bsharpe269

I'm in a different field but keep in mind that PhD programs are looking for evidence that you will be a great researcher. If your application suggests that you will be then one bad grade will not keep them from wanting you. I would focus on figuring out where you went wrong this semester and correcting whatever the problem was... If you fix it then you will be fine.

Even with a MS, I would expect at least 3. 4-5 is probably more likely.

I would wait for him to contact you. You can look up his publications and start reading his recent papers to prepare.

I agree that you don't need to email. You are over thinking your interaction with that professor way too much! Just wait for him to contact you at the end of the month. If he wants you to work with another student then he will sort that out. I've read on here before that we think about our PIs way more than they think about us. I think this is a true statement. He has probably completely forgotten about the little details of the conversation you had. He will set up the research and then contact you.

I'm also not at all nervous and I'm sort of wondering if there's something wrong with me because of it! I'm finishing my MS right now though and have a lot of research to get wrapped up and a paper that needs a ton of work before I go so I think I'm just so focused on what I need to done before I go so i haven't been able to shift my focus to actually going. I'm glad I'm so distracted otherwise i would probably be on a roller coaster of nervous/excited.

Most diseases are related to protein malfunction. Proteins are made up of (usually hundreds) of amino acids. The string of amino acids is able to fold into a specific 3D shape and then the specific shape is what enables function. If one of the amino acids mutates then the protein might not be able to fold into the correct shape which causes malfunction. I develop computational tools to study how proteins fold and how their fold enables their function. I also apply this to specific diseases/health issues to study how we could fix the issues by targeting areas of the proteins with drugs.

I would say anything above a 3.5 is good and the 3.0-3.5 range is acceptable but not good. I think that once you get above the 3.5 mark, PhD programs will be satisfied with your grades and more interested in your research.

Thank you!!

Thanks for the info! What about the Demun neighborhood? I've seen on here that Clayton is nice and it is right next to there so my guess is that it is a good area too?

Do you guys know anything about safety of the Shaw neighborhood, near the Missouri Botanical Gardens? Do students frequently live in this area? Also, I saw advice against first years living in tower grove. Why is this? I have seen some well priced, nice looking apartments there!

I would go with B, especially if you want to end up in an academic job later. Is there a way to take topic B and put a spin on it that goes well with your interests?

To start with, its definitely best that you don't hide the old degree. If you do this and people find out then it can get you in lots of trouble. Plus, I wouldn't want to start my graduate career based on dishonesty and hidden information. Remember that the goal of the admissions committee isn't too look for perfect applicants... Its to look for people who will do well in their program and then continue to do well in their field, with the name of the university tied to them. So when the adcom looks are your records, those are the questions that they will be asking themselves. They care about 'life experience' and 'maturity' in the sense that they want mature students who will be successful. I think that you have proven that you got your crap together. I certainly don't think that anyone will laugh at your application. I think it can be hard to judge how successful someone will be when applying because the adcom is made of people who have their own biases as well. If you do well on the GRE and have relevant research or experience then I think you certainly have a shot at good schools. I am not as extreme of a case but I had a uGPA in the low 3s, with the lowest of my grades actually being in classes relevant to field. I got my MS, worked hard, and proved myself like you did and got into top PhD programs. The average GPA of entering students to these programs is well above 3.5. I realize that my example isn't as extreme as what you went through but I still think it shows that you can overcome low or mediocre undergrad record. Let your application show how passionate you are and use your current records and experiences to show that you will be successful in your field.

I don't think that what you describe falls into the good or bad advisor category but is strongly related to fit. My current advisor is like this. I send him some results after a few weeks of not seeing him then his only feedback will be "keep up the good work." My advisor likes the work I do but simply doesn't want to be very involved in his student's research. I can only guess but from what you describe, it sounds advisor might be like this. He might want you to do your own work and only come to him if you get really stuck. It sounds like you would like an advisor who is involved in your work and there are plenty of professors out there who want this. You probably have enough stess already so you don't need to feel additional stress due to your advisor's mentoring style! If you decide that you want to change labs then there is nothing wrong with that. I think you should take some time to reflect on how happy you feel and whether you can accept your advisor's mentor style or if you would be happier with someone else. If you stay in your current lab then is there a postdoc or more senior PhD student who you could seek feedback from instead? The most senior PhD student in my lab realizes that our advisor isn't around much and goes out of his way to be available to answer questions. We have pretty different research interests so I cant go to him for feedback on my work but sometimes it is nice to have someone look at a poster before you print it or tell you who to email for computer help etc. I'd say that around 5% of the time I feel a bit upset about my advisor's lack of interest/help. This usually only happens when I am really excited about cool results and have spent a lot of time on them and send them over and just get a a couple word answer. The other 95% of the time I feel thankful that I get so much independence. I have learned so much from having to figure stuff out on my own and have been able to drive the research in the direction I want, without limitations. There are pros and cons to all sorts of advising styles so I really think you should just think about what works best for you.

Well the reason that I asked this question is because they DO. The question was prompted by a conversation I had with my SO today. He is works in business and is a much more social person than I am. I mentioned to him that I feel like whenever we go out, conversations just get killed once people ask what i do. He said that it is just because academia is so far from what most people are familiar with. I am not saying that academia is better or worse... it is just really different so many people don't connect with it. I'm sure they have interesting stuff to talk about! After describing what i do then like TakeruK said, people always make comments about how smart I must be which leaves me (an antisocial person to begin with) in a really awkward position of not knowing how to respond. I completely agree that the problem is with my conversational skills and not external which is why I wanted to know if others on here have better ways of carrying out conversation after the topic of work comes up. Mathcat, what you describe is EXACTLY what I am talking about. People seem to shut down. It seems as if I am put in a different category in their mind (not better or worse... just weird and different or something). When I try to ask them questions about their work, they just seem to not want to go into detail really. I'm not good at conversation to begin with so I never know how to save it once it has gotten bad. Then I am just left feeling bad for how horrible the interaction went (and thats when I start wondering if I sounded like I was bragging and thats why it went bad). Like math, I think people find biophysics really inaccessible. Many people seem to dislike science and math and when they hear that you're getting a PhD in that, they assume you are a genius or something. Its obviously not true... I am sure that most of us were just exposed to math/science when we were young in a way that made it seem cool. Haha maelia8, that would be frustrating! Everyone's advice is helpful. I will try talking about experiences instead of hobbies. Maybe I'll have more luck with that. I can try asking questions about sports and stuff too but my knowledge is so basic that my questions would be at the level of "what sport are we talking about?"

I'm really bad at handling situations where you put me in a room with a bunch of people who I feel like I have little in common with. I was in a situation like this last night.. bunch of people who I don't know, mostly stay at home moms, factory workers, etc. I always get asked what I do for a living. I really don't like being asked this...I respond by saying that I am in grad school but more questions always follow and I end up saying that I study biophysics and then answer questions about what that is and what exactly I study. I don't actually mind talking about this stuff. I love my field, I love chatting about it. What bothers me is that I end up trying to downplay it for fear of sounding like I'm bragging. I feel like people get self conscious when I say that I am finishing my MS and starting my PhD in the fall. I always say that biophysics sounds way more complicated than it is, try to discuss it minimally, and then try to let the other people talk about their work. Sometimes someone does something really interesting that I dont know about (one person last night was a fisherman!) and its great to ask them questions too. Most people say that they teach or are a stay at home mom or something though and outside of asking what grade, there isn't much to talk about there. I know nothing about sports or celebrities, the topics of conversation last night. I always end up not knowing what to say to people and am left feeling like the small bit of conversation we had just makes me sound full of myself. Do you guys ever deal with this awkwardness in mentioning that you are working on your PhD? I don't want mentioning my work to feel so uncomfortable. Most people can chat about their work or hobbies (watching football for example) without an issue. I feel like mentioning my interests is different though and ends up just sounding like I am bragging the whole time. Have you guys found a way to talk about your work in a way that others can relate to better? Do you avoid it in general?

I'm sorry that your relationship with your advisor hasn't been the best. It looks like you are graduating from your masters degree? I am also graduating with my MS in a couple weeks. My relationship with my advisor is absolutely terrific but he can also be very cold and indifferent. I think that this is probably a normal complaint among students and isn't worth having hurt feelings over. In many ways my advisor is terrific... He has been a wonderful mentor, he really leaves me to be independent (which I really like) so I only chat with him once every few weeks but he is there for me asap when I really needed him (a harassment issue with another student for example). Despite this, he is very cold to me... more so than to other students. I do terrific work for him and though he is cold to my face, he tells other students/professors things like that I am the best student he has ever had so I don't think its an issue of him disliking me. I'm not sure if the coldness happens because I love being given Independence in my work and he picks up on that or maybe because I am a woman in a very male dominated field and he wants to be completely professional (I'm probably one of his first female students). Who knows... Anyway, my advisor will not be at my graduation. In fact, I didn't know that he would be out of town for it until the undergrad who works for me needed to arrange a meeting with him and he said he would be gone around that time. He still hasn't mentioned it to me (the conflict probably hasn't crossed his mind)... I would say this sort of stuff is fairly normal in the academic world. Our advisors have busy lives, families, hobbies, etc and can't schedule their lives around their students schedules. Your advisor many not have any idea that this means a lot to you! It is certainly reasonable for you to wish he/she was there but it is equally reasonable for him to prioritize his own life. I would try really hard not to take this personally. It looks like you are entering into a PhD program in the fall? I would just focus on maintaining good connections with your current advisor if possible (the gift idea is great) and build a terrific relationship with your PhD advisor. Did you see that other person's post that their advisor wouldn't read their thesis or let them graduate? sheesh... at least you're not in his position!

I was in a similar situation and gave him a chance... best decision I ever made. We are incredibly close now. Remember that everyone makes mistakes.

I would advise you to finish your MS (or apply in the 2nd year of it so that you will finish before starting PhD). My uGPA was similar to yours. I ended up doing a MS and working very hard during it. My MS GPA was 4.0, I made terrific connections and got great LORs, and gained SO MUCH research knowledge. I am such a better researcher now than before my MS... it isn't even comparable. I did do a lot of research during udergrad but you will learn SO much during your MS research. I just finished my PhD application cycle and got offers to 8 of the 10 schools I applied to including places like Hopkins, WashU, and Univ of Washington. I think you could very easily be a tier 1 applicant if you don't rush to get there. I would focus less on your age and more on how to become the best scientist you could be. If waiting another year is the difference between a top 10 school and a top 100 then isn't it worth it? You will learn so much during your masters that will help in the PhD application process and throughout your PhD. I would not apply to the schools you interviewed at previously. Passion for your field is the #1 thing that PhD programs are looking for. I think the 1st impression you made at those programs will make it unlikely that you will be admitted in future application cycles. I absolutely think that you can shoot for that caliber of schools though, I would just chose different programs so that you can make a new first impression.

I agree that it's not worth visiting before you apply. You'll end up spending a lot of money and if the school is interested in you then they will pay for you to visit after you apply. If you want more information on schools or professors then you can definitely reach out to the schools, profs and students to ask questions before you apply.

I have a MS and will be starting my PhD in the fall. Most schools wouldn't count my course work, even if the class was the EXACT same. Luckily the program I fell in love with has pretty minimal coursework anyway (4 classes). I may be able to get out of one or two of them. Ive noticed that I will be coming in with pretty good background knowledge compared to most. If you are staying in a similar research area then even if you don't get out of formal requirements, you may still be able to move through quicker since you will already be very familiar with your subfield.

How different are the rankings? Is it drastic like school A is top 5 and school B is just top 100? Or something more similar like 10 vs 30?

Wells Fargo is big on the east coast. I would chat with their bankers about your options.

Yes, this! Do not give reasons. I was advised by professors to never give reasons and followed the advice and it worked out well. Giving the wrong reasons can hurt you and honestly, can never help. I just told schools that i really appreciated the offer and that it was a super tough decision but I ended up choosing school X. I usually closed with a note about how I hope i can work with them in the future.

Do you feel that doing minimal school work comes with negative consequences? My MS classes fall in 1 of 3 categories 1) The knowledge is useful for me to learn and relevant to my research 2) I have a lot of respect for the prof and want to impress him 3) I don't care about the class at all. For types 1 and 2, I work really hard to do well.. I mean best in the class, 100% sort of well. For type 3, I get my B and don't care beyond that. I usually take 3 classes a semester, usually 2 that I work hard in and 1 that I don't. I feel that impressing profs through classes has had major positive effects for me. For example, I needed additional funding this semester and a prof that I had impressed through class went out of his way to set up a TA for me. I have been nominated for many scholarships/fellowships. Numerous profs have offered to help me with editing PhD applications, writing LORs, simply because I went above and beyond in class. I don't feel that classwork has affected my research. I am still publishing way more than the PhD students who don't take classes. Admittedly, I'm exhausted and will have to cut back the time I spend on school while working on my PhD to not burn out, though I will be taking less classes than I am now so the cutback might come naturally. Do you feel that you lose out at all by not working hard in class? I have formed such great relationships with professors through classes and feel that the department as a whole has been impressed with me, rather than just my advisor. I think that having the support of so many profs will be helpful in academia. Do you feel that you are able to achieve this goal in other ways? Or do you find that it is really only important that you impress those in your subfield? As an incoming PhD student, I am interested in finding a balance between kicking butt at school and not burning out and interested in current PhD students' perspectives.

I would say something along the lines of that there are more professors who you want to rotate with than you will be able to but that you would be interested in chatting about the possibility in more detail in the fall. You don't have to give a decision right now... Just say that you are interested in her work and would love to consider it as one of many possible options.