iheartplants

I agree. I would assume it is a good(ish) sign, as the reviewers are at least interested in those proposals. Although, I would also hope that not getting one is also a goodish sign too, because maybe certain proposals do not need additional clarification and/or applicant info? Haha, who knows. I'll go back into waiting dormancy until late March Good luck, everyone!

Guys...on the grad results forum there are posts saying that applicants received NSF GRFP solicitations "requesting additional information in the form of a 1pg statement." This is new...What does this mean, lol? http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?t=m&pp=250 I'm like:

Umm, what's up with the NSF GRFP posts on the grad results forum? "Request for 1 pg additional information" from applicants? This is new...???

Way to go, nermah1!

Interesting post as some of you start looking ahead to making grad school decisions. This entire blog is incredibly interesting as it is written from a professor's point of view. Intriguing... Also check out the "Interview" section of posts. Helpful. http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2010/03/go-ahead-reject-me.html

I have not heard a peep from UMD College Park. I'm not very optimistic about them. In past years it seems they were pretty late about announcements.

I don't think it is necessarily "greedy," but I do think it is generally best to just go along with the flow if they seem to have a preference. If your POI or coordinator indicates it would be best for you to stay with a grad student, I'd do that. They might very well want you to stay with a grad student to become better acquainted with the grad student point of view at the university, and to see what living accomodations are like in the area. If they honestly don't indicate a preference, do what feels right to you.

Haha, the hand is an immensely valuable geographic reference tool. Pretty soon, I'm sure you'll be using your hand-y map too (Delighted that I can drop bad puns on here and no one knows who I am) Enjoy Ann Arbor! Good luck at your interview!

Way to go, microarray! Both schools- UofM and MSU are great schools and have great EEB programs! (I'm from The Mitten myself)

Just found this thread. Love it! Go Eco-types! Interviews in ecology/plant biology starting a week from this Thursday (Berkeley and then MSU). Ironically, calliope_dogstar, I actually do work in the dirtiest of dirt for my research--biological soil crusts + plants. Good luck everyone in the waiting-it-out process!

I'm in this boat too. One of my programs literally said: "This is Berkeley. Dress casually. We mean jeans." I think when the actual word "casual" is used, or when specific directions are given, nice jeans are fine (dark rinse, no holes, etc.). However, I think if they say business casual or do not elaborate on their definition of casual, it is good to go with the khakis and a nice shirt scenario. Regardless, no one is going to look down on you for looking nice

Same here--got notification from POI and then got official (personalized) email from the grad coordinator. The committee met yesterday afternoon to take a vote on applicants, and proff said invites would go out last night and/or today.

Just got an invite for UC Berkeley Integrative Biology Jan 31-Feb 1!! So excited!

Nice! I have an adviser who went to Cornell Plants and says really good things. Congrats!

There we go, ERR_Alpha! So happy for you!

I have been told by my PI that if you are invited for an interview (especially a paid interview), the program is HIGHLY interested in you and you have a relatively good chance of admission post-interview. Programs where faculty advocacy is a high admissions determiner hold most true to this, as the faculty member whose lab you are applying to already wants you in their program if they have invited you for a interview/recruitment weekend. I was told Stanford has approximately a 60-70% post-interview acceptance rate, and Berkeley is higher at a 70-80% post-interview acceptance rate. Don't know about UCSF. I think if you show up, bring your enthusiasm, etc., you have a great chance for admission. Neuro thread has this to say: So, no formal data, but there seems to be a lot of consensus about these assumptions

For the few plant people on here....Just got my first formal interview offer from MSU Plant Biology! Feb 6-9th. Psyched!

Yay! Go plants! Congrats!

It's okay Spike! Still early for Plants !

From an outside perspective, I cannot imagine that they would offer you an interview and then rescind it. They were likely referring to the limitation of spots on certain weekends so as to prevent crowding. Relax. I'm sure you're fine

"Look at me, it's -10 degrees here and I'm harvesting Asiatic clams!" I applaud the logic of his argument. Thank you pyrocide lol

Those that are not back already will likely be back by Monday, Jan 6th from what I have heard. Hope that helps.

Oh no! I actually am quite sure that IB is the weekend after and I know theirs have not gone out. So maybe they're just being slow and giving short notice? Or maybe I'm overly optimistic. Either way, good luck! Looks like you have a nice, well-rounded list of schools that you applied to. May the odds be ever in your favor!

Hi Guys! Plant person here! EEB, but plants! Also, Spike--I applied to Berkeley IB instead of Plants, but invites from that department at least are not supposed to go out until mid January, so maybe Plants won't either? Don't dispair There's a lot of time.

I would assume their system probably just has not caught up yet, but never be afraid to ask questions. That's what their graduate secretary is for