PinkFreud22

I have heard back from 8 out of the 14 programs I applied to and have gotten phone or in person interviews with 7 of the 14. I'm still anxiously waiting to hear back from the other programs. For research not affiliated with your institution, I know lab managing is usually an option at another institution if you choose to take a gap year which may or may not be appealing to you. You could also look into Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) through NSF which I have heard very positive things about. I'm sure things will work out for you because you sound very dedicated to and interested in research.

I was given the same news about OSU. I got an email from my POI to schedule a brief phone call before final decisions were made later this week.

Hi "sociallyawkward," This is my first time applying as well but I had a lot of help from both a graduate student at my current institution and from my honors senior thesis advisor. The best advice I can give is to get a ton of research experience and try to do an independent project or lab manage if you can. Also, to narrow down your application try to discover a specific area of interest to hone in on. Best of luck with your other applications.