Ferroportin

If your interview dates clash and you ask them for an alternative date - should you say that you have another interview conflict? Or just keep it vague and say that you are unavailable for those dates?

For those that applied to TSRI - just called the admissions office to ask about my "pending" documents. They said they have stacks of mailed documents they haven't sorted through yet and to just hang tight. They also said interview invites are likely to go out in mid January.

Congrats! Do you know which home program she applied to?

For those that applied to USC PIBBS, the admissions office told me that applications are being reviewed this week - so interview invites might go out sometime next week.

Mine shows as incomplete for my transcript, but my GRE scores were confirmed about a week after I had sent them.

Sooo, one of my recommenders hasn't submitted her letter yet and its 10:22pm....I'm guessing she'll likely miss the December 1st deadline. Does anyone know about policies regarding late letter submissions? Should I call each schools' graduate admissions tomorrow to ask?

One of my recommenders also had me draft my own letter - it's definitely pretty tough, especially the first time you do it. The advice I was given from others is to write yourself a glowing letter rather than trying to stay unbiased. From my experience, it's more common that the PI has to fluff up the language in the letter rather than tone it down. As for an outline, I would google graduate school LoRs online (even if they're not science related) and use these as a starting point. Just make sure you hit on all the important parts. Write about what your contribution was to the lab (projects, papers, posters, etc) and how you achieved those. Were you able to work independently? Did you design the project from start to finish? What was the scope of the project and how far were you able to carry it? This really should be the bulk of the letter, since it's speaking to the work that you've done and how that work has prepared you as a competitive candidate for grad school. I also think a "show not tell" approach is better here. It's one thing to say" XYZ is a great candidate and worked really hard" but it's better to say "XYZ took on a difficult project of designing ABC when they joined the lab. XYZ tackled the project with confidence and independently designed etc etc." Something to that effect. I would also include some character references (though this probably shouldn't be the bulk of the letter) that highlight your interactions with others in the lab as well as your aptitude for graduate study. Just some nice fluff that frames you into a normal human being that others could get along with and collaborate on projects with. Just my two cents, but I hope it helps a bit.

This might be a dumb question...but is it fine to start sending my transcripts in even if my application isn't fully finished?

Hey all! Had a question for writing the SOP - for those that had extenuating circumstances that may have led to a subpar academic performance during the early years of undergrad, how would you recommend explaining/wording this in the SOP without coming across as just making excuses for the grades? My last two years were academically very strong, but my first two are just about average because of troublesome family relations. I'm trying to be wary of coming across as making excuses - rather I just want to mention the circumstances in a manner that urges the adcomm to look at my academic progression rather than just my cumulative GPA. Any thoughts are much appreciated...

Quick question: for those that have abstracts, poster presentations, manuscripts, etc. that you're submitting soon but won't know whether or not it's accepted by the time apps are due - are you including these in your CV as submitted or in review? Or are you just leaving it out and planning to talk about it during your interviews? I have an abstract submission and poster presentation for a conference happening next year; I'm leaning towards including it on my CV since I don't have any other poster presentations or publications currently...any thoughts on this?

I think your research experience is the strongest part of your application right now - and it sounds like your GPA might be able to be explained in your SOP. However, because schools often use GRE scores as a filter to weed out applicants, I feel like you should try to get that quant score to a 160+. It sounds like you have a relatively decent application, I'm just wary that the GRE scores might be a roadblock to getting your application looked at. Not sure if schools look at a combined Q+V score or if they look at the sections independently...perhaps others could weigh in here.

IMO, I think if you shoot for 160+ on both V & Q you should be fine. From what I've heard, GRE scores are usually just used to weed out applications early on and don't play as much of a role later on in the process.

Thanks for the advice adi. When you say "stayed in research for some time" do you mean people that have worked on a single project for a long period of time or just simply been in the research field? Full time "research associate" at UCSF right now. I'm basically treated as a grad student where I'm designing my own experiments and analyzing data, but ultimately consulting with the postdoc I work with.

Hey everyone - hope your apps are going well! I had a general question about the research experience adcoms are looking for. I think I have a decent amount of research experience (you can see my stats in an earlier post) but I don't have any fellowships, pubs, oral or poster presentations, etc. to show for it. My undergrad research isn't as strong or impressive as those that got to lead their own projects and I mostly helped out with small projects in the lab. I am working full time as a researcher in a lab right now and getting strong experience, but I was wondering how my sub par undergraduate experience will affect me in the application process? I do have undergrad research projects I can talk about, but they were never completely just mine.

Hi all! Would anyone mind taking a look at my stats (on page 2)? I'm starting to refine my apps and would appreciate any feedback on where I stand. Thanks!

Undergrad Institution: Top ranked UC Major(s): Human Biology Minor(s): None GPA in Major: 3.67 (last two year GPA ~3.99) Overall GPA: 3.61 Position in Class: Unknown Type of Student: Domestic, Asian male GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 167 (94%) V: 164 (94%) W: 5.5 (98%) B: Getting mixed opinions on whether the subject test is necessary or not… Research Experience: 2 years as a research intern in HIV lab - well renowned PI has agreed to sign off on LOR, but has asked that I provide him a draft first. 6-month internship at another HIV lab - did some animal work and learned biochemical techniques (westerns, etc). didn’t feel like I left a strong impression here…won’t be asking for a LOR Currently working as a research associate in a Lung Biology lab (~4 months) - strong LOR from here (Last LOR coming from professor at home institution, should be strong) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Provost’s Honors for multiple quarters (but not all) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Teaching Assistant for 2 undergraduate upper division biology classes Resident Advisor for summer high school STEM science camp (3 years) Resident Advisor for two years during undergrad (not sure if this will help by showing “leadership”…do adcomms give any points for these activities?) HIV Test Counselor Special Bonus Points: My undergrad institution, one of the undergrad labs, and the current lab I’m working in are three of the universities I’m applying to. LORs are also coming from faculty at those universities, not sure if this carries any weight at all? Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My first two years of undergrad were not reflective of my academic ability. I was dealing with personal family issues during the first two years of my undergrad (LGBT related, unfortunately enough). However, my last two years were much better; taking almost entirely upper division biology courses (the “harder” classes). My GPA for these courses are ~3.9 and account for roughly over half of my graduating credits. Is this something I need to explain in the SOP? Or will the academic improvement speak for itself in my transcripts? Applying to Where: I’m interested in disease pathology and will be applying mainly to cell bio/molecular bio programs. UCSF (Tetrad) USC (PIBBS) UCI (Cellular and Molecular Biosciences) UCLA (IMMP) UC Berkeley (MCB) Scripps Research Institute UCSD Stanford UC Davis (MCIP) Not too sure how competitive I am for these schools, so any advice or thoughts would be appreciated!