developed a solid desire to do it for a living. Coming from a place where the future seemed bleak, math gave me hope. I want to study math at Michigan because, you know, awesome. Something like that. I think diversity statements are pretty hard to tank.
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