gliaful

House of Cards season three in February...so close, yet so far away... My family lives nearby, so I plan to get in some quality time with them both during break and in the spring. I'm the oldest child and I want to make and decorate cookies with my sibs. My youngest brother is 9 and although I already can't visit him that frequently, it's going to be hard if this is our last holiday for several years. Side question: what does a typical winter break look like in grad school? Is it 2 hours long?

So...does anyone know whether there's any chance of invites being sent out this weekend? Or should I just crawl under the concrete?

Might as well. Why did you decide against Vanderbilt?

On some of the online application systems, any information you enter can be seen by the department. They may have mistaken it for complete. I applied to Vanderbilt's neuro program and there wasn't an application fee (not sure if this is true for physics) so I could see how it could be difficult to discern whether an application was intended to be submitted (versus other schools, which can tell by receipt of payment).

Did you see any stats on the number of interviews they conducted prior to accepting those 20 applicants?

I think the portfolio is for us, and we keep multiple copies of things that we want to share. I mean, you could put folders (with CVs/etc inside) in the portfolio and give profs a folder to keep.

I only see 2 results for UCSF's Neuro so far...so they probably didn't release all of their invites at once. I believe in you guys!

I have lots of brewing, disorganized, stressful thoughts on this subject: I'm stuck on this point, too. It took me forever to find pants that I would feel comfortable wearing (and would look nice), and I did find a couple pairs. But now...blouses? Buttons downs? Blazers? Tuck it in or no (do I need to find a belt, too)? Ugh. I've decided that I like the look of a nice cable-knit sweater over a button down (my interviews say "business casual" or don't say at all), but still...should it all be tucked in? If not, should the button down's hem be shorter than the sweater? I bought a nice blouse from Loft on "Cyber Monday" but I haven't taken it out of the box yet (...I don't have a reason for this). Ordinarily, I live in long-ish neutral-color cardigans over solid knit tees, dark skinny jeans, and oxford flats or boots. I don't feel like a "slob" or anything, I'm just not used to the more businessy side of "business casual". Would this usual sort of outfit work on non-interview days? I'm trying to compile a list of things an interview weekend would require: An interview outfit Non-interview day outfits (including whatever you fly in wearing) Toiletries (obviously), but perfume is a nope in case people are allergic A portfolio for the interview (for copies of your CV and etc) A tote bag for holding the portfolio and a notebook to write questions for profs in/summaries of interviews (for writing pertinent thank you's)/other stuff you feel like keeping record of Perhaps a watch, since phones are a no-go There are quite a few articles out there that say you should opt to wear glasses (if you actually have glasses; no fakers), here's one: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1343667/Job-interview-tips-Wear-glasses-look-professional.html plus the dry air in airplanes is hard with contacts (or maybe that's just me). What else belongs on my list?

Go to the top of the screen (on this page will work). Under the big, rectangular "thegradcafe.com" logo, look for the tab that says "Results Search".

Ha! I noticed this too. They probably meant "interview" instead of "accepted" but it's an accomplishment nonetheless -- so whoever you are, congrats!

So I just checked the results and somebody has posted that they were accepted to UCSF's Neuro program (F15). Reveal yourself! Congrats (even if you meant to select "interview" instead of "accepted", it's still pretty darn cool)!

On the "seasoned interviewees" topic (in the Biology thread), peachypie and others said that there's usually more than one weekend. An invitation email might just say one weekend, but you should ask if there are others before you assume that you can't go at all. I would think that there would be multiple weekends especially at schools that receive a lot of applicants, but that's just speculation.

Something about OHSU that may be helpful to you is that they highly favor applicants with at least one year of post-bacc research (ie, people without this are widely rejected and are told this -- see survey results for evidence of this). I emailed OHSU about this rumor prior to applying and they said it wasn't "entirely true" and they "encouraged me to apply" (but man, who doesn't want $70). I applied anyway because I'm fond of the research strengths, I grew up around the area (Salem, Corvallis), and my parents did two years of their pharmacy school at OHSU (OHSU and OSU have a joint PharmD program). Of course, none of this is worth anything to the admissions committee, but I just couldn't not apply if there's a sliver of a chance...

They were mostly December 21st last year. I just checked the results survey.

Congrats! I suspect UW's Neuro program will be sending out invites on Friday (12/12)! The last two years, the program has sent out all invites on the 2nd Friday of the month.

http://www.sfn.org/~/media/SfN/Documents/Professional%20Development/NDP/SurveyReportAY20102011.ashx Some stats compiled by the ANDP (subsequently taken over by the Society for Neuroscience) for 2011 about Neuro graduate admissions, including the average applicant profile, the average number of applicants and admits, and a bunch of other information. Scroll to the end of the document to see all of the graduate programs that participated in this survey. What is fascinating is that the survey claims an average 23% acceptance rate, with the average program receiving 88 applications per season (range of 4 to 200). So, for all of the programs like Johns Hopkins, MIT, and Stanford bringing acceptance rates down and number of applicants up (these three WERE surveyed here), there must be a significant number of programs counterbalancing those data points.

Oh, I never meant this topic to be "pastel's questions only" . I thought it would be more beneficial for everybody if we had a topic focused on interviews, especially because we're surrounded by the wisdom and expertise of several members who interviewed last year. As to your question, I can't see the advantage of a program purposefully alternating between Thurs-Sun and Sun-Wed. I imagine it's just whatever works best for the committee (price of flights/availability of hotel rooms/etc considerations).

I mentioned three. Also, I just realized my POI is actually director of the admissions committee, so she might just be the person emailing out all of the invites.

Another thing -- I just checked my application and Iowa does indeed review applications on a rolling basis. Their true deadline isn't until January 1st, so I'd say you are a-okay!

I think as long as they're in before actual review of applications begins you should be okay. I know that professors are granted some lenience in getting letters in by the deadline, but if these letters are going to help your application, you would want them to be submitted prior to review.

Could you specify your objectives for this meeting? Is this for a graduate program, or is this for summer research (as an undergrad, postgrad,etc)? The more specific you are, the more likely you are to get helpful responses

Thank you! Good luck to you as well

Thanks! I submitted my application on October 30th, and all of my LORs were submitted by 11/5. I got an email from Gloria Lee, who was a prof I mentioned in my SOP. So it might be the case that invitations are to be sent by individual professors.

So I basically asked this same question earlier but now it's real and I need some advice: just got an interview invite (today) for Iowa, January 29-31. My top choice school has sent out invites around December 18/19 the past few years but also has interviews around the same time. Can I wait to respond to Iowa? I'm really excited about getting an invite and I really want to respond, but I don't want to inconvenience them by potentially having to cancel or reschedule.

Thank you!! It's my safety but it's nice to feel like somebody is invested in getting to know me. I really had my doubts.