katpillow

I agree with the "you'll get in" bit. But don't let an unsuccessful cycle get you down. It doesn't mean anything about whether you are qualified. It's just the shitty reality that shooting this high is bound to produce some dud attempts. You wouldn't be taking this shot unless you have the right stuff- and in many ways it's the heart that matters here. Keep your chin up, and if you really want to pursue this path, don't let some failures stop you. Reassess, reforge, and reattempt. Ultimately, this is going to be an experience about creating better you. You're going to have to break yourself up a bit first.

I managed a solid 1.2 rejections/day this week. Still have another 9-10 to hear from, so maybe we'll amp it up closer to 2 next week!

I know the feel, peanut. I think I'm something like 0/14 since MSU, now.

Alright, I don't know if the expectations are different for programming-related PhDs or what, but if I had a guy request something of me like this, I'd have mixed feelings too. If you have the time to pull something like that off, then go for it. If you don't, then it's understandable. Your priorities are on completing your current work. To ask you to go and do another 20+ hours of work a week for something that's not necessarily a 'for sure' offer... it's a bit much. He's asking you to put at least 3 hours a day into this. Utter nonsense. Until you're getting paid or funded to do bullshit like that, you don't owe him squat. Sounds like he's trying to take advantage of your position. Unless of course he's asking you to do this to see if you think a certain way for him, or whatever. /rant You gotta hedge your bets. See if you can figure out to what end he wants this work to be pursued. If a publication with your name on it- maybe consider it. If not, then honestly wtf..

Sage advice, PFB.

Guys. I'm getting so ancy. All I want to do is reach out to my POI and be like "hey, it's been a month or two since we last communicated. I still really want to work with you. You my numbah one choice!"

I know a fair number of people who received this treatment for undergrad. Getting it for grad school instead is a much better deal, and would enable you to financially excel earlier on after completing grad studies. They set aside that money with the intention of enabling you, so don't think of it as childish- it's truly a generous and loving gesture. Pay it forward to your grandkids?

@samsonite2pv thanks, and hopefully they responded me in a good way to you reaching out. As for me, I'll take all the luck I can get... though at this point it feels like I've worked too hard only to have luck play the deciding role (I think that goes for everyone here, though).

It doesn't, from what I gather after being industry-side, it's just nonsense terminology that companies attempt to use to justify paying people less in order to get more out of them in terms of prior experience, etc. It's absolute crockery, but they try to justify it with the "it's a competitive job market", etc. Smaller companies don't do this as much, thus my current employment at a fun little startup. Currently paid fairly well with just a BS in MatSci. Barely do any MatSci related work, but I've had the opportunity to expand my repertoire to include a lot more biology and biochem, which is nice. Goofy thing is... if I don't get in during this round of apps, I see myself applying for an associate-level position elsewhere (currently Associate II, if that means anything at all). Preferably an academic lab. It's incredibly hard to publish from the industry side- everything has to pretty much be done in one's spare time, and a lot of journals are prickly towards industry submissions. Plus I don't see myself growing any further here, as my role is unlikely to change in the next year or two. Need to keep that growth steady, regardless of PhD app outcomes!

Do yourself a favor and take a page out of the book of my coworker: when she was waitlisted at Northwestern, she really, really wanted to be in that program, so she simply emailed the equivalent person to your case and expressed her desire to be there, and it worked. Don't let them have the wrong idea about your interests, be up front and if you're in a position where you've interviewed with them, let them know you want to be there, and that you're not just floating around and resting on your laurels (especially since you're not actually doing that).

@sjoh197 Yeah, the manual switch pumps used to be everywhere. Typically only run into them in places that are a bit... further out (shall we say?) these days. Granted I'm probably only a few years older than you, so I've not seen a ton of them, either. It always takes me a second to remember, "oh yeah, it's that kind of gas pump." At least you got a story out of it?

Apparently there are delays in the admissions process at my top choice. There is still some form of a chance! (I think I'll stay on the defensive just in case, though)

Thanks for the vibes. I hope things work out too! I'm sure you'll kick butt with your presentation. If you're ever in need of a judge or an opinion pre-presentation, you can always tap into one katpillow. We present fairly regularly in my company/lab, so I like to think my skillz are fairly good on this front (always room for improvement, though).

@The Interdisciplinarian most of the time they probably don't put much stock into it, however my uGPA is fairly abysmal, so having something like a higher-end test score certainly wouldn't hurt. I shouldn't be totally unsatisfied with my current scores though, as at least I can say I'm in the 80+ percentile range. I find myself in a bit of a squeeze at this point in my career. I'm not willing to give up on pursuing a PhD. However if I need to improve aspects of my application, it would probably mean investing more than a year of my time doing school, or switching to an academic job to increase the number of pubs I've got, in addition to acquiring more academic-arena recommendations. There is very little I'll be able to do before the next admissions cycle, logistically speaking. Hypothetically, if I decide to go the route of boosting myself for a year or so, I'll be a 30 year old, unmarried person who will have to try and make something happen while I'm just starting a ~5 year program. I would not want to have kids while I'm in grad school, so I'd be looking at not starting a family until ~35 at the earliest. I know people have done this, and are probably happy, but this is an extremely undesirable situation to me, personally. I would still probably submit a few apps while doing the boosting, but again, I don't think the odds are really any better if I haven't actually improved anything by then. Ugh I just want something to work out. I'm already at the point of sacrificing anything necessary to just have the opportunity to redeem and excel. My whining is strong.

Woke up to an email from UVa this morning. At least it was gently spoken and had the standard "there's just too many of you talented candidates" tone. I think I'm 0/11 ever since hearing from MSU, now. Get tin' ready to ride the remainder of the awaited responses in the same direction. I suppose next cycle I'll just go for that perfect score on my GRE. Maybe take a class if I'm able to afford it/have time for it.

A pretty solid selection there. I've got the setup for a straight razor shave at home, so unfortunately that one isn't as special anymore (but still great to say the least). The others though... I'll perhaps explore.

I like the spirit! Sorry to hear he didn't have the guff to make the leap, but that's just how these things get sorted when shit's on the line, sometimes. You'll have some good times ahead. On another note, is there a guy equivalent to getting pampered with nails, tan, etc? I could go for it, whatever it is.

Yeah, but as people like to say- these things happen. I knew the risks I was taking by dating someone who had never been in a serious relationship prior to me. Eventually that curiosity about "what's out there" usually wins, and people seek the answer.... only to discover that it's just more people, who are unique and bring things to the table. If there was any consolation, it was that she told me she was probably making a big mistake, but she was growing internally more sad the more she resisted answering these existential questions about her life and her relationships. It's just too bad that even if she does end up regretting her choice, it probably won't be in time to reconnect or I might be in too different of a place geographically or romantically. I obviously haven't had enough opportunity to vent about this stuff, otherwise I wouldn't being whining on this thread! As of now, she's become "the one who got away". I never thought I'd have one of those, but oh well.

Very true statements, except in my case I'm a 27-year old industry worker who's girlfriend was in consideration for marriage potential, and in all likelihood would have followed in my geographical direction depending on what happened. Heck, I was more stressed out about what had happened than I was about my apps, it was a bad distraction when I needed to be at 120% focus. I get that there's never a good time for these things, and that as a human being, you just have to do what's best for yourself sometimes, but man it was almost the maximal way to deal emotional damage to me, with the timing it had.

I know the feeling- although mine was just a 2 year deal. Broke up with me right when I needed to assemble and power through all of my applications at the beginning of October. Definitely not the most considerate move, but then again- tact was never one of her strong suits. Just keep moving with your life trend of working out, kicking intellectual butt, and growing as a person. You'll put yourself in a good place with opportunity for great people and things!

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny listen kid, I was once very much in your position as far as feeling a sense of naïveté about my experiences with adversity. Then I had my run in with it (if you've seen prior posts by me you might have a sense of what exactly). I got bashed over the head with "life" and got to the point where it always felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The big difference between you and I, is that it sounds like you've got a great support system around you, and even when shit does hit the fan (and it will at some point in grad school, according to pretty much every PhD and candidate I know) you will be able to grow in a healthy and secure way. There will be tears, wine, and hugs, but you will undoubtedly be ok in the end. Don't think that just because you come from some low ranking program, that you won't kick butt. I'd like to think that the fact that so many programs admitted you indicates you've got some good physics mojo (even though physics sucks and biology/chemistry are about a million times better #truth). tl;dr You are going to do well. Adversity will come eventually, and when it does I think you'll find it's not so bad. Graduate studies are often just as much of a journey of self-discovery and growth as both an intellectual and a human being. Besides, look at the reverse situation: I am a graduate from a top 10 school, but at this point I think I'd be lucky to get in somewhere that ranked in the top 250.

Not counting Monday, Februgatory has come to a close. With no resolution. Good thing three of my friends have birthdays this weekend- plenty of excuses to drink. I'm very happy for those who have had a successful showing this cycle... And it's not over yet for the rest of us, either. Though it's pretty much do-or-die for the next 2 weeks, for me. You'd think programs would bother sending something or another out after 3 months, but then again... that's what March is for, according to the past years of the results board. To those who will have to repeat the process again next year: I cheers to you and your determination tonight. @marycaryne you will be fine one way or another. Even if things don't pan out right now, you'll get some time to make yourself even more awesome by the next cycle. Keep your head up!

That's fantastic! You'll have bundles of fun on the visit!

I'm 9 for 9 with rejections from all the schools I've heard from since mid December. There isn't enough beer and wine in the greater Chicago area to meet my needs this evening. I'm going to have to get serious... bring on the tequila.

@ChrisTOEFert your questions aren't bad ones, and I won't down vote you to hell for it . I'm in the same boat when it comes to length to completion- people who spend any longer than 5-5.5 years pursuing a PhD are either 1) nuts or 2) get into a crappy research situation. I can understand for some though, that if they come straight out of undergrad and do a PhD, it takes a little time to really develop a sense of direction in one's work. Regarding total number of apps and GPA, as this is a paired topic for me: My uGPA is a 2.40, and how I obtained it has little to do with motivation as an undergrad. I was battling severe depression that was fed by a surprise divorce between my parents, my grandmother dying, my father scoring himself 2 cancer diagnoses, and a complete collapse in our family finances (it became do-or-die with regard to completing the degree on time, financially speaking). I know plenty of people who would have been able to just channel that stress into success, but I personally found myself about 700 miles from home feeling like my family was in 'danger' and that I had some sort of obligation, but inability to do anything about it. I went to counseling, didn't absolve anything. On top of all of this, I was in a program where the average GPA was a 2.9-3.0. It was not a good time for me to be in college, I was getting about 3-4 hours of sleep a night. In an effort to "cut my losses" at the time, I focused on my major's courses (3.0 in this area) and did the best I could to actually learn. My plan going into college, and throughout college was to eventually pursue a PhD. Not for the title, nor the financial benefits (there isn't much of a pay difference between an experienced MS and PhD in the industry), but for the freedom it would give me as a scientist. Obviously my GPA sets me back, so my Plan B became "work in R&D in the industry, find a way to get published, and strengthen every other part of your application as much as possible", so while I've lost 5 years of my life (and of my originally intended career timeline) in pursuit of correcting my path, I remain diligent. I applied to 22 goddamn programs because there are many labs that span my research interests and experiences (antibiotics, microbio, immunology, immunotherapy) and because with my GPA, no matter how many professors responded to my inquiries, many adcoms are going to throw me into the lower-tier pile, if not flat out reject me. It's just how it is. So far the results have been just about as expected. Plan C is going back to school for a redundant masters degree that I won't give a rats ass about, while very likely accruing tens of thousands dollars of additional debt. I'd rather repeat Plan B again with a perfected GRE score than do Plan C. I hope this answers some of the 'why'