bsharpe269

I would not. I would focus on research fit with faculty.

Have you been upfront with your advisor about your plans? I'm in the same situation but have been discussing my plans with my advisor for over 6 months. If you're just in a master program, not the phd, then I don't know why they would expect you to get a phd there. Application season is here though so you should discuss your plans with your advisor ASAP. He/she would be the best person to go to for advice on programs anyway.

I agree that if you can find the time then it would be good to help get it ready to be resubmitted. It is easy to be frustrated and over projects at this point but you put a lot of effort into that work so wouldnt it be nice to get something out of it? Publications arent that easy to come by and if you have one almost ready to go then I think it would be worth the small amount of work needed to revise it. Also, it would probably be beneficial to stay on good terms with this professor for networking opportunities. I think that it would be perfectly fine if you agree to help but let him know that since you are really busy, your progress on it may be a bit slow. At the very least, you could make some time over thanksgiving or winter break to work on it for example.

People on here have suggested that this is a bad idea but I would like some opinions on my situation. There are two PIs that collaborate to form the research group that I am part of for my MS research. They are in two different fields but we work in an interdisciplinary research area that is at the cross of these fields. I mainly work under one of the PIs (call him Dr. X) who will be my main LOR and has been my main go to for advice about this application process. He is respected in our field and his name should be known by my POIs at PhD schools. I have also taken a class with him and ended up with an A+ in the class. In addition to Dr. X's letter, I also want an LOR from the 2nd PI in our research ground (Dr. Y). He is very well known in the research area that I hope to go into and created a pretty great model that people in the field may be familiar with. I dont want to avoid getting a letter from him just because he works with Dr. X but since people on here have mentioned that it is bad to get 2 letters from the same lab, some feedback on my situation would be really helpful. If it helps, I have done almost all of my projects under Dr. X's supervision but I did a couple small separate projects over the summer for Dr. Y so he could refer to different work in the LOR than the work already mentioned by Dr. X. I have plenty of other professors that I could go to for LORs like ones that I have taken classes with or the PI that I did an undergrad REU with but Dr. X thinks that a LOR from Dr. Y would go a long way at the schools I am applying to. Any advice?

Agree with the others, don't apply.

I think the bio GRE may be a huge factor for you since you international. Since you did so well on that, I think you have a good shot at programs this year. I dont think a MS from your current school will help much at all. I would apply to PhD programs this year and if you dont get in then I would look at MS programs in the US instead of at your current school. Maybe your best bet would be to apply for a mix of PhD and MS programs in the US so that you definitely get in somewhere.

I have a research experience section on my CV and also an Honors and Awards section. I would put the research abroad in the research experience section and the grant in the awards section

Keep focusing on verbal over the weekend and also read the online advice for the the essays, inlucding examples of essays that scored a 6. I would focus most of your attention on that and then set aside a couple hours each day to look over some math problems so that you can score decent on that too. Most of all just breathe and get sleep the night before the exam. Dont stress yourself out. If you dont do as well as you want then you can just retake it next month, no harm done!

I agree with others that with your current profile you should maybe focus on neuro work that is going on within psych departments. I think that you would be a strong candidate for programs like this. If you are interested in more of the hard science aspects or want to apply to programs in biology departments then holding off a year and taking some basic science classes like ogranic chem and physics could go a long way in proving that you can handle the course work. Also, many people applying to top phd programs in the sciences probably have GRE Q scores around 165 so increasing that score could also make a difference in my opinion.

My writing score also went down since I last took the GRE. I ended up with a 4.0 this time. My other scores were decent (162V, 168Q) but I was annoyed at the writing. I consider myself a great writer in general. I have always made A+s in English classes and after reading my papers, one of my college professors even suggested that I consider changing my major to English. The online example essays that scored 4.0s are absolutely terrible. I wrote your standard 5 paragraph essay and included 3 solid points with a detailed example for each. I really don't understand their grading methods. Thankfully, my field doesn't care about the writing score at all. I'm not going to take the GRE again but I definitely suggest that others focus on learning exactly what the graders want to see in the essays.

I feel the same. I of course know that I will make this happen and apply to all of these programs but the amount of work that needs to be done is way more than I could have imagined. Some voice in the back of my head keeps asking if I am actually going through with this. I have wanted this for so long and now it is here! I just need one acceptance!

That makes sense. I was going to sign up for one and at last minute decided not to for the same reasons pretty much. I have the same mindset... I think I can get into to some of my top coices without it so if I am wrong and dont then I will just reapply next year.

I'm in the second year of my MS and still haven't figured out the pacing thing. Right now I'm juggling 3 classes, 30 hours a week for research assistantship and am applying for The NSF grant and to 10 phd programs. I'm pretty much drowning in work and feel behind no matter how much I do. I haven't personally figured out a burn out pattern because it seems like sometimes I can work nonstop for weeks with no problem and other times I burn out really fast. I just try to sleep 6-7 hours a night and then take full advantage of those super productive moods that you described. If others have advice then if be interested in it too!

I would just make a skills section in your CV. In the SOP, you go into more detail about how you used a couple different techniques in your research if you want.

I dont think that quitting would make you look bad to the department in general. This one professor might hold some resentment but it sounds like you dont see yourself wanting to work with him again in the future anyway. People over committ themselves all the time and you did so because you were trying to help him out. I think that it would be fine to tell him that you have been trying your best to keep up but that realistically the time just isnt there. It doesnt sound to me like this project is worth the amount of stress that it is causing you.

i agree that is could never hurt and could possibly help you stick in their mind.

A couple of my programs recommend a subject test and I won't be taking one. I seriously just don't have the time. Since youre already registered then why not just take it and decide later whether you want to send it or not?

Alright so I think there are two different reasons you touch on for joining the Peace Corps: 1) The standard reason people probably do these things: see the world, learn about yourself, give back, etc. 2) Grad school applications I think that number 1 is a great reason to do Peace Corps and I think that number 2 is a really really bad reason. One of my best friends is with PC in africa right now and loving it. It can be an amazing experience. It will also be a really really difficult experience and you need an internal desire to do it to get through. In general, grad school wants the best researchers. This sort of thing can set you apart between similar candidates but is not going to make them pull your application out of a pile. This sort of thing definitely will not hurt your application though. In summary, If you do it then do it for youself, not for grad school. Regarding your other questions, if you will get strong LORs now then Im sure they will remember you in 2 years. Just talk to them and let them know your plans and they can decide whether they want to write letters now or feel that they will remember you well in a couple years. Definitely dont go after grad school. If you want an academic job then you will need to use your connections to find a postdoc and at that point, taking time off could be bad. If you want to do something like this then do it now. You may also want to look into fullbright. They offer year long things abroad. If you are less concerned with integrating into a culture and more concerned with grad school apps (im not implying that you are or that it is bad if you are) then that might be more along the lines of what you want. Some of the countries have opportunities for reasearch abroad and others are more for teaching english. I think it is considered a bit more academic which may make it look better for grad school. Im not saying one is better than the other since they are 2 very different experiences but it may be worth looking at to determine which is more in line with what you want.

I think that it *probably* will not hurt your chances but I wouldnt risk it. This would really depend of the PI but they might be put off by you not looking as professional at interviews. I would in general present yourself like you would for any job interview including nice outfit, professional looking hair, no peircings etc. Academia is pretty relaxed so it probably would not matter but I would go in with a why risk it midset and play it safe.

Thanks for the comments. I decided to ask for a fee waiver for the membership fee based on financial need. I am sure that just about every grad student could prove financial need but I doubt that many ask... If this sort of thing is offered then I will join but otherwise will not since I will already be paying for tons of phd program application fees this winter.

I would just go talk to your LOR writer about this in person so you can figure out what he means. He might want the names of the professors you want to work with so that he can specifically mention them in the letters.

Right, I dont mean that you should be close minded but I also dont think that you should apply to a bunch of prestigous schools that dont really fit with your research interests and call it open mindedness. The idea of rotations is related to what you are talking about..you are able to sample a few projects related to your interests before choosing. In my opinion, there are 2 extremes here. 1 extreme would be someone who is only willing to work on 1 project. The other extreme is what you are doing, being open to working on absolutely anything. I think that when applying to PhD programs you should be somewhere in between these extremes. For example, know a general subfield but be open to various topics within it.

If your interests are currently so broad that you can fit almost anywhere then I dont think they are specific enough to apply to PhD programs. Also, the goal is definitely not find one PI at each school doing what you want! You want to find the departments that specialize in your subfield. For me, there are about 15 that specialize in my subfield and I was able to elimiate some based on more specific interests, locations, vibe that I get from faculty, etc. I will be applying to about 10 programs. I do not think is overkill since every one of these departments specializes in pretty much exactly what I want to do. Yes, mentor fit is important but so it research fit. This is why you apply to departments who specialize in your research area. Then it is extremely likely that you will find someone who fits in both categories. Also prestige is of course slightly important, secondary to fit. Most of the programs that I am applying to are ranked around 30 for the overall field but are known for their specific research related to my interests. This is a great place to be in my opinion since the programs may be slightly easier to get into than say top 10 programs yet the faculty there are amazing and I will end up with awesome post docs coming out of these labs.

Neroscience is as much chemistry as it is bio. You seem to have the perfect application for neurscience programs in my opinion. Many of the most difficult conepts in biology are related to the chemistry behind them. I think that showing that you have mastered these topics will be an asset to your application. I would not write your SOP from the mindset that you show here. I would not write it as if you are changing fields but would instead focus on how your chem background has prepared you for the research you want to do in the future.

I think those are very good scores considering the programs you are looking at. I dont think they would worry about the 156Q. I think the econ major is enough to prove that you have the quant skills needed for those fields. My guess (could be wrong since Im in the hard sciences) is that statistics is used more than anything else in sociology and psych so having an A in a stats class or two could make up for any slight worry about the quant score. Since those fields are more writing and reading intensive, I think the most important thing would be to do well in verbal and writing sections since you may lack some of the course work that would typically prove competence in those areas. Since you did really well in both of those sections, I wouldnt worry at all!