Monochrome Spring

So, I am also under 21. You should make a point when emailing your interview coordinator to mention that you are underage. Any larger group events will then be arranged such that you can also attend. If you can't drink when others are drinking, you can't drink. Let your research ideas talk for you, and disregard anyone who would judge you for being underage.

I got my rejection letter from Stanford last week. Ecology and Evolution. Same generic message. But I'm sure it's true that they get a lot of applications. They are Stanford after all.

Maybe someone should contact NSF in some way, if it matters that much. I know someone made a twitter comment, but it hasn't been responded to.

Another potential Michigan person! I would be living in East Lansing. : ) Definitely going to use a road trip for moving as an excuse to look at sites across the US.

I think it depends on the program and professor. More importantly, you need to figure out if you can defer any funding, which may not be possible. In general, I think deferral is okay if you have a family issue or a major obligation. But I don't think they're as likely to approve it if you're deferring to take an extra year to relax. Again, it'll be very program/professor specific.

Has anyone else received official funding offers from any programs?

I wonder if you need an interview to be accepted? At this point, it's not really in the running for me, since I have other offers, but it'd be good to know.

Very cool! As for me, I think I'll be heading out to Costa Rica to check out some field stations and national forests to check out possible research sites. And after that I'm planning on taking a road trip across the country to my new home. I'm trying to only travel with whatever I can fit into my car (which is not large by any means), so I've already started minimizing the belongings (trading physical copies of books for ebooks, etc).

So, here's a fun idea to help us pass the time in our little biology bubble. Based on the information that you have now about acceptances, rejections, etc., what do you think you're going to do this summer? Be specific. Are you planning for a road trip to move across country? Are you going to read through as many novels as possible before you sell your soul to academia? Are you going to get a head start on research? Will those plans change with a single email from the admissions committee?

You also have the option of taking classes through sites like Coursera, if you just want to learn and to have mini assignments. The benefit of something like that is that if you fall behind at your university, there really is no commitment to finish the course, and you won't be stuck with multiple commitments.

Is anyone else looking at joining an umbrella/dual program? I'm looking at MSU's Plant Biology/EEB dual program, but I'd like to hear other users' thoughts on this.

I don't know if they do. Sorry. I would guess that the late notification means no?

UMD CP is notorious for waiting until March to send your acceptance or rejection via snail mail.

Congratulations!!

I accidentally upvoted that, because I read acceptance... Anyway, I'm sorry Eco. I'm sure you'll get an amazing acceptance somewhere else! Edit: Just checked my mail. I was rejected too. <3

Gmail was down earlier today, but it's back up.

Notices for the Michigan State University College of Natural Sciences Recruiting Fellowship are out/coming out.

Notices for the Michigan State University College of Natural Sciences Recruiting Fellowship are out/coming out.

In that case, submit the first for quant heavy programs, and submit the second for other programs, or programs with score cutoffs. You can also email/call the departments to ask which ones they weigh more heavily. Overall though, I think the second one, regardless of your weaker quantitative background.

Submit both. Your program will take the better scores for each section into consideration.

If I've learned anything this interview season, it's that... the interview is just as important for you to make a choice as it is for the professors/program to make a decision.

Best: Michigan State University (answered every little annoying question I had within 2 days) Worst: None The rest were either average, or I didn't have a lot to ask.

After interviews/acceptances/rejections are done, I'm going to make a new thread for where we're attending. Maybe we can all figure out meet-ups, housing, etc.

That does complicate matters. I visited my POI in fall to meet him and his students. But he also said there were some funding issues with his lab, and he wouldn't know if he's taking anyone. Thanks for the heads up.