[Reaching out to Professor about Summer Research]

Whoops, I got confused. I thought you were asking a potential PI. I didn't think that this was the "officially grads" forum and you were already accepted! Congrats! I also did do a summer position (and got paid for an RAship) before grad school but we already decided this ( I asked) before I actually got accepted. 

Again, I apologize if I confused any of you.

[Reaching out to Professor about Summer Research]

I did a similar thing actually (but my discipline is biology). However, what I did is a little more subtle. I introduced myself and asked if he was taking in graduate students. When I found out that he did, we did a phone interview. We found that we had similar research interests and he wanted to stay in touch. I was planning to do research at my undergrad, but it didn't work out, so I asked him if it was possible to do research at the University he worked in. It ended up working out (and now he's my PI), but I will say that your potential supervisor cannot guarantee a spot for you in the program. However, he was a large influence on whether I was accepted (a PI has to be willing to take you in their lab for my program). I applied to two programs in the same University that he was cross-appointed--got into one of them.

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

I'm having the opposite problems than I do in previous winters. I usually oversleep and gain weight. Now I'm not sleeping enough and losing weight! Bear in mind that I'm on the edge of underweight as is. My intestines tend to complain a lot, so I'm getting that investigated. 

My mood has been great, just physically out of whack. That's extremely unusual for the past, I don't know, 5-7 years?

I'm halfway done with the behavioural part of one project. Looking forward for some results!

[Is R1 the right path for me?]

So, I'm starting my first TA position this term, and I'm really enjoying it. It's gotten to the point that I would like to teach as part of my career. However, I don't like the idea of being in an R1 university (despite doing my PhD in one) because of limited involvement in teaching and actual research (someone mentioned being the middle management, and that is how I view it as well). I don't mind the long hours and shift in work/life balance, but I really enjoy being hands on with my research and getting to know the students that I'm teaching. So, my question is: is this a common sentiment? Will applying for TT at a small research university be a good route, based on what I've mentioned above? I'm only in my first year of my PhD, so things can and will change, but it's worth considering at this point.

[Choosing a Program: Interests in Animal Behavior, Autism Research, Music Psychology, Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology]

Your interests may be broad, but they centralize (mostly) on one topic: music/sound and its interpretation.

I had really niche interests, then got really broad as I learned more about a topic, and then parsed down to a manageable research topic that encompasses what I want to do most. You may have to do that, should you want to continue in research. Also, it is not unheard of doing an AuD and becoming a professor with research on the side (more or less clinical). My friend is considering that. 

That being said, I agree that maybe you can take a year to explore if research is something that you are comfortable doing for most of your life. Grad schools are not going to disappear anytime soon.

[A large misconception that has not been addressed about the GRE]

I also have to ask this: Why do schools care so much about Quantitative and Verbal reasoning? In research programs, especially, shouldn't Analytical Writing be more heavily emphasized given what it purports to measure? Related to this, some professors I've talked to who outright stated that the Verbal/Quant GRE's don't factor into their decision making process have actually stated that they look at Analytical Writing. Yet references to GRE's in graduate programs that advertise what they look for almost exclusively talk about Verbal and Quant. It seems counter-intuitive that the one score that could actually be predictive is largely being ignored in favor of the other two....unless they are being used as cut-offs.

I've heard the opposite: the analytical writing score is largely ignored because, despite what it purports to measure, it only shows you how much word vomit you can make up in 30 minutes. Seriously, they don't fact check this stuff. You don't have to cite anything--and the longer you write (even if it is rambling, like many people do, and not concise scientific writing) you're bound to get a better score. I've been told I'm a very good writer because I'm straight to the point. I got a 3.0 on the writing portion, most likely because I didn't "write enough." Also, in real life you have time to check your work and revise it (and some people, such as myself, have bad first drafts). My guess is that there is no correlation between analytical writing scores and graduate school success, much like Q and V. Supposedly I have large deficits in my writing, according to the GRE, but I seem to make it around just fine.

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

Tomorrow's my first committee meeting for my PhD.

I'm not sure why I'm not feeling panicky, probably because I was a week ago when creating my report. 

Just reassuring myself that it's okay not to know everything seems to help, too...

[Specificity of Research Background and Program "Fit"]

Your interests are likely to change with time and with experiments, so even if you were to choose a specific research interest you aren't legally bound to follow through with those particular interests. I think the reason why adcomms are keen on seeing such specific interests is not to determine if you're scatterbrained or not. Rather, can you come up with an argument, list some evidence for that argument, and does that argument have implications? They want you to talk about a topic in a way that makes sense and is concise. Also, while research "fit" is important, it shouldn't be a key-and-lock fit. Many labs are interdisciplinary, so different skill sets and research backgrounds are important. As long as you have a general area you want to get into, it should be fine.

I had extremely specific research interests, to the point where I was limited to who I could choose as my PI. Funnily enough, when I read more, my interests expanded and is in a different, but similar area. This is not uncommon in graduate school, and the adcomms realize this.

I hope this helps you a little further!

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

7 minutes ago, VulpesZerda said:

How much do you guys hang out with your cohort? Mine is made up of 5, and 3 of us are in the same lab. We study together quite often. I usually never study with others, but I suppose it's been going fine. We all get along pretty well, which is great. I just get worried about stuff like group-think, negative thinking, or comparing to each other/signs of competitiveness (I never never want to ever do this, but it's creeping up).

I have the opposite problem--There are few people in my cohort that go to this specific campus (there are three that make up the whole University) and they are in different labs. So I feel pretty isolated. My undergrad professor advised me to try to look out for opportunities that meet with the same people regularly (even if not in my cohort or department).

[HELP with the SOP]

You're going to have to cut somewhere. SOPs tend to be 1-2 pages (my top choice program required 1 page max) and beyond that gets too tedious, especially when you have other applications to go through. Your sentences tend to be long so cutting out words from those sentences would be a good start. I'm not sure what the purpose of the first paragraph is--when writing such essays, every paragraph and sentence needs to have a purpose (a lot like scientific writing). The first paragraph in particular is long-winded. Be concise and to the point. What have you done, what do you want to do now, and what do you want to do for the future? While I see essences of all three questions, they are muddled by unnecessary words.

Hope this helps! 

[How much research exp. did you have leaving Bachelors?]

I've worked primarily with three professors over the course of 2-2 1/2 years, not because I was switching labs but because I didn't need to commit to a lab (i.e., we don't have many at my undergrad institution and the two profs I worked with at the institution didn't have a lab). I did independent projects almost exclusively--there are no graduate students to shadow at my undergrad. However, my independent projects were small because I was the one running the data collection and analysis.

The summer of third year I did a research internship at my top choice school, so that was when I got involved in a certain lab and helped out a grad student. I did have a chance to lead a very small independent project at that lab. Nothing really came out it--but I appreciated that the supervisor trusted me enough to run it.

Skills: PCR, DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis, immunohistofluorescence, microtome, brain dissections of zebrafish, breeding/timed pregnancies of rats, chronic variable stress paradigm, elevated plus maze, open field test, light-dark box, maternal care coding, coding lemur behaviour, making networks, operant chamber work (shaping, probability learning, omission contingencies)...

Mostly behavioural, but that was the nature of my work

[2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Hi.  I go to a small liberal arts school so, even though I have a 4.0, I am worried that admissions committees won't know how to compare it to a 4.0 from top schools.  I took the biochemistry GRE to try to show that I have good science knowledge, but I only got an 83rd percentile.  I am unsure if sending this will help or hurt, so feedback would be great!  If it helps for context, I have 2 yrs independent research experience at my school, a summer fellowship at a top research institute through a national grant, and numerous poster presentations, but no publications except for a poster abstract that was published.  

Thank you so much for your help!

I was almost exactly in your shoes last year (GPA of 3.6, though). I find that top schools tend to inflate student's GPAs. For example, an A at my undergrad institution is 93+/100, while at my grad institution (top school in Canada), an A/A+ is 85+/100. It seems that the work is comparable, though (though I'm only comparing a basic stats class at my grad institution to hand-writing 2-way ANOVAs at my undergrad institution) so it does not seem like it's any harder to get these grades. 

All in all, I wouldn't worry too much about the GPA comparison. Research experience/fit with the program and lab are going to be more important. GPA is just a number that adcomms can use as cut off points (for the most part).

[2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Undergrad Institution: Ivy League
Major(s):  Neuroscience & Behavior
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.11  
Overall GPA: 3.25
Position in Class: Not sure
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores (revised/old version): revised
Q: 156 (64th%) -taking again
V: 166 (96th%)
W: 4.5 (86th%)
B: Not taken


Research Experience: Lab tech doing cancer research for 6 years at a top 10 university. 5 publications in peer-reviewed journals: 2 first author papers (in journals in the top 15% of the field), 1 second author paper in a high impact factor journal that made national news, and 2 other 3rd author papers in mid-level journals (top 15% in field). 3 manuscripts are currently submitted and under review, but I doubt they will be accepted before apps are due. Gave an oral presentation at a major international cancer conference (less than 5% of abstracts were selected for oral presentation), presented a poster at an international cancer conference, second author on an abstract that was selected for oral presentation at a cancer meeting, and am listed as a co-author on several other posters/abstracts (second author on one and middle author on others) that were presented at major meetings. In college, I conducted a senior thesis for one year in a lab.  

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Student Leader Award, Dean's list for one year...

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research tech for 6 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I gave an oral presentation at an international cancer meeting, I've been told by professors who have reviewed my CV that this is impressive for a grad school candidate. 

Special Bonus Points: Excellent LORs from widely known professors (one is my PI and the other two are collaborating PIs who know me well), all from top tier research institutions, including the ones I am applying to. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Although my title is "tech", I have essentially been working as a post-doc for the last several years (without the degree obviously). I work on my own projects, propose my own research, work independently, prepare manuscripts, train other members of the lab (students, post-docs and fellows), present at meetings in the institution and outside, and attend conferences at least 1-2/year. My PI and other LORs will address this. My research experience is really the only thing I have going for me... not sure if this can make up for my grades and low quant GRE (although I am taking it again and hoping it will improve). 

Applying to Where:

Rockefeller

Weill Cornell (BCMB)

Sloan Kettering Gerstner

NYU Sackler

Columbia 

Stanford (Cancer Biology Program)

OHSU 

USCF Tetrad

UCLA Cell and Devel. Biol

I should probably add more attainable schools, but I would have a hard time giving up my research now at a top tier school for a school I'm less interested in since my research now is going very well and will lead to several publications in the next year. If I don't get in anywhere I'm interested in (above schools), then I think I would rather stay where am I and work for another year while taking classes, improving my GRE score, etc and applying again next cycle. 

I'm wondering if anyone knows of people who have had low scores but strong research and still got into a top tier school??  I was told by some professors that aptitude for research (which my app will show I have) will win out, which is why I am even bothering applying. But still can't shake the feeling that I am wasting my time... :-/ 

Anyone have any thoughts?? 

Good luck everyone!

 

 

Hey,

Was in a similar situation. Grades and GRE were mediocre for someone applying to graduate school. I think what won out is the research experience (did several independent projects, did a research internship at my top choice lab the summer before applications) and also the connection I made with the POIs. You definitely need to "sell yourself" as someone who is committed to research and don't even bother pointing out how average your GPA/GRE scores are.

I'm currently at a school which is ranked #1 in Canada (and not too bad in world rankings) in several ranking systems. I think the Bio program is #18 in the world? Anyways, I wouldn't foresee you having trouble getting in anywhere. I went straight from my undergrad so I only had a couple years of research experience. But, with that experience, I've been to 2-4 conferences a year, mix of oral and poster presentations, and 2 manuscripts in submission. I've actually slowed down significantly in terms of research progress (I can only see myself presenting at 1-2 conferences this year) because I am part of very large projects that take a long time to finish. But, at the end, I will hopefully reap the benefits with a few publications (maybe some first-author). 

[How did my meeting with POI go?]

Thanks, but keep in mind that I have already submitted my application on 9/1. All my LORs were in by 9/29, which is the day I visited the school and met with POI.

I don't want to be seen as trying to "gain advantage" in the admission process by contacting POI at this time. Perhaps this is why some ppl on Gradcafe discourage it. I guess I can wait until the end of the month/ early Nov as that's when all will be notified. But the earlier I find out, the better it is for me, as I have some backup plans as well. 

I just want to be really sure before I go ahead with this. I don't want to sabotage my application, but I also don't want to miss out on something in case a follow up from me can help. I also read a lot of people had "bad luck" when they ask the admissions office of their application status, although in my case, I'm not planning to contact admissions, but my POI.

 

Sorry, I misunderstood the situation (I edited the post).

But if you're going to be notified soon, maybe it's best to hold off. Some programs take 4-5 months to notify everyone, in which a follow-up email would make more sense.

[How did my meeting with POI go?]

Thanks,

It's been 2 weeks since I visited (and since my LORs were all in), still haven't heard anything. Should I follow up with my POI and ask about the status? Or is this too soon/inappropriate?

From reading Gradcafe, it seems one is discouraged from contacting POI in this stage, so I'm not sure I should. But wouldn't it be an indication of interest and shows you care if you followed up? For example, it's typically encouraged to follow up after job interviews...

I think after two weeks, you should follow up. Just don't bombard the prof with emails!

[2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

 

Hey all!

Had a question for writing the SOP - for those that had extenuating circumstances that may have led to a subpar academic performance during the early years of undergrad, how would you recommend explaining/wording this in the SOP without coming across as just making excuses for the grades?

My last two years were academically very strong, but my first two are just about average because of troublesome family relations. I'm trying to be wary of coming across as making excuses - rather I just want to mention the circumstances in a manner that urges the adcomm to look at my academic progression rather than just my cumulative GPA. Any thoughts are much appreciated...

I had a subpar first year and did not mention this at all in my SOP. This is something that you should get a letter writer to mention (saying to look at the progression, not the cGPA) if you're worried about it. My POI (now my PI) wasn't worried about it, therefore I wasn't either (though I explained to him what happened that year eventually. I would not recommend that if you're not comfortable). From what I've gathered, many people have trouble their first year or two of university. It's not uncommon. 

[Anyone here studies at Toronto U ?]

It depends on the department. Some departments can accept more international applicants than others.

As an example, Biology at U of T only accepted 3 international students out of ~40 applications this year. The grad coordinator says that next year there will only be two spots..

Psychology can accept more international students, but competition is even tighter.

I got into Biology, but not Psychology at U of T as an international student. It really helps if you have a supervisor willing to take you in (my chances of being accepted went from <10% to >60% for Biology), but it does not guarantee a spot. 

I'm not sure about your field because the sciences might have a different system. If you want to know for sure, I would ask their graduate coordinator. The worst they can say is that they cannot reveal that information.

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

I have a very unconventional schedule (it changes from week to week), but I'll try to break down what I have on "typical" week...

1-4 hours/day in the vivarium working with the rats

3-4 hours/day behavioural coding

2 hours/week class

3-4 hours/week attending workshops

I tend to binge-read and binge-write (once I start I usually don't stop for a while) but I aim to write 3-4 hours/week and read 5-6 hours/week. It does vary from week to week.

I don't have any "wet lab" work, but it'll come up eventually. Same with operant tasks (which may take up to 4-5 hours/day). 

And, of course, I do take breaks and have lunch.

I'm in 8:30-9:00 am and leave 5:00-6:00 pm on weekdays, less than that on the weekends. 

I think I've found my stride as well. My ideas are starting to be implemented into either the current project or future projects. Overall, I'm happy that went through a few bumps to get this far.

[Canadian Psychology Applicants, Fall 2016]

Have I talked to you before?   I'm planning on doing the same thing.  Would love to hear your experiences with regard to where else you applied (U of T -- the dream school!) and also your experiences on your reception as an American student and funding at schools other than U of T. 

 

TIA!

I don't think we have chatted before. I also applied to UBC Animal Welfare and uWaterloo Health Studies and Gerontology (my research interests are extremely interdisciplinary). The impression that I've gotten is that external funding as an American applying to Canadian schools can be tricky. My #1 suggestion is to network with POIs, whether by email or if you happen to catch them at a conference (even better!). If your interests catch their eye, they can be on your side not only for admissions but for funding as well. 

From what I've gathered, the two main external scholarships in Ontario are OGS and the OTS (there's also Vanier but very difficult to get). Both are pretty competitive, and both have different processes. OGS requires you to submit a form online with your research plans, letters of rec, etc. while OTS requires a nomination from the grad department. This is where your supervisor networking can come in handy, because a supervisor can nominate you for the scholarship (I received the U of T internal Connaught award, which also has a similar nomination process).

I'm not familiar with provincial scholarships outside of Ontario. Many programs are going to offer a reasonable amount of funding. uWaterloo had a catch, though--your first year is funded in the Master's program, while the second year is unfunded. I don't know if this is true for all programs in uWaterloo, but the program I applied to had that condition.

[Canadian Psychology Applicants, Fall 2016]

Another question,

I'm in the process of contacting potential advisors. This is stated on the faculty page of one of the universities that I am thinking of applying to: "*accepting Graduate Student Applications for 2015-2016". Does this mean the professors are accepting students for Fall 2015 (which would mean the statement was for the previous application cycle) or Fall 2016?

I'm guessing that they haven't updated their page yet for the upcoming application cycle.

Btw, hi. I am a US citizen that applied to Canadian schools exclusively last year. I got accepted to 2/4 programs. My major in undergrad is psychology and animal behavior (minor in biology) and am now in the biology program at University of Toronto. I applied to and did not get accepted into the psych program at U of T, but I'm okay with that because the supervisor was the same (:

I'm also happy to take questions!

 

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

Ahh, been pretty busy lately so I forgot to check back till now. Nah, I feel ya. I tend to over-plan things often as well, and I can't imagine moving in a few days before just to begin looking for a place to live...! Unless you want to live like a hippie then you should definitely give at least one month in advance to search for a place to stay.

Thanks, CBlone! ^^ I'll keep the forums updated on my journey as I'm writing this.

You need to be more assertive and let your supervisor know that it's urgent. A better thing to do is to start an abstract of the proposal and take it to your supervisor for his opinion and feedback, which should lead into a discussion of your proposal anyhow. In the meanwhile, you can always ask your labmates and have them comment on your idea too. Don't make yourself into a victim if you haven't been trying your hardest to go see whoever you need to, or if you feel you've been having an unproductive time because of it.

Good idea! I'll do that over the long weekend. 

I've already sent him an email about it--he did not reply. He was also supposed to meet with other students today (he was on campus), but he never did it. There is a student that hasn't actually met with him for months (she was on maternity leave), so I'm just waiting for my turn. But I might as well start an abstract on the proposal while I wait.

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

It's been hard communicating with my supervisor. I talked with him Monday and I need to talk to him again. Unfortunately, so does everyone else in the lab. It's becoming a slow start to my own research. I've been piggybacking off of someone else's project, and there isn't enough for me to do. I have ideas for my own project (and I can pilot them in the project I'm in now) but it never gets beyond the "idea" stage. It's the same with my PhD proposal--I'm ready to start drafting a proposal, but no idea I've had has gotten beyond the "idea" stage. So basically, I don't feel particularly useful in the lab. I ended up leaving at 12:30 today because there's nothing for me to do (and I was feeling pretty bad about myself by then). That isn't the way I want to work--I want something to do!

[Are the conventional beliefs re MA programs wrong?]

You mention Toronto and McGill, which are Canadian schools. In general, the MA degree in Canada is very different from the MA degree in the US. In Canada, you must do an MA before a PhD, because the path to the PhD is 4-year BA, 1-2 year MA, and then 3-X years PhD (where X depends on the field...maybe the 3 does too). I did a quick check and Toronto will fund the 1-year MA program. 

There are also exceptions to that rule regarding Canadian schools. Depending on the program and grades, you can go to direct-entry to a PhD like I did. Again, it's the exception rather than the rule. But yes, Toronto will fund master's programs.

[Should I reconsider GRE based on my anectode for M.Sc. in AE at UofT?]

I'm not in your field (and didn't have to submit GRE scores for my program at U of T), but I noticed that you did not separate your GRE scores to Verbal and Quant, which would really help us. Engineering is a quant-heavy program, so if your Quant score is high while your Verbal score is abysmal, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

An alternative is maybe contact the profs you are interested in working with? Just so they know you are applying and you are on their minds when they choose applicants. Your profile is very strong otherwise (Though I don't know if U of T takes people with a TOEFL of less than 100...that might be just my program).

[First Year Students - Fall 2015 - How's It Going?]

I've had an RAship since June. Everything seems so tumultuous. I'll go from having a calm demeanor to panicking about the "what if.."s. I still don't know if I have the psychological capacity to continue on to graduate school. My mom complains about getting stress-related illness after 14 hours of work/week. What if I become like that (she used to be able to work full time, I don't know what changed)? Imposter syndrome is running high.

I have signed my first lease as of July. I'm getting used to getting in the swing of things like last summer, when I volunteered in the same lab I'm working in as a graduate student.

I have met no one in my cohort besides someone on gradcafe in the psychology department. I'll probably meet more people in the orientations, which comes up in about 2 weeks. Courses start mid-September.

The research project I'm involved with seems to be going well. I think the most nerve-wracking part of it is the decision if I'll have to take over the project completely is still up in the air. That decision needs to be made by August 31. I'm sure I'll be fine with taking it over, just anticipatory anxiety. My advisor wants me to also overlook some undergraduates while they do their thesis projects. He usually does not do this to first year students, but he thinks that I'm advanced enough to handle it. Did I mention imposter syndrome is running high?