Gram Neutral

I actually moderately agree with your sentiment in general, although with less of a jerk attitude/absolutism (only siths deal in absolutes). Statistically, someone with a lower GPA has a much lower chance of getting into a Harvard etc than a higher GPA person. That's just how it is. It isn't impossible, but just statistically harder. GPA isn't everything though. Some people shoot for the stars, but might also want to have a few backup rockets aimed at the moon as well. Nothing wrong with the moon. I just want people to get into grad school. If their feelings are hurt (nobody in particular) by someone tempering their expectations, well then they probably shouldn't ask for people's opinions. I've seen in threads for years people being told that they should aim a little lower. I've also seen some people aim too high and go 0/7. It doesn't help someone to bolster them up just to see them fail. It's fine to shoot high but remain realistic. Anywho, I wish we could all get along like we used to in middle school. I could bake a cake full of rainbows and smiles everyone would eat and be happy.

I think people should apply wherever they damn well please. However, some people do need to temper their expectations. I'm a low GPA person myself. While people with lower GPAs get in sometimes to the higher up programs, it's very hard. You should be ready for/expect a rejection, and then he presently surprised when you get an interview. I've seen too many people over the years come in with high expectations only to be trampled and yet rejected everywhere because they aimed too high up. It's always good to believe in yourself, but you've got to be realistic too. But don't let strangers too you what to do. If you think you're good enough, go for it. You know yourself the best.

My finals are already over. Now it's just wait and see. I probably won't hear anything till January anyway.

I don't really see a difference between academic vs industry research experience, having done both. All they want to see is that you have done research and you know what you are doing. Letters of rec should clear any doubt.

I would be careful about which one you reschedule. Some schools accept people after the interview and if they reach the quota before the conflict weekend it could be tough luck. I got 2 interviews and they were of course the same weekend. The other one gave me a makeup weekend, but they told us when we got there that they only had 3 spots left for the 10 or so of us there. I didn't get in.

Yup. They are used to it. In the end, the worst they can do is not reply. No harm in trying. It's not like you would get re-rejected for bothering them.

They usually listed contact info in the rejection letter saying if you have any questions, feel free to ask(I should know, I've gotten quite a few in my time lol) I just emailed them or called them at that contact. Or just the general email they list on their websites.

Also, it's super common/expected of rejected applicants to ask what they can improve on. That's how I found out what to work on. I apparently gave off the impression that I wasn't enthusiastic about science, which couldn't be further from the truth. I was just super nervous, and I'm also quiet when I first meet people. That's like something you wouldn't think without someone telling you. I would have assumed it was my GPA.

Same boat. Great industry gig here with a ton of really cool research. Just would really like to further my research career because I know you hit a hard ceiling without a PhD, even if I will be taking a huge pay cut. My company also offered to pay for my Master's at the school nearby, so I've been taking free courses. If I don't get in I will just finish my Master's, and call it a day. By then though I would be 28 going into phd and that's just too hard for me, especially if I want to settle down. 26 will be bad enough. Long story short, a rejection isn't the end of the world. I volunteered at a lab to gain experience while working another job, and that experience landed me a paid research job, which then landed me an internship in Europe(amazing) which got me my super cool job today that pays for my masters. You never know where life will take you, you just gotta make the best of it all. Story time over.

I already did my backup plan for 2 years after applying originally as a Senior and not getting in. So... Lol.

On my two interviews I had last time I applied, they were both reimbursement. Although I will say that their automatic calculated cost was like $75 more than what I spent because they included like food purchases etc. So I made money off of my interviews, which was nice haha.

Unless they specifically ask for it, you don't even have to send it to them until they request your final transcripts. Of course if you really bomb it, they won't offer you admission at that point.

Congrats! I need to clarify lol, I didn't get a Vanderbilt interview. I just saw it on the survey. I meant I wasn't expecting an interview in the first round, so I wasn't disappointed that I didn't get one yet. They send them out in a lot of waves.

Looks like Vanderbilt sent out first round invites. I was wondering when that would happen. Hopefully some of you got one! I sure as hell wasn't expecting one Haha.

Shhhh, you're ruining the illusion!

I'm surprised we were even able to figure out how to graduate.

If they are not applying to graduate school because they have a 3.0 GPA from Harvard or whatever, then they probably aren't actually that interested in going to graduate school. Tons of kids get into graduate school with lower GPAs, and they get into all types of graduate schools. If they quit that easily, then I'm sure the admissions board would pick up on that during an interview anyway.

Lol. Assuming there are no good public schools. Good one.

I would ask your PI about that. I guess you also don't really have a choice right? If they don't agree in the next like 15 days, you won't get in. So you can afford to be annoying if you have to be.

At my graduation, the speaker was talking about his rags to riches story. His main point was to never underestimate the power of a phone call, or meeting someone in person. Emails can be easily ignored. A face cannot. Just always stuck to me, and with people so close by, I feel like it could be used to your advantage as long as you aren't annoying about it.

That stinks, and that's a pretty stupid policy of your current school. I've never heard of that before. Why not accept the best candidates regardless of where they are from? You could send an email yourself, or ask your current PI to drop them an email. They are more inclined to reply from the PI I am sure. Have the PI ask if you can drop by some time real quick to their office, or give them a phone call, since I am sure their office is probably pretty close to where you work. I wouldn't explain the situation unless they ask you specifically in a follow up email. Just tell them "due to extenuating circumstances, it would be best if I stayed here, and my PI said it is potentially possible". Is it impossible to just try and be accepted into your current lab?

Some of my programs I applied to seem to historically send out invites in mid January even though they have a Dec 1 due date. There is a list here where you can look up your programs and see about when they give out invites for the past couple of years. It's at http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

Wow congrats Haha. I submitted Nov 10th but my last recommendation letter didn't get submitted until Nov 29th.

Wait you got an interview offer 3 weeks ago? I didn't know they did rolling invites. I thought they only met first on Dec 1.

Hey for those that applied to Vanderbilt, has your application status changed at all to like under review? Mine still just says submitted.