MackF

I'm glad you're throwing a temper tantrum on a forum designed to help prospective grad students.  I'm happy for you that you got in where you wanted to go, so did I.  All I did was add some constructive thoughts to your post, so maybe you should take a step back and realize how lucky you are to be in a position to offer advice to other prospective grads.  That attitude won't get you far in life, and considering you will be subordinate to a PI for the next five years, you should change it quick.  Best of luck to you in your graduate studies.

I'm going to disagree with this, if only marginally.  My letters of rec were from a course professor in biology, a professor that I had taken 4 classes with in economics (my minor), and one from my research advisor.  I don't think you need to have done research in 2 separate labs to be competitive.  Perhaps for the very top programs, but generally speaking I don't think so.  Of course more research experience is always better, but you should do the research that you feel you will enjoy the most.

I'm glad you're throwing a temper tantrum on a forum designed to help prospective grad students.  I'm happy for you that you got in where you wanted to go, so did I.  All I did was add some constructive thoughts to your post, so maybe you should take a step back and realize how lucky you are to be in a position to offer advice to other prospective grads.  That attitude won't get you far in life, and considering you will be subordinate to a PI for the next five years, you should change it quick.  Best of luck to you in your graduate studies.

I can't decide what I admire most about you. Probably it's your humility.

Skype Interview was a little bit awkward for me.  Its not terribly difficult, but it wasn't quite as formal as the in person ones I did.  It was short (20 min) and I only talked to one faculty member and one grad student.  Make the best of it!  Is it for a PhD or a Masters?

I'm glad you're throwing a temper tantrum on a forum designed to help prospective grad students.  I'm happy for you that you got in where you wanted to go, so did I.  All I did was add some constructive thoughts to your post, so maybe you should take a step back and realize how lucky you are to be in a position to offer advice to other prospective grads.  That attitude won't get you far in life, and considering you will be subordinate to a PI for the next five years, you should change it quick.  Best of luck to you in your graduate studies.

This is rude and uncalled for. If you do it again, you'll get suspended. If you have nothing helpful to say, don't say anything at all. 

Funny thing, I've worked in industry, it's not the Harvard, Yale, and Stanford folks who are the best researchers. In fact, the best scientist where I worked (a rapidly growing Fortune 500, btw, not some small start up) got his PhD at North Dakota State University.

I will also marginally disagree that you really need to go somewhere else (as a first year who is currently prepping for quals and is in the midst of grant applications). I stayed on campus. My letters of rec were from a professor I took a course from and helped with a small project, my co-PIs from my lab (which really should have counted as one PI + one collaborator), and an administrator at my undergrad (who vouched for my student mentorship).
 
If you can research and gain strong skills within the lab you're in, why can't you work hard this summer and stay in the lab during the school year? I went into PhD applications with 4 years undergrad research experience, plus 2 years masters. I stayed on for a masters because I had a really cool mouse model I didn't want to leave. Yes, I worked in two different laboratories, but the first was out of field. The things that made me stand out on my applications were internal research awards that I won, mentoring younger undergraduates, and the fact that I learned so many different techniques to the point where I can apply them in any laboratory without needing to look up the information. You don't need to have a publication to get into graduate school. That's actually a requirement to GRADUATE graduate school! Yes, it would look nice, but you mostly just need to demonstrate that you're passionate about research though your application materials and letters of recommendation. You also have to realize that sometimes papers aren't published for years after your research experience. The research I did as an undergrad 4 years ago is just now getting sent to the presses.
 
You learn some things with a year straight of research experience (or 5, in my case) in a single lab that you're not going to get skipping around from place to place all the time. Techniques like qPCR can be learned anywhere, but things like primary cell isolation and culture take some time and dedication that you can't get in only 3 months, and these are skill types that will make you stand out. There is also a sort of Zen to research. You may be trying to do something 20 times in what you think is exactly the same way, and then like magic, you learn and you don't know what is different. That comes with experience. See if your potential PI would let you stay on during the school year if at all possible. If you can work for the three months, then the school year AND collaborate with another lab group, that can be just as powerful as an external research experience, and you'll be able to get a letter of rec. They want applicants who can DO science... showing you can work in the lab well and collaborate are two huge things that are going to give you some points. Add some small internal or external research dollars that you obtain to a decent GPA and GRE, and you're golden.
 
That isn't to say that external research experiences don't have their merits; you can spend time in a high profile lab, which can be a big deal. From experience, though, students who only do REUs in the summers with little or no other lab experience come into graduate school with a much narrower view and understanding of research than students who work in a laboratory for a year or more and actually get their feet dug into a project. Those students see more of what goes into the project, and they may actually go from troubleshooting to completion of a small project. REUs rarely complete a whole aim of a PI's research grant, but in a year, you could have a chance at it.
 
Please don't do things only to pad your resume. Make sure you're getting relevant skills and experience out of it, and not just a letter of rec. With all of this, I think it comes down to two choices:
1. You can stay at your PI's lab over the summer, work your butt off, and try to stay in the lab in the fall and collaborate with another lab. Try to take a relevant course like a paper/journal course in an area you're interested in or a good stats course.
2. Do a summer research experience elsewhere (which can be expensive if it isn't funded!).
 
Please feel free to message me if you would like, Flux.

As if I care what you think I got into harvard, yale, stanford .etc. so save it.

Of course a person like you who got rejected and waitlisted from 3rd tier schools are more knowledgable than me. LMAO

#REKT

I'm going to disagree with this, if only marginally.  My letters of rec were from a course professor in biology, a professor that I had taken 4 classes with in economics (my minor), and one from my research advisor.  I don't think you need to have done research in 2 separate labs to be competitive.  Perhaps for the very top programs, but generally speaking I don't think so.  Of course more research experience is always better, but you should do the research that you feel you will enjoy the most.

I'm going to disagree with this, if only marginally.  My letters of rec were from a course professor in biology, a professor that I had taken 4 classes with in economics (my minor), and one from my research advisor.  I don't think you need to have done research in 2 separate labs to be competitive.  Perhaps for the very top programs, but generally speaking I don't think so.  Of course more research experience is always better, but you should do the research that you feel you will enjoy the most.

I'm going to disagree with this, if only marginally.  My letters of rec were from a course professor in biology, a professor that I had taken 4 classes with in economics (my minor), and one from my research advisor.  I don't think you need to have done research in 2 separate labs to be competitive.  Perhaps for the very top programs, but generally speaking I don't think so.  Of course more research experience is always better, but you should do the research that you feel you will enjoy the most.

I got pulled off a waitlist! I got the email about 20 minutes ago that I have been accepted by Einstein!

With the April 15 deadline rapidly approaching I just wanted to say congratulations to all who were accepted and keep your head up to those who weren't.  Maybe there's a lurker on this forum I'll end up meeting in Rochester in the fall.  Good luck everyone!

With the April 15 deadline rapidly approaching I just wanted to say congratulations to all who were accepted and keep your head up to those who weren't.  Maybe there's a lurker on this forum I'll end up meeting in Rochester in the fall.  Good luck everyone!

Just google meet and greet gradcafe, it'll come up.  Its a forum, similar to this

Its official everyone, I'm attending the University of Rochester Medical Center!

Its official everyone, I'm attending the University of Rochester Medical Center!

Awesome, great place! A friend of a friend went to med school there, enjoyed it very much.
 
 
Congrats! And so much love for anything Futurama related.

Its official everyone, I'm attending the University of Rochester Medical Center!

Its official everyone, I'm attending the University of Rochester Medical Center!

Its official everyone, I'm attending the University of Rochester Medical Center!