ilovelab

If you haven't heard about interviews at this point you are probably rejected at the schools you applied to. Some schools have already finished their interview weekends. Some schools have multiple interview weekends that last into march so there's a small chance at those schools. How bad is your undergraduate performance? What were your GRE scores and where did you apply? I personally wouldn't go the masters route unless you can finish the degree relatively debt free. Its not worth going 100K in debt for a masters. An MBA maybe but not and science masters. I would personally look for jobs in a research lab. Either academic lab or industry is fine. Chances are you won't get an industry job with just 1 year of microbio lab experience. The MOST important thing is finding a lab that is conducting research you are interested in. Personally what I would do is look for PI's whose research interests are similar to yours and email them to see if they will be hiring lab tech/research assistants. A lot of job openings for lab tech/lab managers will be opening up come may/june as the current tech/managers will leave for graduate schools. Another thing I would do is ask your PI if he/she knows any new labs that are starting up. If so, they will definitely need staff and hopefully since you PI knows the new PI their word would hold more weigh if they recommend you. You are going to get a lot of PI's who don't respond to you, who say NO. All you need is one who says yes. I emailed close to 40 labs till I found a PI who wanted to interview me. Now I'm working in a lab that does research I enjoy and a PI whose one of the leaders in her field.

I can't answer the first two but I can answer the last two. Starting rotations early depends on the program you choose. Some programs will allow you to start early some won't. You will have to email the director of whatever program you choose to attend to figure that out. At my institution you can start early, but your stipend kicks in over the summer vs the fall. Say you get 30K that has to last from July 2015 to september 2016. Obviously you have to get the OK from the professor whose lab you want to rotate in. The PI's usually don't have a problem, rotons are free labor. The first rotation is no different than the others. I guess it depends on how large of an adjustment grad school will be for you. If you've been out of school for a long time and are starting at a program that's on the quarter system, it might be a tougher adjustment. You should be fine regardless. I personally would start rotating in the labs I'm most interested in. If the PI is really popular and has multiple 1st years rotating through it you want to make a great impression early.

Depends on the program. Arizona's ABBS is a very large umbrella program. One of the undergrads in my lab heard back the monday after interview weekend.

One thing you should look into is the grad schools maternity leave time. It varies by school. At the UC's you get 12 weeks unpaid maternity leave and that's it. You are in a unique situation so that's something you should look into. A lot of it is going to depend on your PI. Will they allow you to take longer than the 12 weeks off, will they allow your stipend to continue during the maternity leave period etc. Unless you are direct admitting you can't know that but that's a conversation you should have with your prospective PI during lab rotations. Your situation is better than the grad students in my department who have had kids. They have to pay for day care as their spouse works as well. The med schools at my UC does not provide any subsidized child care etc. I don't know exactly how your program works but I would consider planning on having your child after you have passed your quals. Being pregnant and having to study for quals sounds like hell. You're going to be rotating in labs the first year and depending on your program you might have your written exam the end of the first year.

Wow this thread got derailed quickly

Then you should be fine. Honestly some people might not even make it till late thursday night depending on where they are coming from.

I totally agree. The biggest issue is some of these masters programs are essentially coursework only. That's helpful for the OP but a thesis based masters would be even better.

When are the interveiws at schools A? Thursday or Friday? They are probably Friday as everyone will be arriving Thursday. Go to sleep as early as you can (obvious advice). You won't be the only one in this situation. Just make sure you know your research inside and out for the interviews and you will be fine.

I am. Even though I'm applying next cycle I can't wait to leave my current job. Why i signed a multi-year contract I don't know. How did you like Vanderbilt IGP? I've been thinking of applying there next cycle.

When do you find out about funding? That's the biggest issue, you are an international student so its going to cost a lot of money. Can you afford to go to these schools without funding? Which schools has more professors you are interested in working with? Forget about presitge at this point. No one is going to take you into a PhD program just because you went to a prestigious school. They care about the work you accomplished at the program. If you did nothing at a prestigous school and did very well at a lesser known school who do you think will get in. Is there a significant difference between the 1 year and 2 year masters? One other thing to think about is if you are doing a 1 year masters you will be applying to Phd Programs a few months into the masters program. If you are planning on getting letters of rec from professors at that school, what are they going to write about you? They don't really know you. That being said, money is the biggest issue unless you can pay for it. They are all good schools, and if they all fit your research interests pick the schools that gives you more money.

Those rankings are complete crap.

It might matter if there is no thesis component to the masters. If its just coursework I don't know how much help that would be. If the masters has a thesis component and you can do something neuroscience related then you should be good. The bigger question is what will adcoms look at when deciding if you make the cutoff, your undergrad GPA or your masters. My guess is that the Masters GPA will help you get passed the cutoff. The other issue is can you afford a masters? Can you realistically afford up to 100k in debt? Grad loans have a higher interest rate than undergrad (I think). As a back up I would still consider looking at biotech/research jobs. You are going to have to expand your search outside of boston.

As a guy I've never experienced that while TA'ing. That being said our sections were optional. I did have more students come up to me during exams for help then my fellow TA's. They probably thought I would help them more with the exam than the other TA's. Honestly I don't think there's gender discrimination, the students may think you are the nicer TA and the students think they can get away with their lame excuses with you vs the other TA.

I will never understand how ESPN and idiot broadcasters consider the Cowboys America's Team? Seriously? What have they done recently? I'm so happy the seahawks lost, as a niners fan you have no idea how satisfying it was to watch dejected fans at the supermarket after the game.

Great post. This makes me wonder how many schools implement GPA/GRE cutoffs that are not mentioned on their websites. Some schools will actually take a look at every application but most won't.

Having to consolidate your SOP into 500 words for some schools. I don't know how on earth adcoms expect applicants to talk about research experience, what they want to study in the program and why the want to go to that program in 500 words. I was helping an undergrad in our lab whose applying to PhD programs do this. That was harder to write than the longer 1-3 page SOP's.

Some of the post-doc candidate will probably join the lab. I think notice the social awkwardness more b/c I'm very extroverted compared to most of my coworkers who are very introverted. I suggested a GoT season 4 marathon and one of the post-docs shot it down because she had no desire to watch porn with her colleagues . And the chicken hawks, I mean Seahawks lost the superbowl. Today was AWESOME

However many you can afford/your LoR writers are willing to submit to.

Breathe! Interviews are always stressful. As long as you can articulate the research you have done and what you would like to study at your top choice. You will be fine!

My lab is in the process of hiring post-docs. They are all well qualified but FML they are all socially awkward as hell. I don't want any of them to join the lab. My entire research institute is literally filled with socially awkward grad students or post-docs. I know that sounds bad. I started talking about the season 5 trailer for Game of Thrones and no one knew what I was talking about . One of my co-workers asked if it was a porno. I mean its HBO but still. I guess GoT could be a G rated porno. Also, no one understands my hatred for the Seahawks as a 49ers fan and how anything USC or Red in general repulses me as a UCLA alum. People rep the raiders . I love research but sometimes I wonder if I should have followed my fraternity brothers and joined them on the path to becoming soulless financial analysts/bankers/investors.

What about research positions at Mass Gen (they have a major research division), Boston University, Boston Childrens Hospital, Harvard medical school etc. There are research positions available at all of those institutions. In a couple of months the current lab tech/research associates who applied to graduate school will be leaving so new job postings will be online. Also what about biopharmaceutical companies? They value research experience over grades which you have plenty of. There have to be start ups in the boston area that you could search. Here a few links for start up companies and jobs: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CC0QFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.startuphire.com%2Fi%2Fjobs-at-Biotech-startups%3Fi%3D8&ei=JbnOVMP7DtTVoATek4HwCg&usg=AFQjCNFheFCES5YzuANKOcMEpzSiMlJgZg&sig2=iIEvvp8A8vyzu987CFwNQg&bvm=bv.85076809,d.cGU https://angel.co/biotechnology ( try to find the websites for these start ups (the ones in your area), they will have job postings for sure if they are expanding). Don't bother looking at Australia. You would be a foreign applicant, we've pointed out in this thread and in others the international students are set to a higher standard. Your 2.3 GPA will screw you over. At Cambridge if you didn't get a 3.5 for undergrad you won't even be considered. The schools in australia aren't Cambridge but you won't get in. Its not worth the time and money. Have you considered a PSM (Professional Science Masters Degree): Most of the programs can be done part time, and have some sort of paid internship either in a research lab or a bio-pharmaceutical company.

Will your PI not take you as a graduate student? Another option in the short term would be to see if you can find a staff research associate job in another neuro lab close by. IF you like the research see if it would be possible to directly admit into that lab for your phd. I know quite a few people who have done this.

I think a second undergrad degree is a waste of time and $$$. You won't get any grants/scholarships from the new undergrad institution just loans. You may also have to re-do the general requirements in addition to the major requirements. Some schools will waive the gen requirements but not all. If the GPA is the main reason for your rejection then I would consider a Masters. You may not be able to do a Neuroscience Masters program, but general biomedical sciences program instead. What is your GPA for the last 60 semester/90 quarter units? Most masters will have a 3.0 minimum GPA, some will take the last 60/90 units instead. Also is direct admitting into your current lab not an option??

I don't know if adcoms have that much pull with the graduate school. 3.0 is the minimum, I don't know if you can get around that.

The post bac GPA is reflective of 3 courses? If so that's what did you in. The adcom wouldn't have counted the post bac gpa in lieu of your undergrad. If it was a Masters GPA they might/probably would have. Most grad schools have a minimum 3.0 GPA requirement. Your 2.3 GPA is what was probably considered and thus the slew of rejections you got. Look into these: Northwestern has a Masters in Neurobiology http://www.neurobiology.northwestern.edu/graduate/program-overview/faqs.html It says the application deadline is March 31st. Texas A&M has a biomedical sciences masters program http://vetmed.tamu.edu/graduate/biomedical-sciences/ms-thesis-and-phd-degrees University of Maryland Baltimore: Masters in Cellular and Molecular Biomedical Sciences http://lifesciences.umaryland.edu/CMBS/apply.aspx There are more, Most masters programs have deadlines of march ish.