backtoschool13

Same here! Not surprised because as you said it's so competitive. But still it was fun to imagine life in the PNW...

UMich EEB is having a recruitment event Feb 12-14. It conflicted with another school, so I am visiting the next Fri Feb 20.

I hope you are right, shadowclaw! I feel like I have been telling myself 'this will be the week' for many weeks haha It is hard to be patient, but it's nice to have others here in the same boat

I have heard an update sort of from a POI at Michigan. He/she emailed last Monday saying applications were given back to the AdComm and they would send out recruitment weekend invites over the next few weeks. It sounds like POIs look at files first, and then the AdComm makes final decisions on invitations after that. It's only been one week, so maybe invites could be going out next week. Or even the week after?

Not on ASU neuroscience in particular, but there is a School of Life Sciences recruitment event (Feb 5-6 and Feb 12-13). I received an email about it (applied to Biology program) last Weds.

First interview email today from Arizona State for their School of Life Sciences recruitment weekend

Just received an email from my POI at UMich's EEB program. It sounds like faculty members have had a chance to review applications. Now the Admissions Committee will be making decisions in the next few weeks on invitations to their recruitment weekend.

For ecology programs, I feel the first route you listed (contact POI, then apply) is definitely the way to go. Many admission sites state that without communicating with an advisor ahead of time, you will not be considered. When I applied to MS programs I did not really take this step seriously...and it definitely hurt me. When applying to PhD programs, I probably put more time into contacting POI's ahead of time and speaking with them early than I did on the actual applications. It can be frustrating when you don't receive a response and hear a lot of "no's." I started contacting POIs in late September and continued until mid-November. It felt like I emailed so many people! But it ended up being ~26. Of these I heard back from about 20, but many of these responses were basically, 'thanks for your interest but no' (didn't have funding, wasn't taking on students, etc). Only about 10 of the responses were overall positive, in other words the POI either encouraged the application or wanted to speak with me more. I also either skyped or had a phone call with a professor before applying in 5/9 programs I applied to. I also targeted my search to people who were looking for students by searching grad student positions on ecology job boards. It seems like you have a good idea of what you are interested in researching, which I think is helpful. It makes it easier to find specific POI to contact and you will be able to articulate why you want to work with them. It's likely that timing of contacting POIs can influence whether they respond. When have you been contacting them, early in the semester? Near any breaks? For example, my MS advisor recommended waiting several weeks into the semester because profs are swamped early on. Making contact around holidays like Thanksgiving may also make it more likely your email gets lost in their inbox.

I actually met a postdoc last month who was visiting my prof's lab who recently did her PhD at Florida International University. She studied algae and I believe did a lot of molecular work. She seems to be successful after the program and is a post-doc at one of the LTER sites. I know this may not be the most useful information about the program, but if you want another option and aren't too burned out on applications, I would say go for it!

No official interview offers, but I've had introductory skype/phone interviews at most places I applied. It's hard to stay patient even though many of the deadlines just passed! I did apply to UMich's EEB program with a Dec 1 deadline, but still haven't heard anything. Good Luck!!

I feel I have a somewhat similar experience as you...was Ecology & Evol Bio major and did Math Education as well in undergrad. I decided to pursue teaching (taught middle school math for two years) and very quickly realized this was not the best career fit for me. About Nov. into my first year, I was seriously contemplating grad school. I think you must be able to convince a grad admissions committee how teaching has influenced your academic/career goals and how it has led you to pursue graduate education. Emphasize how this experience would benefit you in future academic pursuits. My current advisor has even commented on how he thinks a unique background can be a strength, if other aspects of your application are strong, because it shows you have tried other avenues and are sure that a graduate degree is truly what you are passionate about. I don't know specifics about math MS programs, but would assume you need the requirements of a BS in math which would be far beyond linear algebra. If you aren't extremely unhappy at your current job, could keep working for the remainder of the year and take these undergraduate courses at a local university or community college during spring/summer/fall 2015?

Thanks for the feedback! pasteltomato, I don't know if it's impossible for students to work with Prof A in Zoology, he said most of his students come through A&MS. The advantage I would see applying to both separate programs is that I would be able to write much more developed SOPs, one for each professor. But you're right, maybe an admin would be good to contact to ask about logistics. TakeruK, The research areas are not wildly disparate, both aquatic community ecology. A big difference is the Prof B is looking for a PhD student to work on a specific project that has already been started. I think I am likely overthinking it, like you said they expect students to be reaching out to as many professors they are interested in as is feasible. I felt awkward because this was the first time where I have had the situation of being interested in two potential advisors at the same school and communicating with them at the same time. Thanks for putting it into perspective.

Wondering if anyone can provide info on this situation. I'm applying to ecology PhD programs for fall, and almost all require contacting and identifying a faculty member who would serve as your advisor, likely provide funding, etc in order to be admitted. I emailed Professor A about a month ago and didn't hear back. So as of a few days ago, I had written off applying to that school. On Monday, I saw a posting for a PhD position with a different Professor B, same university. I was really interested in the project, contacted him, and was encouraged to apply. I would be applying to the school's Zoology department. Randomly enough, later that day Professor A responded to my email, is looking for a grad student next year, and we set up a time to talk next week. He is also a Zoology faculty member, but if working with him I would apply to Aquatic & Marine Science program. I'm just wondering if during our talk, I should disclose that I'm interested in another professor's project at the school. I don't know if that would be the professional thing to do? Or should I not bring it up and potentially apply to both departments at the school? I would orefer applying to both, as I am interested in both professors and their research. I just feel conflicted and don't know if it's frowned upon in any way since the professors are at the same institution. thanks!

harlesla, that's what someone else suggested. I did contact several students who gave me lots of feedback. They all echoed the same sentiments saying it is incredibly competitive getting a TAship (because the program is in the school of natural resources, you end up having to compete for positions with other grad students in the bio, chem, etc. programs). Each student said they have experienced semesters without funding and one to two where they were able to receive a TAship; sounds like about half of the students in the program receive a TAship for any given semester. At the end of the day, it sounded too risky to me.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I am going with school B. After learning more about the research my future advisor is doing and speaking with him, I am excited for the opportunity and looking forward to being debt free! Good luck to both of you in your work this year!

School B, in my opinion, sounds like the better option to begin with... What makes you regret choosing it? It doesn't seem like you should have regrets. It seems to have great funding, a supportive POI and people who are excited to work with you!

After emailing a couple students at school A, it seems the TA positions are extremely competitive. Each of them said they had one semester when they had a position, and followed by a semester without receiving one. Overall, they say just under half the students in the program have a TAship at any one time. While I think I should have a decent shot at getting one (taken many of the intro science classes at this university and have teaching experience), I think at best I could hope to have 2 out of 3 semesters funded this way. At the end of the day, it's either choose option A, which is financially very safe, or option B, which could end up being just fine financially or $60,000 in debt

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Both MS programs are 2 years. Tuition is $19,000 per semester at A. I forgot to mention that this is where I went for undergrad, not that it should matter too much. I think school B is a pretty well-known school, at least in the Midwest. I feel they are just more well known for social sciences and areas outside bio. Getting in touch with current students is a good idea. I've tried to pester some people in charge of appointing TAships, but I don't feel I have gotten an honest answer of how likely receiving a position would be in the future.

Hi! I am looking for any advice on two options...I applied to MS programs in the Ecology area and had just a few offers to choose from. My best original offer is school A, which is a Conservation Ecology program through their School of Natural Resources/Environment. I did accept online right before the 15th, but yesterday another school B informed me that full funding is available. I need to make a decision very soon about where to go... Here are some pros/cons: School A: (large, public research university) Pros -Very good academic reputation -Large department that has many professors and courses in what I am interested in (gen. ecology, behavioral ecology, invasives, conservation) -High job placement rate in conservation ecology Cons -Funding only guaranteed for a semester (the best option is to potentially get a TA position to fund the rest. I have been told I have a good chance of getting one. However, this is not guaranteed by any means and could vary from semester to semester) -Very expensive school School B: (mid-size, private university) Pros -Fully funded with tuition, stipend, health care -Smaller department, so seems like students receive a lot of attention and there are many opportunities for research Cons -Rank is pretty low (at about 100 in graduate bio programs) -Smaller department means there are fewer ecologists (about 4/17 faculty members) Obviously the main draw of school B is the funding situation. I have heard many people say it is not a good idea to complete a non-funded science master's, and after having some big undergrad debts I would agree. Based on programs alone, I do like A much more, but it is also a huge financial risk if I were not able to secure a TA position for every semester. Additionally, I do not see myself going on to get my Phd, so I am not sure how important the rank of a MS university would be anyway... Thanks for any advice!

Wow, sg_87 I feel like I am in the exact situation as you! As an undergrad I majored in ecology & evolutionary biology and secondary math education. I am finishing my two years as a TFA middle school math teacher. I realized pretty quickly that teaching is just not for me and made it a goal to stick through it for two years. I decided to apply for MS programs in ecology, but faced the same challenge of not having research experience from undergrad. I have a really good undergrad GPA and decent GRE scores. I obviously knew grad school acceptance would be a very competitive process, but was hopeful that I could get into a program with all or almost all funding guaranteed. Sadly this has not been the case . I have gotten into 2 out of 6 programs with minimal funding (with hopefully more past the first semester) and the other will not award me a TAship but there is a potential for a research stipend (although I do not feel this program is prestigious in the field of ecology). I have had some feedback from professors I contacted through the application process about the lack of research experience being a weakness although the rest of my application was very strong. I think someone suggested trying to get a lab tech position or some science related job (outside of education) for a year and wait to apply. It probably doesn't sound fun to put off grad school, but as someone in a similar situation it does seem like it could be very helpful to you in the long run. Good luck finishing out the school year!!

CU, CSU, UDenver, Michigan (said they wouldn't make decisions until mid-March), GWU

I know lots of people are feeling the anxiety of waiting, waiting, waiting...I have seen people post about hearing from biology programs but not many specifically for ecology ones...Are there any other ecology and evolutionary biology people still waiting without hearing anything? Or if you have heard back, what schools/programs? Maybe I am just rejected from them all sad face