Bonez

REUs and SURF programs are great ways to network for jobs in the future. I am currently working as a research technician at the same institution, but different lab, where I did an REU internship. I probably couldn't have gotten that job without having done an REU first.

This seems ridiculous, and the recommender sounds overly pompous. Would this recommender object to viewing the students CV prior to writing, because its contains "important aspects relevant to the letters purpose"? Goes to show that academia has its share of wankers. That's why I don't buy what you say. Is "about a dozen" an acceptable n for all admissions committee members? I doubt it. I think your certainty is dubious at best.

Interesting. Its pretty common in my laboratory group to review letters before they are submitted. I only had to ask one letter writer to see their letter, the rest said they would let me review them when they initially agreed to write the letters. Your opinion seems very foreign to me. I don't buy that ad coms don't take these kind of letters seriously. I didn't waive my rights to anything, and I haven't run into any problems.

Haha. Interesting. I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to see their recommendations. I certainly don't see why a boss, professor, etc. would look poorly on or be offended by someone asking to see their letters. You, the applicant, have a lot at stake in getting good letters. I'm not even so much concerned about a letter writer saying bad things in their letter. Your advisor, professor, or whoever probably had many recommendation letters to write, and its entirely possible that the letter left out important things that you have done or was hastily written. Why jeopardize your application with such a stupid, avoidable thing?

Yes. You should absolutely ask your recommenders for a copy of their letters. Ideally, you should have done that before they were submitted. I've never asked for a recommendation from someone that wouldn't let me read what they wrote about me.

It seems like a lot of schools do this. I have been to two interviews so far and received the itinerary for a third. I seem to get about half the people I request to meet with, and the other half the school picks. I've been lucky that most of the interviewers that the school selects have been at least somewhat related to my area of interest. That said, I have also had a few interviewers that have nothing to do with the work I'm interested in. It makes me wonder if that's an intentional move by the department. For the interviews that you aren't really interested in: I would be frank about what your interests are, but try not to seem disinterested in what they do. If all else fails you can ask them about the techniques they use. I've found that most PIs have some fancy-schmancy piece of equipment in their lab that they are particularly proud of. You might learn something new, and I think its always a good idea to get an idea of what tools would be available to you at your potential new institution. This person might end up as a co-advisor on your dissertation.

I work as a technician right now, and I get a similar amount of time off as the graduate students in my program. I get 3 days for thanksgiving, 10 days for winter holidays, and various holidays (MLK day, labor day, etc) throughout the year. I also take 1-2 weeks off during the year for vacation, and that's pretty standard for most students in my department. Most PIs will start to worry about you if you don't take time off; they don't want to work with cranky burnt-out students.

Got an interview invite from Boston University PiBS today. WOOOH!

I've got 2 invites so far. I submitted all of my applications in mid October, so 1.5-2 months prior to any of my deadlines. Not sure if it made a difference for my applications at all, but my PI suggested I get them in early.

Got an invite to Vanderbilt IGP yesterday! Hopefully more to come in the coming weeks!

I got one from Emory a few weeks ago.

U Penn is essentially an Ivy so yeah its really competitive. Miami is less so, and I don't really know much about George Washington. My point is that 7-8 of the nine schools you picked are really difficult to get into, and maybe that adding a few schools that are less competitive might be better. Just make sure you're picking schools based on research fit rather than prestige. Who knows? You might get an interview at all of these great New York schools, but you might not. I personally wouldn't want to shoot for interviews at 1 out of 9 schools. I'd much rather be in a position where I can interview at a handful of schools and pick the one that I like best.

lilbert5- I think your stats are good and you have a competitive application at any of those schools. Keep in mind that all of the schools you're applying to are extremely competitive and even strong applicants might not get in or even get interviews. It might be in your interest to include a few mid-tier schools that still fit your research interest. I vaguely recall someone mentioning Ohio State as a good school for cancer research...maybe check that out?

If you think you will get the manuscripts back for revision soon after submission, then maybe you should wait until after you've heard back from the journal to notify the graduate coordinator of the change. I know that some of the Elsevier journals have a really quick response time for review--like 1-2 weeks. If you think it will take longer, I'd let the programs know about the manuscripts as soon as you submit them. My reasoning is that it looks better to have a paper "in revision" then just "submitted". At least the graduate committee will know the paper was good enough to be reviewed.

Wait. Do you mean that you will earn your B.S. 2.5 years from now, or that you will complete your B.S. this semester, after 2.5 years of study? If its the former, then there's absolutely no reason you should apply right now. If its the latter, then your stats are good and you should apply. I don't know if I would highlight that in your SOP, because, while that is an impressive accomplishment, I could also imagine ways that could be viewed negatively. I imagine you're young-ish, and some members of the adcom might question admitting a 20-21 year old fresh out of undergrad into the program.

Talk to your undergraduate advisor, or any other professors that know you well, and see if they know anyone who might be looking for a research technician. Its not so much that PIs like to hire undergrads from their own institution, its that PIs want to hire someone they know or someone that has been positively recommended by a colleague. You need to find someone that can vouch for your skill, work ethic, etc.

A word of caution about OHSU, I know some people there and from what I've heard they are very hesitant to accept students straight out of undergrad. They prefer accepting individuals that have a year or more post-baccalaureate research experience. I'm not sure what your situation is... its just something to think about.

Check out NIH reporter. Its a search engine for all NIH grants and recipients. You can search by keyword to find investigators in your area of interest, and, more importantly, find out who has money to do research, pay your wages, and other important stuff like that. http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm

I think your stats are good enough to apply this year. I'd advise against applying to direct Neuroscience PhD programs, and instead look at umbrella Biomedical Science programs. Everyone and their dog wants to get a PhD in neuroscience and, as you might expect, the ratio of accepted/applied is pretty small. Most neuroscience faculty will be included in biomedical science programs, so you'll have access to the same research opportunities and have a broader range of classes to chose from.

Definitely include the committee position and VP of student government. Most academic CVs have a "service" section, and both activities qualify as service. It shows that you were engaged in your undergraduate institution, and its similar to the kind of engagement/service you'd be required to do as faculty. I'd omit the other activities...they just don't seem that relevant and it would be a stretch to call them service. Don't forget to include your awards/recognitions.

It doesn't matter where you learned the techniques, it just matter that you can do them well. I would only list techniques that you can do with a high level of competence, and from my experience, that's what your employer/advisor expects when they read your CV. If you could teach someone else the technique, then it should go on your CV. Otherwise, omit it.

It sounds like you made the right choice as far as research labs go. I'd say that graduate schools look favorably on any research experience at the undergraduate level, and that experience looks even better if you have an independent project. More importantly, you'll probably learn a lot more from an independent project than an undergraduate assistantship. (From my experience, undergraduate assistantships can be great or really crap depending on who supervises them--I don't know what they're like at your school.) If your comfortable with it, I'd ask your supervisor about the possibility of publishing your project. Ask early! Even if its just the undergraduate research journal at your school--that looks damn good as a sophomore. As far as classes are concerned... If you're comfortable with functional groups you should be fine with taking biochemistry and organic concurrently. Biochem I is an introductory course and is pretty simple. Cell Biology is a lower level course and really doesn't require much more than a basic knowledge of general chemistry--assuming its anything like the cell biology course at my school. You might not even need to take it-- a lot of the course will likely be covered in microbiology.

I try to exercise 5-6 days per week, and I've found it works best if I divide exercise time into blocks throughout my day. During the work week, I run 2-3 miles with a few people in my department around noon, which is a great mid-day stress reliever and gets me out of my office and the lab. I go to the gym to do weight training 3 times a week for about an hour. I also play in an adult soccer league, which is a lot of fun and a great cardio workout. I used to absolutely hate exercising, but I've learned to trick myself into liking it. I treat exercise as primarily a social activity, where I just happen to be working out.

Scripps Research Institute - All programs University of Utah - Molecular Biology Vanderbilt University - All programs Washington University in St. Louis (WashU/WUSTL) - not sure which programs (at least DBBS and immunology) UT Southwestern (UTSW) - All PhD programs Emory University--All DBBS programs (If you apply BEFORE October 31st)

Undergrad Institution: Tiny liberal arts college (about 900 students), not well known at all Major(s):Biology Minor(s): GPA in Major:3.6 Overall GPA:3.5 Position in Class: College did not list class rank Type of Student: domestic, male GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q:154 (56%) V: 163 (92%) I know these scores aren't particularly good, but I'm hoping my research experience will balance these out. W: 4.0 B: (76%) Research Experience: --2 years years working on undergraduate thesis research in ecological modeling, not possible to publish but I did present my findings at an undergraduate research symposium. This is not at all related to my current research interests. --Summer REU at small directional state school on stem cell/ developmental biology. Results presented at a conference poster session. --1.5 years as research technician at same school as REU. My current research investigates neural/immune interactions using a rodent model of sepsis. Our current research is mostly descriptive, but this fall we'll be moving toward preclinical drug testing, essentially running clinical trials with mice. I also have an interest in cardiac pharmacology during sepsis. So far I have 1 first author publication and a conference poster presentation from this work. I should have 2-3 second author papers submitted by the time I submit my applications. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list at undergraduate institution Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Currently employed as a research technician Special Bonus Points: One of my recommenders has collaborators at a few places I'm applying. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'm a very skilled confocal microscopist Applying to Where: Vanderbilt--Biomedical Sciences Emory--Molecular & Systems Pharmacology, Neuroscience University of Cincinnati--Immunology Hofstra-Northshore LIJ--Molecular Basis of Medicine UVA--Biomedical Sciences UCLA--Medical Pharmacology I'll be adding a few more to this list closer to application time.