Dedi

I am also from a different field but I have successfully maintained a working relationship with a POI (I mentioned several times on the forum that I am currently research volunteering for my top-choice POI and even had my own summer project). I don't know honestly how I got this far, but I'll try to give a few tips: 1. Be patient. I didn't hear back from the POI for 3 months after I told him my research experiences. I would email him once in a while to follow up (I found that putting substance in those emails helps as well) and the next time he emailed me he wanted to set up a phone conversation. 2. Be confident. I don't know what kind of school you attend right now, but I found that not being afraid of your professors is pretty helpful. I attend a liberal arts university so I interact with my professors intensively. Don't be sorry for bothering them; they probably get more "annoying" emails than yours every day. 3. Ask questions. Not just about the admissions process but about their research that doesn't appear in manuscripts, too. The POI I worked for this summer appreciated questions about the research process at the lab. 4. If there doesn't appear to be a personality fit as well as a research fit, then I wouldn't apply for that lab. Research fit is important, but personality fit is almost just as important. Overall, I'd say it's worth contacting POIs but don't expect them to guarantee you admission to the program.

I don't know much about your field, but I don't see why having goals makes you closed-minded. It isn't like you're bound in blood by those goals. People's interests and goals change over the course of grad school. No one is going to be 100% open-minded, like no one is 100% impartial. I'd say go for it and add it. It might make you appear more ambitious and focused. Most schools want you to have a reason to attend grad school anyways. Hope that helps!

It sounds too generic and broad, especially your research interests and methodology/theory used. There are also some sentences that really need some rephrasing, especially in the second paragraph. For example, one of your sentences should be divided into two instead of separating them with a comma. I would do some literature searches to see what you are interested in and what techniques they used. You don't have to cite them in the SOP, but I believe you should have a better idea of what you are going to study.

In your case, I think it would be a good idea to extend what you have in your CV (reflect on those achievements/research experiences) and how they relate to your proposed research interests. That's just my opinion. Anyone have any other thoughts?

Sent! Don't worry. When you get something compiled, feel free to PM it to me! (:

I actually agree with your advisor to not work as much. What's the rush? You need to take care of yourself, too, otherwise you will burn yourself out. You won't be able to finish your degree and then what? You can't be a postdoc without your doctorate. I'm excited about doing my research as well, but I know I need to take time for myself (socialize, sleep, eat, meditate). I work with rats, and they need time to grow up into adults. That time period keeps me sane. It's not about the destination; it's the journey that matters. Enjoy some time to just be a graduate student. Otherwise, imo, you sound impatient and childish.

Actually, the Psych Applicants 2015 forum was talking about how some applicants applied for all kinds of tier programs and only got accepted for the top tier programs. The adcoms work in mysterious ways. No graduate application experience is a one-size fits all. No need to be a Debbie Downer because your experience wasn't what you hoped for. I agree with Monochrome Spring. The best advice is straight from the department's mouth.

I agree with this. When it comes down to the final round of applicants, it is no longer a numbers game. It's about research fit, SOPs and LORs. I also agree that it isn't about getting into a graduate school, it's about getting into the graduate school that will make you happy for the next 5-6 years. And it really shows which schools you are enthusiastic about and which schools you aren't.

I disagree with the second sentence. Even my broader topic (behavioural epigenetics) is so new, that only several professors in the country, much less a grad school, do it. Then I have to consider the professors that can't take grad students, and I'm pretty much left with only one professor each from a few schools. You still want to seem somewhat focused on your topic and not all over the place, too. I still don't get what's with the negativity with knowing what you want to research. I've found that it leaves a good impression with the POIs that I've talked to.

I don't know if they would "cater" to your idea, but you can certainly make compromises. For example, absolutely no one does exactly what I want to do. However, I think I made a good argument for a certain project that I am now currently leading with certain limitations. This is at a lab with my top choice POI. Maybe you won't get your dream project, but you can do things similar to it and make inferences. Or, you can get your own grant money (I'm not sure about your field but the life sciences usually have a few opportunities to get grants at the predoctoral level).

I'm in the Toronto area right now. Their public transportation system is pretty good if you need to get anywhere (I've been using it for the past 2 1/2 months). I don't know much about Grad House, but I have a feeling that people in the waiting list are dropping out pretty quickly and not the people who have a spot.

I think as an undergraduate, any kind of experience (related or not) is helpful. For example, I'm adding all the research projects I was involved in even though half of them don't pertain to my research interests. If you want, I can take a look at your CV and give you a few pointers. It's as much of a learning experience for me as for you. PM me if you are interested.

Good point. I think I will do that. Thanks!

Congrats! Good luck on your chat. Tell us how it goes.

It was my first independent project so I think there were a few errors in the design. I did not reach any significance because of high variability--however, I did find a trend in behavior (zebrafish in enriched conditions tend to recover from a stressor faster than those housed in barren conditions). As for neurogenesis, I did immunohistofluorescence. While that worked (the newly divided cells did light up), the results were inconclusive (mostly because I had a very small sample size). What about you? What did you find with your project?

I put my descriptors in the SOP, but I don't think it's unheard of to put it in the CV. You can PM me your CV and I'll look at it (even though I'm more in the life sciences than the social sciences, haha).

That's cool. I would have been very scared if you did a similar topic as I did (the effects of a barren or enriched environment on zebrafish behavior and neurogenesis).

Sounds eerily like me (also designed an independent project on zebrafish and got a small research grant). What did you study, exactly?

I might actually be wrong about not getting into any publications from the lab I'm working in this summer. It probably won't show up in my application at all, though. Not with November deadlines.

Ah, I see. I'm sorry I can't help you with university selection (U of T is in Canada, by the way, but closer to the US than you probably are right now). All I can say is good luck and I hope you do find your university match.

It doesn't make sense to me why you want two Master's degrees. If you want to maximize your chances, I'd suggest more along the lines of getting experience. I think Google offers some internships, but you would have to look into that. I'm not in your field, but I thought I;d give an outsider's view.

I'm not sure about political communication admissions, so take this advice with a grain of salt... I've found that the statement of purpose should actually speak to the adcom. In other words, use plain English and be precise. I do not advise towards using "big vocab words." It doesn't impress anyone and it makes it extremely hard to read. Avoid passive tense if possible. Passive tense muddles statements and doesn't sound confident. You should be able to precisely articulate your research interests. You're going to have to do that every time someone asks you about your research. You can't refer them to such-and-such paper. Otherwise it kind of sounds like you don't really care to take the time to reflect on what you truly want to do. I think the biggest piece of advice I can give is to sound/be confident and enthusiastic about your research. You need to be confident to pursue your research interests, and if you have a "lab" then you need that confidence to drive the undergraduate students to be enthusiastic with you. Graduate school isn't for people who want to stand in the background--scholarships in particular are looking for tomorrow's leaders. This is just based on my experiences.