Preeti

Thank you so much for your advice aberrant!! That was very helpful. I emailed her emphasizing my interests in her lab and she also sent me a paper to read. I read the paper and replied to her back asking certain questions about the paper and her future research on that. Now, she has replied to me saying that "Thanks for your continued interest. Right now, we are still trying to figure out <.......>. Since these projects are moving quickly, I am having the students focus on these. I will send you some reviews which I believe are good starting points for any research before reading detailed peer-reviewed papers. I will try to talk to you tomorrow if that is OK. I am not sure if you are corresponding with other faculty as well since you have interest in neuroscience as well. The reason I bring this up is because students are recruited directly into our labs without rotations, that saves us time and the students settle in quickly. If you have other labs also that are of your interest, feel free to let me know, mainly because I am looking to recruit directly to my lab." If she is going to call me and speak, what will she be probably asking me? I reiterated that I was interested in her lab and that I would be glad if she will consider my application and take me to work in her lab. I was interested in one more lab in the same university and when I contacted the professor of that lab, he said he was unsure of taking on any graduate students for now. Should I tell her about this? Thank you very much in advance!!

Thank you for your advice aberrant!! I had already read few of her publications and emailed her regarding my interests in her lab. Sorry I did not put the question properly in my last post. I was going to ask you if i should read some more of her papers and ask any questions about that to her. Anyway, I just got a reply from her after I expressed my interest and motivation for doing a PhD in her lab. She said "Our current research points to a role of ........<Research that she is currently doing>. At the same time, I am planning on initiating projects on role of <........>. My lab is only 3yrs old and I work with the students in my lab until they are set in their project. Working on viruses indicates time course expts which can at times run to odd hours and odd times of the week. I am looking for motivated students who are committed to a Ph.D program. If you see yourself as a committed and motivated student and research truly interests you, you will find my lab to be a good fit. Think about it and let me know". What does this mean and how do i tell her that I am still interested in her lab?

Hey guys... I emailed a professor in Jaunuary in a university for Bioligical Science Fall 2013 intake saying that I was interested in his work. He never replied for more than a month and I just left it as such and I directly applied to the department. Then again after a month or so he himself emailed me saying that "The Department of Biological Sciences is currently reviewing applications for graduate school and I was surprised to see that your name is not on the applicant list. Do you still intend to apply to ...? If you would get back to me and let me know whether you are still interested in graduate school at ... it would be appreciated." Just to tell you people, he is not the director of the department or anyone like that. I was shocked to see this email and sent him all the acknowledgement I got from the university. Then, he sorted out all the problem and added me to the applicant list saying that "you're now on the list. Sorry to make you worry. The application was received, but not put on the list for unknown reasons. We will be reviewing applicants shortly and you will be notified about the results as soon as the review process is complete. Good luck!" I really don't know what does this mean. Should I email him again saying that I am interested in his work? Or should I wait until the decision has been made? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you really very much in advance!!!

Thank you very much for your insights yoosirname and aberrant!!! This was very helpful... I am planning to ask her more about the research work that she is currently doing. Could you also please tell me how should i emphasize more that I am interested in her lab?? Should I read some of her papers and ask more about that research? For Shreya S, I just applied to the universities directly and contacted only one or two professors. Actually I emailed a professor in Jaunuary in the same university saying that I was interested in his work. He never replied for more than a month and I just left it as such. Then again after a month or so he himself emailed me saying that "The Department of Biological Sciences is currently reviewing applications for graduate school and I was surprised to see that your name is not on the applicant list. Do you still intend to apply to ...? If you would get back to me and let me know whether you are still interested in graduate school at ... it would be appreciated." I was shocked to see this email and sent him all the acknowledgement I got from the university. Then he sorted out all the problem and added me to the applicant list saying that "you're now on the list. Sorry to make you worry. The application was received, but not put on the list for unknown reasons. We will be reviewing applicants shortly and you will be notified about the results as soon as the review process is complete. Good luck!" I really don't know what does this mean either. I don't know if I should email him again now or after getting an admit from the University.

Hi guys... I have applied to various schools for PhD Biological sciences for Fall 2013 intake. Though I haven't heard back from any of the schools yet, I got the following email last week from my POI from the university. I haven't contacted her before. "I am writing regarding your application for Ph.D at ...., biological sciences. I am accepting a graduate student this fall and am writing to ask about your interests in any specific areas of research. My lab works on host-virus interactions, mainly with focus on inflammation and autophagy. Please let me know since we are finalizing admissions. If you are interested, provide me a number that I can call and a suitable time" When I replied for this email that I am interested in her work, I got an email again saying "What are your long term plans? Why are you interested in a graduate program at UT? My lab is 3yrs old and I am interested in students with a commitment to research. Do you see yourself fit in?" And then I replied again for this email and she never got back. What does this mean? Does it mean that she has accepted me into her lab or does it mean I've got acceptance? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!!!