Jump to content

thegirldetective

Members
  • Posts

    78
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by thegirldetective

  1. I don't know anything about the program, but I don't think doing a funded masters can hurt. I would go for it.
  2. You were not misinformed. Every one of my schools had a April 15 date.
  3. Here is how I would think about it: Consider it a wash between the two professors. Both are fantastic and will open a lot of doors for you. Which place would you rather live? Did you get to talk to the students in either program? Which group seemed happier, which group did you like better? What about the mentoring styles of the professors? Is one more hands off, the other more hands on? How often do they meet with trainees? Will you have a lot of flexibility in what projects you work on, or will they tell you exactly what to do? Which style to your prefer?
  4. All of Sizzle's recommendations are great. I would also add: Make sure you talk to as many current students in the program as possible, and make sure you talk to students at various stages of their degree - I have heard of programs (in other fields) who specifically only have first and second year students talk to prospective students, because the older students tend to be less happy with the program.
  5. Talk to his current or past students about what their relationship with him is/was like. See if that sounds like the kind of relationship you want.
  6. If job marketability is your primary concern (and that is very reasonable!) you're probably better off with a science + policy MA rather than a straight science PhD. The DC schools, in particular, might open the door to some really good social/professional networks. Have you asked about job placements for these programs, say immediately after graduation and within one year of graduation?
  7. All of the above advice is great (it was probably something to do with how you interviewed; there are probably more than 4 schools in the country that are a good fit for you, etc.) but I wanted to address one point: Not true! It's too late for some but not all postbac positions, and it's definitely not too late for lab monkey positions. But it will be too late soon! Start applying asap.
  8. It's ok to email if it's been ~1 month OR longer than they said they would take to get back to you. Just keep it short and polite. "Dear _____, Thank you for interviewing me last month. I enjoyed our meeting. I wanted to check in and see if you had any information on the status of my application. Thanks, _____" Or something like that.
  9. There are some great cafes and bookstores on 57th St, to the east of the UChicago campus.
  10. http://graduate-school.phds.org/ is a great resource for just figuring out what is available in your field. You can also get it to rank programs based on things that are important to you (say, student outcomes or research productivity), which I wouldn't live or die by (just because a program isn't well ranked overall by certain metrics doesn't mean it won't be a great fit for you personally), but it can be helpful for thinking about programs. Also I'd like to echo what others have said about talking to your advisor.
  11. Do you have a definite offer from another professor? Because if not this person might be your only shot into the program.
  12. That. I don't know how many hours a week you work, or the nature of your particular project, but it's really not that unusual. My undergrad thesis ended up being all negative results. Yes, getting something publishable is helpful for grad school, but honestly unless it's a canned project (something already planned and almost certain to work, usually because it is just tying up minor loose ends from a previous paper or something) starting in a lab and getting a publication within one year is not common in most fields. It takes some time to learn the techniques of the lab, and usually takes a few dead ends before you get a publishable result (remember, most hypotheses are wrong, particularly when you are trying to answer really difficult and exciting research questions). As long as you get a strong recommendation from your research mentor, it's not a huge deal to not have any pubs.
  13. Perhaps, given how specific your interests are, you should identify who the leading scholars in that sub-field are and see where they teach?
  14. Just wanted to chime in to say that at all of my interviews, student-only events (usually the first night, after you travel there) have been VERY casual - jeans and nice-but-casual shirts. For the student and faculty event, definitely stick to business casual - depending on what you are wearing for the interview itself, you may just want to wear the same clothes.
  15. B sounds better to me. Have you spoken with any of his previous grad students?
  16. Having a little (but not a lot) of familiarity with both programs, here is my two cents: 1) I don't think the difference in ranking is all that meaningful. At least based on their NRC rankings, they seem close enough that I don't think there is a big difference in real or percieved quality. 2) I have, in my pre-grad career, done research at several different institutions, and each new one was a huge learning experience. So I'm a big advocate for going somewhere new, but only if you really think you will be happy at the new place. If you aren't sure, maybe try to collect some more data - talk to students about their lives, talk to potential PIs about working style and projects, whatever you need.
  17. Your University should have an Ombusperson, or an ethics officer of some sort. Track down this person immediately, get a confirmation that the conversation you are having is confidential, and talk to them about what happened. They can help advise you on how to manage the situation in a way that protects you (at least as much as is possible). You can possibly find this person for searching your university's web site for whistleblower protections. Here are some other questions: 1) If you switch to another program, are you essentially switching fields? Or will your old advisor still be in the same scientific circles as you? 1a) If you will essentially be switching fields, you may want to ask your advisor to not include your name on any subsequent publications, because you are uncomfortable with the way they are interpreting the data collected. If you are not switching fields it may be a more delicate situation, since you don't want them to get mad and trash talk you to your future colleagues. 2) Be VERY careful about going to the program director/department head, or anyone in your current department. There is an unfortunate tendency for faculty to close ranks in this situation, screwing over the student. Going to someone employed at the level of the university (as opposed to department or program) is safer, because they will be thinking big-picture about the university's reputation.
  18. Exactly. And I really don't think there is anything unreasonable about checking availability - you aren't asking them to make an actual commitment to letting you rotate before you've made a commiment to attend the school, you just want to know if they have space for new students. As far as the follow-up email goes, I do think it would be polite to send them a quick note if you decide not to attend their school. Something along the lines of "I really enjoyed our conversations about (research topic), but unfortunately I've decided that (other program) is a better fit. I hope to see you in the future at (big conference everyone in your field attends)." These people will be your future colleagues, so take the time to make a good impression even as you turn them down.
  19. You're in great shape for next year then. A publication will help a ton and GRE scores are definitely something you can improve. Good luck!
  20. Just be upfront. Say you are trying to decide what school to go to, and you want to make sure that enough of your POIs are taking rotation students. Don't try to actually set anything up, don't give them the impression you've already decided to attend, just check to make sure there is space in their lab.
  21. Be extremely polite to your old advisor. Make it clear to everyone in your department that you are pleasant and great to work with. That way, if your old advisor bad moiuths you, they will treat his words with suspicion because they do not jive with their overall impression of you. But you DEFINITELY make the right choice getting out. You want to do your thesis research somewhere you will thrive, with an advisor who really wants you to suceed.
  22. I agree with this. I had 1.5 years of postbac research experience when I was applying, and it definitely helped my application, but it also helped ME a whole lot. I clarified my research interests, I got better at talking about science, and I have a lot of research accomplishments I'm really proud of. Here are some thoughts: 1) I don't know if it could help make up for GPA, but if you got your undergrad degree from a lesser-known institution, postbac research at a Big Name can help overcome any snobbery on the adcom about your pedigree. 2) What can help overcome a poor GPA is taking classes, especially grad-level classes, at your NewFancyInstitution. Many places will let employees take classes at a discount rate.
  23. I agree with this, and it is consistent with the advice I have gotten from many current grad student friends. Will you be working a lot? Of course. But you won't literally be locked in a room with no contact to the outside world for 5 years. And those precious few hours outside of the lab will be VERY important for you to recharge your batteries, so make sure wherever you are going is going to give you what you need. Like TakeruK said: Weigh location exactly as much as you want to, and don't feel guilty about it.
  24. That really sucks, neuronparty. I'm sorry. I have two suggestions that may help for next time around: 1) How many people read your SOP? It's possible there might be some accidental "red flags" in there that you missed. For example, talking too much about your non-research extracurriculars might have actually hurt you. All most programs really care about is your research experience, and so your SOP in part needs to be dedicated to convincing them that research owns your heart and soul. (This is something I also struggled with when writing my SOP, because like you I did a lot of other things in college that I am really proud of and wanted to talk about, but ultimately I didn't discuss anything in my SOP except past research and future research goals). 2) Have you published any research or presented at conferences? I think adcoms use this as evidence that the research you've done is substantial. Perhaps talk to your PI about submitting an SfN abstract (I think the deadline is April?) so it'll be on your CV for next year.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use