Dedi

I've actually been the opposite: crazy calm. I've made my decisions, got a very good scholarship, and my grades are okay. Probably my biggest struggle is to get work done, but it was worse when I was waiting for programs to respond (I was on spring break the week of decisions for my last two programs and got absolutely nothing done). I also want to finish my undergrad research before I graduate, so I haven't been mulling over grad school so much! I'm sorry that many people do not feel the same way. I've recovered from depression, but I haven't forgotten how it feels. It'll hopefully get better after April 15th!

I just bought a Bento box so I can keep portion sizes under control. Though I'm pretty skinny right now, I'd like to stay that way. Plus they have some pretty designs~ I should get a small crockpot. I have the darndest time getting up in the morning (especially during the winter months) so if I prepare something at night, put it in the crockpot, the next morning it should be ready for a lunch? I personally drink milk, fruit juices, and loose-leaf tea (rarely soda). The loose-leaf teas are the best (I usually get the stuff from Teavana, but I know there are other places to get good loose-leaf). I already have an electric kettle (with different temperature settings!), and I highly recommend it if you drink hot tea. I want to find a relatively cheap place to do yoga (and I'll figure that out when I move to Toronto). Otherwise my yoga instructor from home had some ideas about doing yoga at home. Highly aerobic exercise stresses me out more than it should, but I'd like to at least walk to campus in good weather. I'd like to become a pescatarian when I go off to graduate school (I would do it sooner, but I have to break the habit every time I go home from university...). I don't trust myself cooking anything but seafood for whatever reason. Just some random thoughts to consider.

Same thing's happened with my POI. However, I'm not too worried about it because I know that he's busy this time of year. Maybe the same is true for your POI. I wouldn't fret too much (easier said than done, I know..) As for not receiving the official offer, my POI instructed the department not to send the official offer until we've had a chance to talk about it. I don't know if it is the same with your situation, but it's something to consider.

Hello, I am Samantha and I will be accepting an offer from University of Toronto's Cell and Systems Biology program. I will be doing a direct admit to the PhD program from my BSc (majoring in psychology and animal behaviour) in the USA. Being international, I will have to find a place to live. I have some good housing candidates so far. I have spent last summer in Toronto as a volunteer/intern for my POI. We've connected really well and I am really excited to have been accepted to a program at U of T (I also applied to the psychology program, but it appears that I will not receive an offer).

I think a way to modify the story/parable is that the person that is experienced was so sure that he had the job that he made sloppy mistakes on the application. was arrogant during the interview and (in the case of grad school) didn't have a research fit. Research experience is important, but there is still much more to it. The more inexperienced person has to prove to the committee that they are capable, and they can do it by other means. Grad school applications do allow inexperienced people to get in and experienced people out (Though the opposite usually happens).

Even though I haven't been a huge part of this thread (I created it, though...), I wanted to say thanks for the laughs while I lurk on here. I've gotten two offers of admission today. I'm leaning more towards one than the other simply because I'm more familiar with the program, but I'm going to give the other program a fair shot and am asking questions to the POI there.

My letter writers have heard every up and down in the process (I only applied to four programs, though). I see them regularly and I'll just pop into their offices to chat. It really depends on the comfort level with your letter writers. I'm fairly close with all of them, so I tell them most things related to the process as it happens and they don't seem to mind.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I have a POI that can have varied response times. He told me to "bother" him if he doesn't reply within a few days. Usually I just ask him a question or leave a relevant comment. When we first started exchanging emails, he didn't reply for about three months once. Be patient. It's a busy time for professors. Maybe, since you two are at the same university, ask about office hours. You can get a lot more done 20 minutes face to face than a week exchanging emails.

I am surprised on how a supervisor's support can change your chances. So, a bit of statistics on international admissions at one program. 40 international students apply and only 3 are accepted. That's less than 10% chance. However, admission is contingent on a supervisor's nomination. 5 students are typically nominated by their chosen supervisors. Since I know that my POI has nominated me (I interned at his lab last summer and did very well there) my chances shot up to about 60%. That's huge. I am so glad that I've emailed professors before applying to the program. It's also funny that the POI and I did not spend so much effort into this particular program because we thought we had a better shot at another program (same university). I won't know until tomorrow what my results are, but it looks like we are wrong!

I honestly don't know...I feel like I have everything that I need...or could possibly want... I think that treating myself to a nice dinner with a friend would be a good idea. Both of us are applying for grad school, so we could celebrate our acceptances together (: I think the real treat is that the waiting game is over! Never will have to go through such an emotional roller coaster again.

At this point, I can't give you much advice. I'm also a US student trying to get into a Canadian University. I've been nominated for two scholarships but they are prestigious. What I'm going to try for is NIH next year. NIH will fund people going to foreign institutions. Where are you attending? Sometimes there are provincial scholarships that international students can apply for (such as the Ontario Graduate Scholarships). You're also in psychology, so there are small awards you can receive through APA (they are for students attending a US or Canadian school). There may be some discipline-specific awards that you can apply for, depending on what you are researching. I hope this helps a little bit. Good luck to you!

I've been searching for things back around last summer, and our choices are very limited. I think your best bet is to apply for the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Also, ask about the Ontario Trillium Scholarship and see whether you are eligible for that. Otherwise, you can try finding discipline specific external funding...

I assumed that U of T psychology was under one umbrella of research areas (I would be under Brain and Behaviour). Is social psych at U of T different from the main psychology program (like clinical is)? I did not get an offer (yet), but I've heard of people who have. Not sure about rejections. I would just keep an eye on your application status.

U of T is sending out offers of admission as we speak.

There's a lot of interesting work on how the environment can change how genes are expressed and be associated with depression. Genes, imo, aren't all that concrete either, not just because of epigenetics, but because one gene does not code for a behavior. Multiple genes can have associations with a behavior. Have you looked at genetic studies for schizophrenia and autism? It can be a mess. That was my two cents on that matter. In terms of interview tips, I agree with what people have said. One thing I will contribute is that you don't need to know everything. In fact, admitting you don't know everything is a great first step into thinking like a researcher. You will learn so much more if you're in the "I don't know, but that doesn't mean that I can't try to know" mentality than "I'll just BS my way through this." This is more in the "grad school skills" category, but I think this can apply to interviews when you're trying to understand faculty's research.

They do not.

1) My program did both phone interviews and am attending an in-person recruitment day for one program. 2) The costs are going to be completely covered for the in-person interview, but it's a reimbursement type of deal.

Last two year's GPA (including last semester, which I got a 4.0)-- 3.89 GRE was fine: 161Q and 156V. AW killed me though at 3.0

US citizen applying to Canadian programs...(I know, it's not very common). U of T (Biology and Psychology programs. Hoping to get accepted to either!) UBC (Applied Animal Biology--Animal Welfare) uWaterloo (Health Systems and Gerontology) I'm applying more to the lab than the program, which is why the programs are all over the place. Can't apply to CGS-M, but am applying to OGS.