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misappthrope

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Everything posted by misappthrope

  1. Hi all, I applied to maybe 11 doctoral programs in neuroscience and biology last year and was rejected from all of them. So, I became very self-conscious (or even more self-conscious than I had been) about my science gpa and research experience. So, I decided to apply to and enroll in a post-bacc program for those planning to ultimately apply to medical or dental school, for MD/PhDs, etc. In the summer of 2016, I only took one course, a neurobiology course (because very few of the courses I took in undergrad were neuro courses). In the following fall, I only took 2 courses. One was orgo (a retake) and another bio class. Now, this spring I'm in orgo II, a neuro class, and a mathbio class. The challenge I'm having is that I flunked the first orgo II exam (was many SDs below the average) and the mathbio class is turning out to be super time-consuming because I'm struggling to grasp the material and for other reasons. I need to decide whether to drop orgo II or this mathbio class soon but I really don't know what to do. My indecision is compounded by the fact that dropping one of these courses would leave me with two classes total. I wanted to use this program to position myself as a more serious candidate but a consistently low number of courses per semester in combination with the less-than-hoped-for lab experience I've gained makes me look, I think, either afraid or lazy, i.e. afraid of taking on too much and failing so much so that I swung in the other direction and took so few classes. Part of why I've taken so few courses is because I simply do not have the money for a full course load but part of it is because I really wanted to minimize time spent away from studying orgo because I didn't want to retake something only to mess up in it again. I know the decision is ultimately mine but I would really appreciate some advice!
  2. I'm desperate for any advice, GC community. I applied to 7 schools and was contacted by one school to interview. Now that that interview is over I'm worried that 1. they'll reject me and I'll have no options whatsoever or 2. they'll admit me and no one else will contact me and I'll end up enrolling because I'm afraid that I wouldn't improve significantly in the components that make up an app (GRE score, GPA, lab experience, etc.) before the next round of applications at the same and/or different schools. I've heard about second-round interviews and I'm wondering how sound of a plan it would be to directly contact the faculty I'm interested in (if I did it would be the first time) to restate why I would make a great addition to their lab, to clarify enigmatic parts of my app, and briefly detail what I'll achieve and continue to work on before the fall. Bad idea? Good idea? Any advice?
  3. I'm in a similar boat (only one interview so far with a 3.15 undergrad gpa, 2.96 major and 163 V/ 157 Q/ 5.0 AW) so the only way I'd be helpful is through moral support!
  4. Is it inappropriate or unnecessary (or both) to email faculty whose research you're interested in after applying? Does not contacting them at all (before or after applying) affect the likelihood of your application receiving significant attention from those who would be most receptive to/interested in it? In most, but not all, of my SOPs I included brief, but detailed descriptions of how my research relates to theirs and how that makes me a fit for their lab and program. Also, is it a minus if I don't have a significant online presence (I'm essentially a ghost/other people with the same name come up when you search for mine so that might be confusing/create a negative impression)? Should I create a presence now (e.g. make a website or something)?
  5. In my statement to my first choice graduate program I said that two compounds inhibit a certain phosphatase, when actually they stimulate it! The way I phrased the sentence makes it obvious to someone paying attention that I meant to say stimulate or something like it. I'm so anxious and afraid it will wreck my chances. What should I do? I emailed the school hours ago, but haven't heard back. Should I call? Should I leave it be?
  6. Is an official transcript still official after it has been opened, scanned, and uploaded, but reads "void" upon scanning?
  7. My brother read my SOP to give me his opinion of it because I was in desperate need of any opinion. There was one word, ecosystem, that he found odd and he suggested I use a work like macrocosm, which after dressing it up in the necessary syntax fit perfectly into my essay. Was and is it wrong to keep that word in my essay as I didn't actually arrive at it independently? I may have, but didn't at that time. Please let me know. -the misappthrope
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