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Everything posted by BeakerBreaker
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If you picked the people interviewing you (because of research interest), the interview is a good opportunity to ask them about what work they are doing at the moment -- projects that they either recently started, or plan to start in the near future, that you could work on. This will give you a good idea if you want to work with them for rotations, and will eat up a lot of time (productively). Those other questions like how many students they've had and where they end up are important, too.
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Did you do well in classes related to your graduate program, or were those in general all over the place, as well? How long have you been out of college? You can make the argument that you've changed since then (especially if you have some research experience in between).
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"Ignorance is bliss," and the famous Hemingway quote "happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know," would both seem to contradict that intuition But the question/answers to the question are all hocus pocus anyway.
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I saw that at least one person who was rejected recently with multiple publications, etc. was an international student, and those spots are specifically limited due to the availability of funding sources. International students only have a handful of spots to compete for here.
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2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results
BeakerBreaker replied to Monochrome Spring's topic in Biology
It happens fairly often. When you get an acceptance offer, you are generally told to reply as soon as you can so that they can free up your spot for someone else if you decide not to accept. The schools will typically accept X number of students, expecting that some percent of X number of students will actually accept; if more people than usual turn them down, they will pull from their waitlisting pool. For that reason, if you haven't heard back from them in January or February, you are most likely waitlisted. Sometimes you can be pulled off the waitlist when too many people decline interviews. I guess a better way to put it: you can be waitlisted for interviews (post-application), and waitlisted for acceptance (post-interview). -
2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results
BeakerBreaker replied to Monochrome Spring's topic in Biology
This applies to most schools. This time last year, I only had one interview. Some schools that eventually gave me interviews had already contacted people, but gave me my dates in January. Don't worry too much! -
Neuroscience students typically come from neuroscience or biology backgrounds (in my program, neuroscience is squarely in the biology and biomedical field). These students generally take courses in basic biology, cell physiology, genetics, biochemistry/organic chemistry, molecular biology, and every once in awhile you will find some neurophysiology ("Brain and Behavior") classes in the psychology department. Your coursework may or may not be an issue -- did you take anything as an undergrad that could help? Are you looking for master's or PhD programs? If it's the latter, I think the main issue is conveying both your interest in and capability of performing research for a long period of time, which is substantially different than taking science courses. If you are looking for a third master's, I think it would be pretty easy to convince them that your background would work out, provided you feel comfortable with some of the core topics you would use (genetics-> genomics and probably molecular bio in your case).
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I think it is pretty rare. I'm sure I've read somewhere that the average GPA of incoming students in many of the top-tier PhD programs is closer to 3.5-3.6. That's still reasonably high, of course, but you have to consider the demographic of people applying to PhD programs and caring enough to monitor the results page -- it tends to select for high-achievers, I think.
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Not at all. Hardly anyone studies the same topic in graduate school that they studied as an undergrad, just like hardly any graduate students do three rotations in the exact same field. I've been all over the map without a problem. What the schools mean by "research fit" is mostly that the school has faculty that line up with your interests, and that you mesh well with the community there (specifically, they want to make sure they have open positions in their labs to accommodate your interests). Tell them that you want to research pharmacology and immunology, and why specifically that school will be able to provide the sort of educational experience and environment you desire.
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2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results
BeakerBreaker replied to Monochrome Spring's topic in Biology
For the majority of schools, the subject GRE is not required. I would only take it and put it on my application if either 1) the school requires it or 2) your grades in biochem/molecular biology were poor. -
Immunology/Microbiology Ph.D-GRE/Research/Transcript Question
BeakerBreaker replied to DirtyLabCoat's topic in Biology
My initial reaction is that a 70 quant score isn't low enough to draw a lot of attention. That's probably around the minimum that you would want; some schools might automatically cut your application, but I wouldn't plan around that. The subject GRE is not required by the vast majority of schools and I wouldn't bother with it. If your GPA was poor, it might help counter that, but otherwise I think most schools are more concerned with your ability to do research than your ability to spit out textbook knowledge (your transcript represents the latter well enough). Your research background looks strong. Just make sure that you get good letters along with it, as those will open (or not) doors for you. If you retake the GRE, I'm pretty sure they will take the highest score from each section, so you can focus on the quant stuff. I found that section very gimmicky, so as a result, increasing your score should be straightforward. I would probably lean towards #3 (letting your research do the talking), with a slight consideration to #1, but if I were in your shoes I wouldn't retake it. There's a N=1 opinion. Good luck! -
Many places set a flat-out 3.0 GPA cutoff and won't even look at your application if it's below that. Some might make exceptions. You will have to look for that specifically on each school's website.
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Your GRE is absolutely fine, unless your AW score is low. I wouldn't bother with it. Taking time off to work in a corporate environment isn't a red flag, especially with the horrible economy these days -- sometimes finding a decent research position takes quite awhile. FWIW, I took a year off working random jobs while I waited for my fiancee/gf at the time to finish college, and then spent 3 years in an academic research lab. No one ever asked me about it. The only thing I would give serious consideration is that your research interests (and presumably your SoP) are very narrow. This is slightly problematic, since schools will assume you will be unhappy if the handful of professors doing that research at their university are unable to take you. You could mention it in your SoP, but to make it the entirety of it might be somewhat risky. Would you be interested in working on anything else? How many faculty at each school are performing this research, and have you talked to them about funding? Similarly, three schools will likely be too few, given your narrow research and the unpredictability of the application process -- although I assume you have at least a couple more you are considering. How long is the NIH postbac? If you can make a good impression there, a LoR from a PI there will likely bolster your application. Grad schools are mostly interested in seeing people who can speak to your ability to do serious research, and it is often good to diversify the source of LoRs you have.
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2013 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results
BeakerBreaker replied to MicroB2012's topic in Biology
I applied to biochem for my first choice, and molecular biology for my second. The application status said they were considering it under biochem until the beginning of April when it switched over to my second choice (so I think they at least looked at it). My results were a little hit or miss, but it was kind of surprising not to hear back at all XD -
2013 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results
BeakerBreaker replied to MicroB2012's topic in Biology
I had one school never respond to me (and it's a good program, too). I had one professor at another school tell me they would get back to me on a certain date -- then didn't send any updates for another 4 weeks past that date. I had two schools "reject" me after I declined their offers of admission. Reminded me of kids in middle-school: "nuh-uh, you can't reject me, I reject you first!" -
I would actually argue against doing a second master's. While it may be easier to get into a master's, you will have to pay and you will still have to take classes in your first year. If you want research experience, try to find a technician job (preferably a short term, 6 months - 1 year job) in biology, preferably at an academic university (i.e. research institution). This will give you research experience, at least one more solid LoR, and some money. Go ahead and take the GRE. Keep in mind that most (90%+) schools don't require the subject test, but if you do well it will be an asset on your application. The general GRE tests very vague, broad skills that should't diminish the further out from undergrad you are. I did well on my general test after being out of college for 5 years. Also, without research experience, you don't really know if you're going to hate or love being in the lab. Even if you want to be an adjunct professor, or tenured university professor, it will require years of work that many people dislike. Make sure to pursue an opportunity that will give you full time lab work, both for your resume and for your own perspective.
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Location doesn't matter to me -- I visited Dartmouth and I understand there's literally nothing around it. I also went to a small liberal arts college for undergrad in a cold climate, so I'm sort of used to what that all involves.
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I'm having a very difficult time picking between these programs. Did anyone interview at these schools or is anyone enrolled at either one? My thoughts on the decision: Dartmouth Thoughts: 1) Excellent faculty interactions 2) Very enthusiastic and -happy- graduate students. It seemed like over half of all students in the program came out for the interview weekend and absolutely everyone seemed happy to be there. WUSTL Thoughts: 1) More faculty options and more varied research; larger program than Dartmouth with lots of resources. Had good interactions with faculty 2) Grad students were very intelligent, but very serious at the same time -- almost seemed more exhausted than the people traveling across the country to be there. ------------ It may seem simplistic, but those are my distilled impressions of the schools. It would be great to get feedback from anyone who knows anything about either program. Location doesn't matter at all to me, and I already have faculty at both schools who I could rotate with.
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My neuroscience programs. Let me show you them.
BeakerBreaker replied to acetylcholine's topic in Biology
It's hard to say, really. Your GRE (practice) is really solid, GPA is good. But what makes or breaks your application will likely be your LoRs and research experience. As long as you did something meaningful and didn't wash glassware for two summers, you should be fine on that front. You'll need a convincing SoP. You'll want LoRs that will praise your ability to do research. Based off of what you've written, I'd say the range of schools you chose is good. Never undersell yourself. If you like Harvard, WUSTL, whatever, you absolutely should apply for it and should not worry about your credentials. There is no such thing as a safety school. That's my second piece of advice; I got into some good programs and rejected from some worse 'ranked' programs. There really isn't such a thing as 'too many schools.' That's up for you to decide: do you want to spend the time and money? If so, then go for it. If you truly think you'd enjoy 20+ programs and don't mind spending the money, apply to 20+. Just do your research ahead of time to make sure you really like what those programs to offer. No one is going to be able to tell you which of those schools will appeal to you the most. Good luck -- I'm more of a biochem/MCB kind of person, but perhaps someone who is into the whole neuro thing can give you better advice about those programs. -
I'd second what floridabio has to say. Saying that those classes don't mean anything is a little bit of an exaggeration, I think. After supervising undergrads in a molecular biology lab, it pains me to think how myopic a grad. school candidate would be with just a summer or two of research experience without the broader knowledge base to back it up. By skipping those classes, you are going to make your relevant grad school classes in cell and molecular biology more difficult, as well, and have a more difficult time in seminars, etc. What is your undergraduate degree in?
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Have you heard back yet? I was at the first weekend and heard between 1 and 2 weeks after leaving. Good luck!
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2013 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results
BeakerBreaker replied to MicroB2012's topic in Biology
Thanks SynBio+ragumar, that will save my F5 key a few more presses XD edit - Just got accepted to UT: Austin's biochemistry program a few minutes ago by email, so I suspect they're sending out all CMB-related program acceptances today for people who interviewed at the first weekend -
2013 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results
BeakerBreaker replied to MicroB2012's topic in Biology
For you Austin folks, did your UTdirect mystatus thing switch from "in review"? I applied to biochem, still no word Also congrats!! -
2013 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results
BeakerBreaker replied to MicroB2012's topic in Biology
Maybe -- the school where I work signs a contract with the incoming graduate student that says (paraphrasing) "if your PI runs out of money, the university itself will pay your stipend/tuition reimbursement for the duration of the program." There are plenty of students here whose labs have run out of money, but they are still able to continue.