mockturtle

My favorite potential advisor at my top choice MS program offered me an entry-level summer technician job in 2019, which I turned down despite strong interest. I don't know if it will seem odd or insulting to mention a job offer that I ultimately declined in an introductory email, but I want to express the fact that I've been highly interested in working with this lab for several years. Is there a way to handle this politely?

I'm looking into Biology Master's programs and did well on the GRE in 2015, but that's unfortunately too long ago to actually submit those scores anymore. Some of the PIs I'm considering reaching out to ask to see unofficial scores if you have them, and I can't decide if it would be weird to include expired scores in an email, or weird not to include them when I have them. It might not be until November that I actually retake the exam, so I'm either sending them these score reports or nothing. Thanks!

Got an RA position in my absolute dream lab last fall, planned to apply to grad school this year with all the ~new insight and experience~ I'd supposedly have gained by this point... and right now I'm still struggling to get even the most basic introduction to the lab's research methods, like any training whatsoever, much less a project of my own to sink my teeth into. I was warned by multiple people that this lab's environment was crazy, so maybe I don't get to complain, but didn't think it would amount to having to beg and plead to be given the opportunity to do any research. For the first time in my life I'm underworked and somehow it's 100x worse than the alternative. Half-seriously wishing I could drop it all, become a park ranger, and go live in a shack in the woods (at least I'd have a pretty view while I wasted my time).

I'm on great terms with my undergrad thesis advisor, but she has a history of dropping the ball with recommendations. I have no reason to think it's personal, and her graduate students have all attested to experiencing the same thing. Over the years she's sent more letters of mine late than on time, or else completely neglects to send them at all, even after ample time to prepare, regular reminders (both emailed and in-person), and promises that she would get to them "by the end of the day" or "definitely before leaving the lab tonight", etc. I of course understand that she's an extremely busy woman, but this is honestly perplexing. Aside from this one issue she was a great advisor and never seemed to have a problem with deadlines in general, or keeping up with emails in general, or remembering things in general - it's just references. Having worked in her lab for 2 years and after completing my thesis under her she's definitely the most important person on my CV, and would be a bad person to leave out of my reference list. I graduated last spring, moved 1400 miles away, and am currently applying for internships..... and one of my contacts is telling me he hasn't been able to reach her (not even for a letter, just for a chat). I can feel history repeating itself. I reached out to her recently to ask whether she was okay with being contacted, and she confirmed once again that she was happy to serve as a reference. I even mentioned this person by name as someone who would likely be emailing her in the near future. I'm not sure what else I could have done better, or what to do now. Is there any way to explain this situation delicately without seeming like I'm putting my advisor on blast, or affirm that she agreed to serve as a reference without seeming like I'm being defensive? Any action I can take in the future to avert this? I'm so worried about having it seem like she's unwilling to recommend me because of the quality of my work, when it's just chronic late-LOR-itis. Thanks so much.

Two days ago I told my prospective advisors I was worried about this possibility, a few minutes after midnight I posted a comment on the application portal saying I had been assured that the letter would be on its way & asked how negatively this would impact my application, but I can't sleep and I just don't know what else to do. I can't believe this is happening.

My PI just missed the deadline of LOR submission for my top choice school. I've followed up with her repeatedly in the last month, asking if she needs any more materials... The graduate department in question has an automatic email system that also issues reminders to recommenders repeatedly, every 2 weeks, until they submit... I physically sat down with her today and was told with confidence that it would be done before the deadline.......... What more should I have done here

I just had the most exciting interview day with two prospective advisors at the same school. They took me out to lunch, and were just all-around helpful, disarming, and informative. I was super nervous about our meeting, but it flew out the window as soon as I sat down with them. My conversations with their graduate students were equally great, and I've learned a ton about the research process, expectations, and atmosphere of the two (collaborating) labs. I couldn't be more enamored with the school, and I really feel like both PIs are gunning for my acceptance. .............Except for that persistent issue of funding. If they're unable to provide a minimum stipend + tuition remission I straight-up can't be admitted, and as an international student (US -> Canada) my chances are looking slim. I want to believe that the fact that they'd even invite me to a (travel-compensated!!) interview says something about my chances, because why would they extend that to a person they didn't think had a solid chance? But there's nothing I can really do about it at this point, other than cross my fingers & continue to try to impress. And that's really rough.

It's because adding an extra line on my CV seems a good bit less invasive, and because of the "eh, what's the worst that can happen?" at the back of my mind. I really just wanted a picture of exactly how obnoxious the extra information would be, weighed against the strength of my scores, and when presented in a way that doesn't demand a lot of extra attention in the way that an entire additional document likely would. And it seems like while opinions are at least somewhat split, including them would probably hurt more than it helps. Haha, thank you, that's what I needed to hear. It makes me sad to leave out something that's supposed to be so positive, but I'll swallow my pride.

I only have two applications in the works right now... which was not the plan. To be fair, it's about 30% personal choice (they're MS applications, and I'm comfortable with casting a net now and also looking for post-bacc jobs in the spring), and 20% circumstance (the pool being narrowed by prospective PIs retiring, lack of funding, etc). But that remaining 50% was me just dropping the ball, with applications taking a backseat during what in retrospect was a sort of mini-burnout. The inevitable "where else are you applying?" question is weighing heavily on my mind. I just really hope this doesn't speak ill of me.

The two of you have completely summed up my own personal conflict over this question, as it happens I'd definitely send in official reports if they didn't explicitly say on their website "Please DO NOT send us any unsolicited documentation". I'm afraid doing so in spite of that message would seem even more irritating and thoughtless than a spare line or two on my CV... As silly as it may be, I would almost hope that they'd see my self-reported scores on my CV and subsequently request an official copy (because they're just soooooo impressed, of course!!). But that's just optimism talking.

The CV is not a place for GRE scores, that I know. However, with an application in progress to a program that not only doesn't require the GRE, but claims to outright ignore any non-required documents that may be submitted, is there any harm (or value) in listing my scores somewhere on my CV? I doubt scores of any magnitude are likely to rock the boat very much for a department that doesn't even care enough to request them, but they're in the 93 - 98% percentiles, and I'm proud of them. Would it be a feather in my cap, or just tacky?

I was thinking 'repugnates' or 'abhors'... Because if the opinion of the majority is to disagree with the debunking of the effort to expose Project X, shouldn't that mean they do want Project X to be exposed as frivolous? What a wild sentence...

The one school I'm almost certainly applying to is McGill. As for the rest, I'm still figuring that out, since it depends on responses from POIs that I haven't had the guts to initiate conversation with yet..... which is part of what makes this such a problem.

I'm already well into communication with one POI and am incredibly excited about the project he's proposing, the city I could be living in, the field work I could end up doing, etc. We've skyped once, plan to do so again soon, and he's definitely recommending that I apply to the department. The vent: I'm scared out of my skin at the prospect of starting a program and only then realizing I'm not cut out for it, or the difficulty of the research process, or the atmosphere of academia, or life in general, etc. I'm switching so nauseatingly fast between excitement over the prospect of graduate research & love for the topics, and the soul-gripping fear that I'm making a horrible mistake. I definitely think I'm being irrational, but I have no immediate way to prove myself wrong, so I've been stuck in this emotional whiplash for a month now. I need to contact more POIs, but have no idea whether that's even the right choice...... albeit, no reason to think it's the wrong one, either. Thanks, brain.

In retrospect, those worries were definitely stemming from the somewhat-bewildered reactions of my (neuro/psych) coworkers when I told them I wanted to move towards ecology I don't know if it just isn't on a lot of people's radar, or what, but I guess from their perspective it could be a bit of a crazy direction. But having now contacted a few possible PI's (to positive replies), I can certainly confirm all of the above! .....Unfortunately they're also urging me to apply as a PhD student instead, for greater ease of funding. Time to do some soul searching?

I feel like I half-belong in this thread, and half in the other. I'm interested in evolutionary neuro, sensory ecology, and behavioral neuro which takes ecology into consideration (if that makes sense), and I particularly love marine/aquatic model organisms..... so I'm straddling a few lines. My favorite labs incorporate both field-work eco and bench-work neuro! Some of the schools I'm interested in would have me applying under the EEB or Zoology banner, and others under Neuroscience or general Biology or even Psych. Does anyone know people doing this kind of work, or who have previous experience like mine, or are we as rare a breed as this website is making it seem? Would these programs likely expect more "EEB" experience than I've got under my belt, or will this be a reasonable direction to go in considering my background? Anything else I should know? Thanks!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Undergrad Institution: Medium-sized, research-heavy private university. Well-respected in life sciences. Transferred from: Small, private, liberal arts college. Well-respected but not in life sciences Major(s): Biology (BS), Neuroscience (BS) Overall GPA: 3.85 (Current school), 3.77 (Total) (I'm not sure which of these will be my official GPA upon graduation, or will determine my cum laude status) GPA in Major: 3.73 (Biology), 3.84 (Neuroscience)Position in Class: Not a clue, I'd assume high?Type of Student: Domestic female, caucasian GRE Scores (revised): Q: 167 (94%) V: 168 (98%) W: 5.0 (93%) B: Possibly??? UHawaii recommends it, but I don't know how necessary this is for me. Research Experience: 1 year (so far) in EEG social neuropsych lab - research assistant We study the neural underpinnings of social interaction and motor control/planning/learning. I'll be doing my senior thesis in social interaction, cognitive load, and mu-suppression/empathy/self-control in the coming year, and almost definitely getting a first-author publication out of it (but not before application season). There's also the possibility for a second mid-author publication if a different study I helped out on collects more data, but I'm not counting on it. This will be a very strong LOR, and my PI went to one of my top choice schools (not sure if that matters). 1 summer in developmental visual neurobiology lab - research assistant I worked on a PhD student's project in the development of directional selectivity in the V1 cortex: assisting surgeries and in-vivo electrophysiology, running visual training sessions, and doing general animal husbandry. I was pulling 14-hour-long shifts on occasion, and I'd hope that would speak well for my work ethic. This will also be a good LOR. 1 semester + 1 summer in genetics lab - lab tech, work study Mostly animal care and cleaning, some miniprep/PCR/electrophoresis. Won't be seeking LOR from here. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List every semester Scholarships at both schools It won't be in time for application season, but I'll be graduating with honors on my neuro degree & with magna or summa cum laude Special Bonus Points: Grad-level classes: Evolutionary Developmental Biology, Principles of Neuroscience, Neurogenetics, Developmental Neurobiology Learning MatLab and Java My thesis will be preregistered for publication, if that helps? Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I started out at a small liberal arts school with no neuro program and a tiny bio program, and transferred after my freshman year. My 3rd LOR is coming from my Evo-Devo seminar's professor, and she went to another one of my top choice schools. Applying to Where: If you've heard of any relevant programs I may have missed, please please please feel free to make suggestions! This is in order of preference, in terms of most-interesting-research, and italicized schools are ones I'm on the fence about. University of Hawaii - (MS, Zoology) McGill University - (MS, Biology) University of Toronto - (MS, EEB or Cells & Systems Biology) University of Alberta - (MS, Neuroscience) University of Cincinnati - (MS, Biology) Michigan State University - (MS, Integrative Biology) Georgia State University - (MS, Biology) Boston University - (MA, Biology)

Aw man! And here I was trying to be slick, getting these emails out early.

This particular program actually requires a statement of commitment from your desired PI, before your application to the department will even be accepted.... So in this case, I'm very worried I do appreciate the reassurance, though! It'll hold true for some of the other people I have to contact, so I'll keep it in mind.

I'm so overwhelmed right now. I need to start emailing potential PI's (I've only contacted 1 so far), but I don't have a complete CV to send and I'm so afraid of shooting myself in the foot with an unflattering initial email. That one PI in question hasn't gotten back to me and I can't help but imagine him reading that email and shooting it straight to the trash. I'm also trying to learn how to program my senior thesis in PsychToolbox/MatLab with no previous programming experience, and my PI wants me to be finished by the start of the semester. I really don't want to disappoint her but it's just not going to happen. If I didn't have grad school stuff to worry about/work on, and a separate time-consuming summer position, I'd have gotten a lot farther than I have.... but I'm literally still in the "how do I make a rectangle" stage. I also had someone tell me that PsychToolbox is a bad choice because it's going obsolete, and I have no idea if that's true

The Temptations - Ain't Too Proud to Beg of Montreal - We Will Commit Wolf Murder Wugazi - Another Chessboxin' Argument

It may come down somewhat to the individual people running your test center, but my experience was perfectly pleasant! Check-in took 15 minutes tops, so I started early. They had lockers for bags, and the only things I was allowed to bring into the test room were: my driver's license, the key to my locker, their official scratch paper, and a bunch of unwrapped cough drops on a tissue (of all the times for a cold to strike....) People were entering and leaving individually, and there were never any lines for bathrooms, but there were short lines for the check-in/check-out desk. The security process isn't super long, but it's definitely not something you'll want to go through when your test time is ticking, so be sure to make good use of your pre-test time, and your break. I ended up going over my 10 minute break time because I was waiting in line for the check-in desk, but someone was actually able to go in and stop my computer's timer. I'm assuming that's allowed Honestly, the worst part was the cursive writing!!

Aaahh, thank you guys!! I'm so relieved that this might not actually be a disaster of a letter. What scares me is the fact that, all else aside, this is still someone with whom I've taken only 1 class (so far), without ever going to office hours. But I'm glad the other information does improve things! (She's also a graduate of one of the schools I want to apply to, although they only require 2 letters. Maybe this will be the 1 time in my life I choose to go for an extra LoR )

I've got a dilemma: 2 strong sources for letters, and 1 "uhhhhhhh....". It seems very much like I'm going to need an LOR from a professor I've only had one class with, and I'm not sure how to navigate this situation. Is it still possible to build a strong rapport, and help to better inform that letter? Am I screwed? Any help would be much appreciated. ~~~~ Two of my letters are coming from PI's, and I can expect them to be very strong. But for the third, I'm drawing a blank. My only other relevant previous job really cannot (and should not) yield me any letters. Suffice it to say that I just didn't make a good impression on that PI. And having been a transfer student, there's only one professor that I've taken multiple classes with, but they were huge, and I didn't distinguish myself. The best remaining option I can see is a professor with whom I recently took a graduate-level, seminar-style class. However, I never cultivated a strong relationship with her outside of class (or with anyone else, apart from my other 2 letter writers). I know: yikes. It's *completely* my mistake, I was never an "office hours" person because I always thought they were for pleas for advice and panic scenarios, and nothing else. But I won't make excuses, there's just no helping it now. I'm friendly with her, though, like we'll greet each other when we pass on campus, so at the very least she knows me as more than a name. Here's the bright side, for what it's worth, and why I'd lean towards her above another professor. That class gave me the chance to demonstrate and flesh out the specific interests I want to pursue in grad school more than any other course I've ever taken, through both a term paper and a solo presentation with self-chosen topics. I'd hope that she'd be able to speak towards my sincere love of those topics, my writing abilities, my personality, and my critical thinking. The course was small, upper-level, full of grad students, and I aced it. It fell under a research interest of mine that won't be reflected by my other letters, and I was active in in-class discussions. I'm also enrolled in a second class of her's this fall, if that matters. ~~~~ Does this sound absolutely inadmissible as an LOR? How dangerous is having 1 out of 3 letters be this weak? Believe me when I say that if there were a better choice I'd be taking it, but I'm not sure there is. I want to improve that letter, if I can, but would anything I do or say this late even make a difference in the strength of that recommendation? I feel like if I do contact her, I should be honest and upfront about needing a letter. But I'm afraid it could come off corny and transparent to do that, and only *then* offer to meet with her properly for the first time, as if I don't actually care... Thanks a bunch!

Hehe thanks, I promise I wasn't being overly serious I just can't imagine doing research AND TAing, AND being active in societies/other programs/directing stuff/volunteering/etc etc like some of y'all. Have time turners been invented without my knowledge, what is this madness???

Wow guys, your stats are putting me to shame I don't think I'm ready for a PhD, but I've included a few potential schools for that down the line, as well as possibilities for the interim. An MS would be financially feasible, and while I appreciate that it may not be the most wise decision, I'm thinking I may at least cast a net before looking for post-bacc jobs. My to blame, and any advice would be much appreciated! Undergrad Institution: Medium-smallish, research-heavy private university. Well-respected in life sciences. Transferred from: Small, private, liberal arts college. Well-respected but not in life sciences. Major(s): Biology (BS), Neuroscience (BS) Overall GPA: 3.77 (Total), 3.85 (Current school) (I'm not sure which of these is going to count as my official GPA upon graduation) GPA in Major: 3.84 (Neuroscience), 3.73 (Biology) Position in Class: Not a clue Type of Student: Domestic female, caucasian GRE Scores (revised): Q: 167 (94%) V: 168 (98%) W: 5.0 (93%) B: Possibly taking in September/October??? Research Experience: 1 year (so far) in EEG neuropsychology lab - research assistant We study the neural underpinnings of social interaction and motor control/planning/learning. I'll be doing my senior thesis in joint complementary action, cognitive load, and mu-suppression in the coming year, and almost definitely getting a first-author publication out of it. There's also the possibility for a second mid-author publication if a different study collects more data, but I'm not counting on it. This will be a very strong LOR. 1 summer in developmental visual neurobiology lab - research assistant I'm working on a PhD student's project into the development of directional selectivity in V1 cells: assisting surgeries, running visual training sessions, doing general animal husbandry, and learning to build microelectrodes. This will also be a good LOR. 1 semester + 1 summer in genetics lab - lab tech, work study Mostly animal care and cleaning, some miniprep/PCR and growth culture preparation. I don't think I should seek a LOR from here, though, since I don't feel like I left a great impression. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List every semester Will be getting departmental honors on my neuro degree At least magna cum laude (this depends on which GPA they use at graduation) Scholarships at both schools Special Bonus Points: Learning MatLab and R My thesis won't be published before the application process, but it'll be preregistered, if that helps. And if "grad classes" just means courses at the graduate-student level, then I'll have taken a bunch of those (principles of neuroscience, neurogenetics, evolution & development, developmental neurobiology). Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I started out at a small liberal arts school with no neuro program and the tiniest bio program, and transferred out after my freshman year. Applying to Where: This is list very much subject to change. It's based almost purely off of which schools host my favorite potential PIs, but there's obviously more to take into account and more research to be done on my part. Domestic: Cornell - (MS, Evolutionary Biology, or PhD, Neurobiology & Behavior) University of Cincinnati - (MS, Biology) University of Hawaii - (MS, Biology) Georgia State University - (MS, Biology) BU - (MA, Biology) UCLA - (MS, Integrative Biology) University of Texas, Austin - (PhD, Neuroscience or EEB) UNC Chapel Hill - (PhD, Biology) WUSTL - (PhD, DBBS) International: University of Queensland, Australia - (MPhil, Biology) University of Western Australia - (MS, Biology) Lund University, Sweden - (MS, Biology) University of Auckland, New Zealand - (MSc, Biological Sciences)