Dedi
-
Posts
329 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Dedi
-
-
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.
- gliaful, kimmibeans, ERR_Alpha and 5 others
-
8
-
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.
-
Hi everyone! I am new to this thread! I applied to social psychology at UofT, York and WL. Any one hear back from UofT? I had an interview on the recruitment day(23rd) and heard nothing since! Also, anyone got interview/invitation from York experimental? This wait is so painful!
U of T is sending out offers of admission as we speak.
-
I just talked with a current grad student at a relatively good university, and they gave me some really good pointers. First of all, everyone is going to be pretty nervous, and is going to be worried about their chances. This leads to a lot of posturing, and people tend to compete with their fellow prospective applicants by saying what their own amazing research experiences entailed. He told me that is a real turn off to anyone listening, and told me to try and not brag or even really discuss my previous research experience in group settings. Another great piece of advice is treat EVERYONE with the same respect you would give to your POI, at EVERY moment. He told me that he had someone pull out their cell phone while he was interviewing them. That person was great to the professors, but was awful to someone he didn't see as his superior. Needless to say, he did not get an offer. Also: if you're offered a drink at a social event, have a beer--no more, no less (unless you don't drink). You don't want to come off as someone that can't socialize (won't drink), or someone who has no boundaries (drinks way too much).
As for my own (novice) advice, answer questions in ways that reveal a lot about you in subtle ways. For example, a common question is "why are you interested in the research you're interested in?" My answer would be: I have known I have wanted to research depression for a really long time, but I particularly became recently interested in genetics associated with genetics. This is because so many other biological markers, such as cortisol, or fMRI activation can be bi-directional. It's hard to tell if the depression causes the biological dysregulation or if the dysregulation causes the depression. With genetics the direction is clear and causality can be inferred: genes cause things, the environment doesn't change your genes (barring gene expression). It's a great way to have something concrete that can be translated into intervention methods." With that, I have showed that I understand the biology (something of particular importance to the places I've applied), know something about interpreting data, and can see the big picture of research (intervention methods).
Finally, I echo the sentiment to ask a lot of questions; it shows you are interested in the program. Just remember, if you're there, then they think you're an awesome candidate. They don't have all the power, think of it more as a first date than an interview: do they seem like a good fit for you?
Finally, finally, there's a LOT of good information on this website: https://clinicalpsychgradapp.wordpress.com/ and there's a FANTASTIC document from a clinical psych prof offering advice from applying to interview tips here: http://www.unc.edu/~mjp1970/Mitch%27s%20Grad%20School%20Advice.pdf
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.
-
Does anyone know whether references at the end count towards the character count in the OGS research proposal by any chance?
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.
-
Guys,
Do you mind sharing you GPA and GRE scores?
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.
-
I've done this with a POI that I worked for last summer. He might have been my strongest letter--not just because of the content but the fact that it showed that we had research and personal fit.
If you want to go about this, I would suggest building up the rapport again (which shouldn't be too hard if they remember you) with the intent of working with them in the future. Then it shouldn't feel so awkward to ask them for a LOR.
I personally don't see ethical issues with this, but my POI is cross-appointed with the department I'm applying for and therefore the admissions committee might not even know him. If the POI is the graduate admissions director, I might see issues.
-
Question for those of you still attending to this post:
When you applied, did you seek out PIs that you wanted to work with ahead of time?
If so, did you seek to ensure they had funding?
Did the school(s) you applied to have mandatory lab rotations that influenced this preemptive communication?
FWIW:
I only applied to institutions that had a PI that I established a rapport with (meaning that I had successful phone conversations with them). I did not ask directly about funding either--if PIs can't fund you, they cannot take in grad students. So I just asked if they were taking in students. I just feel weird mentioning a PI that I did not talk to beforehand.
-
I go to a really small school for undergrad and I'm not used to so many of the terms and protocol at big research universities. My research experience was definitely more casual than others. But it was definitely a time-consuming, long hours, sort of experience. Did anyone else have this problem? How were you able to show yourself as ready for graduate school without the same experience as students from big research universities?
I have the same issue. However, when I went to a large research university for a summer, it didn't seem to be a crippling issue. In fact, the people that I worked with felt that I was more than qualified to be there. The point I'm getting at is that the specific topic or even how formal the research experience does not seem to be an issue; what's most important are the underlying skills that you learned in the process. Those things are transferable to any university. The rest is not impossible to learn.
-
I have a question about flights. I've been on a plane once in my life, but it was 6 years ago and I checked my bag.
I've got 6 flights lined up, and I've decided I don't want to deal with checked luggage. I don't want to show up to an interview weekend with lost/destroyed luggage.
So, I'm looking at the TSA regulations for carry-on liquids, and I'm wondering if one can feasibly fit all necessary liquid toiletries into a single quart-sized bag.
I have four 3 oz travel containers and it appears that this is all a quart-sized bag can hold. Today I decided to buy a dozen 1 oz containers from Amazon in hopes that these would free up some space in the bag. Of course, they haven't arrived yet, but now I'm just antsy about making sure I can get this stuff to fit in a bag. I knew that I would need shampoo, conditioner, face wash, lotion, etc, but I didn't realize that semi-solid items such as deodorant and lipstick were also regulated as liquids!
Does anyone have any tips for getting a whole buncha stuff to fit in a Ziploc bag?
Can I heat the bag over my stove and stretch it out a little? Are there any liquid items that I can "sneak" into my carry-on without putting them in my quart bag? How do they know I'm carrying liquids anyway?
Other related question: can I take prescription meds in my carry-on? They are all properly labeled, but I was thinking about transporting just what I would need for the trip (as opposed to the whole bottles) -- so for this I am unsure.
Gee, so high maintenance
(kidding!)Have you made a list of what you absolutely need for a weekend? I would definitely start with that.
Keep in mind that a quart is 32 oz, and you have 12 one-ounce containers. You should be fine (and have some extra space).
There are some ways to "cut corners." For example, you can buy a little container of 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. If there are things that you don't use daily (e.g. face wash for me is used weekly) you might want to use it the night/day before the trip so you do not have to carry it along.
In my experience, TSA asks if you have any liquids and they put the bag through a scanner/xray machine/whatever it is.
As for meds, I'm in the same boat as you. I would rather be safe than sorry and keep them in original containers. If you happen to have some empty labeled containers, you can put the right number of meds in those.
Just my two cents.
-
I think someone should make a spreadsheet. That's what I think.
Like, gradcafe should have a post-interview poll where attire standard, number of interviews, presence/absence of a social activity, presence/absence of a city tour, and admittance/rejection are collected for each school a user interviews at. Maybe different categories than those that I mentioned, but the idea would be cool.
I do not plan on wearing a suit. I will wear a blouse and dress pants, and I might consider a blazer, but no full suit for me.
I've heard from previous applicants that asking about attire is the norm if the school doesn't mention what you should wear. I've asked everywhere that I'm interviewing and the answer has always been business casual. One contact even said, "I don't know why people show up looking like bank tellers. We don't want bank tellers, we want students...who look like students. Wear your normal clothes."
I'd like to talk about clothes for the non-interview days, if that's something you're open to. I was planning on nice sweaters (sweaters that I already own) with dark, "nice" jeans or slacks, and weather-appropriate shoes. What do you think?
I like the idea regarding the spread sheet.
I'm planning on wearing a nice (but conservative) dress with leggings and boots. Either that or a full length skirt with a nice blouse. I don't have dress pants and I'm not going to get a pair to use for only one day...
I really have no idea what I'm supposed to wear. My POI said that the point of the recruitment day/interviews is to determine fit with faculty and if I really want to be part of this program. It's not a test. I'll wait until I get the official invite (hopefully will get it in January) to figure out attire.
-
QUESTIONS: (please help)
I have received interviews from NYU Sackler and Yale. I was very shocked because my GPA is so low as well as my GRE. Does anybody have advice on how I can be successful at the interviews? I read advice forums and blogs on here, but I also wanted to know if I should be doing anything extra because I feel like a borderline student. I guess I have a case of low self confidence because I have been doubting my ability to get into grad school in the first place, but I want to be able to show the confidence I do have in my research skills at my interviews. Any extra advice you can think of is appreciated. I would be honored to be accepted to either of these schools.
At the interview stage, as I've heard, the numbers game isn't as prominent. It's about fit. Just be yourself, relax, and things will fall where they fall. You want to leave a good impression, yet you don't want to be fake. Also, you are evaluating the program as much as they school is evaluating you. You're going to be there for the next 5-6 years; you can afford to be a little picky.
I don't think you need to worry about doing anything extra because I think that you're at an even playing field at this point.
Everyone has their confidence boosters--I'd suggest you find something to at least distract you in between interviews. I usually play some 60's tunes and I'm set to go.
-
I know it is way early to start thinking about this, but does anyone have a plan to gift their recommenders after all the process is over? I'm thinking of a hand-written card with a small gift.
I'm thinking of an incentive system--the more letters my recommenders send in, the more expensive the gift. I'd start with a ~10 dollar gift + a card for the first letter and add 5 dollars for each additional letter.
I keep having dreams of my interviews. Right now, they are neutral dreams--last night I dreamed that I was trying to put a lab coat back into the POI's lab during the interviews, but I forgot my access card. So I had to use the doorbell. Then the POI's grad students came out and it was a lovely reunion. That's all I remember.
What is your best Stay Healthy/ Young/ Don't get Fat Grad/Student tip?
in Questions and Answers
Posted
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.