username1824

Definitely depends solely on which professor you talk to. Some will just ask you about your research, then talk about theirs. I was asked what I think my strengths and weaknesses are, and why I should be accepted over other applicants at one interview, which felt more like an actual job interview. But that kinda stuff is rare. I didn't get asked why I wanted to go to a specific school, very often, maybe a handful of times. But there's usually an info session before interview starts where the dean talks about the program extensively, which will give you plenty of good reasons why you should go to that school over any other.

I also THINK (this is me being very speculative) that it helps them when offering various fellowships. Some schools offer extra stipend money in the form of fellowships or scholarships to their top candidates. These get offered at the time of acceptance, so before a candidate makes their decision. So I think if a school sees that you are choosing between a lot of top schools, they may offer you a fellowship if they really want you to make their school more appealing. Again, I'm just speculating. As mentioned above, they definitely use it to see what schools they are compared to and how successful they are against various schools.

I was told numerous times that you shouldn't ask letters from postdocs or other people. That they only take letters from professors/PI's/Lab heads seriously. I was told this by some admissions people at Berkeley, so I think it's fairly serious. I'm sure you have professors from your undergrad who can write you strong letters

@Berba9 - Which professor at Yale BBS are you wondering about? I go to Yale so I should be able to let you know if he/she is here.

I listed every technique, including techniques I did once in lab classes. I think that's fine. You're not lying. And if you did that technique again, it would be somewhat familiar to you. You wouldn't need a complete refresher.

I applied last year and I can tell you what my CV consisted of. It was two pages long and had the following headlines: Research Interest, Research Skills (Straight up just a list of every technique I've done), Education (GPA, GRE test scores, Major GPA), Research Experience (My PI and what I specifically did on the project in about 2 or 3 sentences), Teaching Experience, Leadership Roles, Awards, Publications and Presentations. Hope that helps you

When I first read OP's post, I thought he was complaining about something unimportant, but reading his replies, I see what he's saying. The application fee is supposed to be the fee for having the application reviewed. So if he pays the fee, but doesn't have his application reviewed, what is he paying for? He's essentially just paying for having his online application sent to the UWM servers, and never looked at. It's like paying a professional editor to look at your manuscript, and never receiving anything in return. I agree that's not fair. I think UWM is within their rights to not review an application if slots fill up from domestic students, but if they don't actually look at an application, those students should get a refund. Of course, UWM probably would never do that, but I think that would be fair.

Short answer: Yes, you should include it. It'll look good that you had some experience in engineering.

I'm in a similar situation. I'm going into grad school in the fall and I have 4 professors I've emailed about setting up a rotation. 3 responded and 1 hasn't and it's been almost a week. I'm planning on sending one more email, but how should I bring up the fact that I've already sent him an email? Like should I say, "Hi Dr. xxx, I sent you an email already, but I'm sure it got lost." Or what do I say?

I think 70% of people who interviewed at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, etc were unpublished. And maybe 3-5% had first author papers. You're not really expected to have a paper at this point, from what I've seen.

I didn't take the subject test (well I did, but I bombed it and didn't report my scores) and I get interviews at the top schools in my program. My undergrad mentor told me that you should only take the subject test if your grades in biology classes seem low.

Oh man, I remember last year how excited I was when the profiles/results page. I could finally talk to other people about grad schools and writing essays and what not. And the most surreal part was the thought that I was about 9 months away from knowing where I'd be for the next 6 years or so. Ahh, good times. Interviews were the best! I really wish i could relive those, although I suppose I will when you guys come visit Yale! Anyways, I'm starting graduate school at Yale in the BBS program there. If anyone has any questions about graduate school, applications, interviews, Yale, whatever, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to ask here or message me or whatever. Seriously, my summer consists of counting down the days until I move to Connecticut.

Grad School: Hard Mode

I'll be at my school until my graduation, which is mid June. Right after that, I'm going to the Connecticut, where I'm going to grad school, to sign my lease and look at the house I'm renting. Then I'll be back home with my family for about 60 days, doing absolutely nothing. Lots of time with friends and family before I permanently move away and start a new life!

I think you make a strong candidate and would have no difficulties if you were a US student. But international students have a harder time because a lot of the funding for students comes from federal grants, which can only be awarded to US citizens. I would suggest that you consider applying to Rockefeller. I applied there and spoke to the dean, and he told me that they don't take domestic/international status into consideration, as they just want to get the best students they can. But it's definitely not impossible to get into Harvard or other top programs you listed as an international student

I think if you won the Goldwater, you have good research experience, a good GPA, and outstanding letters. It also probably means you write well. That all means you're probably an outstanding candidate for grad schools. I applied for the Goldwater, was nominated by my school, didn't win, and still was accepted to top schools in my field. So if you won the Goldwater already, I think you'll have your choice of school.

Whichever function was found first was probably how it was named. I remember there's a protein called xxx kinase (the name escapes me), but the protein never comes in contact with xxx in vivo. It was just seen to add phosphate groups to xxx in vitro, so it was given the name and it stuck.

Thanks, that's good to know!

I know that for federal loans, you can defer payments if you're going to graduate school, but I'm not sure if it holds true if you're being paid in graduate school (as many of us are). Does anyone here know for sure?

I don't think negotiating the stipend is at all a good idea. And I also don't think that they'd give you more, because that creates a precedence. If other students find out that you got more money, they could also ask for more money. And if the school doesn't give them more money, it creates favoritism. There wouldn't be a fantastic incentive for the school to give you more money unless you're the Lebron James of science.

Is it a big envelope or a small envelope? If it's a big, thick envelope, it may be an acceptance.

Which school is it? And I think "short end" might just be bad phrasing on their part. I think they just mean you're on a short waitlist.

jeez this place is dead today, huh?

Looks like I'm going to Yale MCGD. Couldn't be happier

I got my acceptance to Yale! It was my top choice after visiting, and I'm very excited to say that I'll be going there in the fall! Thankfully this whole process is over now.