Vene

It'll liven up when there's news about interviews.

I don't think I'd call those trivial accomplishments. Also, if you got interviews that shows they were interested in you. As a rule of thumb getting to the interview stage means your credentials are a good match for the program, but if you're rejected there was some sort of personal conflict with the program. It could mean that you didn't really connect with any professors and they don't think you're a good fit for the program. It could also be that you need to improve your interviewing skills and you failed to impress.

This meshes with my experiences. The AW writing section of the GRE has nothing at all in common with being able to write like a scholar, especially in science and engineering. The conventions we follow are practically the opposite of what you see in the humanities.

I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to cancel an interview if there's a conflict, although I'd first inquire about rescheduling. It might not make the school too terribly thrilled, but such is life.

Haven't asked. I know one of the MS holders is an international student so that may have something to do with it.

In my program the first two years are coursework driven, plus research. If I were to leave with a MS the only difference is I'd be expected to have done less research. Most of my cohort have bachelors degrees, but a couple came in with a masters and they have to take the exact same classes. It might be a little easier for them as they've already done similar classes, but that's about their only advantage.

It's certainly not typical in the sciences to do a MS first unless you're trying to make up for some sort of deficiency or if you're not certain you want a PhD. One part of this is funding, although there are funded masters programs out there PhD students get more of it. Another major aspect is that the coursework for a MS or a PhD is more or less the same and if you move from a MS to a PhD you're going to be repeating coursework you previously did, the exception being if you manage to move from MS to PhD status in the same university.

I don't know how computer science works, but over in my world I had a GPA around 3.5, am in a PhD program, and I had the impression that it is easier to get into a masters program. I got some Bs along the way including in statistics, anatomy, and cell biology. Hell, I got a C in analytical chemistry and the first semester of organic chemistry. My GREs were in the 80th percentile, so they were good, but not high enough to leap of the page. I'm not saying that I didn't get some rejections, I did, but I got what I needed.

Answering based on my experiences last year. For the interview I saw people dressed anywhere from business casual to people dressed in suits. For the days after the interview it's going to depend a little bit on what the university has planned, but still wear your nicer clothing. One of the programs showed us around town the Saturday after interviewing and wearing a suit would have been way too much. This is an area where I'm far less knowledgeable. Probably a nice blouse and skirt or nice pants. There's gotta be some guides out there for what women wear. Otherwise, something I've heard is to wear clothing appropriate for going to church, but I don't know how helpful that is to you personally. Well, it can cause some minor issues with flights, but cities in areas with cold winters have the infrastructure to adapt. I interviewed in Vermont and Minnesota in January and there were no issues. Just bring a warm coat. I called a taxi. The university reimbursed me. They also reimbursed a couple of my meals. I shared a room. But I promise you, she's going to want her privacy in the shower just as much as you will. Give the admin assistant a head's up. They're extremely helpful and pleasant people and should be able to help if anything happens. Something like "elephant-negative" honestly isn't a major concern. But, if you were to lose consciousness they'd want to be able to act appropriately. I'm pretty sure the professors have interviewed quiet people in the past and I doubt it's an uncommon trait. The interviews I had were all one on one, so that might help. I also found the most successful ones were where we started to have a conversation, even if it wasn't strictly about my scientific abilities.

To me, this doesn't sound like you're really ruling out depression. My wife suffers from it and it's definitely not a constant thing, it has its ebbs and flows. I don't doubt if you do have depression that it's not terribly severe, but if you do have it therapy or meds can still drastically improve your quality of life. All that said, of course I am not qualified to diagnose anybody with anything. This is also the internet, which makes it impossible to tell even if I was qualified.

It's a little on the low side, but no so much that I think it'll kill your application. As long as your grades show you did decent for your math classes and you took appropriate ones (calculus and statistics) I don't think there's too much to worry about. I also agree with the consensus here that your scores shouldn't be below any cutoffs so they are likely to actually look at all the material you send them. By applying to Michigan, Cornell, and UCLA that tells me the rest of your application should be pretty damn good. A good GPA, research experience, SOP, and LORs are more important than scoring a couple points low on one section of the GRE. I do not recommend talking about your GRE at all in your SOP, it's just going to make you sound insecure.

I think that the neuro labs would be relevant enough, even if you just work for them for a semester. The important thing isn't that the research is completely in line with what you're doing in graduate school, but that you have experienced what it is like to really do research. Anecdotally, I'm in a biomedical science program and I have never done biomedical research prior to this fall. I've did a short chemical ecology project in undergrad and then did chemical formulation for a company. It's taken me a little bit to readjust to thinking about biology instead of pure chemistry, but I do draw directly on my previous research experience even if it's in a different field.

It takes time for the scores to show up on the ETS webpage. Check it again in a week or two.

I did a peer review this semester and we went the paper route. I asked each student to bring in a copy of their report without their name on it and I wrote a alphanumerical code on each paper. It seemed to work out pretty well and I think it's better than a black marker as sometimes with a black marker if you hold the paper in the light just right you can still read the underlying text.

How much work would it be for you to export the files as a pdf? I believe that should remove most, if not all, identifying metadata.

I guess I'm okay with them considering I lived in Minnesota for a good number of years. And I did enjoy my time in Minneapolis, it's a nice city.

Regardless of the details the charge of academic dishonesty is functionally a kiss of death. Your GPA can be potentially be excused, I can't really say the same thing about the dishonesty.

Even if the letter was blank and the school sent out confirmations you'd still get an email.

Just do a lit search in pubmed. If you want broader answers pick up a cancer biology textbook.

It may not be necessary, but it will give you two avenues into the same program. If she says to do it, as long as it doesn't cut too deeply into your budget I say go for it. You probably don't even really have to change things like your SOP.

I think that this is the major factor right there. Nobody in my program is going to get offended if I start talking about post-translational modification of proteins. They may get a bit more upset if I discussing national politics, even though I find them to be interesting and important.

Major in a biological science in undergrad (a handful of universities offer neuroscience as a major). If you are interested in behavior maybe pick up a psychology minor. Do research in a lab. Then apply for a graduate program in neuroscience. Alternatively, you may still do neurobiology if you apply to a different biomedical science department where people are focused on neuroscience (say, a biochemistry department where multiple faculty members research neuron ion channels).

In their world, they still have about a month before it's needed. From experience is definitely is stressful, but gentle reminders can help. Just keep in mind that they are very busy and are likely more concerned with their grant application or getting that damn exam graded then they are submitting a recommendation that's due in three or four weeks.

Does your program have any faculty mentors? I'm also in rotations, but we have a first year committee with a faculty member assigned to us. If I were in your situation that would be the first place for me to go for help.

Any university associated with the Big 10 is probably pretty good. But, I don't want to include Ohio State because I'm from Michigan originally and we've got a petty rivalry to maintain.