Dedi

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.

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.

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.

Thanks hippocamper
 
I asked about the tax info because a lot of my options (yours too) are in big, expensive cities, and I wanted to know what my "net" stipend would actually be when thinking about cost of living.
 
I asked about other things that I wanted out of the experience, so this is really up to you. I asked stuff like:
 
-are the people I want to work with actually available?
---if so, I then emailed students in these labs and asked about the mentoring/environment/emphasis on getting pubs out/graduating in a timely manner
-ask a 5th or 6th year what they are planning to do next/ if their committee members tried to connect them with possible postdoc opportunities at other universities. Get a feel for who knows who.
-ask students if they feel like the program changes (hopefully improves) in response to student concerns or ideas. I didn't want a program that had a "we've been doing it this way for 20 years!" mentality. Structure is great and important but it shouldn't be timeless.
-do the faculty believe academia is the only way to go with a PhD? 2/5 schools I interviewed with rejected this outdated sentiment, while 3/5 didn't mention preparing students for jobs outside of academia. I asked those 3/5 about opportunities.
-how close-knit is the student body? do you guys do anything together besides the annual recruitment?
-how much does the structure of the campus impact collaborations? In spread out campuses, do you only collaborate with your neighbors?
-is there a mentor/oversight of some sort during the first year?
-coursework (in case it wasn't addressed during the interview!): is most of this finished after the first year? Are the courses lumped into a portion of the day (eg, all in the morning or afternoon) or do students basically run back and forth between classes and their rotation lab throughout the day?
-teaching/TAships: if you want to teach, can you? If you want to teach and a TAship is required for some amount of time, how much teaching do you actually get to do during that TAship?
-if I don't finish after my 5th year, will my tuiition waiver/funding still be guaranteed (until then it's paid by your lab but only by program mandate) for a 6th year? (I got some NO's in response to this question so DO ASK. Some places said I'd have to teach my 6th year to get a tuition waiver!)
 
-also financial: ask about fees. Some programs only partially cover them and the amount you have to pay is kinda steep for fees (see UW's neuro handbook for an example of high quarterly fees; it's on their webpage).
-Actually, it's worth it to look at all of the program handbooks - request them if they aren't posted online - and those might lend themselves to some good questions.
 
Sorry, the above questions got kind of sloppy. I hope they make sense.

I did email a few PIs to verify whether they anticipate taking new students. More so, though, I emailed a bunch of students (some didn't respond) and asked about things I forgot to ask during the interviews. I also became concerned about how stipends are taxed in various states -- like if they count as taxable income, and if so, what is the income tax rate in those states -- and I couldn't figure it out online so I just asked students directly if they faced any unpleasant tax surprises. I didn't like that it came down to cost of living, but it does matter... The students were really forthcoming, though, so you might get more honest responses out of them.
 
I ended up accepting at the place that I liked the most going in to this process -- you know where that is. I'm nervous about posting it online.
 
Congrats on your offers!

Andddddd I'm going to UW-Madison

Not a Wisconsinite, but from just across the border in Minnesota, and have followed the Scott Walker saga (and that’s really the best word for it at this point) for the past few years.    My take is this: Walker is interested in doing serious damage to the University of Wisconsin system, but he probably won’t be able to put enough political clout together to do it, so I would still leave both your Wisconsin admits in firm consideration.    Walker himself, as far as higher education is concerned (and lots of other things are concerned, but that’s for another, much longer, post) isn’t just interested in cutting back the budget at the public university system: lots of conservative pols want to do that across the country. Walker—in a move that mirrors his actions related to public teachers—is actually interested in completely changing the concept of what a university does, and what its relationship is to the state as a whole. Walker has pushed very, very hard for UW to begin granting “experience based credits,” where a person gets academic credit for “relevant life experiences.” In other words, if I’d been an executive at a small business for a few years, I could pay for the credits and get myself halfway to an MBA without ever stepping foot in a classroom. Obviously that’s not great for instructors who need to teach courses to get paid.    But perhaps more threateningly for the humanities, Walker is strongly convinced that the only role of a university system is to provide career-based training that gets people ready for the workforce. He’s so convinced of this, he actually tried to amend the University system’s charter to delete the phrases “the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state” and “"Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth” and add the phrase “"meet the state's workforce needs." This isn’t just a guy who wants budget cuts—this is a guy who wants to radically change UW-Madison, just as he radically changed public K-12 education in the state. And you can imagine that Walker’s idea of meeting the state’s workforce needs doesn’t involve a lot of English or Comp Lit courses.    However, many of these things Walker’s attempted have been blocked. It’s very possible he’ll do some damage in the short term, but as mollifiedmolloy notes above, your own funding would likely be guaranteed and safe. In the long run, I think the political winds will shift. Walker has national ambitions politically, and having those is always a good way to alienate Midwesterners. And Wisconsin still has a strong core of left-leaning folks who haven’t completely lost political clout. That should prevent Walker from putting most of his ideas into full practice, although it’d also be naïve not to expect more budget cuts to the UW system, much of which will lean heavily on the humanities departments there. 

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

I understand that you are upset, but I'd wait at least a week before deciding to do anything harsh. Give time to collect yourself and reassess the situation. Rejections happen to the best of us.
Easier said than done, I know. But really, you don't want to set up a bad reputation for yourself.
 
Just my two cents.

Oh, I definitely agree about the epigenetics aspect and the gene expression dilemma. Polymorphisms just seem, to me, to be nature's little experiments .

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.
 
 

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 fully agree that writing is important in every field, but I disagree on the utility of AW for every field. The kind of writing I do is very different from the AW portion of the test and if I were to follow scientific writing conventions I'd get a terrible score on it. Likewise, if I followed AW conventions when doing scientific writing I'd be told it needs a massive rewrite. I honestly believe the Verbal portion is a better indicator for us as that has a lot more to do with logic and analyzing arguments.

There is a delightful article published in Neuron called "How to be a Graduate Advisee" -- it's a thoughtful flip-side of the coin to "How to Pick a Graduate Advisor", recently mentioned by PeterPanComplex in the Neuro Applicants forum. Although both papers were published in Neuron, the advice given seems applicable to all of the fields represented in this forum. While interview invites continue to trickle in, and some of us are soon to begin or have already begun interview season, both of these papers may be helpful and I have linked them below:
 
How to be a Graduate Advisee, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627313011914
How to Pick a Graduate Advisor, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627313009070
 
Both are open-access to my knowledge.

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. 

Someone shared this with me, and I thought I would share it with you all! it's an article on "how to pick a graduate advisor"

http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0896627313009070/1-s2.0-S0896627313009070-main.pdf?_tid=c45e98e4-94ee-11e4-ac0e-00000aacb361&acdnat=1420471574_15bedfa0eccf3eefb7bc81cf1177ba5e

I just wanted to throw something out there...it seems like a lot of people are "giving up" on schools because they didn't make the first round of interview invites. Unless you or someone you trust has called the school and the school has said, "That's it, there are no more invites to give!" then don't give up. Some schools don't send out rejections until later because they're waiting to see how the first round of interviews go and will send out interviews later.
 
I received an invite in March for a program that started sending invites in January. Don't give up hope!

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.

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.

EastCoasting: really good advice!

From my own experience of interviewing at one of the most competitive clinical programs in the States (4% acceptance rate), I'd add: stay positive -- some of your interviewers will really try to test you. One of the three professors who me put up his feet in front of me on the desk between us, began with a generic 'Tell me about yourself', and then proceeded to take apart every single research and clinical experience I offered in answer. So, keep your cool, keep on talking, ask them questions, pretend you're not nervous or intimidated. Pay attention to your interviewers, and if they appear bored -- wrap up, don't rant on!

Also, this is not the time to be critical of your home school, past colleagues and supervisors, or your research field in general. It's important to strike a balance between remaining true to yourself, while being pleasant. Also, you must be able to tie together your past experiences, current work, and future research plans.

Phew... I hope this makes sense.

Sometimes it is an "informal interview", where they will still be evaluating you during your visit. However, I would take it as a very good sign because they would not pay for you to fly out there for nothing. I know that in my field, many schools are starting to do their prospective student visits in this way so that they can get one last screening in case there is a student that is completely different in person than on paper. Thus, I would guess that they want to admit almost everyone they invited, but want to have one last check. 
 
But since you don't know for sure, it would be safest to not assume you are admitted. Don't go overboard to try to impress them, but just be your best professional self Have fun!

Your attire depends upon your field.  Since my field is public health, everyone is always in business attire.  Some may get away with business casual, but definitely no jeans. To prepare for your visit, I would suggest that you view your department's webpage and get an idea of how students dress at social gatherings.  Schools usually have pictures of their students on their webpages.  
 
Per the scheduling of an additional recruitment day, it is best that you contact a representative of the school and/or department.  
 
To make that lasting-first impression, the University of Missouri, Engineering Department offers some great tips:
 
General tips Wear something that projects a tidy, professional appearance. Interviews should be business professional attire. If it’s an on-site interview on the field floor, opt for business casual. Avoid extreme colors, patterns and fabrics. Everything should fit appropriately and be clean and well pressed. Nails should be clean and well groomed. Leave book bags at home for on-site interviews. For on-campus interviews, leave them in the waiting area. Perfume or cologne should be used sparingly or not at all. No odors (such as smoke) in clothes. Long hair should be pulled back and away from the face. Tips for men Tie styles come and go. Avoid fashion extremes such as character ties. Wear dark socks, mid-calf length, so no skin is visible when you sit down. Invest in a good pair of dress shoes. Even if you don’t wear them daily on the job, you’ll need them for other occasions. Wear a black or dark brown belt to match your shoes. Facial hair, if worn, should be well groomed. Remove any piercings. Tips for women Pants suits can be an excellent choice for site visits, particularly if the visit involves getting in and out of vehicles or if the site is a manufacturing plant or industrial facility. Pants should be creased and tailored. Skirts should cover your thighs when you are seated. Don’t show cleavage. Make sure shirts are long enough to cover your stomach completely, whether standing or sitting. Keep jewelry and accessories simple and relatively conservative. Keep makeup conservative and avoid extreme nail polish colors. No stilettos or chunky platforms. Make sure you can walk comfortably in your shoes. I am going to also suggest that you take a notepad/pen with you to take notes throughout the day.  The school will likely pass out a folder with its information in it, so you can write on the back of the provided paper; to let them know that you are interested in the program.  
 
Know the correct name of the department and program which has your interest.  Also be prepared to answer and ask questions.  Have a set of questions (maybe 3-5) that you would like answered; for the faculty and current students.  Do not ask any questions that can be answered by looking at the school/department website.  Think outside the box.  For instance:
 
How often does an advisor meets with his/her students? How many journal articles are students expected to publish by graduation? Does the school offer enrichment programs (beyond the writing lab)? Where are your graduates now?   In case of a medical incident (surgery, birth/adoption/lost of love one, etc.), how many semesters can I miss of school? ***What are the characteristics of a successful student?*** 

I don't think the Grad Cafe users sample is representative of the entire population of Grad students out there. For some reason, Grad cafe is widely popular in some fields (perhaps Neuroscience is one of them?) and not at all in others (most of my friends in linguistics haven't heard of it). 
 
That's not to say that Neuroscience is not a popular field!  I think neuroscience is growing in popularity precisely because, as pasteltomato said, it's hugely interdisciplinary. 

Hey everyone, 
 
So I was searching for how to prepare for interviews and I came across this blog post from someone here who went on interviews and gave us some helpful hints. Thought I would pass the link along
 

 
Merry Christmas!!

I will say i read at least 1-2 papers for all my interviewers.... but again i was probably over preparing.  It went well for me, because I actually had PIs tell me I got extra points when I referred to something they recently published.  It also made it super easy to ask questions about their research.  
Pro tip: if you can get a prof talking about his/her research...your interview will be over in what feels like 5 minutes.  
If it is your top choice I'd at least read abstracts of a few papers of your interviewers.  It will do wonders for you.  You have time in airports and sitting around, so there is plenty of time to look at some recent pubs.  I just went to pubmed, put in the pi for author and looked at recently published.  sometimes someone else is publishing, like a grad student (Good signs!) and they are the last author.  if this is your top pick and these are the PIs you are interested in working with...this won't feel like work, it'll actually be interesting and fun to you!