bsharpe269

I get this idea but i know EXACTLY what I want to study so there are only around 15 people in the country who I want to work with. I will be applying to programs to work with them and contacting them before applying to make sure compatability and funding arent issues. I am sure that this isnt that uncommon for people with masters already since we have already gone through a couple years of graduate research, really narrowing down our interests. Thanks for the info... I hadnt really thought of the benefits of doing a rotation in another lab even if I am already committed to one. It is true that I could pick up skills that could also be useful in my main lab.

I am like in you that just out of UG I had tons of research but by GPA was only 3.3. Even though the focus on GPA over experience can sometimes seem ridiculus, now that I am working on a masters I get it. Anything under a 3.0 in grad will get you kicked out of the program so if you cant keep that in undergrad when classes are easier, then they worry that you wont be able to finsh their program. Even if you have great experience, they usually will take the person with the second best experience instead of gambling on someone they worry might get kicked out. If you don't have any luck then you could take the path that I am, getting a masters before phd. If you make sure you keep a 4.0 in the program (or at least well above a 3.5) then I think you can prove to the committee that you have the experience AND you wont have a problem getting As in classes and passing qualifying exams.

College park is right next to DC. I definitely wouldn't worry about it being too small. They both sound like great options. In your shoes, I might lean towards the school where I had a great connection with the PI since they are both very good programs. It's a hard decision though and I don't think you could go wrong with either

OSU is a great area and in big city with lots of job opportunities. Great program as well.

I would tell the truth if they ask. I wouldnt worry about it hurting or helping your chances. You want to find out about them during the interview and they want to find out about you, including the other schools that you are considering. I would just answer if they ask and not make a big deal about it. Don't rub in their face or try to use it as leverage of course.

I definitely dont think that stanford would consider admitting you at this point, NSF or not. You seem like a great candidate but keep in mind that every other student who applied has similar credentials and got their applications in on time. I think that you probably need to jsut see whether you get either fulbright or NSF before making major moves. For example, if you just get NSF and you need to be accepted somewhere then your best bet might be to apply to a 1 year masters since those deadlines may not have passed. Then you can apply this fall for stanford adn other phd programs. good luck!

For those of your who went (or are going) into grad school with a very specific research interest, did you have to do rotations? I will be applying with a masters and very clear research goals. There are a handful of professors in the country who I really want to work with and I'll be applying to their schools. I have a lot of experience in this area so I don't really want to rotate with other professors since I am applying to the schools for specific labs. For those of you a similar situation, were you able to do all of your rotations in the same lab? How did this work out for you?

Can you look into ways to reduce the cost of the study or talk to a teacher about offering extra credit instead of money?

Why not apply to a mix or masters programs, some "better" some "worse"? Honestly, with your credentials, you seem to be in a good place for phd programs now. I am doing a masters and find it really helpful in narrowing down my research interests. It is not a bad way to go at all. Alternatively though, you could work in a lab/research for a year and apply to more schools next year. My guess is that your problem was just too few schools.

You can complete the fasfa before being accepted to a program. It is pretty quick and easy to complete so I would just do that so that GRE can use that info. You probably will not be able to use an old one since your financial situation may have changed.

I think that juilletmercredi makes some good points. I agree that you can get great jobs despite going to the same school for both undergrad and grad and can become a great researcher. Here is the one reason I still disagree though: Say you went to school X for undergrad and are considering it for grad. Lets even say that one of the very top reserachers, in your subfield, Prof X, is there. Sure, you could work with Prof X for both your undergrad research and then have an easier time getting into the grad school and keep working with him from your phd. In this situation you still have a great connection and have done your research under this great profressor. On the other hand though, what if you go to school X for undergrad and work with Prob X there then with that experience you should be able to get into school Y with other very top researcher in your subfield, Prof Y. Now you have worked with 2 of the top profs in your area and will be an even better reseracher since you will have been advised by TWO amazing people in your field instead of just one. Now you have published with both of these top researchers, have connections through both, and have training from both to help in your development. I dont think that it is a horrible option to go to the same school for both. I think it is probably fine. I just dont think it will give you the BEST possible expereince that you could get, which I think is what we all going for.

For me, with my health history, I wouldn't factor in health care majorly. Lupus runs in my family majorly though so I am familiar with it and in your shoes and I would definitely take the school with better funding/insurance.

If anything, they may confirm that grades etc are correct. I do not think they will contact the school for recommendation information since you will send letters of recommendations in your application.

It would be hard to choose... Can you not use both?

They're probably on the lower side of what they are looking for so I doubt they will hurt or help. If the rest of your application is solid then I don't think they will keep you out

I really have to disagree with last couple posts. I know I posted above as well but what you mention doesn't seem like hand holding to me at all. It seems like normal questions that most people would ask an advisor. Yes, right now you are trying to develop into an independent researcher... that doesnt mean that you are one right now though! My group meets once - twice a week. My professor and other group members give feedback at every meeting. Sometimes it is just "good work... keep reading and thinking" other times I will get specific advice like "Rerun these simulations like this and lets compare the results." From what I see from other students in my program, this is normal, not over the top. I am in a sciency field so I dont both my professor with questions regarding little things like trouble installing software or error messages in simulation. I go to senior grad students for this stuff or figure it out on my own. I do ask him to meet though if I want to discuss larger things like whether these seperate ideas that I read about in different papers could be related to each other somehow. One of the great things about doing a masters (I am also in one) is that you see the importance in things like advisor personality where many undergrads jump into the highest ranked program they get into. I like an average to involved professor I think. I like to form a friendly relationships where I feel comfortable stopping by the office randomly with questions. I think you are looking for this type of advisor too. I think we should both just keep this in mind when choosing phd programs and ask grad students this sort of info.

Wow, thats for mentioning Quizlet! I had never seen that before but really like it!

I'm actually not all that interested in genomics so not him! I am more into the structure side of bioinformatics. The person I am talking about is not quite known at that level. I hope that because my subfield is fairly small that I wont have quite the competition for my POI as someone might have for him.

Being familiar with both the UNC and OSU areas, I would actually prefer to live in Columbus. The people around UNC tend to be the more stuck up fratty type IMO (not all of course... But many that I've met). I can't really speak much on the placement and all but I think Columbus would be a great place to live!

I think that it would be much much better to go somewhere else, even if that means reapplying to schools next year. Aside from the negative view future jobs could have on it, you will have half of the number of contacts that every other phd student will have, putting you at a huge disadvatage connection wise. Also, most students will have multiple perspectives on their field and you will not. Good luck either way... if you can get into your school for phd then I am sure that you can also get into other great schools.

My monthly bill from geico is $52. I'm under 25 and have a fairly new sedan.

If there are 2 professors who are both in the same area and you would love to work with both then definitely contact them both. If they are I the same area though then id think that you would mention both in your SOP.

I'm doing a masters right now and work as a research assistant too. I would say I do around 30 hours a week of school work + around 30 of research + 10 hours reading articles my field. I generally work from the time I wake up til I go to bed, sometimes I don't have time to take lunch and have to skip it. I have a pretty long commute to campus so I might have a tiny bit more free time if it we'rent for that. The amount of time people put towards school really varies where I am and I would definitely say that I am at the higher end of dedication.

It took me a little while to get comfortable with this idea... but it is ok that it is taking you a while to catch on. Your mentor has been doing this tuff for SOOO long compared to you. Make sure you are reading outside of the lab too and trying to understand as much as you can that can help you in the lab.

I am a masters student who will be applying for doctoral programs next year but their behavoir seems pretty ridiculus to me. Who doesnt read the material before class in a graduate program? I wouldnt want to study with them either. I experience similar students in my masters program. I try to do the same as you... I have a 4.0 and try to always participate in class. On one of our hw assignments this semester, another student in the class emailed me for help on the homework on the only question that the answer comes word for word from the book. Many of the questions were hard and he would have been jsutified in wanting some help but asking for help on that question shows that he didnt read the material so I didnt respond. I think that you are doing the same thing that I would do... being polite to those students but not meeting them for study groups. I dont see anything at all wrong with that reaction.