LeNea

On the graduate level, the GPA means less than it did on the undergraduate level. I think that as long as you were in good academic standing with your master's department, the PhD program won't sweat it. You have completed graduate level work to a satisfactory standard.

Finding a terminal MS program can be tough in the life sciences. I would look around for one (because it seems the problem would be low GPA, and by taking more schooling, you could show that you can do the work), though.

I got honorable mention; the criticism two reviewers offered was that I had no publication record and had only presented my work at poster sessions and talks. I did a lot of varied undergrad research summers (REUs, CDC, but no papers), and the lab I was in during the school year wasn't so focused on publication for undergrads. I didn't get any publications out of my three rotations my first year of graduate school (8 weeks isn't long) and didn't make publication-worthy progress on my thesis in the six months between joining a lab and the NSF coming due, so, no, I don't have any papers yet. Most students in my department don't publish before the end of the third year. So if you can push something, anything, out the door before you apply next year, DO IT.

Honorable mention two years in a row? I know it's nice to get at least honorable mention, but really, two years in a row is just taunting. I feel like I was thisclose. Twice.

If they offer the institutional one, by all means, take it! You can then get a personal one later that would supplant it.

So to clarify, last week -you sent two emails -found a full voicemail box Sounds like someone's at a conference or meeting. I think 3/4 of my department has been out of town for at least one week this month - which I am sure is an absolute blast to whoever is trying to schedule those last few admissions meetings. Chair of committee goes out of town -> everyone not admitted yet is trying to track her down -> full voicemail box. If you want to believe that this professor is malicious and neglectful and you don't want to go to that school anymore, fine. I know you're frustrated, but have you tried believing the best out of people? It is a graduate school survival skill. No, your committee is not evil to ask xyz of you - they are simply trying to help you become your best.

The Institutional Predoctoral Training Grant is something that your institution applies for and administrates. Your institution will pick students to fund via this way. My (very big) program has several training grants, and they try to stick students into the one that most mirrors their interests. On the student's end, some of the training grants are required to hold seminars a few times a year, and they often have a couple hundred dollars per year per student for travel funds, and chatting with people at renewal visits. The student personally isn't on the line for renewal, it's the overall training grant. An individual predoctoral NRSA is something that YOU apply for directly to NIH. It's a much bigger deal to have one of those, IMO, as it reflects your planning, your ideas (in consultation with your advisor), and your grantsmanship. It's considered a nationally competitive individual fellowship.

Are you talking about Individual Pre-doctoral NRSA's or NIH Institutional training grants?

No, that means you should hear early next week whether or not you have been offered a spot off the waitlist. Friday, they ought have found out how many students are rejecting their offer and therefore how many people they can make offers to on the waitlist.

If you have a burning passion to work with a particular person, I'd get in touch with them with questions about their work. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to work on, so I applied to large combined programs and didn't do pre-contacts, and managed to get in plenty of places. I think it depends on the size of the program you're applying to and the strength of your interest in a particular lab. If you're not seriously interested in working with a person, I would not bother to contact them. If you're interested in doing something related to your current research, make sure that your current advisor and yourself make contacts with the people you are interested in at any meetings you're at this year. As for bringing your own funding: it can't hurt. Obviously, it won't guarantee admission, but institutions can't fund you off what they use for most grad student stipends (US NIH training grants) so having your own funding to offer relieves one of the pressures of admitting you (how to fund you).

I don't think publications matter all that much in admissions for PhD programs. You are doing the PhD to focus on a particular topic and out of that work is where the beginning of your career's publication record will be. I had none and had no trouble getting into several excellent programs. Certainly there is the occasional student who has had a stellar undergrad/master's career and has a publication that is very much their own body of work, but every time I mentioned in my interviews feeling inadequate because I had nothing to "show for" three years of undergraduate research, I was told it wasn't very important and that there isn't much of a difference between having a third-author paper and having no paper at all. A pattern of dedication to laboratory work is important, but the experience of the work and understanding what you're getting yourself into is far more important than a product out of it, in my opinion.

I've stayed at the LaQuinta by Ikea before; it's the closest outside of downtown. I stayed at the Omni during my recruitment. Here's the Yale Off Campus Housing list of hotels in the area. You could ask the departmental secretary if there are any hotels that their department has a discount rate with that you could use when booking? Cabs can get pricey quick. The secretary may also be able to alert you to other students visiting that you could talk to about splitting a room.

Consider the full implications of keeping your car registered in the different state - my home state requires annual safety inspections. I wasn't going to drive 1600 miles round trip every year to get it inspected. There is a process that involves DMVs faxing one another paperwork to get around it, but that sounded like a logistical nightmare. Dealing with one DMV is bad enough, but two? Egads. I decided six years was a long time, and it was worth it to me to transition over to keep my life simple.

I don't personally know, that depends a lot on your program you are coming from and where you are going. And, I'm not in your field but have a dear friend who is. Suggestions, however: -Identify programs you would be interested in and look at the coursework required for admission. Most will cite specific work that needs to be done before entering the program. Does your coursework fit into these criteria, or should you add more classes, or perhaps adjust what electives you are planning to take? -Talk to your current CS/CE profs about it. They can give you insight on what electives to take, if you still have some left to burn. -If you REALLY want to change, look at the time it would take to add a CS/CE major or minor to your coursework to make you a stronger candidate for admission.

I would make sure you clear working with your department before you start looking for a job. I know that you are often prohibited from part time work (or it must be cleared) if you are funded, and while you don't have that luxury I imagine if they waive or discount tuition they may want a say in what you do with your time. It'd be really embarrassing for your resume to circulate then someone realize that "hey, this is one of our students, and that's against our policies." I would proceed with caution.

Oftentimes the school sets the requirements for rotations, and the suggested dates. It varies from school to school. My undergrad was at a small department at a state school, there, the students did four week rotations and chose a lab by Christmas. Amongst the larger private grad schools I applied to, everyone seemed to do three eight-week-ish rotations and then join labs in May of the first year, but this varies from school to school. Rotations outside the "standard" rotation (starting early in the summer, or needing additional rotations after the first year to pick a lab) tend to be more flexible in length.

For grad housing: HGS is the best on-campus option and fills up fast. Most of the students I personally know who live in HGS are either international or in the humanities. It's really convenient to just about everything, but it is a hall-style dorm situation. There are some other on-campus options, like Helen Hadley Hall (great for school of music/stuff on Hillhouse Ave area due to close proximity) and Harkness Hall (down at Medical School). Harkeness is all med students with just a few others and they study ALL the time. A lot of people I know who started out in HHH were quickly frustrated with the lack of kitchen and moved out after the first year. The HGS people seem to hang around there longer, not sure why. I would use the shuttle maps as a good guide to where is good/bad to live. If you get Shuttle service within a few blocks, you're pretty safe. Ask for email addresses of older students in your program and run addresses by them before going out to look at apartments - most won't mind, and at this point, I can glance at an address and if I don't know that street name, it's probably a bad sign. I'm an East Rocker and love love love it, take the orange line down to the med school. If you're CS, I'm guessing you'll be in the Prospect/Trumbull/Hillhouse area, so pay special attention to where the Green and Blue lines go. As for finding an apartment - there are the "Yale owned" properties, I think they're overpriced, but I hear they're a good bet if you're looking for somewhere downtown. I found both my apartments on the off-campus housing service search page - GREAT resource. Both my landlords have been Yale affiliates and have been fantastic. Ask your dept if they set up a list-serv for incoming students (I know the biology combined program does) to facilitate the roommate hunt, if you're interested in that angle. On campus or Yale owned housing has to be arranged sooner; off campus apartments tend to get listed in May for July 1 starts and more towards June for August 1 starts. There are some apts with September 1 starts, they show up later, but are tough to pull off with orientation. Do not sign a lease sight unseen (but that's anywhere you go). Scrape up some money to come up and apartment hunt for several days, or find roommates that have the ability to do that (that's what I wound up doing). The greatest thing in the world is to find a good apt with heat included. Don't live on the first floor (no AC -> open windows -> break-in risk) but be aware that getting stuff up to the third floor can be a hassle (I now know lots about split box springs!). As for LGBT, I don't know what the scene is like personally, but I know quite a few LGBT grad students who seem pretty happy. I would check Yale's webpage for student organizations devoted to LGBT causes, or email the McDougal Center (Grad Student Center) about resources. They could probably put you in touch with grad students who can give you their experiences and perspectives.