Socrates1
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Posts posted by Socrates1
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I was about to start getting really nervous, but oddly, my letter writers apparently submitted all my letters this past week. Had a couple days where every time I checked my email I'd have a couple notifications from the application system of a submission. So yay. Being antisocial and not doing Thanksgiving here. Working on statements.
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Just submitted my first application. Unfortunately it's the application where recommendation forms aren't sent out until you submit the application. Hopefully my reviewers aren't angry about this...
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I usually don't procrastinate, but I've found myself avoiding my two December 1 deadlines (UCLA and Maryland) like the plague. Yesterday, I FINALLY finalized the list of schools I'm applying to and sent my transcripts/GRE scores. I graduated in May and took the GRE in August, so I could have sent these a while ago. My advisor assures me that even if they aren't in until after the deadline, the schools will still consider my application. One of my letter writers was not happy that I only gave her a finalized list of my schools yesterday, even though she wrote a letter for my NSF GRFP application.
Still haven't finalized my personal statement though, but I have my essay from my NSF that I'm just going to shorten. Fingers crossed!
It's alright. You and me are in the exact same boat in terms of procrastinating on these. I'm starting to get worried about one of my Dec. 1st schools because they're one that doesn't send out recommendation links to your references until you submit for some arbitrary reason. I've told my references about this, but still... Hoping to get that school and a few others done soon. I really want to be done with this.
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This entire process is rather discouraging. Hopefully I'll feel more upbeat about my prospects once I've finished.
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Bump. It seems like a really interesting program, and there are a number of professors whose work looks fascinating, so I'd love to hear from anyone who knows more about the program.
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It was 4 or 5 students. It is a clinical program. Student funding comes from externships not from the labs. Maybe the student interest shifted because everyone heard new professor had been hired. I heard they left before the new professor came but students already knew they had hired someone new.
1 or 2 students in a program being interested in joining the new prof's lab is plausible. 4 or 5 all from the same lab? No way.
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I relate to the OP's problem. In the end, I've found myself applying to mainly Psych departments with Behavioral Neuroscience areas, but I'm also going with a couple interdisciplinary neuroscience programs that aren't under the aegis of the institution's psychology department.
Helps to remember there are often multiple programs for neuroscience: both the traditional Psych department, and a biomedical/interdisciplinary Neuroscience program.
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Here's an exercise that might help:
Play a little game of mad libs with yourself. Write out a few sentences that look like this:
"From my course in _________________, I found that I was interested in _________________."
"Assisting in the ______________ lab, I learned how to _________________."
"During grad school, the three things I want most to learn are ____________,___________, and ______________."
"From working in ____________, I developed an interest in ________________."
"The thing(s) I enjoyed most about __________________(course, lab, research), was ___________________."
You can make more sentences like this and then fill them in. Of course this is NOT how your statement will look or read. This is just to get words on paper. (You can even copy and paste these sentences into a text editor if you really are afraid of the blank page.)
Don't worry about the grammar and writing eloquently. That will come in your next drafts. Just put nouns and verbs together now.
Another huge thing that helped me break the ice with that first statement of purpose was to NOT start with the first paragraph or the first sentence of the statement. I just wrote things down and re-ordered them later. I didn't have my opening sentence until I had written a draft for a couple of different statements.
And a third idea is to print out your prompt and go and talk to a friend about your interest in grad school and the Yale program and how your experience relates. When you say something brilliant or cogent, make a note of it. Then when you are alone at your laptop, take those notes to begin your statement with. (I also did this and it helped quite a lot.)
Time to play mad libs then, and go with those suggestions, thanks.
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Ha! Thank you, that made my day. I honestly work for an amazing PI who understands "the struggle" and is very proud of getting his former RAs/RCs into doctorate programs. If I do get in, there will definitely be a spot open - hopefully this works out for both you and me
With regards to the last part - they do meet the minimum for programs like Columbia, which recommends > 310 combined. I am still applying to programs where it says that "recommended" percentile scores will be 70% or higher, since the verbal will be around 90% and the quant around 50%. I know this is gambling, but I am hoping like you said that it will be enough to make it past a first review. I am also going to apply to some clinical PsyDs and quite a few lower- to mid-tier programs.
Thanks again everyone for your input.
I have the exact same problem as you, my adviser just rolled her eyes and said everyone knows the GRE is pretty much garbage and she'll mention that I've shown in my work with her that I have excellent quantitative skills in actual real-life research settings... just not in highly artificial and high pressure testing environments.
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But here is something I hope will give you some hope. You sound young (late 20's??) There is plenty of time. Take care of yourself and school will be there when you are ready. I'm a non-traditional applicant and I hear about people in their 20's fretting about "wasting time" and I just shake my head. You have time, whether it seems that way or not.
Eh, I freak out about this too. I have a bunch of friends from undergrad in biochem and chem programs who of course all went straight into PhD programs and I didn't. Just what is the "usual" age for going into neuroscience programs anyways?
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Your personal statement of purpose will aid the Admissions Committee in evaluating your application. Please compose a succinct statement of 500-1000 words concerning your past work and preparation related to your intended field of study, your academic plans for graduate study at Yale, and your subsequent career objectives.
Please compose your personal statement offline in a word processor and click the Upload Document button below to attach it to your application.
Do not upload any other document than your personal statement.Anyone have any advice for getting over terminal writers block?
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I hate writing this.
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Just updating since I retook the GRE
169V
151Q
Don't have writing, but I got a 5 last time and think I did quite a bit better, so I'm pretty confident I'll get a decent score.
Not stellar, I know, but I added a point to verbal, and my quant is reasonably improved, considering timed math exams are the bane of my existence. My LoR writers say they plan on addressing that anyways to the effect it isn't really reflective of my abilities.
I'm almost glad it's too late to contemplate retaking the test. Two GRE's cost me a lot of money and stress. Now I have moderately better scores and no choice but to go with that.
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I'd guess it's probably fine, considering you did great on quantitative, which everyone says is more important. I think it's too late to retake anyways. With the 30 day wait period before retaking, it'll be the end of November before you can.
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Back when I was applying there were both apps that only let you send a prompt after you submitted on your end and apps that wanted paper letters (but the rest of the app could be submitted online). I hear the paper recs are basically a thing of the past now, though, so good news--it could have been worse
The prompt-only-sent-after-submission thing is also annoyingly common in job applications, which don't require any application fees at all. It's just how some systems are set up, for reasons best known to their designers. I try not to worry about these things which I cannot control, but I totally understand your frustration.
Yeah, just one thing I didn't need when I was tired, and on a break and work organizing things for my recommenders and saw that and proceeded to have a panic attack. These applications are not good for my blood pressure.
And paper letters aren't entirely gone, I'm applying to one program that wants paper letters, and actually accepts hard-copy applications.
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Again, this is not unusual and it does not prevent your recommenders from working on the letter before you submit the app. All it does is prevent them from submitting it before you submit the app on your end. I understand it's annoying, but it's nothing to get too worked up over. I'm sure your recommenders have dealt with worse troubles in their lives.
Oh. And when you say that again, that actually makes sense. I don't know why it didn't occur to me that they could prepare it in word document or something.
Interesting you say it's not that uncommon, UC Boulder is the only school I'm applying to that does that.
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Yeah, it seems that this just increases the chance that you pay. The sooner you pay, the sooner you must decide that you want to go there, and the less chance that you back out at the last second because of a recommender/new information about the school/ran out of money. Several schools I'm applying to are doing this.
That seems horrible. UC Boulder is the only one I am that is.
Seems pretty standard to me. You give them an email address, they email the recommenders, the recommenders get a link to an online app where they can submit letters. Doesn't sounds particularly difficult for the recommenders, or much different from other apps. The main annoying thing is that you can't send the recommenders the letter prompt until after you submit the app, but that too is not out of the ordinary. I doubt it has anything to do with the payment, it's probably just how the system is set up. They'll start a file for you as soon as you start sending in materials (=could be before you submit the app), and the other stuff is kept online anyway.
The hassle is that it arbitrarily prevents my letter writers from working on their letters as long as I am working on the application. There is no reason at all the prompt couldn't be sent before my application is submitted. Since they have online applications, they certainly already have a file open for me.
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Does anyone know anything about pursuing Neuroscience through Montana State University's Molecular Biosciences program? I started looking into it as a "safety" (as much as anything can be considered a safety in applying to PhD programs) and I'm liking it more and more. They guarantee stipends and tuition waivers. Nice area. I think all the Neuroscience area profs' research looks pretty interesting.
Only thing is, if I believe the time stamps on the web pages, they haven't been updated in years, and their website isn't all that clear. I had to do quite a bit of digging around to confirm that it actually is a PhD program.
So anyone go there/applying to there and know what it's like?
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Read through this http://www.colorado.edu/admissions/graduate/apply/faq
[quoteHow does the online recommendation form work?
You provide us with the name and e-mail of your recommender(s) on the online application, and AFTER you submit your application we send an e-mail to your recommender(s) with the request. The e-mail links them directly to the online recommendation form. They simply fill it out and submit the form online, along with their letter. We will receive it automatically, and you will be notified by e-mail that we have received the recommendation.
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ergh. Behavioral neuroscience here.
GPA: 3.3
GRE: 168 V 148 Q 5 W
Second author on one paper that's almost ready to submit, got a paper presentation and a few posters.
Couple years as a research assistant in a biopsychology lab.
My GPA sucks because my transition to college freshman year was rocky. Hopefully this won't matter because after freshman year my grades are much better and my cumulative goes up.
My GRE wasn't so hot because my brain had a blue screen of death in the first math section. I did much better on the second one, but the first one was pretty ugly. I've always been a terrible test taker. My adviser said that the GRE is kind of a horrible joke that isn't that important and she can mention in my LOR that my GRE won't reflect my ability. I know it's really late, but I'm going to retake it. I know I can get a better Q score just from being used to the testing environment.
I've got 2 LOR's locked in, meeting with the prof I hope for my third this week. He's been on sabbatical so he wasn't checking his email as much.
This whole application process is horrible.
Oh, and just for fun, while applying I'm also working 40+ hours a week for a nonprofit that has no problem throwing us employees under the bus in its pursuit of "the mission".
Here we go .... the waiting part ...really wishing I had retaken the GRE
Fall 2014 Applicant Thread!
in Psychology Forum
Posted
Lets just say I was lucky that I checked the UCLA deadline. I could have sworn it was the 2nd. Nope, the first. Fortunately, I had everything done so just had to open the app, fill out a few fields, upload all my documents, spend $80, and submit.
So glad most of my apps are due the 15th, and one of my top choices is actually not due until January 18th.