JJ610

I can relate to almost all of these! Here are a couple of my other favorites: Them: "Isn't one of your degrees in Zoology? Why do you need a PhD to be a zoo keeper?" Me: "I don't want to be a zoo keeper. I want to do animal behavior/cognition research." Them: "Oh so you want to be like a dog trainer or something? You need a PhD for that?" Me: "Yep! You got it!........." Old women: "Oh but hunny, you're so pretty! I don't know why you bother with all of this school stuff. You could easily just marry a rich doctor." Me: "Or I could just be a doctor (of sorts) myself." Old women: "You're right, hunny. It's just so much unnecessary work." Me: blank stare.....

Would anyone like to switch with me, as well? I'm applying for animal behavior programs, both PhD and Master's.

Hi everyone! Nice to meet all of you! I'm new to GradCafe, and I'm also applying for the Fall 2014 season! My specialty is biological anthropology and my broad interests are in animal social behavior, communication, and cognition, mostly in primates. I also have a research background in primate feeding behavior. So it sounds like my interests are in the same area as Washoe and mp429! I have a pretty long list of schools that I'm looking at right now, but I'm in the process of narrowing that down much further. I'm aiming for a PhD program, but I'm also applying to some Master's programs just in case.

I lived in Olde Farm apartments as an undergrad at MSU, and I loved it!! Although I was an undergrad student, most of the people who live here are families. I lived in the new Brogan complex of Olde Farm, but I viewed the condos as well. All of their apartments are nice, clean, and spacious, and the neighborhood is very safe and quiet. The staff is also very friendly and timely. My apartment even had a washer and dryer in the unit! Some of the older units don't have this option, but there are laundry facilities in the basement of each complex. It is about a 10 min. drive to MSU, but I always took the CATA bus. There is a bus that stops directly out front every 40 minutes or so, but I always walked 5 minutes to Abbot Rd to get on the #26 bus that comes every 10 minutes. I would also recommend Berrytree apartments to anyone who is thinking about going to MSU. There are a lot of undergrad students who live there, but I would say that most of them are the studious type rather than the partying type. The complex tends to be very quiet, and it's still within walking distance of campus. The apartments here are very spacious and affordable, and there are a lot of amenities (pool! ) I lived in East Lansing and attended MSU for five years, so if anyone has any other specific questions, I'd be happy to answer!

I lived in Akers hall as an undergrad, but I'm not sure what it would be like living there as a grad student. Pros: Good-sized dorms (I lived in a four-person dorm that had a separate living space) Access to the Hubbard caf, which has some pretty great caf food, in my opinion Cons: Might be pretty noisy if you're considering it for grad school. It is mainly an undergrad dorm, and the undergrads at MSU love to party 24-7. It's located on the edge of campus, so depending on where your classes are located, it could be up to 30 min. walk. MSU does have CATA buses that travel within and off campus, but they fill up quickly.

Hi everyone! I am also considering applying to the NYCEP program for 2014. I think my research interests are a a perfect fit for some of the professors in this program, and I demonstrate this in my SOP. I have a good amount of research experience and a little bit of field experience, but I am mostly worried about my GPA and GRE scores, which are far from perfect. Would anyone mind sharing their background with me as well so that I can judge where I am in terms of competitiveness for this program? It would be greatly appreciated!!!!

If you haven't already adopted a dog, you should check out Humane Society of Huron Valley. I've lived in Ann Arbor for about two years now and have taken multiple animals that I've found to their "lost and found" shelter Everyone there is really friendly and informative!

Thanks you two! I appreciate your advice! That makes sense to apply to a wide range of schools on the ranking list. There are very few Master's programs for my field, and most schools recommend applying to the PhD program anyway for funding reasons.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me on what my chances are of being admitted to grad school. I'm applying for PhD programs in Evolutionary Biology/Anthropology, Biopsychology, and/or Animal Behavior. I graduated from a state university with degrees in Biochemistry and Zoology. I only have a 3.22 GPA (I had a pretty full plate: I was working full-time while I was a student, took 15-18 credits per semester, and had several organization/volunteer activities.) I have field experience in Kenya, 2 years of research experience in a lab, an internship at the Smithsonian, and an internship at a wildlife sanctuary. Here's the thing: In addition to my terrible GPA, I also have terrible GRE scores. (I am an awful test taker with horrible test anxiety.) I only scored 157 Verbal, 161 Quant, and 5.0 AWA. I'd like to apply to Duke, Emory, UChicago, UC Davis, UC San Diego, UMaryland, UWisconsin, and WUSTL. Do you think I have any chance, or should I aim lower?