fancyfeast
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Posts posted by fancyfeast
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Do you guys think it would be detrimental if i had to miss some (or all, depending on how late it goes) of the Friday night activities of the recruitment weekend? I have an exam that morning that I really can't afford to miss (prof won't let me take it earlier), but even if I leave right after I won't be able to catch a flight to arrive in Madison before maybe 7 pm.
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I've been told in my phone interview that they will notify me by the end of January.
To clarify - that we will get official letters by end of January?
I feel like everyone had some sort of phone interview for MIT, but the POI who called me started the conversation by saying I was accepted... I'm now paranoid it was actually an interview but the only question he asked me was if I had any questions about the recruitment weekend haha.
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JUST RECEIVED A CALL FROM SARAH RESIMAN SAYING I'VE BEEN ADMITTED TO CALTECH!!
Congrats!!
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Damn, congrats! Did you have a phone interview beforehand
(Meanwhile I've been checking my phone and e mail constantly...)
Honestly, no. He just introduced himself, told me my application was competitive, and then said I was admitted. He asked if I had any questions after he told me the visiting weekend dates, and I said that I was kind of in shock but really looking forward to meeting him, and then asked about if/ when I would receive an email with more info on traveling/places to stay.
I think there's still plenty of time to hear from them. I have been checking my email/phone all week as well haha. There's always next week if you don't hear from them today! Best of luck!
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Received a phone call from professor at MIT with an offer of admission. Still in shock.
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I see, do you think it means anything if you have a POI personally call you versus if they don't?
I think it's a good sign someone in particular is interested in you, but the conversation I had definitely made it like things are pretty flexible and if you happen to get on well with a professor that you weren't even aware of at first, you can join their group if they have room - so though I have touched base with a couple people I am trying to keep an open mind about everything and may not join either POIs group if I go to Berkeley. My PI mentioned to me that his colleague is sort of a slave driver (he was nice on the phone though!) so I'm definitely planning on talking to his students. For me the personality of the group takes precedence. I think writing all these SOPs really forced me to have this narrow focus, when in reality I'm interested in a lot of things, and the person I spoke with understood that and basically told me which visiting day would have the most professors around to speak with.
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Newbie here. Question for all the others accepted to UC Berkeley: did you all receive calls from POIs? I only received a generic department email, and nothing else.
I only received a call from a POI that is a colleague of my PI. The other POI did not call me. I got some details on visitation weekends and what goes on, and that's it
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Uh so for the interview dates for UCSF - how many show up as available for you guys?
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Nope, I didn't email any professors before submitting apps. As I mentioned in a previous post, I got an email from a POI (listed as my #1 choice on my app to Berkeley) one week after I was accepted. He said he would call me but he still hasn't. He also addressed me by the wrong name... Merp.
Omg are you me? Haha. My #1 PI also misspelled my name and said he wanted to chat but hasn't gotten back to me. If your name didn't clearly state your interests I would wonder if maybe it was the same guy haha.
One POI phrased it as I was "recommended for admission" but the other was like "congrats you've been admitted." I haven't gotten my official letter yet, but I can assume I'm pretty much in, right? POI #2 has me second-guessing haha
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Did you berkeley guys email POI's first? I didn't email a single POI before submitting applications, probably should've done that. Hindsight is 20/20
Not to mention that the three of you also got into Stanford/Yale, so I'm sure Berk is trying hard to pull in some of the top talent
I got into Berk and I didn't email any POIs beforehand
. I got emails from 2 of the 3 I listed. One is a collaborator of the lab I currently work in, so I wasn't too surprised, but the other had no connection to me or my lab. I applied to the materials program btw (not sure if that's in my sig) -
I decided what I consider last second (late October) to apply to grad school this year. With my advisor trying to get me to finish up my project and school on top of applications I submitted most of my apps the day they were due except for one or two that I managed to finish a whole week (!) before the deadline.
If I don't get in to any other school and for some reason I hate Berkeley I will apply like in September on the day the applications come out lol.
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I think other than the GRE you're competitive. The GRE means nothing in my opinion, but I don't know if these schools use it as a way to screen out applications like med schools do with the MCAT. Maybe someone can comment on that. I think as long as your application gets reviewed by an actual person you stand a fair chance (the really competitive schools are a bit of a crapshoot for pretty much anyone). Good luck to you!
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Congrats on your Berkeley acceptance! Sorry to hear about the UCSF situation
It's weird that your application was considered complete without the transcript and was allowed to be submitted as is.. Did you find this out when you logged onto the website to check the status of your application or something? I would definitely recommend contacting the program coordinators. The UCSF staff are some of the nicest I've interacted with (at least for CCB, which I applied to). I hope they would be understanding of your situation!Thank you!
Yeah it's really weird, but also still my fault because in bold letters in the education section it said you had to press "Save" at the bottom of the page for the file to fully upload. I was curious today because I heard some schools post info on the application itself so I was revisiting and while looking through the app I saw a little red X by "Transcript" on the "Check Application" tab.
Cue "Dobby is a bad elf"-like freak out but then I got my acceptance via phone call so I perked up a bit. I think I will just email them and see. I suppose it can't hurt at this point. -
Alright guys we have good news and bad news.
The good news: Admitted to Berkeley! Yay!
The bad news: I just looked at my submitted apps and I feel so, so stupid but I just noticed that my UCSF application was marked as complete (like checkmarks by each portion of the app) but apparently I didn't truly complete the application because I uploaded my transcript last thing (remember this very clearly) but I didn't press "Save" on that page so it didn't upload
The deadline was December 1st and I submitted like a week before then ugh so sad because UCSF was really one of my top choices... Such a stupid mistake! Do you think I should bother contacting the program or not? They were really my first choice, even over the schools I applied to with better names just because I really liked a lot of the groups there. -
So.... Not be premature but... What are people's plans if they don't get in anywhere?
I am setting up a Plan B over winter break haha - PI has said I could stay but I would also like to try to find an RA position elsewhere. -
To people applying to Michigan - the SOP asks you to "list" PI's you would want to work with... Are you just doing like bullet points or sentence?
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Finally got the official admission letter from TAMU~ (Tuition waive and US$24,000 TA)
Too bad my USC application was rejected... maybe the Professors I am interested to do not accept new students
One early admission and One early rejection~ that's okay I think. At least I won't anxiously wait anymore
Congrats on TAMU Maxtini! How long did it take them to get back to you? I've only submitted two applications so far but I'm dying to hear back haha.
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Has anyone filled out the Michigan app yet? Trying to fill out the awards for which you have applied section and I can only do up to two awards? Seems... limiting.
Also the word "applied" is in bold, suggesting I can submit scholarships I applied for but didn't receive? I have a couple of those where it is kind of big deal to even get nominated, but I didn't get the award in the end.
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I'm not an expert in SOPs by any means and am still figuring out what is supposed to make a "good" SOP, but I'll give you my opinion. I'm kind of torn because I like it and I think it's memorable, but I have heard that this "my love for X began in high school" is pretty typical. I don't think it's looked down upon like "I have always wanted to be a scientist since I was born" trope is though.
I think it depends on the reader, really, which I know is not what you (or I, since I'm also writing my SOP) want to hear. I emailed several professors at my R1 institution which is top 20 for my field (chemistry), asking for candid answers regarding what makes a good SOP and I got a range of responses from "I like to know what got them interested in science" to "I am sick of nostalgic little introductions" to "to be honest most of them are pretty terrible" lol.
But anyway back to this particuar intro, I think it's fine in terms of how it is written, but, for me, it is a little cheesy and it doesn't "impress" me I guess? Not trying to knock you or your accomplishments but I think I would try to maybe start with an introduction that expands more on this sentence (and maybe that's because it was one that resonated with me when I read it): "I was in complete awe of nature’s capacity to design such a sophisticated organism; superior to anything even the best human architect can conjure." I think it's good to let the committee know what got you interested in biology to begin with, and then elaborate on what sparked your interest in graduate school in a later paragraph. The introduction paragraph, for me, serves as a chance to catch their attention and I chose to do that by hopefully explaining "why X" in a creative and memorable way (not too sure it worked out that way for me haha).
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So I have seen a lot of different opinions on what should be in an SOP or a personal statement so I thought I would create a thread to ask general questions about what should or should not be included so I (and maybe others) will have a better idea where people stand.
Right now I'm trying to write an SOP. I have one school that requires an additional personal statement and another school which asks for a personal history statement, so I basically just realized I may have elements of a personal statement in my SOP!
My questions as of right now:
1. I'm trying to address "why I want to go to graduate school", but I think I may be answering "why this field?" And I have heard that since you're applying to graduate school you obviously like that field, so why elaborate? Otherwise my answer is just "because I want to be a professor and to be a professor you need a phd lolz" (and I feel like this falls under future plans). So - should I leave out this personal touch part in trying to explain why grad school or no?
2. I have heard that I should try to answer a question/explain how I would go about solving a problem in the field today... Should I do that? I guess I just don't want to seem too specific. I know someone who wanted to do immunology and now she's doing drug discovery, so I don't want to seem inflexible, I guess?
3. How do we feel about quotes in the SOP? I have a quote from a famous scientist in my field and I'd like to use it, but then I feel like that may be more for the personal statement as it goes along with "why this field?"
4. Any tips on how to talk about your qualifications without simply rehashing your CV?
Thanks if you made it this far
I'd love to hear from other people who have general questions about application essays as well! -
I've moved to the Ann Arbor area now that I'm in my first year. If anyone has questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
Love your doge taco!
This is my fifth year in Ann Arbor. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
I haven't browsed this thread much and since you both offered...
What is Ann Arbor like? What is there to do for fun? I'm a fan of outdoorsy stuff like hiking/climbing/canoeing - any good local places to do that? Michigan is one of my top choices for grad school, but I haven't been accepted yet. Just curious about life up north! -
So I wrote a really rough draft for one of my schools with a December 1st deadline. Was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SBXAvkV0TJHSf7pA1QPacDdnIhwMyQjckNK0UfoDuGg/edit?usp=sharing
Chemistry Applications Fall 2015
in Chemistry Forum
Posted
Received email from UCLA with an acceptance
For the people who have gotten into Berkeley- do you feel like they are being extraordinarily nice and recruiting you more relative to other schools? I've had two personal emails, a phone call, and emails from grad students in the labs of POIs I mentioned in my personal statement. Not sure if this is part of how they attract students or if they're being genuine haha.