Jump to content

biochemgirl67

Members
  • Posts

    358
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    6

Posts posted by biochemgirl67

  1. 12 minutes ago, adiJ said:

    Yes, I was in a double. Stuff around Princeton was super expensive so you bet people shared rooms lol

    I expected as much.  (le sigh)  Oh well, it's not the end of the world.  I hope you enjoyed Princeton because to be honest, I'm totally not sure what to make of it at all.

    3 minutes ago, ms_green_genes said:

    We're hoping they got done today but just didn't have time for emails. If not, I guess we wait for next week! 

    I checked and no one seems to have posted anything on the survey... So it looks like they're just taking their sweet time!

  2. 10 minutes ago, ms_green_genes said:

    I know, it's just hard waiting. The adcom meets every Monday and only on Monday.

    I'm thinking even if they finished the reviews and their decisions today, it may have been late enough that they wouldn't be able to get emails out to all 40 today. They made it a point that they'll let everyone know at the same time instead of letting people know a few at a time over days or weeks.

    They let people in the first interview weekend know the Monday (2 days) after the interview, but that group didn't have as many candidates as this last weekend. 

    Patience was never my strong suit!

    Before I came back from Vandy, they said that each candidate would get a decision... So they probably just aren't done yet.  But the first group had 30, which isn't horribly lower than the second but still significant.  I wish they would get done for you and your daughter!

  3. 3 minutes ago, adiJ said:

    They don't provide info until you receive your packet on the day of arrival. (It doesn't matter anyway they talked about their research like you knew nothing about it and no one grilled me)

    Yeah, I got my email back today with information from the grad student.  A little bummed but I guess it's one less thing to worry about.

    Weird question... Did you share a hotel room there? :)

  4. 9 hours ago, swiftninja said:

    Hi guys, I just received an interview invitation for one of the programs I applied to, but they asked if we could have a video interview on Monday morning. I have a test and a paper due on Monday. And this would be my first interview since the other ones are later in February, and since it's my top choice I would really like a tiny bit more time to prepare. So I was wondering if it would be detrimental to my chances if I asked if there another time that I could interview? I was just not expecting such short notice for the interview.

    I would just do it.  These interviews shouldn't take that long and you should be prepared to answer their basic questions about you research, why their program, what are your goals, etc.

    But if you truly think it will all be too much to handle, you can decline and reschedule.  No one on here can actually tell you if it is truly detrimental.  It's all just guessing.

  5. 48 minutes ago, levodopa said:

    I completely feel you on this one.

    Biology seems to differ so much from other fields. It's quite confusing (and frustrating) really.

    Well, also the girl that actually said that stuff to me is a jerk anyways.  She thinks she's hot stuff because she is a chemistry major and runs around saying it's hardest science and biochemistry majors are chemistry dropouts.  And I'm like seriously?  Are we freshmen again?  Lol but she uses her dad who is a chemist at a chemical company to get her summer jobs and was trying to use his old PI from his grad school to go to her top choice.

  6. Also... is anyone having Facebook angst with friends posting about every interview/acceptance they get??? My friends going into chemistry programs are getting all their acceptances now and post about EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.  I'm holding off letting people know about my stuff IRL until I make an overall decision and it's killing me because they all keep saying when they see me, "I haven't heard anything about your graduate school applications.  Oh, I guess you should have applied to ISU because acceptances are already completely out.  Well, I know someone in biology and they already got three acceptances.  So you might want to go to career fair if those other interviews don't pan out."

    Just a vent!

  7. 19 hours ago, biochemm said:

    Given that my other interviews thus far, and my future interviews have all been scheduled with potential PIs I'm finding it odd that they do it this way. I guess it's just because BU runs the umbrella program, whereas the others are all specific programs right off the bat. Still seems weird that I'm expected to want to go to a school in which I haven't met someone under whom I would actually work. Alternatively, maybe its a sign I should be getting in contact with the other PIs there on my own. Who knows

    I agree with @peachypie... you aren't choosing potential PIs at all, even at small programs.  That's what rotations are for because you have to mesh well on a personality level.  If that's what you're looking for, you might be a tad disappointed when you get to grad school.  Obviously you should have people you're interested in and may have met them in passing at a dinner or something.  But to expect to have interviewed with them?  It's a teensy bit closed minded to think that this is the way you choose grad school.  What if they don't have funding next year or decide to teach more or go on sabbatical or are an awful mentor or decide to take their research in a direction you don't want to go in?  My interviews include ~50% people I expressed interest in and others that are on the admin committee or are available or some other criteria.

  8. Let's not freak out over clothing, AGAIN.  Okay guys, business casual is the way to go for your interviews.  This means your most versatile outfit (for either sex) will be a pair of dress pants or trousers, a shirt that is nice and put together (nice dress blouse for a girl, a collared shirt for a guy -- A guy could wear a less dressy collared dress shirt than the ones that go with suits... based on material or patterns), a girl could wear a small dress scarf, a guy could wear a tie.  Both sexes could wear blazers (or sport coats for men) to the interview.  Both should also wear comfortable dress shoes.  Nothing too shiny or fancy, but COMFORTABLE.

    Casual days you could wear a dark pair of jeans or knit trouser pants or colored pants with a nice shirt, scarf, and jacket (for a girl).  A guy could wear a pair of colored chinos with a sweater with a collared shirt.  Boot-type shoes or less fancy actual shoes would work.

    I'm putting up these descriptions because I know that we all have limited clothing options for carrying and for buying new outfits.  Really, don't stress.  I've included some pictures so people can see what I mean.

    EDIT: these are ALL things seen on interviews.  And everyone pretty much matched this code.  It's obvious which are the casual outfits to me, but the last female picture is what seemed to be a "casual" outfit, and the same with the male pictures.

     

    outfit1.JPG

    outfit2.JPG

    outfit3.JPG

    outfit4.JPG

    outfit5.JPG

    outfit6.JPG

    outfit7.JPG

    outfit8.JPG

  9. I would discuss it in relation to your future directions.  This isn't a paper or a grant (HOPEFULLY) so feel free to talk about why this fits into your application profile.  But if I'm wrong/uninformed, it may be best to ask a faculty member rather than some 22-year old typing away at her computer.  :P

  10. Dang this thread is old.  I think that anyone posting on here with their profile to get their chances should focus on having a good application overall.  What I'm trying to say is that you aren't guaranteed anything with certain scores.  Not that they aren't important, but just that at the top schools, it can seem a bit like a crap shoot.  I got interviews at Rockefeller, Princeton, university of Washington, and Vanderbilt with the same profile that got rejected from Harvard, UCSF, and Stanford.

  11. 54 minutes ago, Infinito said:

     

    What @biochemgirl67 said was pretty much the basic answer, and obviously it's really hard to get a sense for all the schools until you see them all. That being said, gut reactions are really important. My grad interview buddy stressed the "fit" aspect, how just because one program might be higher ranked doesn't mean it's better for you, for what you want to do, and for your mental health for the next 5-6 years. That allowed her to cut some choices off her list after interviewing, leaving her to two gut-wrenching decisions. She then literally had to flip a coin at that point, and she's really happy to be where she is now.

    And as long as you can see yourself there, you can't go wrong even if you have to choose between 2 awesome schools.  But "fit" is the hardest to explain and the easiest to ignore if you're not careful.  For instance, I know that maybe a super intense environment may not be the best for me (like work 80+ hours a week, every week, give up everything else in your life to do an experiment sort of intense) because I would without a doubt forego everything else in my life in order to gain results/make my PI happy.  So I'm keeping that in mind, especially with Rockefeller that has a super intense environment reputation.  But I won't be able to truly know until I show up there.  It's about knowing yourself and being able to make decisions based on that.

  12. 10 hours ago, ms_green_genes said:

    Any chance you can summarize what this grad student shared with you about her process for choosing which offer to accept?

    I don't know about Infinito, but the grad students at Vandy were very open and helpful so I have some knowledge I accrued about how to decide.

    Obviously you look at the science.  Core facilities, funding, type of research.  Then the grad students said that for them, the attitude of the program was important.  Did the professors, grad students, and admin seem excited to talk to you?  Did they believe in the program?  And finally, they all told me that it becomes obvious after you interview everywhere.  That you have to see yourself in the community and the university.  One girl said that interviewing students seem confused because they have like 7 - 10 interviews, but that if you are honest with yourself about the type of person you are, the right offer will feel like a fit.  

  13. 1 hour ago, HopefulPHD14 said:

    Isn't that the nicest thing?

    I have my first acceptance and now I am just so much more relaxed going into other interviews!

     

    58 minutes ago, EaglesFan said:

    I feel the exact same way! Im am so relaxed thinking about my interviews because at this point they are competing against one of my top choice. Congrats on being admitted!

     

    33 minutes ago, Immunolog said:

    Congrats! That's amazing! I bet you're a lot less stressed for the upcoming interviews

    I am like the rest of you, totally calm about the rest of the interviews.  At the very least, I get to be at Vandy for 5- 6 years and that's not too terribly shabby.  In fact, now all the other schools are competing with them to make an impression of wanting me to be there.  I was in the middle of making travel arrangements for Princeton when I got the email... just a few short weeks until the interviews start up again.  But congratulations to everyone who has offers!  I know we all thought we'd be the people who applied and got in no where with no back up plans, but now at least we're going to grad school.  And for those of you who haven't gone to interviews yet, it is very different than a job interview.  They are really trying to convince you that their program is a fit for you and it's super casual!

  14. 1 minute ago, biosci said:

     

     

    Congrats!  What date are you guys going?  I put Genetics and Genomics; Molecular and Cell Biology; Stem Cells, Development, Regeneration and Aging

    I'm free both weekends, but I put that I preferred the Feb 27 - 29 weekend.  They haven't gotten back to me yet.  If I get that date, I'll be interviewing three weekends in a row which already sounds exhausting.

  15. 23 minutes ago, ms_green_genes said:

    Thanks, but unfortunately she has not received one yet. She's happy that she did get 5 of 7, though. :)

    5 is a huge amount!  I almost don't envy her the traveling and scheduling!  But she has some really great options, I know, and will end up somewhere spectacular.  Hopefully we all will.:rolleyes:

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use