chibimolinero

I guess I want to know how much is too much, since 500 words is recommended but there is no strict limit. Right now my statement is ~800 words. Too much?

I'm working on my Columbia Neuroscience PhD application. When it comes to the SOP, they say that there is no word limit, but recommend a statement of approximately 500 words. I figure this means I should cut down my ~1000 word statement, but I'm unsure how close to this 500-word suggestion I should shoot for. Any insight?

An update: I finally heard back from my academic adviser, and she told me that the information will never be released without my knowledge and consent. Records are sealed and it won't show up on any documents needed for applications. In fact, no one on campus knows about academic misconduct other than COAM. So that's a relief to hear. On another note, Happy December 1st, everyone! I feel like it's acceptable now to obsessively check emails and application statuses.

I felt ethically obligated to answer "yes" and explain on the app that directly asked about any incidents. For schools that did not ask, I did not mention or explain it. But I'm not sure what to do about an app that does not directly ask "yes or no", but does provide a space to explain any situations.

The syllabus outlined directly that we were to treat homeworks as exams and thus were not supposed to work with others. By posting a question on Facebook, this violated the rules of the syllabus. This is why I got in trouble.

I have an official copy (I guess "official copy issued to student") and didn't see it on there. But do schools separately request disciplinary records from schools of potential students?

So. I copied my stats that I posted previously, but something came up that maybe somebody can ease my mind with. I had submitted four apps without it coming up, but on Northwestern's app, they asked if I had ever had a disciplinary violation and to explain. Honestly, I had forgotten about it until they asked, because it was so stupid and it was back in sophomore year. Basically what happened is that I took a class that said to treat homework assignments as exams (thus, complete them individually). One of the first homeworks asked us to extract data from a file, and fit a line to the data points using a given equation (all in MATLAB). I did it, but it didn't work right. I emailed my TA and got no response. I emailed the professor and was given no assistance. So I stupidly posted on the Facebook group that had been made for the BME class of 2015 and asked if anyone else had a problem. No one responds, and I just modify the equation to work better. Fast forward, the TA grades the assignment and finds that the labels for the two columns of data had been flipped, and that's why the given equation didn't work. Near the end of the semester, someone reports the Facebook group to our professor (other students had been using it all semester to ask questions on various assignments). He reported me and several others to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. I immediately email the professor to express my sincere regrets. I waive my right to have a hearing and choose to have it settled via administrative decision. I submit a written statement to COAM, explaining the situation and accepting full responsibility. In the end, I got a zero on the assignment and probation for a year (which I have had a spotless record since then). Ultimately, it was a poor lapse in judgment on my part, based on the pressures to get all A's. Since then I've grown, learned from my experience, and certainly believe that the incident does not reflect upon the person I am now. But ever since reading the question on Northwestern's app, I'm terrified that because I do have a blemish on my record, it's going to stop me from getting in to schools. It doesn't show up on my transcript, so I think they'd have to request a disciplinary record from my current school to see it. But the other four schools I've already applied to didn't ask/offer a chance to explain anything, so if they do see it, they won't have any context. Any words on how schools might take this info or if they'll be specifically looking for it (if they didn't ask anything about it on the app)? TL;DR - I'm freaking out and wondering how screwed I am based on this incident

*coughMichigansuckscough* ...sorry...

Yes, another generic thread asking for people to read my SOP and give me feedback. I really feel completely lost in my approach, and probably need a lot of reworking to do, but I was hoping someone out there could help give me guidance on what direction to start in. Below is my SOP for a specific school, though all names have been removed for anonymity purposes. All constructive criticism is welcome. --- After months of coloring and making meiosis diagrams with pipe cleaners, my high school AP Biology teacher finally provided an opportunity for some open-ended learning by assigning individual literature review projects. It was through this assignment that I had to unlearn years of being taught that the brain does not make any new neurons once it is fully developed. I ate up all the articles I could find about adult neurogenesis, but once I stepped into my role as an undergraduate student, I took a detour into the world of biomedical engineering. It was a logical step, as I knew I excelled at and enjoyed math and science, like all of my colleagues. Three years in, and my interests returned to that subject that first sparked my scientific hunger: neuroscience. As a student in Biomedical Engineering, I have taken coursework in a wide breadth of areas, including cell and developmental biology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, cell and tissue engineering, and micro- and nanotechnologies. For my Neuroscience minor, I have taken introductory classes in molecular and cellular, and behavioral neuroscience, and will take Advanced Behavioral Neuroscience and Structure and Function of the Nervous System during my last semester as an undergraduate. Through all of these classes I have maintained an excellent academic record, and my CV highlights the numerous research experiences I have had both in and out of the classroom. I currently volunteer in a motor neuropathy lab under the supervision of Dr. [Name]. The main project I am assisting with involves behavioral testing via paw print analysis of transgenic mice in a nerve crush study. Through this, we wish to examine the impact that various treatments have on neural recovery time. I also help with general lab maintenance and perform various tasks as requested, including PCR and gel electrophoresis, cryostat sectioning, and sample elution and ligation. During the summer of 2013 I worked under the supervision of Dr. [Name] within [school]’s Department of Biomedical Informatics to analyze miRNA expression in intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients. Through this project I had to completely self-teach myself the basics of survival analysis and the statistical software package R. I examined miRNA expression in tumor, stroma, and serum samples to determine the correlation of miRNA expression between tissue types and with prostate cancer recurrence. Ultimately, we discovered that miR-26a in tumor and serum acted as a protective agent against recurrence, and these findings were presented at the BMI Student Internship Poster Session and the Undergraduate Research Fall Forum at [school]. Currently, a manuscript of this project is in preparation. Since my initial discovery, adult neurogenesis has always stood out as a large research interest to me. I am also extremely interested in neurodegenerative diseases and mood disorders from knowing people close to me who have experienced types of these ailments, and simple human curiosity. Ideally, I will establish my career in medical research upon completion of my PhD, although at this point in time I am unsure if I prefer to pursue my career in industry or academia. It is for this goal of a career in research that I wish to obtain my PhD in Neuroscience. [school] offers a high quality neuroscience program with a large number of diverse labs. This breadth of research provides many opportunities that match my interests, including many professors whose research focuses on neurodegenerative diseases, neural regeneration, or even a combination of both, such as in the case of Dr. [Name]. It is for these reasons that I am greatly interested in studying at [school].

Excited? Yes. Also nervous, terrified, overwhelmed, and nearly every other emotion you could think of.

Guys, remember when about a month ago I said I was gonna start contacting people I want to work with? That didn't happen until yesterday. Oops. On the plus side, I've heard back from 8 of 21 so far. 3 are accepting new students, and I have a phone call set up with a fourth. And 2 of those accepting new students are at Harvard (probably my top choice currently).

Ho boy. I plan on emailing potential PIs this week. Undergrad Institution: Very large state school; Known for medical research Major(s): Biomedical Engineering Minor(s): Potentially Neuroscience? GPA in Major: 3.93 Overall GPA: 3.97 Position in Class: At least in the top 1/5th of my BME class Type of Student: Domestic female GRE Scores (revised): Q: 169 (97%) V: 165 (95%) W: 5.5 (98%) B: N/A Research Experience: -Summer research at my school; analysis of miRNA expression in prostate cancer patients; got a poster out of it (presented twice, both just at different symposiums within my school); will hopefully have a paper under review by the time apps go in (co-first/second author) -(technically ~1-1.5 years) Volunteer in an injury biomechanics research lab within my school; helped instrument cadavers for impact testing, cleaned tools, prepared instruments, etc. -(ongoing) 5 months of volunteering in a motor neuron disease lab at my school; work with mouse models, PCR, cryostat sectioning, etc. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Merit-based scholarships? Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Anatomy TA and (one-time) calculus tutor Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: ? Special Bonus Points: I'm a lady. Does that help at all? Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Various campus involvement: leadership roles in students organizations (BMES and AEMB, the BME honorary) Applying to Where: All programs will be Neuroscience PhD programs. Interests include adult neurogenesis, stem cells, Alzheimer's/Parkinson's, depression, and anxiety Current list (in order of interest, probably needs to be cut down): Harvard University Columbia University University of Washington UC San Francisco Stanford University University of Wisconsin UC Irvine Northwestern University Rockefeller University Johns Hopkins University Wake Forest University University of Rochester My big question is: Do I have too many top tier schools? I'm incredibly nervous about applying to too many "reach" schools and getting in to none...