thindust

Technically an acceptance, but I really enjoyed:
 
"No word on funding yet. Not sure if I'll accept as the name of the school is so difficult to spell." -Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Favorite so far--
 
Duke University, History PhD : "I'm paddling a kayak in the lake of tears I've cried all night. Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream of failure."

And then there is this one for ITT Printer Support PhD: 
Was rejected after a short interview. The interview consisted of many IT related questions that were work place related. Was rejected after I could not properly diagnose a specific problem related to the printer not being plugged in. Also, no funding was available.

My husband and I have a 2 year old (she'll be 3 next month) and I'm in an MS program, graduating this may, and starting a phd program (hopefully) this August. We're both prior military and waited til we were both out, eight years total, to have our first, so we intentionally planned knowing I was going to grad school. I gave birth in my spring semester, junior year of college. We want three, 5 years apart. That means we'll try to conceive again the year our daughter turns four, after coursework is finished. I'll be overloading on courses to not deal with coursework, pregnancy, and lab work--I know how hard it is from doing it. Then our third, we'll try to conceive during my post doc.

It's a lot of work, and finding the balance is difficult. That's why I'm so glad I did an MS prior to PhD. We have a great system setup for balancing our home and work life. It often means I get three hours of sleep in order to spend the evening with my kid and then write on my thesis after she goes to bed. But it works well. I have a great PI who is very accommodating with my schedule. The whole time I've been in grad school, I would arrive at the lab at 4 am in order to leave by 3pm with no issues (I drive two hours each way so I have to leave by 3 to get home for daycare closing).

In a lot of ways it makes me way more productive. I have a limited amount of time in the lab, and I live so far away I can't just pop in to check on an experiment. It's been a great time management learning experience. I go in with a plan, and I get shit done. I've written on three manuscripts (2 first author), my thesis (just turned in my first draft to defend this April), two oral seminars, 3 poster presentations, and will complete my degree on time.

In a lot of ways, having a kid gives me more motivation--I can't let my degree drag out indefinitely. I need to get back into the workforce asap.


It took about a year to figure out our groove. We have no family around because we stayed where my husband's last duty station was for me to complete through my MS. It sucks and in another life, I'd already be tenure track, but I don't regret my service or moving for my husband. It took six schools to finish my undergrad because of the constant moving, but it was worth it. And at least I have no debt because of my GI Bill.

My biggest piece of advice is in picking your PI. If they want a grunt monkey to do nothing but their own work the whole time, with a minimum hours requirement, it's probably not the best PI for you. If they measure productivity and designing your own experiments, executing, and being self motivated without caring about the clock then it's a much better situation.

Either way, it's hard. There are so many moments of guilt. Guilt when I'm home because I'm not devoting as many hours as the single phd candidate in our lab. Guilt when I'm away because I could be with my kid. Guilt when I skip a day in the lab to go to an event at my daughters preschool. Guilt when I'm in the lab instead of at an event all the other parents are at.

My biggest piece of advice is quickly accepting you won't be the best. I'm a great student but I can't devote my life to it to be the best. I'm a great mom but I can't devote all my time to it to be the best. Time with my husband slips when I have to ramp up lab work. Time in the lab slips when I devote time to my husband and kid. And you know what? It's okay. There's nothing wrong with it. Just don't let one side always be the up side on your scales.

Just for other internationals who are freaking out. I've asked many programs and they tend to look at all the international applications together. This can either happen early on or can happen after they have sent out interview requests for nationals. For neuroscience, for example, USC reviewed the applications this week and sent out e-mails for Skype interviews today. University of Pittsburgh is only going to tackle them next week. So don't despair if you have not gotten an interview yet. Many programs haven't even looked at your application. Good luck!
 

I actually just came back from the first Columbia CMBS interview weekend! They have another interview weekend in about two weeks during Jan 29-Feb 1. They told us that they would notify us of our acceptance or rejection in about two weeks from our interview date and that we should let them know as soon as possible whether we will be attending Columbia or not so that they can give our spots to other applicants who have been interviewed. In your case, there is still hope as they told us that there were two main interview weekends and possibly other smaller interviews depending on what their interviewees decide to do but no exact dates. They also told us that about 50% of the people that are interviewed will be accepted and there were about 47 applicants in this interview weekend. They expected about 80 interviewees for the next weekend since it will be a combination of CMBS and the other Columbia programs. In my opinion, people that receive interview invites should definitely try to make the first interview weekend as it appears that a smaller pool of interviewees will be present during that weekend and it will allow you to stand out and get to know the admissions people, faculty, and graduate students more intimately.
 
 
Regarding the other questions about interview attire, drinking, socializing etc.. I will give you guys my perspective of what I experienced during the interview. I wore a full suit with a tie because I like having an excuse to dress fancy   but in general the majority of the male applicants did not wear ties and only had slacks and buttoned up shirts. There were maybe three other people with suits on but it was not the norm. My advice is wear slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie as it is better to look presentable than sloppy. You can always take the tie off if you see that other applicants aren't wearing one and it makes you uncomfortable but plan ahead and adapt to the situation. I have my Baylor interview this week and the letter they sent us said to dress at our own discretion and they suggested no jeans for the Thursday dinner and interviews which means slacks, dress shirt, and maybe tie! The rest of the events say to dress comfortably so it is fine to wear jeans. For my Columbia weekend I only dressed up for my interviews and the dinner the day of the interviews, the other time I was covered in layers as New York was freezing those days!
 
I am not a big drinker but the majority of the events had alcohol so I said what the heck and joined in on the fun . After our Friday dinner they took us to a bar and the majority of the applicants came for about 1 hour and then the majority left. Two other applicants and I stayed with the graduate students until about 3 am and they joked around that since we were the last ones standing that we were admitted... who knows if this will turn out to be true, but I do know that it was to my benefit to talk with the graduate students about their rotations, faculty, the research environment, etc... it shows interest and the graduate students remember you the next day and sorta make you one of their own. Drink a lot of water if you are going to be drinking so you don't regret it the next morning during brunch like I did
 
For those of you that will be exhausted after your interviews take a quick power nap since there will probably be time between your interviews and dinner. You will need this extra energy for the activities after dinner and I highly recommend that you attend these events. If you are sorta antisocial just try to ask about the research of the graduate students as there is probably someone there that is doing what you are interested in and conversation will naturally follow with this interest. The graduate students, if they are doing a good job, will ask you about your interviews and what you think about the school. This is your time to clear any doubts or get answers to any lingering questions you might have. Remember you got to the interview stage so at this point they are trying to woo you.
 
My last observation is directed more towards the behavior of the interviewees. They come in all forms from shy to outgoing and a critical moment in this whole experience is when you are all gathered in the hotel lobby just before your interviews. I would advice to be there early before the meeting time and get to know the other interviewees as they come one by one, a simple hi is enough to start the conversation. Its hard to break the ice, and if you are the one who is being active and engaged in this role, then you are more than likely to find other interviewees that interest you. I recommend that you interact with other people because by Saturday a lot of the other applicants have already formed groups that they are comfortable with and they will usually stick together. I saw a couple of people who were sort of ostracized and i'm almost sure they did not enjoy the experience as well as the other applicants. If you are one of those shy people, then I would recommend you interact with the other shy people as you already have a mutual trait that will allow you to bond together. The important part of this whole experience is to have fun and to interact with as many people as possible since these will be your future colleagues  
 
Oops I lied one more thing! The majority of the interviewees had already graduated from their undergrad and were lab techs. I was one of those few that were still in undergrad so definitely your research experience plays a huge role in these graduate school applications!

I have always used Google Scholar to look at h-indices, but the article PeterPanComplex posted says that Web of Science has the h-index for ANY author. As you noticed, Google Scholar only has it for those who have created a Google profile, and authors have to manually add their papers to compute the h-index (mine is 1 haha).
 
EDIT: I figured it out! Go here for an explanation: http://libguides.utdallas.edu/content.php?pid=77218&sid=572087
Basically, I had to connect to the Web of Science database (from MY university's library site, not UT Dallas). This is step 1.
Then search by author, last name + initial(s)
Then click "Create citation report" in the upper right.
The h-index is shown to the right of the pub bar-charts.

It started to feel real for me when I checked my bank account balance after submitting 10 applications

Dartmouth sent me an invite on Christmas Eve!!! Best present by far. 

It started to feel real when I got a call from a POI and she was describing the interview process in more detail than anyone else had previously described to me.
She said something close to this (I was taking notes like crazy):
 
Okay kiddo, you'll sit down with a faculty member, and they'll say, "Tell me about yourself".
And your mind will be scrambling for the most succinct thing to say, but you should jump right into your research. Talk about your hypotheses, results -- don't go straight for the techniques -- show that you understand the ideas behind what you've done. This should calm your anxiety, as it's something to talk about and you are in control of the situation.
After 15 minutes, try to wrap up, and ask them to tell you about their research. Of course, you already know about their research -- you've read a couple of their papers, seen their lab page. Be prepared to ask questions about their research as it relates to something they have said. Being informed, by having read their papers...it isn't so much about digging up some obscure question to launch at them, it's more about having the background to really listen to them and ask questions in the moment, like a real conversation.
When your time is up, shake hands and smile. Do send them a thank-you email at your earliest convenience, as it reminds them of you and leaves them with a warm impression of you.
Okay, kiddo? You're going to do great!
 
After this phone call, I curled up on my couch and felt more things than I can remember. That's when it felt real.

Yes most certainly. I have heard of cases with decisions actually reversed when schools become aware of funding.
Lack of funding for internationals is a huge deterrent and if you're a compelling candidate, funding may be the only issue holding back your admission/interview. That said, often the people more interested in your funding are the potential supervisors (who will eventually have to pay for you in the lab) rather than the admissions committee - so I'd highly recommend you let both parties know (if you've already been in contact with POIs) as these potential supervisors may well advocate for you. 

Just heard from Columbia by email (wasn't expecting any news on Sunday)! I've been dying waiting for my first interview and thrilled that the much-awaited first is one of my top choices! The dates are Jan 22 - 24 and February 5-7 and I am still trying to decide when.

I hope you hear from them soon too, I'm sure it's just rolling out - there's no reason that they'd send all interviews out on a Sunday! 
 
The dates are the actual open days, which I probably will fly to the States to attend especially if I get other interviews around that time. It is possible for internationals to go without attending the actual open days, and I was told to specify dates and times within the first half of January for a skype interview with faculty.

Attending the later weekend won't hurt your chances. In fact, getting some interview experience before interviewing at your top choice is a viable strategy. I wouldn't turn down an interview from a great school like JHU if you can reschedule UCSF (if you receive an interview). CCB should be sending interviews on January 5th-January 7th if that helps rest your mind

Oh gees, I wish I could put Overanalyzing Emails as a hobby on my OKCupid profile. I spend SO MUCH TIME on it. 
 
I emailed one POI (with whom I spent an entire day doing a campus visit) to let her know I'd submitted my app. She replied, "best of luck!" 
 
Wait, what? "best of luck"?! I thought we were a team! I thought you were going to advocate for me in the admissions meetings! BEST OF LUCK?!

I've got the same issue, though I'm not on CAMB nor have I received an invite.
 
It's really annoying because so many interviews have been sent out already and my application remains as "Materials needed".
 
If it helps allay your concerns, I received a reply from the BGS office (along with some other problems with my application status which were resolved about a week after the deadline) that said that as long as unofficial transcripts have been uploaded, the application will be moved forward to review to the respective graduate groups. 

On the phone with Columbia (to track your application you need an app ID number and I wasn't sent one so I freaked out a little bit)... Their admissions committee is meeting some time next week to review applications and interview invitations should be sent around Xmas! Just an fyi for everyone else

Agreed!
I looked through the "results" and tabulated when schools are most likely to respond by looking at the last few years of interview results. This yields some interesting information, as some schools send out all interview invites on the same day (or within 2 days of each other) such as UW, while other send out invites within the span of a week or two (Pittsburgh, Utah).
I think this would probably be a beneficial approach to accepting and scheduling (if more than one choice) potential interviews. For instance, if you got an invite from a school that is lower on your list, but you knew your top choice might be sending invites two days later, you could tactfully wait and ensure that the dates you choose do not overlap.

UGH THIS IS MY LIFE. hahahahaha.
I am on here all the time, and sometimes I post responses to things just in the hopes that it will alert others and then they'll get on and post stuff and I won't be so lonely.

Also just got an invite to UPenn Neuro! I'm so excited. I was starting to feel kind of depressed that others had started to get invites, but at least I have one now! Good luck everyone!

http://www.sfn.org/~/media/SfN/Documents/Professional%20Development/NDP/SurveyReportAY20102011.ashx
 
Stats, because I love stats, and I love legitimate, anxiolytic stats from SfN most of all.
 
Snapshot:
The average neuroscience program receives 88 applications/season, with median 69. Note that the schools that participated in the survey are listed at the end of the report.
Average number of acceptances per programs surveyed is 20, for an acceptance rate of 23% -- on average, 12.8 of those 20 students matriculate. (Feels really high, doesn't it? )
The number of applicants to neuroscience programs is NOT on the rise, and has remained stable for at least the last 15 years.
Average GRE scores are stable at 156 Verbal (72%ile), 154 Quant (67%ile), 4.4 AW
Time to completion 5.5 years, with 15% of students needing a 7th year.
 
I will look to see if there has been a more recent edition of this report.
 
EDIT: You can see older reports here http://www.sfn.org/careers-and-training/higher-education-and-training/training-program-surveys
but there haven't been any reports following the 2011 report posted above.

To be honest, I doubt a 90th percentile is enough to offset a low GPA because GPAs speak for consistency and ability to handle coursework like that during a PhD. 
However it may, if you have a 90th percentile in the subject test plus a high GPA within your major (presumably related to the field you plan to enter). I think then the admissions committee will more likely look at your transcript to see if the classes bringing your GPA down are particularly relevant to the field you plan to enter anyway.