ozugo

I disagree with most of the people here. Not accepting an offer you aren't happy with is one of the wisest things you can do. I have had conversations with a couple of grad students during my interview weekends who said that they turned down all their offers one or two years in a row until they found a program they were truly excited about, and they were all glad they did. You have to live with your choice not only for the next 5-7 years, but where you go and who you work with is going to follow you around for the rest of your career. If you aren't happy with it, wait until you are. Grad school is a meat grinder; it's hard enough without the added stress of feeling like you should have done better. Also, I've heard from a number of adcoms that this was a brutal year to be applying to grad school. Applications are way, way up (as much as double at the top biology schools) and funding is down at most places. I don't think any of us could have picked a worse year to apply, and waiting it out should improve your changes significantly. In my case, this has lead to the weird situation of being rejected by my safety schools and being invited to interview to my reach programs, because they're the only ones with enough funding to have a sizable class.

I'm pretty sure I've been rejected outright by Georgia, I haven't heard a peep from them and wasn't invited to interview. It doesn't really matter as UC Davis was higher on my list anyway. Why the eyerolling?

This is really too vague to answer. It depends on what you want your research to be. The best program is one you're excited about.

I'm another eco/evo person. 3.56GPA in Zoology at an R1, 800Q/690V/5.0AWA, 91st Biology. A year of research experience in 2 labs. Applied: Stanford, UC Davis, Michigan State, Minnesota, UT Austin, U Georgia, Columbia Interviews: Stanford (next week!), UC Davis, Michigan State, Minnesota Accepted: Michigan State, UC Davis Rejected: Columbia (no interview), Minnesota (post-interview) No response: UT Austin, U Georgia

I have been invited to interview at Stanford for the biology home program (eco/evo focus), and just found out that the interviews are competitive. I got rejected from my only other competitive interview, so I really have no idea what to expect and it's my first choice school. Thoughts? Stats: 800Q/690V/5.0AWA 91st percentile bio, 96th eco/evo