pterosaur

It's not just about big name schools - don't let that discourage you. I'm definitely not from a big name school. The biggest thing that stands out as a common factor between all the Marshalls is passion. Whatever it is that they're doing or studying, they're really, really passionate about it and they've demonstrated it through what they have been involved in. This doesn't mean you need to have 10 published papers or have founded a nonprofit in a developing country. I don't feel like I have some crazy unique experience; there aren't "hooks" like you talk about with undergrad admissions. It's about showing how much you care about what you're doing and showing that you can make an impact there.

What about the issue of holding onto that acceptance while applying elsewhere? If they're holding a spot expecting you to start, I thought it was looked down on to apply elsewhere while still holding a spot at that institution.

I still put my GPA and relevant courses on my CV because you can pull some out to emphasize instead of having them get lost in the 3 page listing of classes. OP, it sounds like you've got a particularly unusual situation. I would talk to someone at your university (academic advisor, perhaps) for an explanation of the grading system and how they would recommend presenting it. You aren't the first one to apply to graduate school, so they'll have dealt with it before.

Current Marshall here - best of luck!

I just got an email a few hours ago that I got an interview! They're sending me to Philadelphia. I'm not particularly sure why, but since I'm currently overseas they probably picked whatever was most convenient for them. In the email it said 15% of applicants were offered interviews. I thought I recalled hearing in the past that it was typically 20-25%. Do you think they're cutting back the number of interviews, they had more applicants, or it's just natural variation?

I think the issue would mostly likely be missing the teaching experience, if it's not in the personal statement. You won't necessarily have everything from your list in your personal statement, but if youryour teaching is part of your broader impacts argument, it might hurt you by being overlooked.

@Infinito - I'm planning to apply for NDSEG (haven't decided about SMART - learned about it recently and not sure yet about the service requirement). I'm not sure @Infinito - I'm planning to apply for NDSEG (haven't decided about SMART - learned about it recently and not sure yet about the service requirement). I'm also not sure about what the NDSEG essay should look like, but now that the NSF is submitted I can actually start looking at it. Do you know any good resources or examples?

Even if I don't get it, it forced me to write essays so I can get on with applying to the actual PhD programs.

The PDF conversion system turned all of my beautiful figures into highly compressed JPEGs, but my application is submitted! Now I just have to keep pestering my remaining recommender to submit his letter...

I told my recommended that the deadline is tomorrow, not when the letters are due. Probably a good thing, since only 1 has uploaded their letter so far.

A question on personal statement essay: how much are you concerned about making the whole thing.... exciting? I want to make a point of saying what I did in each of my research experiences and how they connect (to each other, my future plans, and my proposal), especially since there's no CV or resume part of the application where I can include descriptions. My undergrad PI thinks mine could be more "pithy" and less experience-listing. Looking at some previous winner examples essays, they don't seem to really push the excitement factor and mostly focus on what research they did.

I just realized that since I'm in the UK, the middle of the night announcement time will be at a reasonable hour for me.

My citation format is not a real format, but there aren't strict regulations on it. I followed what I saw in a successful previous application that's really short, since I have 7 papers to cite and I'm really tight on space.

I know the difference between a resume and CV. I'm mainly asking if I can submit my CV where it asks for a resume.

Going through the applications for my prospective schools, some of them request a CV, some a resume, and one actually has 2 separate links to let you upload a CV or a resume. So my question is: what do I actually upload? If it says resume, am I okay uploading my 4-page CV, or should I create a 1-2 page stripped-down version for this option?

There aren't really "safeties" in the undergrad sense when looking at PhD programs. In large part this is due to fit; even if a university is ranked lower, if your research interests don't match theirs you could very well be rejected. Fit is going to make more of a difference than the gap between top 5 and top 10. I honestly have no idea what the rankings are of the programs I'm applying to. My safety is going back to my undergrad institution, where my research advisor has said she would take me on for a PhD. EDIT: Just looked up the rankings for the schools I'm applying to. None of them are top 10 for bioengineering. But then I looked up the top 10 schools, and none of them would be good choices for what I want to study. *shrug*

I'm also in the game this year. Undergrad Institution: Northeastern UniversityMajor(s): Behavioral NeuroscienceMinor(s): Computer ScienceGPA: 3.98GRE Scores: 169V/166Q/3.5AWA (oops)Research Experience: 4 years studying motor learning in lab at Northeastern (honors thesis) 6 months at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems Summer designing robotic lobster control at Northeastern Currently doing Master of Research degree at Imperial College London, researching cooperative human/computer control of a robotic exoskeletonAwards/Honors/Recognitions: National: Marshall Scholar, Goldwater Scholar, DAAD Undergraduate Scholarship, (finalist for Rhodes, Mitchell, Fulbright) University: Skavenski Award (top student in major), Provost Advanced Research Award, Provost Research Award, Presidential Global Scholarship, National Merit Scholarship, Dean's List, summa cum laudePertinent Activities or Jobs: 5 semesters as computer science tutor/TA, undergraduate STEM mentor, co-op at small rehab robotics company, 500+ hours community service in undergrad (including lots of science outreach), currently leading startup nonprofit science news website Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Presented at many conferences (including internationally)Special Bonus Points: LORs (have done different research with all 3), applying to NSF GRFP/NDSEG/DOE CSGF/Hertz, undergrad PI knows profs at all the schools I'm applying to, really interdisciplinary background (which I play up in my SOP) Applying to Where: Northwestern: Biomedical EngineeringNortheastern: Bioengineering (my "safety")Harvard: SEAS Engineering Sciences – BioengineeringCarnegie Mellon: Biomedical EngineeringI have a somewhat particular research interest (human and biomimetic motor control), so that's why I have a pretty small list. I might add a few more later. I think I'm in kind of a weird spot coming from a one-year research masters. For example, I'm not sure if I should apply for CMU's Direct Entry or Advanced Entry option. Any ideas?

The guidelines say that fonts in figures also have to be Times New Roman 10-pt. Does anyone know how picky they are about this? I'm paranoid that sizing my figures will make the font too small for the guidelines.

Checking in here as I'm finally hunkering down on my application materials. I feel like I'm a zillion light years behind on this at this point. But I have a successfully funded NIH proposal I helped my PI with as the topic of my research, and I'll be recycling much of a personal statement I wrote last year for other stuff. I've still got almost 3 weeks to get this done!

Since I already have my US bachelor's degree and the PhD programs don't require the masters, it sounds like I will be ok as long as I can get back to the states in time to start. That still might be a challenge, but I'm getting in touch with people at my new uni to figure that out.

This fall I am starting a 1-year research masters program in the UK, with an end date at the end of September 2016. I am also planning to apply for US PhD programs for fall 2016, which start toward the beginning of September. Can I make this work?

Trying to help my brother get the ball rolling for grad school, since he doesn't know where to start and doesn't use these forums. He graduated a few years ago with a CS degree and a 3.0 GPA. He's spent the past couple years working in industry but misses the intellectual side of CS. He wants to go back to grad school and eventually get a PhD. With his GPA and no undergrad research experience, he realizes that a master's (thesis-based) is a necessary stepping stone. He's interested in artificial intelligence. What would be some good schools with those background, interests, and goals?

Any of you UK people headed to London? I'll be there! And congrats!

I'm still following this group and rooting for everyone as you get your notifications! I must say, I'm kind of jealous of the scale of the community - that you can ask question about the timeline for hearing from the university and someone might know. That's a question I really want to know for my program but don't know who to turn to! (I know it will come eventually, but I'm also impatient...) Congrats to everyone who's gotten good news so far, and fingers crossed for whoever is currently waiting on news from the UK! (That's where I was applying for.)

I'm not doing a Fulbright interview, but I did a lot of fellowship interviews in late fall, including a Skype interview for the Mitchell. I think it reduces the stress level to be in a familiar setting rather than walking into a totally unfamiliar place for an in-person interview. A couple of things about Skype interviews: Make sure you're in a quiet, well-lit room (so you're not backlit). Try to look at the camera so that it looks to them like you're making eye contact. Put the camera higher up than normal. (For me this meant putting my laptop on a stack of books.) The camera-from-below angle is not flattering, and having it higher up will make you sit up straighter. Do a test call with someone to make sure your video and audio are good over your connection. If you can, connect to wired instead of wireless internet. For the interview: Do a mock interview if you can! It's hugely helpful. The fellowships office at my school set up a couple for me with professors I didn't know to simulate that unfamiliarity. If you can't do that, just have someone ask you some questions and practice responding. It'll give you a lot more confidence going in. My interviews included questions along these lines: Why did you pick the university you're currently attending for undergrad? Tell me about your research, and why it matters. (I'm a science major.) Why do you want to go to XYZ university? Why this fellowship? How do you hope this experience will benefit you in the long term? What do you want your contribution will be to your field? Who is a figure you admire in your field? There will also likely be questions specific to your experiences and field, so think about what's unusual or unique on your resume that they'll want to know more about. (I got asked about curling at one of my interviews.) I don't know of the Fulbright asking off-the-wall questions, but for the Marshall they asked me about what I thought of mandatory Ebola quarantine.