Mabester

Of course I wouldn't blame them, there's just an obvious miscommunication between the graduate admissions and the department that I feel has a pretty significant bearing on an application. Apparently you need spoon-fed an entire story that is easily digested, so that you don't instead rely on your immature notions that everybody is a spastic wreck that looks for confirmation of their worries on an online forum

I would disagree that it would be rejected outright at this point, especially as the official deadline has not passed and the discrepancy is their fault and not the applicant. However, your childish opinions don't really play much significance in my decisions, so waste your time elsewhere

You're snarky sarcasm isn't well appreciated, perhaps you misunderstand. I'm not really concerned about having annoyed them, nor if it should be ignored. Another school I applied to stated that if LoR's are over the limit that it will be a basis for rejection. If you don't have experience with the matter, then keep your comments to yourself. I'd simply reply to have them remove a letter before official review by the department if it were a larger issue. At this point I just assume it's fine, just wanted to get an expectation from others who may have been in a similar situation.

Hello all- I applied to Cornell BBS and attached 3 letters of recommendation (as per what the admissions website states and what is typical for most programs). I noticed while perusing the BBS page earlier that this program requires 2 LoR. I emailed them 8 business days ago about the discrepancy, but I haven't heard back. Is this something that I should be concerned about, having more letters than what the BBS site says (despite admissions stating they need three)? Or should I just try calling them, because of the length of time since emailing the graduate admissions about it Thanks!

Undergrad Institution: Small, private university in Ohio Major(s): Pharmacy (PharmD doctorate) & German Minor(s): n/a GPA in Major: 3.96 Overall GPA: 3.94 Position in Class: top 5% Type of Student: Domestic Male GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 162 V:158 W: 4.0 B: n/a Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater Scholar multiple local research scholar awards in immunology and cell biology phi kappa phi pharmacy honorary Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 4.5 years experience in cell biology/pharmacology, studying signal transduction of cardioprotection in RGS genetically modified mouse models TA of chemistry lab x 2 years Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 2 presentations at national meetings, 5 local presentations 2 papers as author, one as middle author and one as primary Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Fluent German speaker Applying to Where: Michigan - PIBS Duke- Pharmacology Cornell- BBS Pittsburgh - Pharmacology NIH-OxCam I really only wanted to save myself the time/energy/money of applying to TONS of schools, so I was comfortable with 5. My GRE scores are so-so for some of the top-notch programs, but given my significant awards and research backgroudn I didn't want to get close to retaking it.

Although this is coming quite a bit time later, I think I can help answer your question. As for my background, I'm graduating with a professional PharmD in 2014 and I am applying to PhD programs in pharmacology currently. Therefore, I should be able to help clarify what programs are looking for from a research prospective and the advantages/disadvantages of being a professional healthcare worker. 1) Pharmacology programs are generally not interested in your work experience from a clinical point of view, because pharmacologists are not clinicians. They are concerned about your aptitude in a lab, ability to scientifically write and your ability to reason. Pharmacists are great about knowing mechanisms of action and the pharmacology of useful drugs, but oftentimes that is superficial to the level of research currently in pharmacology. However, it's a huge positive over undergraduate applicants, because your understanding of cell biology is much deeper than most. 2) Lab experience is the quintessential attribute to many applicants- It shows a degree of familiarity with the scientific process and if you have experience with lab methods such as: western blotting, cell culturing, animal breeding, genotyping, etc. If you are a pharmacist with no lab experience, try and slant your SOP towards why you want to go into research and your willingness to really dive deep, despite your lack of lab history. Additionally, maybe apply for some jobs in labs over a summer as a lab technician or doing part time animal breeding for local institutions to get a small "in" that can also help with point 3. 3) Letters of recommendation are important to vouch for your academic abilities, work ethic and aptitude in the field. You might be far removed from professors, lab mentors or departments that can offer a solid letter on your behalf. Some schools prefer that you do not have letters from anybody other than those from academia. So finding someone that really knows you from these areas may be a challenge 5 years out from school. In terms of pharmacology, some of the largest fields currently are cancer biology, genetics/epigenetics, neuropharmacology among many others. I don't mean to sound negative or like it will be too large a challenge, I just want to give you a realistic view into the hurdles associated with pharmacology. I wish you good luck and the best let me know if you ahve any questions