funkydays
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Posts posted by funkydays
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On 1/10/2016 at 0:26 AM, kjc said:
Friend 1- Friends since 7th grade, very close prior to move, she has never lived away from home and is still working on her BS.
Friend 2- Friends since kindergarten, very close prior to move though slightly less so than friend 1, she moved away from home for BA (and we remained fairly close through that time), and has since finished and moved back and started work.
I think it's always understandable that when you move away from your home city, you'll feel a little disconnected with your friends. They are in an established community and so they don't necessarily "see" the one-sidedness of their relationship with you. Does that make any sense? I think it's hard to maintain the same relationship you had with your friends especially if they haven't really moved outside of the circles of their home town. Long distance friendships are hard. If these are truly important friendships to you, then put in the effort and try to adjust your expectations. If the friendship was meant to last, then you two will adjust to some middle ground to stay in touch.
Your situation has happened to me when I left my hometown as well and many of my friends have never lived outside the town. I realized that we were at different places in our life: they were establishing theirs in our hometown, but I was just starting in a new place. And for friends who have never experienced "new place", it's hard to relate to or maybe someone might even feel like you "escaped" while they are stuck. In any case, I think it's important to remember that you're at different places in life, so it's understandable that you and your friends would not be on the same page in terms of support. It takes time and adjusting for that to happen.
Like @piglet33 said, videochat is your friend. Schedule a time to update each other on your lives and such. I usually skype with my best friend once a month and text occasionally.
In any case, take this as an opportunity to meet new people if you want (at or outside of school). I guess I have a slightly different experience with meetups than @random_grad ... I've met some really great friends through meetup outside of academia, and it doesn't feel like anything has changed since I've moved away (other than not seeing each other, but we frequently email/chat like before). It takes getting used to, meeting strangers and finding the right group, but if you want to meet new people in a new city, I think it's a good starting point.
There's no real easy answer to this, but I hope this and everyone else's answers to you illustrates that you're not alone in this. Best of luck.
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I'd like to also suggest meetup groups as @rising_star had mentioned. Especially if you'd like to meet people outside of grad school life. It was hard for me to meet new people and trying to do that through the internet can be a bit awkward. It took a few meet ups to get used to the feeling (not to mention force myself to attend) but I met a great group of friends. I think I tried four or five groups before finding a good group of friends (we've all since move out of meetups, and just hangout), so it took time but worked out in the end. I think it also was a beneficial exercise in general to apply to networking.
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Are you looking for a PhD program or a MS program? (there are thesis based MS programs) Also, there are a few helpful online tools that will calculate your GPA.
http://www.foreigncredits.com/Resources/GPA-Calculator/
http://www.wes.org/students/igpacalc.asp
You can select the appropriate country and calculations will auto adjust as you input each course you took during your 4 years.
Here is also a helpful tutorial on how GPA & credit hours are determined:
http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-GPAHope that helps!
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This might echo the point that one should always be on their A game during interviews, not knowing which category they actually stand in. Therefore, one should always assume they're in the worst category, and need to perform well to get that admission letter.
Agreed.
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And from literally EVERYBODY I asked, faculty who were and were not on the adcoms, I couldn't extract an answer from them as to what, and I have no idea what it could have possibly been. If that was the problem, nobody's being honest with me.
It's a bit difficult with adcomms, since they'll only be able to give you information on the specifics of your application rather than the actual interviews. I would also note that it might not be that you were "bad" at the interview, just that a lot of people did better in terms of making an impression. Some programs also have students weigh in on an applicants fit as well. So if you might have seem unsociable as a whole, it might made you seem not a good fit. If you were just "ok" but nothing terribly wrong, there's nothing the school really can say specifically in terms of feedback, right? They'll tell you that you were fine, and that's that.
And unfortunately, if you're in the "possible accept" and not the "definite" category, you have to go out of your way to make an impression and bring your social A game.
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Made my decision! This is so UNREAL.
Thank you to all of you posting on this forum. It's been a long struggle full of doubt and awkwardness and lurking here has really been helpful for advice and also just to know that we're all going through this together. And best of luck to those of you still waiting!!!!
Now to turn down my other offers... any tips on how to do this gracefully?
Congrats!
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It is very low on my ranking. The reason why I ranked it that low was because: research interest, overall ranking, job opportunities and interview experience.
If that's the case, like everyone said, talk to your advisor/recommenders and make an informed decision, whether it is accepting the offer or trying again in the fall.
If you decide to apply again, I would definitely recommend contacting adcomms of the schools you applied to (or if you know faculty members who've been on an adcomm) and try to get some CC to improve your application for the next round.
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If you are posting to honestly get our opinion, then you need to tells us more. From what we're reading, it seems like you are basing your decision solely on the program's ranking and you think you could get into a higher ranking school. If you don't like the program because of XYZ reasons (not in your research area, funding, the people were weird), then state that. We are not mind readers who can divine your opinions on this program.
If you are worried about jobs and research opportunities, does this mean that the program doesn't fit your research interests? The alums have not gone into the industry you are looking to for future career? Then those might be reasons for not going to said program.
Right now, based on your responses, it seems like your perspective is really narrow and you are fixating one minor-ish thing (rank; unless the school is ranked extremely low with very little funding availability) rather than big picture things.
- shadowclaw and spaceimmunology
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I second @eteshoe.
I don't think you should judge a program solely on the ranking. There are still good programs regardless of rank, so you should be focussed on making decisions based your own research about the program (program strengths, research interest, etc).
Make an informed decision based on your research on each school or find out why they received the ranking that they did. Make a decision based on reasearch fit, future career prospects (do the students go where I would want to go in the future? Industry heavy? Academic heavy?, etc), and other aspects that are important to you (funding, particular advisor, location, etc)
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Based on your comment, you said psychiatry/cognitive/neuroendo as your interests. Those are closely related fields of interests so you might not need to just pick one. I suggest you take a look at the research the faculty does at each program and decide which would align best with your interests.
UMass Amherst does a lot of basic research, so you'll see a wide range of topics and fields of research (evo devo, plant, human, etc). UMass Med is half basic, half biomedical. So there are some labs that do basic research, but there's also labs that are doing translational med or are researching a specific disease model. So it's really up to your own interests and what type of research you would want to do in the future.
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Congrats, Funky Days! If you don't mind me asking, where are you heading?
Thanks! I'll be heading to UMass Med Worcester!
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Hi all, just wanted to finally say "I'm going to grad school!" WHoo hooo! I'm generally an occasional poster/mostly lurker, but you guys were a great support system through the whole process. Definitely reduced some of my anxiety about the whole process.
So thank you guys! You guys are awesome! I hope to be semi-active here, so I can give back what everyone else has given to me in terms of encouragement & advice.
And YAY grad school!
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Can you tell me more about your research interests specifically? UMass Med and UMass Amherst have different focuses in their curriculum and training, so it would depend on where your interests lie.
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Would it look bad if I called a school I interviewed with and asked if they already sent acceptances? It's been a week since I interviewed, how long should I wait? I'm going crazy watching my phone and email for an offer....
You can email the program office to ask when you should expect to hear back. It's a common question enough, programs know people are anxious to hear back. Generally, they'll tell you X days/weeks after interview, or they'll say something like "the committee will meet on X date".
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I'd also look at the general age range of the graduate students in the program you apply to in the future. If the program has mostly younger students (most are straight from undergrad, etc) then they might not be as flexible because they are not equipped to deal with it. I found programs that had a mixed group were more open about their support for students who have/will have families (as @BiochemMom states, daycare support, flexible schedule, etc) and may have had more experience to deal with it.
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I agree with @bellwera that it's important to apply to many many jobs. Keep an open mind about which laboratory you can work in (as in, maybe it's not a neuro lab, but the research is applicable to neuro). When programs are looking at your job experience, they are looking for your experience in basic research and independent thinking (did you lead a project that you were able to publish? Are you asking your own scientific questions, etc).
If you have an established alumni network, you can contact some of them to see if they have any jobs available. Also, if you have any friends who are currently working, ask if they know of any job opportunities. A lot of the job apps will ask if you were referred by any employee, and this is really how you get your foot in the door to some jobs.
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The only available date for GRE test is November 11. Is this time enough for score to reach the university before December 1 deadline?Any advices
This is the information I got from the GRE website for the computer based GREs:
If you take the computer-delivered GRE revised General Test, your official scores will be available in your My GRE account and sent to the institutions you designated approximately 10–15 days after your test date.You can report your scores to the institutions on the day of your GRE test date but it will still take 10-15 days to get to the institution. It's unclear whether this means business days or not. Either way, you'd be cutting it close for a Dec. 1st deadline.
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I chose those schools based on a combination of my own interest in the programs they offer and on the word of my primary research adviser for undergrad, who has told me that I stand a fair shot of getting into them. I'd prefer to stay in the northeast, (though I recognize that California has a number of excellent schools, plus a number of pharma companies have significant operations there if I choose to enter industry) and I have some friends in the grad programs at a number of these schools who have said that their molecular biology/biochemistry programs are well-suited to me.
Have you tried looking into umbrella programs? If you are interested in many departments, but are unsure in the particulars, an umbrella program might be suitable for you so you can test the waters to see what suits you best. There are many in the northeast, so you won't be lacking in schools.
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Second time around... Got interviews last time, accepted to one program, but it ended up not being a great fit for me, so trying my luck again this year.
Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts college
Major(s): Theatre
Minor(s): Biology
GPA in Major: Not really applicable, but all sciences combined 3.2
Overall GPA: 3.2
Position in Class: average
Type of Student: domestic
GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 161
V: 159
W: 4.5
B: NA
Research Experience: 1 semester undergrad1 summer research
4.5 years working in a lab (genetics)
6 publications (2 co-author)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: NA
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Journal club, departmental presentations
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: graduate course work and workshops
Special Bonus Points: 2 recommenders are well known in field of interest, VERY nontraditional student (may be a plus, may be a minus; hard to tell sometimes)
Applying to Where:Harvard - BBS
Tufts - ISP
BU - PiBS
UMass, Worcester - IGP
Dartmouth College - MCB
Brandeis - MCB
Brown - MCB
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If you're working with HMS, look into using some of the educational reimbursements while you work there. While your GPA is not optimal, taking either graduate level courses or any relevant courses will definitely help you improve your application. I've heard others say on the forum that if their GPA was low, taking the subject test (and getting a high score) helped them overcome the low GPA.
If the job you're at is where you want to be (as in, it is relevant to your future research area), talk with your supervisor(s) and set some professional goals you want to accomplish by 2016. You should be having a frank discussion of what your career goals are, and see how this job can help you get to the next step. Something like leading a project or increasing your participation in said project, getting a publication or two by the end of it all, etc.
(This is assuming you have a good working relationship with your supervisor/PI)
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Well this is terrible news. I've been avoiding a master's program since my late thesis advisor and PI advised against it.
If that GPA wont get past you guys, what chance to I have at an admissions panel.
I don't think it's unsalvageable. Have you taken any courses post graduation? I think that tends to help and, if you have taken some, you can highlight that fact along with the good grades.
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How common is it to contact potential PIs before sending in applications?
I think it depends on the size of the program. If it's a small program, then faculty members are a bit more receptive to inquiries, especially since you'll most likely see them during the interview process. For larger programs (example: Harvard's BBS which has 300 students in their program), some faculty members seem to feel it's a waste of time. Obviously, there are some faculty members who don't feel that way, even if the program is large... It doesn't hurt your chances though.
I'd say do it now than later, as late fall and winter time may coincide with grant submission cycles and PIs will be less likely to respond.
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Hey all,
I'm planning on emailing my top choice for the status of my application, but was wondering if I could get your opinion on my wording? I don't want to appear pushy, but I want to let them know I'm still waiting to hear back....
"Dear X,My name is "Funkydays" and I am an applicant for the X program. I had attended the X interview weekend. Although I have received acceptances at other institutions, "X institution" remains my top choice. I was wondering if it was possible to know the status for my application to help me make my final decision soon. I would very much appreciate any information you can provide me regarding the admissions committees decision. Thank you very much."Do I need to write more directly about this or should I just call the department instead? -
Hey guys,
How does everyone here feel about stipend negotiations? There are some threads on it in "The Bank," but I'd like a perspective from people as close as possible to my field.
Basically, program A has made me a very generous stipend offer. I prefer program B in terms of research fit, but program B made a less generous stipend offer. The difference is 3k a year for the entirety of the program, so over 6 years, it'd be close to 20k! To be fair, it's not like I would have trouble surviving on either stipend, but it would make a significant difference in terms of my quality of life above the baseline.
Is it a no-no to talk to program B about whether they could raise my stipend? If I tried and they said no, would it be really awkward / would they dislike it?
Any advice is much appreciated (:
Do they offer the same package in terms of where the stipend is coming from? (e.g. part supported by program training grants, part from TAship, part from RA ship, etc). If the breakdown is different, you can see if there are outside opportunities given by the institution for additional funding. But I think it ultimately depends on how happy you will be in each program. Are you willing to go to a program dedicating many years where there is a chance you might not be happy with the research?
Also, how much does Program A not fit into your research interests? If it's significantly different, then probably choosing the better fit might be the way to go.
Interview Format
in Biology
Posted
Do a little research ahead of time on each faculty you are meeting. Go to their lab website (if they have any) and pubmed their lab's recent publications. It'll give you a sense of what their lab's current focus and you can tailor your interview questions based on those. Like @peachypie said, have a few notes to take along. I think I wrote about 3 sentences for each faculty member to help me remember what I've read or seen.
For questions to ask, that is up to you. Graduate school interviews are a time for the school to see if you are good candidate, but ALSO a time for you to figure out is this school a good fit for you. Ask questions that you find important in a graduate program. If you don't know, then sit down and think about it. Think about why you applied to X school and fill in the gaps at the interview about any lingering questions you might have about the program.
Overall, graduate school interviews are pretty much similar. You do a little research on faculties and the program (if you haven't done so already) but the remainder is up to you to figure out what information you want to get out of the interviews.