ilovelab

Congrats on being accepted!! I lived close to campus my four years. Dorms for the first year, my frat house for the second (never again am I living with 50 guys), and apartments junior and senior year. My frat house and apartment were all within walking distance to UCLA. Commuting is tough especially with parking on campus. I swear UCLA gives out more parking passes than there are available spaces. Do you plan on bringing a car or biking to campus? If you can afford it I would bring a car. Yes you can take the blue bus (for free with you student ID) to santa monica/venice, but if you want to go anywhere else you will need a car. I would recommend looking in an area we call "South of Wilshire" which is basically an area in between wilshire blvd and santa monica blvd (the 405 is on one side and the beverly hilton on the other). It makes a weird trapazoid shape. This should make sense if you google map it. Rent prices are FAR more affordable in this area than say westwood. Then again I was in undergrad 5 years ago so prices have obviously increased and who knows if this area is affordable anymore. IF you have a bike it will be easy to commute, be warned though its uphill to UCLA . IF that is too expensive than I would recommend living in Santa Monica. Somewhere close to Wilshire or Santa monica Blvd. That way you can take a blue bus to and from your house if need be. Another option is graduate student housing. I don't know how nice these are though. Message me if you have anymore questions. I'm happy to help!

I went to UCLA for undergrad. If you have any questions about living in westwood/life at ucla etc feel free to PM me or ask a question in this thread. Hope you choose UCLA its an awesome experience!!!

Yes! And a ginormous coat! It will be freezing when you are at Wisconsin etc. I would bring gloves if you have them and maybe a scarf. Its better to be safe than frostbitten!

Depends on the program though. I could be wrong but you can dress casually for the interviews at Berkely MCB. Some schools are very formal though.

My friend got interviews for Penn/MIchigan/mt. Sinai/Davis Neuro. Don't know if they send multiple rounds of interviews or just one.

It depends on when your committee meets. What program was your first choice? I got mine like mid-late december when I applied. Don't freak out if you haven't received one yet. A lot of people had posted that they got interviews for PIBS and I assumed I was not going to get one.

You don't know why someone has a low GPA. You're assuming their low GPA is due to the fact that they can't handle the coursework. Some people have learning disabilities/depression/shit goes wrong in their lives etc. Obviously if you have a 2.9 you have to make up for it somehow. Research/Pubs/Presentations/Posters I was accepted to Michigan PIBS with a 3.16 GPA and average GRE scores. I had years of research and strong LOR/SOP to make up for it. Its obviously harder to get into top programs with a lower GPA but not impossible. You don't NEED excellent grades. I would assume that the GPA is skewed for larger programs with international students. Most international students have higher GPA's than domestic students. So the avg domestic student GPA might be lower than what the overall avg is.

I used to work there. Feel free to PM me if you have any question regarding the program/campus/faculty. I know most of the PI's except the 2-3 new ones that were hired.

Lol PlanB sounds like Acetylcholine from last years thread. Hmmmm...

Most programs don't filter applications using GRE/GPA. Places like Rockefeller might. I know Michigan/Washington/Colorado/Davis don't. I'll ask my PI about UCSF she was on the adcom for a while.

I disagree with bichemgirl67. You GPA is obviously low but you did significantly better your jr/sr year. The fact that you don't have academic research experience isn't that big of a deal. There are plenty of people who get into top grad programs with only industry experience. Hopefully you have highlighted the fact that your project resulted in a new product that make $$$ for your company. How many of us have had research experience as an undergrad that didn't result in anything. You getting interviews will depend on how well you wrote your SOP and your LOR. When I applied to grad school I had a similar GPA (3.16) my major GPA was much higher (3.73) but I had worse GRE scores than you. I had 3.5 years of research experience without publications. I interviewed and was accepted at some of the schools you applied to (granted the programs were different).

It all depends on the program. Some will fly international students out some will just do skype interviews. Both have the same weight in the admissions decision.

1 AM Dec 1st. I left it to the last minute. I only decided to apply like Early November. So everything was rushed. It depends on the program you are applying to. Vanderbilt for example has 1 committee that sends out invitations in waves. Michigan PIBS each programs sends out invitations so it all depends on when that committee meets. On occasion you will interviews will be sent out late b/c the PI in charge of that forgot to send the invites out. My previous boss did that, he completely forgot to call the 20 students he was responsible for. So don't freak out of you don't hear by Christmas. If you don't hear by end of Jan then you can freak out. I didn't submit my app last year, I applied 2 years ago. I decided to take a job offer instead of going to grad school which my old PI was not happy about. I'll apply next cycle.

Unless they changed their times Michigan PIBS will send out interviews before christmas. Each of the departments sends the offers out at different times. I got a Michigan Pibs offer Dec 19th(ish), UChicago: Dec 10, UWashington: dec 12, Vanderbilt Dec 15, U Arizona Jan 5th, UTSW: Dec 11. (These are rough dates... it was years ago). If you don't hear by christmas don't freak out, some schools send the interviews in waves esp Vanderbilt which had like 6 interview weekends when I interviewed. Good luck with interviews!!! I know how stressful it can be especially when you see someone post an interview offer on the results page and you haven't received one yet.

NO, not at all. Most applicants don't have publications. They will definitely help if you have lower test scores/GPA. It won't hurt you if you don't have any but it definitely helps if you have them.

Anyone applying to Mt. Sinai Neuroscience, they have started sending out interview as of this morning.

No..... Just No. I don't know what you consider "larger state schools" but I guarantee you that the 25th percentile of HYP students are NOT 75th percentile at my alma mater UCLA. There are as many smart people at both schools as there are rich entitled morons.

It depends on how well the professors on the adcom know your PI. If the PI's on the adcom personally know your PI the letter will have more weight.

Is there a mark on your transcript? Would someone know that you got an F because you cheated?

University of Utah has a pretty awesome Biosciences Phd Umbrella Program. I was definitely surprised by the quality of the program.

Oakland isn't that much cheaper (well the nice parts at least) and the commute can be a nightmare. There is also no parking at UCSF for grad students... well not really. When my lab at ucsf I had to bike to Parnassus, driving there wasn't worth it.

San Diego has nothing on SF. The stipend at UCSF doesn't not reflect the cost of living in the area. Especially if you are trying to live close to the Parnassus campus.

I don't know of any program that REQUIRES the subject test (scripps might?). You should only take it if you have a lower GPA or your major is outside the program of interest. Grading policies are fairly standard between universities. Most large schools have massive grade inflation esp the UC's. Smaller universities/liberal arts schools generally don't have as much grade inflation (Reed for example). Maybe Harvard works the way you describe but there are plenty of top schools, UCLA,Vanderbilt,WashU,Michigan,UCSF, that don't.

1: Replace Jon Snow/Dany as Azor Ahai with Dawn as my lightbringer and rid the world of white walkers 2: Rule my own country ( That's a job right?) 3: Replace Chery/Carol/Crystaal/Carrina as the new secretary on Archer (who wouldn't want to rage Outlaw Country and have a pet ocelot) 4: Have a TV show on HGTV like Samanta Brown (is that her name) where all I do is travel the world critiquing resorts and their amenities. 5: Get my PhD/MBA, sell my soul, and then go work for a bio-pharmaceutical and make a lot of $$$$$ At this point I'm only qualified for #3. I can answer phones and take messages.

Not necessarily. I went to UCLA and we had grade inflation like no other. I had a friend who went to a local CSU and had almost no grade inflation. Your 3.5 at UCLA isn't more impressive than a 3.5 at a local CSU. Granted this depends on your major and what classes you took. Going to a prestigious school doesn't excuse you from taking the subject tests, that's a ridiculous statement. Take the subject test if you believe other parts of your application cannot compensate for a lower GPA. Or you were a marine bio major and now want to do a Genetics/Genoimcs PhD.