kokobanana

Thank you! And I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you! The email I got stressed strongly to try and reply by today, so they might send out some more invites if people decline to interview. And congrats on Brown!!

Not sure... but I think if you don't hear back by next week, it's probably a no... On the bright side - the email stressed replying if you can attend by the end of the day, so I think they might invite a few more people if some can't attend. So don't give up!

Harvard's PiN just sent out some invites for interviews! (I want to be specific for other DMS applicants and not add to any Pre-harvard stress. I believe the invites are sent from the department, so they come out at different times).

Harvard's PiN just sent out invites! My first neuro invite (I'm so excited!). I hope I can meet some of you there too!

Three princeton neuro invites on the survey - congrats to you mystery people! ... Now reveal yourselves!

woah, that's some serious sleuthing.. I'm impressed! I didn't apply to Princeton, so it wasn't me. Actually I haven't heard from any of the neuro programs I applied to.... but I haven't seen anyone post anything about those programs either. Seems like the bio people are hearing back non stop now. If I hear anything, I'll post it.

I know at least some DMS programs have not yet sent out invites... so like @Farafeelo said, I wouldn't start worrying until next Monday.

Have you considered working as a researcher for a few years to see if it is right for you? I was in a similar situation after graduation - I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to medical school / graduate school / or something completely different. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what I was interested in either, and I was going through what felt like a massive crisis (I woke up every day thinking "what am I doing with my life?!?!?"). So I took a total of 3 years off, and I don't regret any of it. I think the key is to spend your time away from school effectively by getting a position in something that will allow you to explore your interests. I worked as a researcher assistant in a field I was interested in for the last year and a half, and the pay was not bad, and it allowed me to take courses part time at a night school (the university subsidized the tuition heavily). And the thing with research (in my opinion) is that it's hard to figure out what you are interested in until you really do it. It helps to have a general interest in the area first, but finding a passion for a subject is hard to predict. But don't worry about not knowing what to do... so many people feel the same way after graduation. They just don't show it.

That was me! Definitely saw a survey result that was fake for a university in Boston (the ad com hasn't even met to go over apps and someone reported getting an interview). I've tried to stop looking at the survey results - if anything, it only makes me more anxious and stressed.

I'm a graduate of UW (a majored in neuro there) and worked in a neuro lab there for three years. The neubeh program is great and there are so many lab available to join (including labs off campus, like in Seattle Children's). I miss Seattle if you have any questions about Seattle or the department, I can try to help!

Hi RunnerGrad, Hopefully I can provide a little insight. I didn't do a PhD in Germany, but I spent a year on a DAAD fellowship and learned quite a bit about the German PhD system in the biological sciences. - Most German PhD programs seem to require a Masters to apply (not in all cases, but most). - The traditional PhD model that I think you are referring to is about 3 years in the biological sciences. And the application is very different - it's almost like applying for a job here. Most applicants contact the labs they are interested in directly and apply with a CV and a PS of some kind. No exams were required of the PhD students in the department I worked in. Since a PhD is like a job, you can also get let go / fired before completing your PhD. - Stipends were not that great, but the cost of living was much lower than where I currently live in the US. If I remember correctly, stipends were about 1000 to 1300 euros a month, and that did not include health insurance (which ran about 200-300 euros a month). - I had the option to stay and do a masters/phd in Germany, and I decided not to. I had a very basic understanding of German, which made certain day-to-day things more challenging. But the deciding factor for me was independence and mentoring. German biological science labs are often very large and run in a hierarchical manner. As a result, I saw my PI rarely (maybe one-on-one every 4 months?). Directions were given from the PI to the group leader (a sort of senior postdoc) then to the students, and due to the time constraints of the PhD, students didn't seem to be given much freedom to guide their own projects. Instead, they seemed to be told what to do and how to do it (again, this was just my experience at one campus, so I can't say this applies to all labs in Germany). -And lastly, the German university system has a weird, but important to know limit: You can only stay in the university system for 10 years before getting a permanent faculty position. If you don't get that position by 10 years, you cannot work in any German university (so most move to the private sector). And the 10 year count down starts your first day of your PhD (or for post docs, the first day of their post doc). So if you want to stay in Germany in the long run, you have to get on a faculty track very quickly. I hope this doesn't come across as too negative. I loved my experience in Germany and I miss my friends dearly, but I learned that there are major differences between German and American PhD programs, and the German system just wasn't for me.

I wanted to share this just to provide some other people relief. Trust me, I went from totally devastated, to deep sadness, and after talked to my PI, kind of pissed at whoever posted that *very likely* fake update. It is awful, and it DOES make people feel bad because we all know how much these decisions can change the next few years of our lives. I also feel silly because I had no idea that my PI was on the ad com. Anyway, off to get wine and stare at pictures of cute cats. I'll be waiting with you bdnf_13.1!!

So I just talked to my PI, who is on the ad com for the school.... and he mentioned that all the reviewers are meeting to review phd applications for the department later this week. Here's the kicker: Someone just posted on the results section that they got an invite from the program that my PI is on the ad com for. Now I am seriously doubting some of the authenticity of the results people are reporting. If anyone else is borderline panicking (like I was a few hours ago), I'd like to send out a reminder to relax. I am taking a break from this thread and getting some wine.

My SO is starting the third year of his PhD and I'm currently applying for grad school. Honestly, it's been really tough the last few months because I have to balance the desire to stay close by and going somewhere that I know will be a great fit. My biggest fear is that I would sacrifice going somewhere that I love in order to stay in the same city and then carry a resentment about it for five years.... I want to believe that it wouldn't happen, but five years is a loooooong time. I ended up applying only to schools that I was fairly confident that I would go if I was accepted. Two are in the same city as my SO, and four are scattered around the country. Of course moving away and doing long distance for 2+ years doesn't sound great, but neither does feeling regretful for 5 years wondering "What if I had just gone to XX?". Talking about the entire process with my SO, including all of the potential outcomes, has been very important. Until then, I'm waiting on pins and needles. Hopefully in a few months I can provide a more cheerful update! I also know a couple that applied to PhD programs (in the same field) simultaneously. They took the same approach that pandaaaa did and ended up applying to big cities with multiple schools to maximize their chances of being close together. They have been together for 7+ years, and 5 years apart didn't sound like it was an option for them. They ended up going to the same program, so it all worked out!

Congratulations!!

It's been on my mind so much, I've started having dreams about hearing back (and not in a good way!).

I applied to mostly neuroscience programs (5 out of 6 of my applications). I haven't heard back yet, but I know that some of the places I applied are reviewing applications this week.

Hi Imtiaz, So I'll give you some honest feedback - I think your essay response would greatly benefit from an outline before writing it. Your essay felt jumbled and not as well thought out as it could have been. Start each paragraph with a strong topic sentence that gives one point why the argument is flawed, then follow up with concrete examples of why it is flawed. Statements like "cause the operating a cafe and a book store is totally different and requires experience" and "...many other things" are vague and don't provide strong support for your argument. You use good transitions, like "notwithstanding", "furthermore" and "last but not least". But be careful with general grammar and punctuation. Sometimes your word choices came off awkward (like "segmentation", "no certainty of the foretelling" and "the argument unwarranted"), there was repetition in a couple of parts ("and could operate the cafe flawlessly without any hassle", and punctuation was off in many places. Most importantly, you didn't directly answer the prompt. The prompt is asking for what additional questions (think information!) would be necessary to support the recommendation to open the cafe. This is what you need to answer in your essay. If I were you, I would practice writing these without considering the time limit (or just practice outlining good responses!). Then work on writing it in 30 minutes. Good luck!

I heard from a current PiN student that applications are being reviewed this week, so I'm expecting that interview requests will be sent out late next week. (This has been the pattern for the last few years too).