alwayslearning

In my opinion there isn't a wrong time to contact professors. I would start now. Sure, some may tell you it's too early.. but I feel most will be receptive, or at least send you a kind response to point you in the right direction. I don't see anything wrong with starting now, so long as you approach it with a soft hand.. meaning, brief introductory emails first, then you can elaborate and go into more detail in future emails.. don't scare them away by being too intense. Other than that, I think you should be fine to start making faculty contacts.. I started last week.

I'll be applying also. I haven't decided yet which program type I want to aim for - I may mix it up from one school to the next. I have RA experience in molecular (working on virus-cell interaction, hep C virus), but also have RA experience in neurobiology (working on dopaminergic neurons in the olfactory system, using rat animal model - brain slice and cell culture). I really enjoy neuro, but also really like the viral research using molecular techniques - even though bacterial cultures (for protein expression, expression plasmids, etc) aren't as exciting as animals. So basically I have started a spreadsheet to organize all of the potential schools, and then taken note of both neuro and MCB programs/tracks/concentrations within each respective school. While I will apply to only one these concentrations per school, I may apply to some neuro and some MCB. If I get an MCB acceptance at one school, and a neuro acceptance at another, I will just have to choose. Who knows, maybe I'll make up my mind beforehand and then just focus on one type of program. Regardless, I am excited and looking forward to the process!

some schools actually publish this information. The first school that comes to mind that I think does a very good job of giving you application statistics is Duke. If you go HERE and select any program, then toward the bottom of the selected program's page you will see links for various statistics (application, placement, completion rate, etc.) HERE is a direct link for the biochem stats page - looks like 17% (cumulative) were offered admission for the last cycle On a different note, when my girlfriend was applying to clinical psych PhD programs a few years back, it was very common for these stats to be posted by the various schools. This doesn't seem to be the case with the life sciences and chemistry, based on what I've seen so far in my experience. This is either a product of variation in disciplines, or maybe the 'tier', or ranking, and of the programs (i.e. it may be that only the 'top tier' schools publish this type of info since they are the most competitive)

When I was in undergrad doing premed work, it was a very intense and competitive, and I began experiencing some of the same things you've described, especially wrt anxiety during testing/exams. I immediately went to my university health center on campus and got in to see a psychiatrist. After evals and several appointments, my doc put me on Effexor, which is actually an antidepressant but is also used in anxiety. Whether it was placebo effect or genuine biochemical change, I was eventually able to eliminate the anxiety. Of course, I am not suggesting this medication (or any other, for that matter) is right or wrong for you, and I don't want to get into a discussion about the pros and cons of medication use. However, my point is, it may be worth considering the psychiatry/medication route, alone or in conjunction with some form of therapy. My girlfriend is in a clinical psych program that does a lot of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).. something like that may also be beneficial. As others have said, there are lots of options, and anxiety (and depression) is very treatable, generally. I had great success with my medication, and was able to stop taking it after about 2 years (again, this length of time will vary from one individual to another). Consider your options and choose what you think is best. If it ends up not working out, try something else. Odds are you will be able to find some form of relief, in my opinion. Good luck!