Shamrock_Frog

Yep. Doctoral program in cell biology!

Anywhere I've worked that had animal research, it was taken seriously. ("Research is a privilege.") As others have said IACUC guidelines are important. Now there are individuals who...had issues. When you go for an interview, pay attention to the culture of the workplace. Where I've worked ethics is taken seriously and issues are addressed immediately. I came from a different field to this job and let's just say ethics was a joke there. I left as soon as possible. (this other job was not academic research at all).

You come across as entitled and very full of yourself.

Uh, it's not high school. Why is he expecting a step by step guide? As long as the instructions from the professor were clear, there's really nothing more to say. Is there a writing center at your campus? Can you refer this student there?

You may not get too many people answering this. I will say I am starting a PHD in cell/developmental biology at a school in the Midwest.

This is not an appropriate place to be asking people to do your homework for you.

I think your CV is fine. It doesn't seem too long. It's expected to be at least two pages it seems. But I guess that depends on your field. Edit to add: At all my interviews my interviewers had my CV pulled up on the screen. I was asked questions about running of all things! (I run a lot of half marathons and volunteer at other road races). And I worked for a few years before applying so they all liked my varied experiences.

Thanks I'll check it out!

I don't think getting a second bachelor's in economics is a bad idea. It's only a year anyway, right? Can you do some research while you are working on the degree? What about a related internship or job experience?

I emailed everyone after my first acceptance, where I plan on going but I'm holding out just to be sure. I haven't heard from my other two interviews, but one I'm certain I'll get an offer from and the other one I kind of suspect I was waitlisted.

I'll have to move later this summer. But until then I'm just working and reading whatever journal articles I can. I figure there's no time like the present to start reading up on the literature, even though I have to do rotations so I don't actually have a lab/project yet. What are your plans?

Have any of you heard of using a kindle fire and keyboard for taking notes in class? I have a laptop but it is 15-inches and I'd rather not lug that thing around. I'm also trying to avoid any large purchases due to the impending cross country move. But I looked up keyboards and can buy one for ~$30.

I know my parents made a cross country move and used a moving truck and towed their car behind them. It took days to get from Texas to Indiana. This was before kids. And in the 70s. They had to go like 50 mph the entire way. If you map the route now it's supposedly only about 17-18 hours to drive. But they also had a dog and a couple of cats with them. Sorry this isn't much of a help.

I think if they already made plane reservations for you it would be better to go. Even if you are not planning on going there for your phd, what about post doc? I just got back from an interview I agreed to go on before I received my first acceptance (from my top choice) and I went anyway. I still learned a lot. Chatting with professors who may share some valuable information with you is a good idea, and you can always keep them in mind for future opportunities. Instead of treating it as an grad school interview, maybe think of it as a networking opportunity? If you cancel these people may remember you in 5+ years when you are applying for postdoc positions. Also, professors move around all the time, you might end up working with these people at a different institution altogether at some point in the future. edit: typo

Your writing score is great, you will find it to be higher than the averages when you start looking at schools. Your verbal score is good. Your quant score is low, but if you look around at some of the stats pages for the past year or two, then you will see that people have been accepted in with similar scores. I have been accepted to one (and anticipating another one, possibly a third as well) institution with scores very similar to yours. However I spent five years working between graduating undergrad and applying now for PHD programs. It really just depends on what the rest of your application looks like. What kind of research experience do you have? Also, make sure you apply to institutions that have similar research interests as you do. Research fit is definitely the most important thing. I spent probably a solid year researching schools and programs. You could have perfect scores and GPA but if your research interests are animal behavior and you apply to a lab that studies Crohn's disease, you will probably not be invited for an interview.

I will be moving from Texas to Indiana this summer for grad school. Did any of you make such a long move? How did you pay for it? I'm starting to get nervous about the logistics of it. I have a lot of "old" furniture so I plan on donating and not taking it with me. I have an old car but I might sell it and just drive up in a rental. (I have an old jeep but people offer to buy it all the time, so I shouldn't have much of a problem selling it). What did you guys use to move? Ship anything or drive it up? Just curious.

Sorry about that . But just like you said, now you know and can move on to decide about other offers. Good luck!

Looks like I'm heading to South Bend this fall! Am I crazy going Texas --> Indiana? It's going to be an adjustment weather-wise for sure.

A coworker asked for my cell number and since I already had hers I picked up my phone to send her a text with my name in it. Before I could do that I saw I had unread email and I opened it up. She was just as excited as I was! We were jumping up and down in my office lol. A cool moment to share, for sure.