mrmolecularbiology

Psych based pharmacology labs and neuropharmacology are very different. If that is really what you want to move into, are there any non-psychology labs you can look into?

Normally If you decide and commit, you also go ahead and officially decline other offers. It helps those on the wait list. Plus it makes setting up rotations and talking to PIs easier (they get more enthusiastic and share more.) If they know you are really coming. But mostly it is just a weight off your shoulders. (although many programs allow summer rotations, so If you are interested in starting early you should definitely commit as soon as you are positive about your decision). If you are truly undecided take your time and properly weigh your options. But if you already know, why wait?

I applied to 8. One I knew I had no chance at (Stanford) two I thought I had a shot at, and hey 1/2 isn't bad (UCSF and UC Berkeley) three that I knew were "within my reach" (UTSW and Johns Hopkins UW-Madison) and two "Safety Schools" (Cornell and Duke). In hindsight I shouldn't have applied to duke it was not a good research fit at all and I wish I would have applied to more schools but it worked out well. I thought I would hate UTSW and it was hands down my favorite.

Do psych grads generally do a postdoc after grad school like other sciences? If so what you study in grad school does not matter to much as long as you excell at it. Being productive is easier if your happy, which it sounds like you would be at school A

Unless you have a really good reason do to so generally: free is much better than debt.

When you do your big reveal, You should list your top three (please). I'm just interested in which schools actually have a shot.

@ion_exchanger: So where are you going? You promised a big reveal today!

No it is not.

UC Berkeley hands down. It has name recognition outside of academia and it is still a top ten in your discipline. To me it is a no brainer.

The program I accepted an offer from sent me a form to sign as an official acceptance. I called a few faculty members a few days before I accepted (to chat more about their research and whether they were taking students etc.) and let them know I planned on accepting soon. Followed up by signing and scanning the from they sent me and emailing it to the graduate coordinator.

1) talk to PIs you work with/advisors etc. They should be able to help guide you to the top people/places (keep in mind they will probably be biased to their alma mater) 2) I'm not a big fan of rankings but it is a decent place to start http://graduate-school.phds.org/rankings/immunology ( I Recommend only using the NRC and Research productivity scores) 3) Once you Know the "Top" places begin looking at the labs at theses places and try to find institutions that have many faculty in your specific research area. 4) Try not to limit yourself geographically: remember graduate school is not forever, so go to the best place for you, location should be secondary. ( The offer I accept was in a state I never intended to live in but I fell in love with the program and the faculty that are a part of it).

Research experience, LORs and SOP are the most important parts of a grad school app. Schools simply use GPAs and GREs as screening tools to narrow down the applicant pool it is the other components that will get you in. You need at least three PIs willing to write you STRONG letters. All of mine came from PIs I had done some serious research for OR people who had witnessed said research. Most recommenders will not right a recommendation for someone who has not already proven themselves in a research setting. (If they wrote letters willy nilly it would discredit any recommendations they make.)

If they are all great fits and you do not see one rising above the others you get too look at others factors that should normally be ignored. 1) "Ranking" ( i hate rankings but if all other things are equal I believe you should at least look at it.) 2) School Environment: Which place did you feel you got along with students and or faculty the best? 3) Location of School 4) Cost of living. Not having enough money to eat when your hungry would be terrible.

I guess it depends on the field and the security of the lab. For instance the lab I work in now funding is so tight that a drop in productivity could be a death sentence for funding. I do not see my boss willingly giving someone a LOA. If you are going to take a LOA, work with a professor who is already tenured. New faculty really depend on their students to be productive. The more papers a lab has published the easier obtaining grants becomes.

wait until you know all of the funding situations before you make a decision. I would avoid going into debt for grad school if possible.

I let my interviewers know in the interviews what schools I was choosing between. I let them all know where I was going when I declined their admission offers, but I like full disclosure. Most fields are small they are going to find out anyways at conferences why not tell them in advance?

25% of 72K is 18K...... That said ask Wake forest about post graduation placement they are not going to rescind an offer.

I do not see any graduate program being ok with a LOA. If it is only a single semester maybe anymore and you are a drain on their resources. Why would they want someone who is going to have a break in their productivity over someone who is completely committed to grad school?

I agree with bassish101 Having multiple labs to choose from is important.

That's Awesome! Congratulations.

Wrap up time. Undergrad Institution: Large State School Major(s): Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Minor(s): GPA in Major: 3.81 Overall GPA: 3.88 Type of Student: American male GRE Scores (New/Old version): Q: 157/730 (71%) V: 156/550 (69%) W: 4.5 (73%) Research Experience: 3 years: 1 second author pub in press, another second author pub to be submitted soon, two first author pubs in progress LORs: ​I had three extremely good letters of recommendation that back up my to be published claims on my CV and in my SOP. Applied Where: Stanford - Biosciences: rejected by mail 1/26/13 Cornell- Biophysics: Invited to interview by email on 12/14/12; Notified of acceptance week following interview by email UCSF - iPQB: Invited to interview on 1/15/12 by email; Notified of acceptance the following week by phone call from POI UC Berkeley - Biophysics: As of 3-11-13 I have still not heard a peep from UCB. UW-Madison- Biophysics: Invited to interview on 1/11/13; Declined Interview due to conflict. UT Southwestern- Molecular Biophysics: Invited to interview 1/17/13 by email; Notified the Following monday of acceptance by phone. ATTENDING FALL 2013 Duke- Structural Biology and Biophysics: Invited to interview by phone 1/28/12; Notified of acceptance by automated email service two weeks after interview. Johns Hopkins- Program in Molecular Biophysics: Invited to interveiw by email 1/11/12; One thing I will say is that before the interview process I intended to go to UCSF (pending acceptance of course) and had absolutely no intention of going to a school in texas (no offense texans I was just trying to escape the bible belt). But the research fit and the environment were exactly what I was looking for. I know I made the right choice for me.

Congratulations!

I would go with UCB, then again I would never want to live in new york city so i'm kind of biased.

After a deep conversation with my current mentor my gut feeling wins. I plan to commit to UTSW by the end of this week!

Glad to be done with interviews. Know to figure out where the hell I'm going.