gliaful

Good call! That program got the SfN "program of the year" award this year. Might have been their undergrad program -- I can't remember -- but even if it was, I bet the grad program is strong too.

So Professor A is a Zoology faculty member but you can't work with him unless you apply to Aquatic & Marine Sciences? Are you sure? If Professor A can't work with you in the Zoology program, could Professor B advise you if you applied to Aquatic & Marine Sciences? Maybe you could try emailing either the Zoology or Aquatic & Marine Sciences program office and ask an administrator if you would be free to work with Profs A & B if you applied to Zoology (or A&MS). You could circumvent any awkward territory by asking an administrator about your situation, rather than telling Prof A or B that you are also interested in Prof B or A (respectively).

Do you have time to retake the GRE? If deadlines are approaching, could you email these schools and tell them that you are going to retake the GRE? I really think the rest of your application is strong, but that it may hurt you to coast on the assumption that these schools don't care much about the GRE. If they require the GRE, they are going to look at your GRE scores. Maybe only once, but they'll look. I feel like the schools you listed receive A LOT of applications, so numerical applicant data (GPA, GRE) may be used to easily filter the number of applications to something more reasonably reviewable for the adcoms. If I were you, I would try to schedule a retake, and then email your schools addressing your need to retake the test. I'm sure that other applicants do this/have done this, as most (if not all) are involved in research and time is indeed a scarce resource.

COME ON DECEMBER 1st! I'm gettin' angsty.

Thank you to everyone who responded -- this was my first post (...and I forgot that I even posted it) and I was lost, confused, and hoping for reassurance. I had no idea that "chances" are not so clear-cut! I DID find the percentages that I sought, however. Although I do not know of the accuracy of the stats, Petersons.com has admission rates for last season. You can look at previous years if you search on Google Books for "Petersons (program name)". For my programs, I was able to see % admitted for 2009-present in this way.

Yeah, this. I just signed up for a community pottery class and I plan on sitting around a lot. I'm still going to be working in my lab, but not having classes to worry about will free up some time to zone out. This would really bug me but I don't think it will impact you negatively. I can think of people I know well and but also not sure how to spell their names (mostly Lindsay/Lindsey/Lindsy/Lindsi and anyone whose last name ends in -son or -sen, like Anderson/Andersen or Ericsson/Ericson/Ericsen/Eriksen etc). Is it only one instance of misspelling? Other thought unrelated to the above: I think this thread should really be two separate threads. Applicant profiles (this one) and admissions results (another one). But maybe it doesn't matter.

Yeah, it has been dead. I also made a similar comment on another thread to try to liven things up around here. I heard from peachypie that there is a GC off-site chat we could look for. I'm graduating in December too! What do you plan to do during your gap semester?

Thanks peachypie! I do have people asking about it, but for now at least I'm able to say that the application deadline hasn't passed yet. I'll look for the off-site chat.

UGH I am too excited and nobody is posting anything here or in the Waiting forum and my anxiety is spiking FAST. I got a couple strange emails from Pittsburgh and Colorado this week that said something along the lines of "your application is currently being reviewed".

Send the second score. You don't want any part of your GRE scores to be less than 50th percentile. And 170 on quant is cool, but 168 is too -- still 95th percentile. What you sacrifice in terms of Q and V is minimal in exchange for an 80th percentile AW score.

There is a better place to ask about GRE scores. In the Applications thread, there's a subthread (I don't know the terminology) called GRE/GMAT or something close to that. Is 149 over 50th percentile? Your verbal ROCKS, congrats on that.

When is your application deadline for the program that is asking for profs you've contacted? I think "list the profs you've made contact with" sounds like a required question, or at least makes you feel like it's something you're supposed to do. If you still want to do it, I think you can. I understand that you don't want your attempt to connect to be seen as a superficial means of strengthening your application -- but I'm not sure profs (well, maybe the cynical ones) will see it that way. You could write an email about anything and it would count as having made contact with them. If you really want to get away from making the wrong impression, you could ask a specific question about their research rather than ask anything logistical and transparent (do you have the space/time/money/desire to support a grad student?) It doesn't matter if you contact one professor or six. The prof you email isn't aware of whomever else you choose to email. Alternatively, you could contact current grad students who are in labs of interest. They may be more candid. None of my schools requested/suggested that I contact profs, and although I know it's a good thing to do so, I didn't contact anyone other than program coordinators/administrators. I asked those people questions while I was filling out applications and writing essays specifically so I could send nice "thank you for helping me!" emails when I finally submitted my stuff. I don't think it counts for much to be on great terms with a program coordinator, but who knows?

I, too, am hoping that the GRE serves our applications well (I didn't take the subject test, but my stats are almost identical to yours). Maybe we're conceited, or maybe we're just nervous (like everyone here) and it's something to feel good about. Seeing the GRE as helpful is an unpopular opinion, as most people are quick to say something along the lines of "a good GRE gets ignored, a bad GRE score hurts you". I don't know if this is true, and it might be. Even if it is, your entire application profile is strong and I wish you the best.

Usually you don't want to see the letter, or even ask to see the letter. The recommender can be more candid and tactful about negative things and they don't feel like it's going to hurt your feelings. Always waive your right to see your letters!

I think sending it as-is would still be okay. Many students retake the test and the schools can't make assumptions about why you would retake it -- for all they know, you could have fainted mid-test, ran out of time, and your score only reflects partial completion of the test. The canceled subject test is fine, too -- life happens. Most schools consider your best scores anyway.

You might be okay. I mean, you mentioned your low scores -- were you expecting a cheerful response? They don't know you well enough yet to let it slide, but I bet in the context of your whole application, it may be more admissable. On the plus side, they'll be able to put a face to a name since you've visited. I think there is more good than bad in this situation, but I can definitely see where you're coming from. It's so hard to feel like you've left a bad impression.

Mine was 1100 words -- 3 pages double-spaced. My programs didn't specify a length.

I think that if you are at all insecure about getting in somewhere, more is better (if you can reasonably afford it). I only really have my heart in four programs, but I applied to four more than that because I'm a neurotic wreck. I contemplated applying to even more but I started to feel poor.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice -- sorry my reply is a bit delayed. One other question that occurred to me: When schools begin sending interview invites, how soon are you expected to respond? What if two schools have interviews the same weekend and I were to accept my safety's invite first (because it arrived first)? I looked at all of the schools that I applied to and it seems that in past years, invitations have been made between Dec 12-30. If I'm allowed a week to respond, then I could likely circumvent double-booking issues -- but I don't even know if I'm allowed a week to reply.

@peachypie In chemistry and biochemistry, there is a lot less "rote memorization" and much more application. I only intended to speak to the experiences of chemistry undergrads, and I'm sorry for not saying that directly. Perhaps at my university there are too many freshman blindly working on organic syntheses and thus my vision is cloudy. In biology, I would tend to agree with all your sentiments.

I forgot this part of your question -- sorry! I chose my safety schools based on places I would be happy to live, and then looked for schools located in those places. They are safeties for a reason -- if I'm not as enthusiastic about the program, I may as well be enthusiastic about the location. Also, I googled stuff like ' "there is no application fee" neuroscience PhD program', because there are definitely schools without application fees and after applying to 6 schools + sending GRE scores + sending transcripts, I didn't feel like spending any more money. So it depends on what you want out of your safety schools. At one point I was planning to apply to Oregon State's biochemistry & biophysics program (free!), but the department is smaller (<40 research faculty) and only a couple of the faculty had research that appealed to me (neuro). But I did visit and the campus is beautiful, if that counts for anything. Maybe this would be helpful: http://chronicle.com/article/NRC-Rankings-Overview-/124707/

Oh, I gotcha. It's definitely hard to unsee/unhear those sort of things -- and I'm not convinced that this is true. It may "look good" to have 3 years of experience, but if that means that someone started research as a sophomore (assuming that the applicant is applying during senior year), how much did they really GET out of research before even taking the core courses that provide the underlying principles that researchers need to think critically/creatively about? In other words, the average biochem freshman is still a freshman, and probably has the year of general chemistry finished by the end of freshman year. At my school, sophomores take analytical chem (quant) and organic chem, as well as physics and all the calculuses (calculi?). It isn't until the third year that the biochemistry course is even made available to a student due to its prerequisites. Some people take it concurrently with physical chemistry, others save one of the two for their fourth year. And, of course, all the elective courses typically fill in the 3rd and 4th years, also because of prereqs. So, I'm trying to argue that only biochem juniors (some of them) and seniors (most of them) really have the background to appreciate their research experience. Younger students may be able to learn techniques and bits and pieces of the principles underlying those techniques, but they haven't yet developed the background to do much more than that. That being said, 3 years may look stellar on paper, but if it meant 2 years of following instructions and not thinking like a researcher, does it really benefit those applicants at all? You started research later, and your stats seem to indicate (sorry for judging) that you are a motivated student, so I would tend to believe that your 1.5 years was of great quality.

Perhaps I'm just getting excited, but I've submitted all of my applications and need something equally stressful to fill that void. I've started to think about interviews and although I have gotten some advice about what they are generally like, a few things remain foggy and abstract. If you've attended an interview (bonus points if it was at one of the schools in my sig, regardless of program), could you help me out with any of these? As most of these interviews span 2-4 days -- with only one day devoted to actual interviewing -- what do lady interviewees normally wear on the days spent hanging out with current grads/getting tours/etc? Actually, what do they wear during the interviews? I am fashion-clueless. I don't know what business casual means. Where can I shop? Related to the two above questions: as all interviews are held between January and March; what about winter weather? Who picks you up from the airport? When lodging is provided by the program, do I get my own room? Or will I be showering one closed bathroom door away from a total stranger? I get migraines with aura (stress-triggered) and sometimes they cause me to lose consciousness/vomit/choose incorrect words (eg, one time in high school chemistry, I was called on and said oxygen was elephant-negative -- I meant electronegative -- I was ashamed). Do I need to inform programs of this? I don't want to be seen as a problematic applicant. I am quiet and I am scared of being judged for it. I realize that this isn't a question, but if you have anything you would like to say about it, please do. I posted this in Biology specifically because different fields have different standards. I'm sure I have other questions (and certainly will if I happen to hear back from any of my programs), but those listed above are what I could think of right now. Thanks!

I don't see any deficiencies to speak of. Your GPA and GRE scores are solid, which may be used as filters for the schools that you're applying to (they all face many applicants). I think 1.5 years of research is sturdy, and I wouldn't try to "apologize" for it. If your letter writers speak to how much you've gotten out of 1.5 years, rather than taking a defensive approach, I think it will fare much better for you. If you're concerned about getting in ANYWHERE, you might want to look into some less prestigious schools/schools that get fewer applicants. Make sure you like your "safety" schools and would be happy attending -- even if you would be happier elsewhere, a good alternate should be likable and amenable to your research interests.

You've already applied to these schools, you say? It sounds like you've got solid research experience and you did take courses outside of psychology that will help you. Your GRE scores are the only concern that I perceive. Psych applicants for neuro programs are notoriously judged for their quantitative reasoning scores, but I don't know much about this so perhaps feedback should be provided by someone else in this regard. If you applied for the "psych side" of these neuro programs -- by that, I mean that your SOP appealed to the systems neuroscience faculty at these schools -- you might be just fine. At OHSU, did you apply to Behavioral Neuro or the Neuro Grad Program?