biotechie

This wouldn't surprise me for my field as a lot of students in bio-related fields try out a MS if they don't get into med school or if they don't know what to do next (The "Do I want to do research or not, question"). Many also try to do it through their employers. It is very difficult to do graduate studies in this field with outside employment as many terminal non-thesis programs still require laboratory work, and funded thesis-based MS programs like I was in are rare, so many are required to try and balance work and school + lab. Sometimes they get into med school and drop (which makes me angry) or they find that a graduate degree in molecular biology isn't for them (understandable). A lot of us also want to do things that are more associated with having a PhD, for example running our own lab, research projects, and having our own graduate students. I think the graduation rate for students in PhD programs (who had previous research experience and an idea of what they're getting into) is higher, but this also probably varies widely by program within the STEM fields.

Not necessarily. I got an interview at one school last year about a week and a half before the interview date. It was a good thing they were paying for the flights, because they would have been expensive!

I do have a boyfriend... who, in the past year, I've seen a total of 10-20 times. We text, sometimes Skype, but I don't get to contact him that often. Essentially, I'm living as a single girl, but without the benefit of being able to go out with guys. What I was trying to get across to you is that at one point, I was a a tiny bit desperate... as soon as I came to terms with being single and started enjoying it (at age 21), I was the happiest I've ever been. I found all of the pros. When I was 22, I started dating my current boyfriend. I'm still happy, but I know that I can be happy in or out of a serious relationship. THAT is the point that I wanted you to get. Being single isn't the end of the world.... in fact, it is awesome. I've been there. I stopped looking for guys. I was having the time of my life, and I still go have all kinds of fun when I'm not in the classroom or lab. Being single is NOT the worst thing that could happen to you... if indeed that is, you've somehow found a cure for every type of cancer (curing mutations in every gene we have, over 22,000), ended every disease epidemic, found ways to prevent overcrowding, food shortages, poverty, and found a way to provide medical care to all. Being single pales in comparison... you are but one in the world, and you have things much better than so many others.

I carried a nice patent leather bag that I could put a small notebook in as well. It was professional, and that was what most of the other girls did. I just carried my folder with resumes, information, etc. in it. Some programs will give you a bag. Do yourself a favor and turn your phone off during interview day. The last thing you want is to have it go off during an interview with your favorite POI!

You're always saying that you want to be married and pregnant by the time you take on clients, but have you really ever stopped to think of what happens if that DOES NOT happen for you? 2 years isn't a long time at all to meet someone, date, get engaged, and then married. Very few of my friends that ended up happy dated less than 2 years. I've known my boyfriend for almost 6 years, but we didn't date initially. It took 3 years for us to finally date, and that was after I stopped looking. I'm worried that with your shear desperation for someone, you're either going to be left alone in the dark or with someone who is horrible. You need to take some time to write out the pros of being single in 2 years... because you have to realize it is a very real possibility. You have to prepare yourself for that and you have to find a way to be happy about that. For example, I will be moving every 2-3 years after I graduate (at age 29) from my PhD program. A huge pro for me would be that I would be unattached and free to move as needed without having to worry about a significant other finding a job or finding a school for children. My likelihood of accruing extra debt is lower, and I'm a lot more free to be able to go out wherever and with whomever I want on a Friday night... or I can immerse myself in my lab work without worrying about someone being angry with me for being an hour late to come home. If you only ever look at the cons, you're never going to be happy in any situation, even with your grad degree. Yes, you learn a lot about yourself in graduate school, but it is not a place to find your whole self. I really think that you need to spend some time working on yourself before you spend a ton of money on a grad degree when you might find yourself mentally unable to handle the situations that will be presented to you on the job. These people that you're going to be working with need someone who will not judge them, who they can depend on to find ways to appropriately assist. How can someone who doesn't know themselves and only views one way of life as giving happiness provide that? The way you talk, if a girl like your friend came in, pregnant, scared, and not knowing what to do, you wouldn't be able to help them. This can be incredibly damaging to that person... and I know that I wouldn't be willing to even practice if I didn't have myself sorted out to the point where I could respect that lives of others do not have to fit this idea of "perfection" that you have in your mind. To answer your initial post: I have been on my own since my MS, and moved 13 hours away for my PhD. Sometimes I am a little lonely, but I call a friend at home or we play games over IM, or I Skype my boyfriend. I spend most of my time at school (10-12 hours per day) and the rest of my day studying and reading papers. Some weekends, if I have time, I go shopping with some others from my program. Right now, we're prepping a welcome party for one of the guy's wives, so I get to shop for a party when I get back. Any time I am at school, I'm extremely happy. You just have to put on your big girl pants and go for it, be it single and happy, or married and happy. There's no other way to be.... because there are good things in nearly all situations.

I don't think that is a big enough change to make a huge difference.

Over the Rainbow as sung by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I This is probably the most carefree song I have on my computer, and I listen to it any time I am having an awful day. The accompaniment is a simple ukelele, and his voice is smooth and gentle. It makes me happy.

I have wide hips, but no other curves. Dress pants from Maurice's always work out for me: www.maurices.com. Otherwise, it only costs a couple of bucks to get pants tailored!

That depends on the airline; some allow you to switch for free, others don't. I had to switch a United Flight, and it cost me $250. I don't know what the protocol will be if they've booked you on a flight on one of the ones that costs to switch. Edit: The United Switch was recent... it costs $200, but I had a $50 charge for using a booking agency to switch. If they switch within 24 hours of booking, there generally isn't a charge.

If they haven't yet scheduled your flights, it shouldn't be too difficult... if they have.... Eek!

Last year, we had another thread on top of one like this one where someone posted up like 5 school programs they knew the dates for, and every comment on the thread added the new places they knew in bold and alphabetical order (by school name). You would just unbold everything and add your own in bold. That might help you guys. The format was: School name, Program name, Confirmed interview dates. This way, each school gets listed multiple times if it has multiple programs, but it keeps you from mixing them up.

I think that is fine. That's what a lot of the guys wore at the MCB and Immunology interviews I was at last year. The guys in suits just seemed overdressed and uncomfortable. Most of the male professors had on a nice dress shirt and nice dress pants, so I don't think you'll be underdressed.

Cut out all unnecessary words, like "the." Just read it through without the word, and if the sentence maintains its structure, it is usually fine to remove. If you have large sentences that are connected with words like, "and," you may also be able to cut that out and generate two sentences. Look through your sentences to see how much filler or flourish words you added. You might be able to take a lot of those out. Good luck!

I personally avoided a dress at all costs because I didn't want to have to worry about trying to remain modest or being cold indoors. At the very least, try to get a skirt at the knee, not much shorter. There were professors complaining about how short some of the girls' skirts were at my interviews. The dress you linked is a little too casual for my taste, and probably at the shortest I would trust for even the casual part of the interview. I'd wear something dressier for your actual interview. For example, a dress like this with a cute sweater or blazer (assuming the dress is long enough) would be okay if you're dead set on a dress. http://www.maurices.com/product/index.jsp?expcsl=1082351%7C%7C&productId=24271566

You don't have to state a reason; they will know you've applied to other places and will have other interviews. You can say something to the effect of, "Dear ____________, Thank you for consideration of my application and for the invitation to interview for your program. Unfortunately, I will be unable to accept the invitation. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, ____________" If somehow they ask why, you can simply say you are unavailable that weekend. Some schools have alternate weekends or times for interviews that aren't listed, but odds are, they'll get the idea that you don't want to go to the interview.

I covered some interview attire in my blog entry this week, but your suit is probably appropriate for interview day with business casual outfits for the rest of the weekend. Possibly get a few nice blouses and one or two pairs of pants that you can interchange the shirts with. Then you'll have lots of options. Comfort is key, so wear comfortable shoes. It is "Question 6" because I'm too lazy to type it out, again. >.<

You're very welcome. Good luck with your interviews. Feel free to message me if you need to.

Rex, I would only cancel an interview once it is scheduled if some major emergency comes up. In your and my fields, these schools may be spending upwards of $1000 or more to fly you out, house you, and feed you for the interviews. It would be highly disrespectful to cancel as they will begin prepping and purchasing you plane tickets, etc as soon as you confirm the interview. Often they cannot get reimbursed for scheduled flights and I don't think it is possible for them to move a paid flight to someone else's name. Most schools have alternate interview weekends or can make arrangements to have you out another time, so if it conflicts with a later interview, you may find a way around it for the later invites.

Rex, most programs actually set a time limit for setting up the interview when I was invited, and if you don't respond within a couple of business days, they start contacting you again to get it set up. If possible, you should schedule it as quickly as possible. I got an invite on Dec. 20 last year that they wanted to have organized by the 23rd.

Teehee, that's me. If you all want to comment questions on the blog or message them to me, I can include them in future blog posts. Also congrats on your WashU interview! I applied there, last year, but got rejected (wrong school's name in the SOP can do that to you). Let me know if you have questions about the area as I grew up a little ways away from there. Another user, Glow_Gene, could be helpful, too!

My LinkedIn got hit by the program administrators from the schools I was invited to interview with, and then most of the PIs I was interviewing with. I was later told by an admin that she was a little frustrated when she found a Facebook page of a girl who hadn't finished high school but matched all other demographics; apparently my cousin that has the same first and last name and lives in the same town has her page completely open with questionable pictures... I'm glad we don't look alike, and I'm glad her educational information was there so she could figure out it wasn't me!

DanieleWrites, this is lovely! I hope the admins or someone can pin this so that more people can learn from it. Your advice applies to fields outside of your own as well, and I wish I had seen something like this when I was writing my own from the beginning. This is actually similar to what I did for my SOP (and research statement) in the biomedical sciences for last year's application season. I sat down one day over the summer and wrote down all of the things that I felt told people who I was, how research had molded me into a scientist in ways classes could not, and how I believed I was passionate about science in one document. Then I started a review of my research experience in another, and a statement of diversity experiences in a third. Once I got started, the writing became easy. I ended up tweaking and organizing each of the documents so they stood alone as 1.5 page documents, but once I got to my applications, I found that I could rearrange, edit, and rewrite within the documents to get a finished product for the school. It was fairly stress-free even though every school wanted a differently organized SOP (and sometimes also a research statement), and I'm really glad that I did it that way. The importance of discussion of theory is debatable, but I don't think I've seen someone NOT discuss it. I discussed bioethics and public science outreach, so technically I hit on some theory as well.

No, he means University of Washington. WashU St. Louis is usually abbreviated WUSTL or WashU. I applied to both, last year. >.<