katethekitcat

Since we're all freaking out about applications (my profile says "public health," but my program has "molecular" in the title and I'm going to be in a biology lab the next 2-5 years), I thought it would be nice to have a place where can talk about, you know, that thing we all love enough that we're willing to put ourselves through this much hell to study it for a career. So, here are some jumping-off discusison points. Answer any or all, but keep grad school out of it! 1.) What are you interested in researching? What scientific quesiton/problem most intrigues you? 2.) What do you think is the biggest challenge facing researchers today (i.e. open publication vs. journals like Nature; securing funding, lack of scientific literacy, etc.) 3.) What's your favorite microbe, and why? (Or ecosystem, or organism, or whatever) 4.) Favorite lab technique? One that was hardest to master? 5.) Thing you're proudest of accomplishing in the lab? Biggest screw-up you ever had in lab? Or suggest your own!

Woah. MAJOR typo on my part! Their E-MAIL SERVERS are experiencing turmoil and updates! Not the department!

Per a friend who works there: The UChicago BSD (Biological Sciences Divisions) are experiencing major turmoil and updates at the moment.

Try the "2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results" thread.

If you've done a research project, you should know it inside and out. You never know what one professor is going to be interested in that another isn't. If your CV claims you've done the work but you can't talk about it, you're going to be in trouble.

Guys. Calm down! Look through the results selection - search your school and then look at all the interview results from last year. Time and time and time again, there are interview requests sent out mid-to-late January. It's not even 2014 yet; most applications were only due December 1. As desperate and worried as we are, and as much as we want to know today, on the university's end, they have hundreds of applications to comb through and only so many personnel to do it. The professors have research and classes and a plethorea of current students they're also dealing with. Not having received an interview offer by December 30 is not make-or-break; it just means the office is busy. Calling, e-mailing, etc - it's just going to stress you out. If they want to interview you, they'll make sure you know. They also have 50 other people e-mailing/calling desperately wanting to know about interviews. They're not going to "forget" to e-mail an applicant they want to talk to. It's like applying for a job. The applicant needs the job and it's their only priority to get it. The person hiring, while they need someone to fill the position, also has a thousand other priorities. Maybe the person who's responsible for sending out interview requests took a week off. Maybe they're doing applications in batches. There are a thousand factors you cannot control. Don't write off your whole future because you haven't received a plethora of invites by today. Other people getting interviews means one thing and one thing only: the person who got an interview, got an interview. It doesn't mean you didn't. It doesn't mean you won't. It doesn't mean you will. Take a break from the forum. Go do something sciency. Read a paper that interests you and remember why you love biology instead of stressing about where you'll be in a year. It will all work out, one way or another.

This is via a friend who is also applying but doesn't use these forums, so no stats, unfortunately: received an invite for microbiology at the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan two weeks ago.

You said, "If you have a high GPA/GRE and research experience, you will get an interview" - but you're presuming it's the high GRE that is the most important factor to that interview, not the high GPA and research experience. I rarely see a low GPA paired with a high GRE or a very low GRE with a high GPA. If the GRE is a significant factor, we should be seeing more low GPAs but high GREs being accepted to graduate programs; in searching the results forum, I have rarely, if ever, seen a combo of high GRE with low GPA and no research.

I got an acceptance e-mail from one program at 6:06 a.m. Don't despair - if they use automated e-mails and such, office hours don't mean anything.

Anyone have thoughts on grade inflation? The average - average! - grade given out to undergraduates at Harvard University is an A-; the most frequently awarded grade is an A. When I was an undergraduate, I did research at other universities during the summer and got A's for work that would have gotten me a C at my home instiution. My alma mater is investigating the possibility of listing the average grade received in a course on the transcript next to the grade you recevied - an A looks a lot better if the rest of the class was averaging C's.

Yup! Going to use it as a chance to scope out apartments as well. Super excited!

Excellent! Are you going to the admitted students day on March 21?

Accepted at (and will be attending) U of Michigan's Hospital and Molecular Epidemiology MPH program!

I applied to one PhD program at a non-CEPH univerisity and it is absolutely my top choice (pretty sure I won't be accepted, though, as in stalking the boards I've disocvered other people have already been offered interviews and I have not). Being CEPH had absolutely zero factor in my decision - this university is number one in the country for the research topic I want to study, and that mattered a lot more to me than accredidation.

I got a notification from Yale that my applicaiton "is now complete." It was mailed two months ago...

If you apply, you might get in, especially if you find a university that's a good fit for your research interest. That fit matters more than your stats. If you don't apply, you have a 0% chance of getting accepted and continuing with your career in research.

What department at UChicago?

It depends on the program, but schools typically look at the submitted date, not the mailing date. They factor in that SOPHAS has to process your application.

Why do you want to be at the "top three" programs? Were they better fits in terms of your research interests? What, exactly, is making you miserable at your current program?

Has anyone heard about interviews from the University of Chicago? Someone had an interview notification in the results search about the molecular sciences, but they have quite a few "clusters" - trying to determine if all interview invites were sent out already.

Submitting a writing sample gives you one more part of your application that you have 100% control over. You might never be perfectly satisfied with your GRE, you can't control what your recommendations say, it's too late to fix your GPA - but you can choose writing that sets you off to your best effect. If they're willing to spend more time reading additional information, and that information shows what you do well, send it in. I also wouldn't feel weird sending in something you've gotten feedback on. Academically, ever paper you write from now on is going to receive feedback from PIs, fellow grad students, etc. As long as you're the one who still did the actual writing and the edits, it's your work. Proposals in the science are often a product of the communities around them.

This application cycle, I requested a letter from a professor who, although he'd written me glowing letters of recommendation for internships in the past, often had difficulty doing so on time. I factored that in and asked him for a letter two months before the letter was due. I clearly stated, "I am hoping to have my applications done by [insert date]. Do you think you could have the letter finished by that time? If not, what would work for you?" If he needed more time, he could ask for it - but it gave him the opportunity to name the date, which gives me a date I can reasonably hold him accountable to. He chose it himself - the actual school's date didn't even have to be mentioned. I received the letter in plenty of time - and even had built in enough of a safety margin I was able to last-minute apply to other places. Professors are doing us the favor by writing letters. Not the other way around. They don't owe you anything, especially with that attitude. It is your responsbility to do your research on deadlines far enough in advance to account for the fact they might have 20 other letters to write, a full class load, research to conduct, committees to sit on, families...I agree with the posters above. If I was a professor and found out a student was blatantly lying to me for this purpose, I would not only refuse to write a letter, I would share this information with my department. A student who has no qualms about doing this is going to have no qualms about manipulating data to meet a submission deadline for a conference. Loric, you have over 400 posts in this community. If it really digusts you so much, no one is forcing you to hit that "post" button. You're welcome to depart for other forums that better appreciate your analysis of strangers.

Your GRE score isn't make or break. So much more depends on your GPA, your personal statement, your recommendations, etc. If you're concerned about cutoffs, e-mail the programs you're interested in and find out if your scores will exclude you; re-take it again if you really want to, but keep in mind, this is a VERY small part of your application. GRE scores by themselves don't tell anyone anything.

Anyone else heard from U of Michigan? They're my top choice, and it looks like people on this forum have heard back both positively and negatively, but I haven't heard a peep. Application was in over 6 weeks ago at this point. I'm going for Hospital Epidemiology.

Overall, Is Pittsburgh doable without a car? I REALLY don't want to buy one.