calliope_dogstar

Anyone else heading to beautiful Charlottesville?

I am not going into the biomedical sciences program, but I am going to UVa!

The PI updated me about my status with him. I dunno about the department. On a lighter note, I am scheduled for a visit to one of my two favorites!

Feeling pretty low. I was told I was good for interviewing by Davis, but the PI rejected me. Cornell unofficially told me I'm out. Rejection hurts, and it's very easy for me to see it as "I was right, I'm not good enough for this."

EEEeeeee! I just got an email from UC Davis Entomology saying I qualify academically for the interview and admission process. 0_0

I discovered that there is an analytics thing with google. I have an exceedingly rare name, so just putting it in has me as the top three items. One of these is a page at my university, that I made using my university connected google account. I use analytics to see if anyone has been looking me up =_=

Awesome! I didn't apply there, but grats on the interview!

I applied to both.

*crossing fingers* not that I'm superstitious. LoL

I have not gotten word yet. I sent an email asking for confirmation that my application was truly complete and I got a form email back (a week ago) saying the committee is meeting in the next couple weeks. I am not sure how it works- I also contacted a professor toward the end of summer and was told I'd be a good fit, but he's not replied to any subsequent emails.

Insects and plants are very interrelated... Close enough?

Hello! I see so many biomedical/etc. and so few of my fellow play-in-the-dirt-and-with-critters types.... Anyone else out there waiting for your admission to some sort of ___ology (Entomology, Herpetology, Ornithology, Mammology... Botany-ology)? Or to study evolutionary theory (incl. systematics)? Or to really play in the dirt with those dirty, dirty, ecologists?

Are you me?

1) Are you the first in your family to pursue graduate education? Are you the first to pursue higher education in general? I am an only child. My mother didn't finish high school, my father didn't finish college (two semesters I think?). I have uncles who went on to higher ed, but I'm not super close with them. I actually had one try to encourage me to pursue a different path than the one I'm taking (You should be a doctor! Like a medical doctor!). 2) What struggles have you faced as a first-generation applicant? Well, I have no "in" with the schools outside of my own research and mentored relationships with professors at my school. I've known folks whose parents are in academia, and it's like they just "know" what they have to do. When I made the decision I had no clue at all what goes into graduate school or what I needed to do, and I was already a Junior at my uni. I got the absolute most from forming acquaintances and friendships with grad students in my department. I can't really explain any of this stuff to my parents because it is all right over their heads. 3) What have you accomplished as a first-generation applicant? In my short time since I've figured this out I've been accepted as an undergrad TA (responsible for teaching an intro lab, conducting it, and grading for 24 students), and had several research experiences- resulting in several professors encouraging me along my path and telling me I have what it takes. One thing is for sure, once I set my mind to a thing... I do it with gusto. To give an idea, this last semester I had 15 credit hours, seven of which were what I would consider hard/time consuming courses. I was also an undergraduate teaching assistant, applying to graduate programs, and learning to mentor incoming freshmen interested in research projects. And I was building a website related to my area of interest. Oh. And I'm a mom with a husband and two young kids. I wound up kicking myself a few weeks in because I'd dropped a class required for my core curriculum because I thought I'd hit my limit. I realized I probably could have sandwiched that coursework in if I'd known how much easier another class became after those first couple weeks. 4) What has helped you reach your educational goals? My daughter. She is potentially going to face some serious challenges in her life due to circumstances surrounding her birth. When she not only survived but surpassed expectations I began to realize I need to not only encourage her to make a difference in the world but to also set the pace for her to follow. She's crazy tough and smart, and so I want to be able to put out there for her that not only can she do it, but she's going to do better than her mama.

I'm with ya. I submitted my applications early (I don't like rushing things at the last second) and now I'm realizing that means I have too much time to wait. *sigh* I want the semester to start (last semester before graduation) so that I'm more concerned with all those duties than I am with acceptances/rejections.

good sports

Queen bee

...in contacting a backup letter writer you misspell "thing" as "thong". You are also taking a seminar course with said letter writer the following semester. damn autocorrect... why did it choose thong?

grind coffee

Undergrad Institution: State university Major(s): Biology (this is a primarily medical route subject, and I have zero interest in medicine) Minor(s): GPA in Major: 3.78 Overall GPA: 3.61 Position in Class: I have no idea. I've gotten Dean's List twice, in the College of Science and Engineering Type of Student: Nontraditional. White female, married, two kids. GRE Scores (revised): Q: 158 V: 161 W: 5.0 B: Not Taking. Research Experience: - REU with forum presentation, poster and experience with one of the PIs I am applying to work with. Potential publication from this. - Experience mentoring honors undergraduates in research topic (outside of primary interests) at home institution - Project tangential to research interests at home institution Awards/Honors/Recognitions: -Dean's list x2 Pertinent Activities or Jobs: -Undergraduate teaching assistant for introductory biology laboratory course. Sole responsibility of teaching the course to class of 24 students. Doing this for my third semester in the spring. Special Bonus Points: -I've got a feeling my letter writers are awesome and think well of me (considering two of them mentioned that I'd have a place with them if I wanted it) - You can't tell from this but I'm a really good writer. I suspect my SoP is pretty good. I've had grad students approach me to proofread their writing samples. Applying to Where: I have submitted applications to Entomology, Ecology, and Environmental Sciences programs at (in order from west to east across U.S.) -UC Davis -University of Illinois, Urbana-champaign -Univeristy of Virginia -Cornell

Carrot Cake

I just got some notification from Acemia.edu that someone in Canada searched my name on Google and found me. What? Anyone else get stuff like this? (No schools in Canada on my applications list).

I think I qualify as "older" I'm 31, finishing up my Bachelors. I have a husband and two kids. I want to be an evolutionary biologist/ecologist when I grow up.

Current Grad Student: "Have you figured out where you are going?" Me: "Um. I still have to find out if I am officially accepted anywhere. I have a long time to wait still." Same Grad Student: "Do you have one you are really hoping for?" Me: "Uhhh... I applied only to ones I really hope to go to...?" A week later: Same Grad Student: "Have you figured out where you are going?" Me: "Um. I still have to find out if I am officially accepted anywhere. I have a long time to wait still." Same Grad Student: "Do you have one you are really hoping for?" Me: "...Am I having deja vu?" Clearly being a grad student also causes brain damage.

Hello! How do these scores stack up for the good schools for entomology? 158 Quant 161 Verbal I took the test today, but I think I did ok on the writing- when I go to write for things other than forums I am quite eloquent. I have a 3.55 GPA, several research experiences under my belt including a summer REU involving insects. I have been contacting professors, and I know I have good letters of rec coming in. Do I stand any kind of chance at the top entomology schools? (University of Illinois @ Urbana Champaign, UC Davis, Cornell) Thank you! -Calliope