Crucial BBQ
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Posts posted by Crucial BBQ
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...and I even began saving up the money that would be required to apply to 7 or 8 programs...then the money went elsewhere...
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Grad school was on my radar before I even entered undergrad, and after I finished my first semester of undergrad I knew that I really did want grad school. So, I began my search then, including downloading applications when available to "practice" filling them out...and writing the SOP and other essays. Even with a four-year's head start I still found myself scrambling at the last minute. Things change.
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My letters of rec will come from two professors that have been mentoring me for the ongoing projects. The third letter of rec will come from a professor that I'm pretty close to and I plan to do an independent study with him next spring (so it won't show up anywhere when I apply to grad school, unless the deadline is in the late winter/early spring).
My ongoing projects are:
The physiological and behavioral effects of enriched or barren tanks on zebrafish (I learned how to do behavioral analysis and immunohistofluorescence. I've also made a budget, applied for a mini-grant, received that grant, will present at two conferences, and try to publish in an undergrad journal). This has been going on for almost a year and a half, and plan to continue the theme of the project next spring (again, won't show up anywhere). This project is part of a course called Research in Biology and I have two research mentors to work with me one on one.It is of my own research design.
Designing your own research project is a huge plus for you, same with applying for and receiving a grant...no matter how small. Both will look really good on your applications. Publishing would be great, but I do not know of any graduate program who actually expects an undergrad to publish. Sure, some undergrads do publish but it is far from the norm.
Multiple choice probability learning in rats (I definitely learned how to be flexible in this project! I was given a taste of how single case-design works and how to try to control for extraneous variables instead of trying to "balance them out" via statistics). This project was not for credit (others were supposed to contribute but it seems it's not working that way) but I'm getting a very strong letter of rec from it. We will continue this project with tweaks to the protocol in fall semester in Research Seminar, a research course in psychology. The original protocol was of the research mentor's design. I've been helping with the tweaks, though.
This would be worth mentioning in your applications for sure, but, I would focus on the "what I learned from this" instead of trying to present it as straight-up research...even if it is. Also, definitely mention your input into this project and how you contributed with the "tweaks".
My current semester projects:
The effects of mental illness and sex on empathy (This is a vignette based study and probably one of my harder projects because it involves people and shameless advertising.) This is for a required Experimental Psychology course. The idea for the study was my own, but had stringent requirements for the design.
Okay, it is great to experience two or three different projects to gain a little research breadth, but you are starting to jump the gun a little. It is most important to gain experience and understanding of how to do research and the ins-and-outs of doing research. Believe it or not, but many Ph.D. students drop out because they realize they hate doing research. The whole point of doing research as an undergrad is to give you a heads-up of not only what to expect in grad school, but that hey, it turns out you actually love doing research.
The effects of sucrose concentration in the rat: an omission contingency experiment (This one i haven't technically started yet because I need the IRB approval. This is another single-case design.) This project is part of the Research Methods in Behavioral Analysis course. This study is of my own design.
Is this actual research or just a class project? It would be worth mentioning as something that has strengthened your desire for grad school/research, but I do not think this counts as actual research.
Future semester projects:
Summer--I'll be research volunteering at a lab with my top choice POI (I need to find more POIs, to be honest). I'll be studying behavioral epigenetics. It is not part of a course, and not of my own design. This project emphasizes teamwork between other undergrads and graduate students, something that hasn't been addressed based on other projects.
Teamwork and collaboration are great, but so is the ability to work alone. Having one solid POI is better than having a bunch of so-so POIs. You want to show passion...not that you are "gaming" admissions.
A behavioral ecology project with zoo animals. I'm thinking of something along the lines of enrichment, but I'll have to address that to the professor.
Research Seminar -- I've already discussed this.
Continuation of the zebrafish project -- Again, I've discussed the gist of it.
You are busy. Is there a need to continue the zebrafish project? If not, then don't do it. Have some fun for a change
Independent study on psychology -- Rarely does anyone utilize this course, but I only need a couple more credits to graduate with a double-major in psych and animal behavior. I'll be helping a professor with the analysis of results from a project he plans to do this summer. It's basically a social network analysis of the effects of meditation (how does meditation affect the meditator's friends? Friend's friends?) Of course, this study is not of my own design.
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The "skills" section might be useful. And yes, we do have a career and writing center. I'll see if I can make an appointment with them sometime this semester or fall semester.
Comments in bold.
I know of two people who were admitted into Ph.D. programs for neuroscience. Both went straight from BSN programs and had less than half of your "experience". As I wrote, it is good to show passion, but you do not want to come across as being one-dimensional.
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I took two "research courses" as an undergrad for credit. Both involved working with a professor on his own project. To be frank, both courses were the EXACT same thing as I did when I worked for a professor and her lab as a research assistant. Actually, no, they were not. Those research courses were graded on a final paper based on the research, a poster, and a poster presentation (public). You better believe I counted those both as research.
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Uh, a 3.2 GPA is not low. Why people still believe this junk is beyond me. Also, I have yet to hear of a "competitive" STEM program that had a cut-off GPA higher than 3.0, if they even had a cut-off. It seems to me that the most competitive programs in STEM do not have a minimum GPA standard (but you can believe that the majority of applicants have GPAs a the higher end of 3.X). Competitive programs in STEM tend to take on the holistic approach to applications. I mean, even MIT admits to occasionally admitting grad students with 2.X GPAs or sub-50 percentile GRE scores. When it comes to STEM, research experience almost always trumps GPA, and, SOP trumps all.
But seriously, you got a perfect score in quant I wouldn't worry about it.
Your five years of "real-world" work experience plus those "impressive" research assignments are enough to outweigh your GPA...which is not that bad.
So yes, apply away!
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While I was sorting through my list around October - feels like eons ago now - I got some of the most brilliant advice from Grad Cafe, and I will be forever grateful for that. One thing that kept coming up; however, was the idea that there is no such thing as a safety school when it comes to Grad Apps. Now that I am somewhat on the other side of the fence, I think this isn't entirely accurate. Sure, it's true if you simply pick the lowest ranked school or an unranked school in your field and assume it's a "safety" because of your stellar stats. However, a well calculated assessment of programs based on not one but all of the following factors can, in fact, make admission into at least one program highly likely.
I got into my safety school with funding, plus two more, but because I was under the impression that safety is an illusion in the process, I needlessly spent months in anxiety, even though in my heart of hearts I knew that there was no way I would get denied from this one program. There will, of course, never be any guarantees, but here are the steps you can follow to be as safe as you can with this process:
1. Forget about top 20. Apply to top 20 all you like but forget about them being safe in any way. Even if all the stars align, this is where the pool of the best of your bunch is aiming. Chances are there will always be more people for whom all of the stars align just as perfectly, more people than they can accept.
2. Create a chart that records the average stats from programs on your list outside of the top 20. Now compare that to your own stats. This is how you can pick how competitive your safety school can be, by making sure you are solidly above the average. For my safety, I was outside of the top 50 really, owing to a pretty crappy quant score. Yours can be a T30, depending on your stats. This alone, however, does not guarantee a safety in any way.
3. After criteria 1 and 2 are met, the third, and perhaps the most important step is to identify the ideal fit. What is the ideal fit? Let's say you want to study cars (bear with me), and THE greatest living professor of car studies ever teaches at University A; there are also one or two assistant professors studying cars at A. However, at the core of institute A itself lies the study of Light Bulbs. Is A a great fit for you? Yes. Is it an ideal fit that will make it very hard for you to be denied? No. Now University B, on the other hand, may not have a single most high profile celebrity scholar of cars, but most of it's faculty studies cars in someway, and the core of the department is all about cars. The "About" or "History" page of Uni B will most likely mention something about cars within the first paragraph or 2. University B is your ideal fit and the best choice to keep as a safety, provided that you have followed steps 1 and 2 in choosing it.
4. Those are the three most essential factors in choosing a safety, but you can have an additional advantage if you are able to find personal connections with your safe choice. Perhaps a Prof. at your alma mater attended this grad school and can write you a good letter, or your neighbor's aunt currently teaches there and she can connect you for a cup of coffee prior to applying. This step isn't necessary, but useful.
5. Goes without saying, don't forget any of the great advice you get on Grad Cafe about crafting the perfect SOPs, your writing samples etc. In order for this to work, your application must be presented at it's best.
Choosing a safety is not just about ranking or stats or fit, it's about finding at least one program that is THE perfect combination of all of these things. It worked out for me exactly as I'd hoped, so I am passing along what I learned this season with hopes that it will work out for others as well.
I think that this is great advice, in general. However:
1. What is Top 20? For undergrad that makes sense as there is clearly a grouping of the "top 20" schools. But what does this mean for grad school? There are grad program rankings and even fewer grad school rankings. That is because a few of the Top 20 programs for Discipline X might actually be at "top 300" universities or universities that are "not known". Another issue is funding. More-than-likely, what you might perceive as a "safety" because of its lack of ranking or prestige or what-ever is also more-than-lilkely a small program with limited to no funds. When a program has $Millions in funding, for example, they can afford to take a chance or two on "solid, but still kinda iffy" applicants. Programs with severe lack of funds are going to be more picky, sometimes even going years without admitting one (Ph.D.) student, waiting for that perfect applicant to come along because they cannot afford to waste money on someone who is not an exact fit. What is it, something like 50% of Ph.D. students drop out?
Even programs that have the $Millions to spend on research/students are still taking a risk when they offer admits. Like undergrad admissions, grad school admissions/programs use algorithms based on historical data of how many offers extended turn in admitted students. The program I was looking into at MIT offers admissions to around 20 applicants each year because historically roughly 1/2 of their offers are denied. But what would happen if all 20 decided to accept? Well, that program would then be obligated to pay the guruanteed tuition and stipend ($40K) per year per student for five years per student. Kinda puts a dent in their budgets, doesn't it. A "safety" program cannot afford to make that mistake. In reality, because of this, admissions at a "safety" might be even harder/more competitive.
2. Great advice, if you can find it. One of the reasons why there is a lack of grad school rankings is because grad schools do not collect, or at least publicize, this information in the same way undergraduate institutions do. You can find some information for some programs/schools, and for others, nothing. You are supposed to select grad programs based on what the specific programs are doing and how closely it matches to your own perspective course of study/research; not how good the schools name will look on your resume/CV.
3. Cannot complain here, but this should be #1.
4. I know people who have worked in university admissions or even taught courses. My experience is that they can offer great advice, point you towards the right people, but cannot really do much outside of that.
5. Yup, for sure.
To go with your closing sentence I think that it also helps if you are honest with yourself and the schools you are applying to. I once read something that went along the lines of "Once you read a couple hundred applications you get the feel for those applicants who really are a great match for the program and for those who are simply applying 'just because'". If you are truly excited about a program and you feel that you are a great fit, it will show in your application.
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Also, I believe it is called the Goldberg Index. Law schools also use something similar, but with the LSAT instead of GRE.
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What exactly is this score used for? Is it a metric for admissions somewhere?
I believe it is used for Psy.D. grad school admissions, if I remember correctly. If it is what I am thinking it is, it is a way for a high combined GRE score to compensate for a low GPA, and, for a high GPA to compensate for a low combined GRE score. A "leveling of the playing field", if you will. There is a similar index score for high school students called...the Index Score. It is basically computed with the high school GPA and either the ACT or SAT score.
What's considered a good/bad Goldberg score?
I believe a 9.5 "moves your application forward", so anything at or above a 9.5. It might vary by program, though.
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With NSF and similar organizations, I think you just put in a project proposal, and if you get the fellowship it follows you wherever you go, to whatever school and to whatever professor. There are limitations on certain fellowships but the big ones basically fund you completely so you don't need much more.
I could be wrong but if I remember correctly the amount awarded by NSF is not enough to cover tuition and living expenses, but may still greatly increase your chances of being accepted. However, there seems to be many types of NSF grants available, even those for already attended grad students.
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Forgot to add: there are quite a number of fellowships, scholarships, and other types of fundings available. And, really high GRE scores might even be enough for you to gain a fellowship without even applying to one.
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Can someone please explain how I should be expected to contact 2-3 POIs at each school I want to apply to??
There are about 10-15 professors who study exactly what I want to study.... I'm pretty positive similar numbers would be true of any focused research interest.
I will contact those professors and make sure they have funding before I apply to their programs. If they dont, then I wont apply. I dont get at all how emailing 3 professors at the same school would be beneficial. If anything, it shows that all you care about is getting into the school, not researching your passion.
You simply write an email briefly explaining who you are and why you are contacting. Briefly include a little bit about why their research excites you and how it matches to what you want to do. Keep it brief. Mention you are applying to X Program and Y University for Z Year and politely inquire if they are taking on students (for Z Year). Then conclude with something like "If you are, would you be willing to further discuss this?" Do not be long-winded and keep the ball in their court: do not be pushy.
Do not ask if they have funding. You will come across as arrogant. But, really by asking if they are taking on new students is asking if they have funding. However, just because a particular professor does not have funding does not mean that you will not be funded. Some programs offer institutional grants, fellowships, scholarships, etc. and you will not know if you get these until after you apply. If such aid is offered, it will be mentioned on the[ir] website.
I disagree with your last sentence, but this is just my opinion.
Do you have any recommendation on how to go about this? When contacting professors, would you standardly add into the email that you are interested in applying for NSF if they are willing to advise it? Or would you wait until after a skype or good conversation to bring it up? also, are you able to do multiple grants with multiple professors at different schools?
I would not mention this to professors during initial contact. Now, if your proposal was accepted, or if even you were a runner up (but no award), that would be different. The whole point of these NSF proposals--and that is what they are, research proposals--is to demonstrate that you have the ability to formulate an idea and write a proposal. That is it. You do not even have to do the proposal and the proposal itself may not even be doable but it does need to be novel. You do not need an "NSF advisor" and it is advised that you do not try to seek one out although it might help to ask if your proposal is properly formatted and/or thought through.
The guidelines, examples, and most everything else can be found here:
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg
Not to sound confusing, but it would be okay to mention that you submitted the proposal to the NSF after you have submitted it. Do not make the assumption that you will develop a conversation with these professors/POIs. It would be best if you can make an appointment to swing by their office (or you can just make a cold call as I once did. I just happened to be in that town for other reasons and decided at the last minute to pop in and say "hello". I ended up not applying but I did get a ton of awesome advice). Realistically, you are going to shoot off your emails and then wait....perhaps to a month...before you receive a reply...if they even bother to reply. And sometimes the reply is a simple "When are you applying and to what program?" Uh...wasn't that in my initial email...?
As for multiple grants from different schools...as far as I know, no. Some universities collaborate with other universities, and some departments or individual researchers do as well, but they also compete for funding. I highly doubt a professor at one school is going to fund you while you are also being funded by another professor from a "competing" school even if you are working with the both of them. You may collaborate with the two, but one of the profs is going to spend his cash on another student.
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Hello all,
I was just wondering, is there any use in pursuing a PhD if one does not intend to go into academia? My parents really want me to get a PhD (don't worry I'm not making life choices based on their opinion and can make my own decisions but want to at least consider their input) but I'm not so sure.
My major is East Asian Studies, I am highly interested in modern Korean history/politics and human rights issues in general. Career-wise, I am interested in becoming a translator/interpreter/ someone who writes reports on these kinds of issues (the recently released report from the UN Commission of Inquiry about North Korea, for example, is the kind of work I'd be interested in doing, as well as translating reports like that).
Would it be a good idea to get a PhD, probably in modern history or political science or something along those lines, if this was the kind of path someone wanted to take in life?
Why or why not?
Thanks!
Well, Ph.D.s are also preparation for a career in research, so if you want to seriously be an "authority" of Korean history/politics a Ph.D. can work for you. An authority on Korean history/politics can very well have a place within the U.N., but honestly that sort of expertise might serve you better elsewhere.
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Ok, so the situation is that I emailed a few different professors that I thought I'd be interested in working with when I was applying to Master's programs. One of my top choices answered pretty quickly and was very nice and encouraging, but said she wouldn't be able to take any more students for a while. I thanked her and moved on.
Flash forward to being offered an internship in a University medical and veterinary entomology lab (this is the field I'm hoping to get into) through the state's Department of Health and then being offered a graduate research position at that school. So far, so good.
While the department is pretty good and my current advisor is fantastic, I have no plans to continue on to do a Ph.D. at this school. This is partly because my degree would say "entomology and plant pathology" and that feels deceptive since I have no intention of actually working with plants and partly because I think it would be good for me to gain experience in different labs working with different people.
So, back to the professor I emailed a while back who said she didn't have space. That school, and her program specifically, is still at the top of my list. It's a very good school and would, at this point, be a serious reach for me. However, I have more research under my belt than I did when I first contacted them and I have the entire 2+ years of my Master's program to improve my standing. I've been told that, since I've already spoken to her and I'm pretty certain this is what I want, I should contact her as soon as possible- maybe even before I start the Master's program- to let her know what I've been doing and tell her I'm still interested in working with her in the future if she has the space.
My questions are: 1) is it a good idea to contact her again this early? 2) What should an email like that say?
Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you.
I looked into a program at MIT (for the fourth straight year). Every year this program opened applications and began the cycle sometime in August. I do believe that most programs start sometime between September and October. Also, some schools/programs have rolling admissions and others will take applications at anytime despite what-ever their deadline states.
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I am applying for Fall 2015 admission in the sciences so I will be working on applications this fall.
I am currently working on my master's and have pretty specific research interests. I have identified people who are well known in my subfield and I am working on reading publications now to decide who’s interests fit best with mine.
I have a couple specific questions related to contacting them (which I assume will happen this summer):
1) Is it a good idea to bold face words that I want to catch their eye in the email or does this come off too strong? My field is technology heavy and I have experience with specific software that their research centers around. They probably spend months - a year teaching their new students about this stuff. Some of them have developed their own related software that I have used or read a lot about and would be interested in using. So should I bold some of the main words to catch their attention and make sure they pay attention to my email?
2) Contacting professors who collaborate? Some of the professors who I want to contact collaborate extensively with professors at other schools... publish together frequently and share students (some students do a PhD under 1 professor and postdoc with the other). If Prof X and Prof Y are at different schools but doing very similar things then I of course want to apply to both schools and contact both professors. How do I handle that? Do I let Prof X know that I also contacted Prof Y and would love to work with either? Send an email to them together, saying that I would love to be part of their work, should I apply to both programs or jsut 1?
My research interests are specific enough that if I cant work with the specific advisors then I am no longer interested in the programs so writing these emails is going to be a big deal for me. Any other advice is welcome!
For question #2, simply send each an individual email. I would not specify that I am in contact with the other professor as the whole point of contacting the professor in the first place is to get someone on the "inside" to go to bat for you when your application comes up for review. Also be aware that the mentor/advisor role may be different at different schools/programs. In one program I applied to students have two advisors: an academic advisor and a research advisor. With another program admitted students are assigned an initial advisor and have two years to select an advisory committee. At yet another program I was interested in, but ended up not applying, I would have up to two years to select/find an advisor and lab. And of course there are the programs where my advisor from the get-go would remain my advisor throughout.
Thanks for the opinions on bolding.
Does any have any opinions on the second question? If I turn down a professor for phd then does it hurt my chance of doing a postdoc with him in the future?
It may or it may not, really depends on individual disposition. And perhaps, memory.
I've seen you post several times concerning your postdoc experience. I think this is taking preparation to the extreme. You haven't even been admitted to a PhD program yet. Also, the professors are not going to care that you choose to work with another professor. You are not the only person applying to the program, and I'm willing to bet that you won't be the only person emailing them either. As long as you send an email politely decling (which you can find advice on how to write those on here), you should be fine. Here's what I suggest:
1) NO bold face. This is considered rude. These are research professors who have quite a bit of intelligence. Putting words in bold face is like telling them that they don't know how to read. Responding to potential students is part of their job but not the only part. Send them an email. If they don't respond in 2 weeks or so, send a follow up.
2) Contact the professor that you are interested in at the school you're interested in. If two people collaborate and you're interested in working with either of them, email both of them. Do not send one email to multiple professors. Even with the best of intentions, this could look like cold-mailing. And someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you have to apply to postdoc positions so a graduate student that worked with Professor X would have to apply to work with Professor Y with their postdoc. They would have an advantage, but I don't think it would be a sure thing.
I also made contact with the professors I wanted to work with, and it was invaluable. You can find tons of advice online. I sent a paragraph or two that contained my stats and accomplishments along with the research I'm interested in and how it fit with the research they were doing.
I believe you are correct about the postdoc.
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I had a similar "issue". I called the program director and was told it can take a few weeks for their system to update the info online. She did inform that all transcripts were received though. A quick check and one still shows as being "Due Now" in bright red letters....
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...crap.
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Catherine Zeta-Jones was in High Fidelity with John Cusack.
John Cusack was in Hunger Games (the first one) with Julianna Moore.
Julianna Moore appeared in a few episodes of 30 Rock with Tina Fey.
Tina Fey was a cast member of SNL at during the same time with Amy Poehler.
Amy Puehler stars in Parks and Recreation with Aziz Ansari.
Will Arnett and Owen Wilson.
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This one just came up:
Massaaachusett Institute Of Technology (MIT) Economics, PhD (F14) Rejected via E-mail on 26 Feb 2014 ♦ U 26 Feb 2014- rejected by home school.. never expected before February 21
Not the note, but the spelling of the school... XD
Well, I did undergrad in Massachusetts and it took me a while to consistently get it right. During the interim I just wrote Massoftwoshits.
I went to a different school (that is, not MIT) and it is my understanding that it is difficult for an MIT undergrad to get accepted into an MIT grad program. Anti-nepotism of sorts, I suppose.
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I read one the other day that simply read: "Wow!"
My favorites are more of a type and not any one in particular. They fall under two categories:
"I have the highest GPA and GRE scores of anyone in the history of the World. I published in every single research journal on the planet. I won ten Nobel Prizes last year...I was so positive I was going to be accepted that I moved to [location of school] before I even submitted my application. Graduate school admissions officers are a bunch of imbeciles who are too ignorant to exist". A bit of an exaggeration, sure, but these types of "quotes" are there.
And,
"No biggie. I knew I was not going to get accepted".
- Clinical_PhD, bindlestiff, Milyd and 16 others
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I am from Nor Cal. All I can really offer is that you will find cheaper housing in San Jose.
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I applied to a different program, but I am still waiting on Maryland.
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Didn't you apply to more schools? Nothing is guarantee in these things.
No. He only applied to Cal because Cal has the lab he wants/needs to use for his own research. He obviously does not need a Ph.D....for anything...and his "great discovery" was already made...elsewhere. To be frank, what mentor/advisor/POI is going to bring this guy into their lab when it is obvious the OP is not going to accept any type of mentoring to begin with. I can see it now: Lead: "This is my lab,...". OP: "I was the PI of my own lab! I had students, dammit! I know what I am doing. Get out of my way!".
The OP sounds fishy, there is something not right with it.
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Thank you for your reply. The program I applied to does have an ASF. According to the ASF page:
"You may check on the status of your application by clicking on the "Check application status" link at any time. It will display which items have been received and which items are still needed to complete your application."
And, when I click on "Check Application Status", I get:
"Your application is now complete. It is currently being processed or soon will be. Thanks. Decision information cannot be given out over the phone or in email correspondence."
Perhaps is just my program/department?
A problem with April the 15th
in Decisions, Decisions
Posted
Nope. As I am sure you are aware, there are people wanting in line for you to make your decisions. For every seat you give up there is at least one person waiting to sit down. In the end, it really does not matter to the program if it is you, or him, or her.