Sarochan

Thanks! They're mine too, especially genomics. UCR seems to have some very interesting research going on as well.

I feel the latter sentiment very strongly.

I didn't interview, but I thought I had some positive correspondence with a faculty member there. :\ Guess it might not have been as positive as I thought. Oof, I was pretty interested in that program too. On a happier note, I was accepted into the Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics program at UCR!

Thanks, Vene. I have been in touch with a PI there, so I'll try contacting them.

I've been reading (rereading some older favorites as well as trying to find new books and authors to love), making friendship bracelets, playing on my 3DS, trying to finish up a big art project, and doing yoga and various other exercises. Also shoveling snow, my privilege as a resident of central NY. Things I mean to do in the future include watching some science webinars and getting caught up with current genomic research.

Congratulations, notsaxophones! That must be pretty exciting to be accepted to every program you applied to. I hope your decision-making process goes well! Has anyone heard anything from the University of Vermont biology program? There's only one entry for it in the Results survey that I can remember seeing, and that's from ages ago (relatively speaking).

I have roughly one semester's worth of research involving transcriptome analysis.

I think it partially depends on the program/s you apply to. A lot of them have information on the kinds of people they consider competitive, including undergraduate degrees, etc. The following blurb is from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) and is on the page giving info about their Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Ph.D. program, and is an example of the kind of thing you might find: "Courses in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, general physics, one year of college calculus, animal biology, genetics, physiology, and plant biology are strongly recommended and provide an important background to pursue graduate work in EEB. Proficiency in a foreign language is not required but is strongly recommended for students who expect to pursue field work in a country where English is not the native language. Deficiencies must be made up early in the graduate program." You might also consider contacting either the program coordinator or someone similar and asking them directly. Just as anecdotal evidence, I have very little research experience and was accepted at two programs so far, one of them an ecology/evolution program. I hope this helps, and that others can help if I didn't! I'm actually in a similar situation, in that I suddenly decided that being an MD was not right for me.

Hell is waiting for responses from grad programs. BiochemMom, is there an Admissions Coordinator/someone similar that you can email with your question? I directed a similar question to the Admissions Coordinator at one of my programs, and she was very helpful in answering my query.

This sounds like an acceptance to me.

I read, in a GRE prep book, that (at least in the Quantitative sections) the A choice is sometimes designed to pull you in and look like an attractive or obvious answer, especially if you have only superficially thought about the problem. Of course, there are correct A answers, but if the book is to be believed, then A would probably not be a good choice for a guess. I don't know if this applies to the other sections, though, and I haven't heard anything about a particular choice having the highest percentages of correct answers. Good luck with your GRE test! I hope that it goes well for you.

Have you checked the Results page? You can search there and see if anyone has posted information about these schools. It's the "Results Search" link at the top of the page, near Forums/Members/Blogs/etc.

I've traveled to Canada, Japan, and Italy. Otherwise, I've frequented the Pacific Northwest and central New York.

Sounds like a very good sign to me! If she was impressed enough to actually go out of her way to let you know that she'd be endorsing you, I think that's a very good sign. Good luck!

25 currently, will be 26 by the time Fall 2015 rolls around.

Well, I hope it was helpful in some way. As for preparing, uh.... I don't really know what to suggest beyond possibly reading papers they've published/looking over their research, being attentive to what they're saying and being responsive/engaged?

Business casual is a good place to start. Blazers are definitely a good option (of course paired with nice pants/slacks or an appropriate skirt), but nice cardigans can work too. Comfortable shoes are a very important thing! On my last visit, I was on my feet for a good portion of the day, and was very glad I decided against heels. I would remove a nose ring, personally. I think a lot of people would be fine with it and not care about it, but you never know if you'll run into someone who doesn't like that kind of thing. Your visit is probably to try to familiarize you with the area, the program, and the faculty and other students (and maybe to help convince you to attend!) You'll probably have several short interviews with professors (or something similar), get shown the campus/facilities/etc., have a chance to talk to current students about their experiences, or meet with the director of admissions/your program to learn about the program and what kind of classes you would take, research you would do, and what's expected of grad students. (Wow, that was a long sentence! Sheesh.) You'll probably get some sort of schedule that will tell you what's going on, and might be paired with a current student who helps you find where you need to go. Other things that might happen could be a meal with faculty and other students, or even a party! I hope this helps ease your anxiety.

Coconut oil

I keep having dreams that there's been a mistake and I actually haven't graduated and am back in Physics 212. For some reason it is always Physics 212.

Such repetitive movements are actually very important for some people; see the Wikipedia article on Stimming for a short introduction.

This certainly helps me feel less anxious. I've been having some serious doubt about my abilities/etc., so thank you very much for this reminder.

Winter wonderland

Eye contact.

I am also a proponent of the laptop + desktop combination (although my current laptop is less than ideal, being 7ish years old). My partner gave me his older desktop when he built a custom one for himself, and with a few modifications it has stood me in excellent stead. If I had been in the position of having to buy a comparable laptop, it would have cost quite a bit more than I could have paid. That being said, if your laptop seems up to the challenge, and you have options for more storage/backups, I think it would work just fine.

I have. Received an email from the coordinator of my program (Ecology and Evolution) the other day.