bsharpe269

Thanks for the info! As far as chem classes go, I have taken General Chem 1 & 2 and then Organic 2 (I took this class this summer and taught myself Chem 1 with Khan Academy beforehand). I also took grad level Biochem. I got Cs in the general chem classes due just being a freshman and not focused enough. I got As in Organic 2 and the grad level biochem classes though. I have not taken Physical Chem unfortunately but do feel comfortable with the material due to its relevence to my research. I would definitely have no problem taking a few undergrad chemE classes during my first year to catch up.

If your other LORs are from tenured professors then I don't think that having one from a post doc will be a deal breaker. I doubt the assistant prof vs post doc title will make a huge difference. In general, the best LORs are from tenured professors who are well known in the field. Unless the assistant professor happens to be incredibly well known already then his title probably won't matter much. I'd go with the one who can write a better letter.

I have interdisciplinary research interests which fall somewhere between chemical/biomedical engineering, computional bio, physics, and chemistry. I have lots of research experience in this area and have a BS in mathematics and am working on an MS in bioinformatics. Most schools put professors with my research interests in physics or chemistry departments but then also offer interdisciplinary phd programs in biophysics or computational bio that allow students to work with the professors in ether department. I am applying through this route whenever possible because I am finding that professors with my research interests who are doing similar work are often spread across multiple departments. I would like the opportunity to rotate with all of them, regardless of department affiliation. I am interested in applying to a couple schools that lump professors with my research interest into chemical, biomedical, or bioengineering though and do not offer interdisciplinary PhD programs which may be a better fit for me. So my question is, given my background, is it worth applying to these engineering programs if the research fit is great? On one hand, I have taken grad level math, statistics, and programming courses and my GRE Q score is 168. I do lack some of the basic undergrad engineering courses though like mechanics and dynamics sort of stuff. Any advice on whether it is worth applying to these schools or whether my chance of acceptance is slim? Thanks!

2 years sounds like a perfect gap between undergrad and grad school. I would definitely find a job.

I would definitely use the peace corps director. I think the environmental club prof would depend on your interests. In my opinion, it is best to have LORs that can comment on how well suited you are for the program you are applying to and your future jobs. If these things are related to the interests of that professor or if he can comment on these things then sure, i would use him. If not then I would find other professors who can better comment on your suitability for those particular programs.

Most masters programs that I looked at when applying actually did require it. I would not automatically discount a school for this though. I would do some more research on these masters pograms including their future placement in jobs or phd programs. This info would mean a lot more than whether or not the programs require the GRE.

I am not submitting early because of the SOP mainly. Assuming that you're active in research, don't want you want to be able to include any interesting results you get between now and then in your SOP or add additional conferences and all to your CV? I'm going to wait until closer to the deadline for this reason.

I am more overwhelmed than excited!

Is this honor society worth the money? I am currently a masters student and am applying to phd programs. I received an invite but am unsure of whether this is worth the money or a waste. Thanks!

I think a letter from someone who you have done research with or had multiple classes with with be better, even if the person is less well know. My reasoning for this is that it is really important that the LOR includes specific examples or times when you were impressive. For example, a research advisor can point to specifc work that was great or professors can discuss awesome extra credit projects or whatever else makes you stand out. This person, even though they are well know, cant include any examples like this (I am guessing?). Mentioning your great personality traits doesnt go too far if they cant reference specific examples when you displayed them. All the family friend will be able to to is mention the stuff that is already in your CV which pretty much defeats the point in the letter.

If you live within driving distance (so a few hours) then I say go for it. I would definitely not consider buying plane tickets and booking hotel rooms for something like this though. I think this could even back fire and come off as desperate to get in. They set up these weekends for this reason exactly... so that you can meet professors to see how you fit. There would be little purpose is doing this twice.

Choosing programs is really difficult! Do you regularly read publications in your research area? I was able to narrow my interests from a general topic to a more specific area and methods by reading lots of publications. I noticed that certain ones seemed really interesting to me and others I had to force myself to read. This is how I figured out my interests. If youre not doing this then I definitely recommend. Once you figure out your interests a bit more, you should check out the well known conferences in your subfield. You can find themes in who the presenters tend to be and can look more into their departments. This is a great way to identify the good schools for your research area. For my subfield, there is very little correlation in overall rankings for my field and the top departments for my subfield.

Thanks, that opinion that helps alot! I will keep that info in there.

I think that this sort of situation is probably really common. Projects get changed around or dont work out or grant money doesnt happen. If you would be able to do another great project with a different professor then why would it be impossible to propose something that you could get a lot out of to this professor? From what you say, it sounds like he is willing to work with you to come up with a project that you could enjoy. Keep in mind that you could burn bridges by switching, especially if you switch before even trying to come up with a project idea that you and the professor could both like. I mean if you suggest multiple projects and he keeps shooting them down and is uncooperative then that would change the situation a lot in my mind. My advice would be to spend some time trying to come up with something that you could get a lot out of with this professor and then after spending a couple months trying to make it work and it doesnt then I would look into switching.

You should at least try to keep the format of a real CV IMO. You can add some fluff if need be and cut it off later. For example, my CV has the headings: Education (includes degrees and relevent course work), Research Experience (Includes a cupple bullet points about each position), Publications/Presenations, Taching Experience, Honors and Awards, Relevent Skills, and I am currently on the fence about whether to include a communitry involvement section. I have great stuff here like volunteering abroad, I am on the board of a nonprofit, etc. Grad schools dont care that much about this stuff I know but I I wonder if it could put someone over the edge if they are deciding between 2 similar candidates? Like I said, I am on the fence because they might just not care at all.

I heard something interesting from a professor today. This particular PI has been on the admission committee for a number of schools with varying ranks (a couple top 10 programs and also one ranked around 60) and said that the adcoms consider GRE an incredibly important peice of the application. He said that this is because it is the only standardized way to compare applicants. You can't compare GPA from different schools, you can't compare LORs other than the obvious bad vs great huge difference. Aside from publications, the only way to really compare applicants unbiasedly is with the GRE. He basically said that a GRE can in no way make a bad application good but that among already good applicants, that he has always seen the GRE used as a very important comparison. This is the second time that I have heard something along these lines from a professor (and the first was from a director of a phd program). Has anyone heard anything similar? I see people write on here every day that GREs are only used as a cut off. Does anyone on here have any information that makes them think this is true or is this just a rumor on here that keeps being passed on? The answer to this questions might just be that some professors see it as very important and others dont even look at it. Id be interested in anyone else's thoughts on this though. (For the record, my GRE scores are fine. I think that this is an interesting subject to open up discussion on though.)

Are you very unsure of your research interests or something? I understand applying to 2 different departments at the same school if the faculty overlap alot but there is certainly no reason so apply to 5 programs at the same school unless you have absolutely no idea what you want to study (and in that case, get more research experience first!). This list also seems way to top heavy. Honestly, looking at this gives the impression that your goal is to go to a fancy school, not pursue research. I would choose one program at each school that best fits your research interst and apply only to that program. If JHU notices that you are applying to this many programs there then I wouldnt be suprised if you get automatically rejected from all of them. I would then add in some more schools that fit your research interests. You are basically just applying to best ranked schools in the country here and the chance that all of them happen to excel at your reserach interest is pretty low. I would focus in your interests and apply according to that, not ranking.

I think that the more important peice of info, not mentioned here, is what is your research experience like? If it eases your stress, I am applying to biophysics phd programs with little phsyics coursework (my undergrad was in applied math though, so related) but I am not worried about it holding me back because my research experience and interests align perfectly with the programs. So what is your research experience like and does it fit well with the faculty research at the schools you are applying to? Schools are certainly willing to overlook coursework deficiencies for students with incredible research experience.

In my experience, to do well on the GRE, you need to understand what answer the test makers want. I had to shift my mindset from 'what answer makes most sense' to 'what answer do they want in this blank.' I think this is especially true for verbal. I memorized 250 words and did most of magoosh's practice problems and my verbal score increased from 153 on practice tests to 162 on the real test. I think that for quant, you just have to understand the concepts which I think it probably the harder of two to do well in if you are not naturally good at math. As a math person, it is easier to teach myself the verbal than the other way around. Still though, my math went from 163 in the practice tests to 168 on the real test so you can definitely increase it with practice. Basically, my advice is to do lots of practice problems. If you dont already have magoosh then I recommend getting it. The $100 is worth for the the practice problems alone.

Not at all. I mean come with a legit question, not something that is stated clearly in your book that you decided not to read. Coming with concept sort of questions , especially if you did some additional reading and can discuss exactly what you don't understand will be very useful. You should network with professors like you did in undergrad. You can go to them to discuss research or work or whatever. I personally try not to to overboard with it since I know they are very busy people but stoping in once or twice a month with a topic to discuss sounds like a great way for you to keep up.

Have they given any reason for suggesting that you dont apply? It might not have to do with your credentials but instead, they may realize that it is a bad research fit or something.

This is normal to do. I'm asking for 10 but am bringing then organized info with all of the due dates, my personal statement, etc upfront so it is as easy for them as possible.

Regarding the who asks who out conversation, I want to point out that academia is a bit of an unusual place. In general, people who live by the norm and within social conventions are not pursing academia. I would think that women who follow these social conventions are probably more interested in careers that are considered more female oriented like nursing or teaching. I am a woman who lives by the mindset that I want to pursue whatever makes me the happiest, whether that is science, a hobby, a friendship, or romantic relationship. I have been in 3 serious relationships and I asked out the man in 2 of the 3. I doubt this is that uncommon here.

A couple of the phd programs that I am applying for grant fee waivers based on financial hardship. As your typical masters student, working as a reasearch assistant, I think that income wise I would qualify for these. Paying all the application fees will be pretty rough of course so a couple waivers could help alot. Would I be right to assume that requesting one would have zero impact on my application? I dont want my application to be viewed negatively based on this (I assume it would be illegal for them to do so?). Does anyone have any information on this.

I agree with this. They care alot more about whether you have done your research on faculty research areas and dont care so much about whether you asked alum about the school. I think it would be a waste of SOP space really that could be used to discuss your fit with faculty research. I am not even mentioning that I spoke with faculty members, I am just discussing how the research of professors matches well with my background and goals.