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blinchik

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Everything posted by blinchik

  1. Where did you feel that the fit with the faculty/students/location/overall ambience of the school was the best? This is what I am focusing on, as all of the places I have been accepted to have great research in my subfield.
  2. This surprises me - I visited and have heard nothing but good things about the program. While I understand that the people that I met at the recruitment/interview weekend are supposed to present the school in exclusively a positive light, I've met people at other times that say that they loved Duke. Either way, unless you go visit and see the area, you won't know.
  3. I'm dying over here and can certainly commiserate - just took a biochem exam, and I am absolutely certain that if I hadn't missed 1/3 of the classes thus far I would have done better. I also find it exhausting to study after interviews. If it's any consolation, all of the PIs/adcom members I've talked to have said that all you need to do is pass your final semester. That being said, if you have an A average, I don't think getting a 2.0 will be looked upon well.
  4. When looking at Georgia, I get a 15% federal and state tax rate from a paycheck calculator (excluding the FICA taxes) for the proposed income of 29k. I should have been clearer - I wasn't referring to only state tax, but to the combined federal + state taxes (total taxes, in this case).
  5. That was for a different program - I was in contact with Dr. Swanstrom recently, and he told me that no decisions have been made yet for the Microbiology and for some other program applicants. If anything though, you could always email them!
  6. Hey BiochemMom, I interviewed in January (22-24), and none of my fellow recruits have heard back yet, as far as I know. We were told that it may take until March for them to get back to me. I loved it too - hoping for good news for you as well!
  7. I, along with another applicant who interviewed at a few programs with me, declined the Yale interview. It is a top school, but I have talked to people in the program or who are in-the-know about the program (interviewed there, worked there, etc.), and I just don't think it's the school for me. The COL in New Haven on Yale's stipend does not appeal to me, especially compared to Atlanta and Durham/Chapel Hill, the dreary Northeastern winters (which I have already unfortunately been experiencing) do not appeal to me, and the culture there doesn't do it for me. There are, to be sure, some wonderfully kind and pleasant faculty and students there, but I definitely got the impression that as a program, they were not as accommodating of conflicts as they could have been. But it's Yale, so I guess for many, the idea is that you are one of a select few that have invited, and should by all means make every effort to go and possibly matriculate there.
  8. The only interview weekend for Duke Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (I presume that's the program you mean) was this past weekend. I'm sorry that you haven't heard back yet. Acceptances should be going out this week, followed by the other decisions.
  9. I think, though, that they look primarily at program fit and the student's ability to think critically and articulate their prior research, and the grad students have some input. For instance, at Duke, they really ensured that applicants would be interviewed by people they didn't request so they could see the diversity of the program and be introduced to research outside of their intended subfield (and also to test interest/preparation). I haven't been accepted or rejected yet, though, so we will see.
  10. I think it depends on the school. When I interviewed at Emory, I had two traditional interviews, and then I had two interviews where the two professors had clearly taken the time to read my application very thoroughly and said they were just making sure that I was a pleasant person. After that was ascertained, they really focused on why I should choose Emory instead of having me explain why Emory should choose me. They interviewed ~12 people and are accepting 6. Two days after the weekend, I got notified of admission and two fellowship nominations, so I think for the more competitive interview weekends, they have some preferred applicants and some marginal applicants that can go either way in terms of admissions decisions. I had the same experience as you where everyone thought they had a pleasant interview session, so I'm not sure precisely how they rank interviewees.
  11. Hey all, thank you for your advice. It sometimes ends up being more than 13%, depending on the state/city tax rates, but usually is no more than 20% for the programs that I am looking at. Also, I did ask about the fees, and the programs that I am looking at waive most if not all fees. Glad to know I'll be taking most of my paycheck home.
  12. Congrats, pastel! (This limit on up votes is really annoying me > )
  13. I heard back within two days from Emory - I think the smaller programs have a faster turn-around time.
  14. Let us know how it goes! I just got accepted there and they didn't tell me they were going to call beforehand - perhaps they notify people differently in the neuroscience program?
  15. Hi all, As grad school is becoming more of a reality, I was wondering if anyone could explain to me how taxes are withheld from the stipend (I'm looking at a stipend of ~29k, maybe more). I asked some graduate students at each of the programs I interviewed at, and they said that they are exempt from paying into Social Security and Medicare, and only get federal and state tax withheld (and possibly city tax), which is subject to the various bracket percentages. I'm hoping this is true, but I'd really appreciate if someone could correct me if I am wrong regarding that. It looks like I'll only have one exemption based on the W4 form. I tried calling the university's payroll/financial aid services center, but wasn't able to get an answer. I'd appreciate any help I could get regarding this (especially from STEM people, since PhD programs seem to be almost universally funded).
  16. Just received my first acceptance from the Emory MMG program, and got nominated for a departmental fellowship!
  17. @pastel, I think you would be completely justified in contacting the program coordinator and asking about the turn around time in that case. Generally, programs will meet within a week or two, but the program you interviewed at could be an exception.
  18. To bring the discussion back to Yuangyang, it is perhaps possible that the letters were not as strongly written as they could have been. I'm not sure if there is another way to end that speculation if not by asking the letter writers about them and/or seeing the letters. Unless I have misinterpreted something, since all the apps have been submitted, he wouldn't be reneging on that agreement. If the relationship isn't as open as it could be, however, I do see how that could backfire pretty spectacularly. Anyone have any better ideas?
  19. @pastel, is your program on the rolling admissions system, or was this the only/one of few weekends? If the former, you may not hear back for a while (this is what I was told at UNC). If the latter, all the non-rolling programs I spoke with said that they convene after all the applicants depart and they give offers within a week or so for the first picks, and then down the line. I have a feeling you're not going to be a second pick, though. I'm surprised they didn't disclose their turn-around time to you at the interview weekend.
  20. But yes, I do agree that adcoms may not hold letters in high esteem if they know that you had access to them before submission.
  21. I personally don't think that it's in poor taste to ask to see a letter after all the recommendations are submitted - before, for sure, as in that case, if you waived the right to see them, that would be very wrong. If you only see them after they are submitted, however, you're not reneging on that agreement. All three of my recommendation letter writers offered to let me read mine a few weeks after all the apps were submitted, as they thought it would be helpful for me to know their assessment of my research/other skills. I understand people have different viewpoints on this, though.
  22. I've reached my quota of positive votes (whatever that is), but congrats! It's a great program
  23. OOPS… Well I was thinking of Brazil because I had read some articles about endemic corruption there, and was simultaneously thinking of the other BRIC countries where prosecutors/dissidents mysteriously die, but yes, it was Argentina - my bad.
  24. Also, to clarify, when I said career counselor, I didn't mean a private, for profit one - I meant speaking with someone working at your institution in the career services section, either at MIT or at your alma mater, who specializes in advising students on their professional/academic careers.
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