FoggyAnhinga

Whew, 40 students for 1 spot... a couple labs I applied to were only accepting 4 people but the POI received over whopping 150 applications People who received their PhDs in sciences quite a few years ago don't understand how competitive admissions to PhD labs have become nowadays...

Speaking of Netflix, the Interview (that movie which North Koreans tried to suppress) is now available!!

post office

string cheese

Wow, what a pain in the rear end... has any male coworker refused to help her? If it was me, I'd be like "I am not going to do it for you but I can try to help you". But yeah she does sound sketchy... If I remember correctly, during my undergrad this one girl with terrible undergrad grades apparently got a research position in a prestigious faculty's lab because she managed to seduce a grad student there...

game theory

long feather

Lizard tail

The application portal sent me an email saying that a decision has been made for my application. I logged into my application, and at the very bottom was the link to the decision that was made for my application. When I clicked the link it was a generic and very short rejection letter. I did have one phone interview prior to applying.

And along with an acceptance and an interview, I guess a rejection is also in order just got a rejection notice by Northeastern EEMB... for anyone else who applied to that program I wish you all the best w/ interviews or potential admission offers!

fast wind

There's a whole thread devoted to venting in the Lobby:

acid rain

Thanks shadowclaw! I'm actually not pursuing ornithology (birding is just my hobby and I find anhingas awesome lol). I've been gathering lab & field research experience since my first year in undergrad. Since then, I've been doing some research every summer and throughout every year of my undergraduate program (quite a few research experience were gathered from my work study program), through my master's, and also during my last several years of work experience as a research assistant up to this point. I have field experiences along both east and the west coasts, the gulf coast, and also from east Asia. It's still very early in the stages of any decision or interviews, so I definitely wouldn't give up any hope yet! Since you have a master's degree, that could be a HUGE plus over other applicants too (many professors in ecology field are seeking PhD students with master's degree). Furthermore, since you applied for NSFGRFP (which is basically your admission ticket to a Ph.D. program if you are awarded), that gives you another huge advantage. Stay positive, and I'll keep my fingers crossed! A huge congrats to you sfrie! Looks like an awesome program and if you decide to attend there, hope it's a great fit for you!

I agree with all of the sound advice offered by the members here. If you want to pursue a career in academia (and if that is what you truly want to do and if you still see yourself doing that in the future), my advice is NEVER EVER GIVE UP. I knew a few people whose applications kept being turned down due to their low GPA. Guess what they did? Some enrolled in a new undergraduate program to aim for the highest grades possible in sciences or any core course requirements, and they succeeded and now are pursuing Ph.D. (they are currently in their late 20s to early 30s). One person I know actually finished his new undergrad degree in three years. Another person was working part-time in a lab while taking quite a few courses at a local university/community college as a non-degree student, and that person also succeeded in being admitted to a Ph.D. program. I too have a rather stubborn attitude. I don't blame you; every graduate student, whether current or prospect, have their respective pride (I used to be immature and a little defensive when my advisor suggested some unexpected changes for my research project early on - looking back, I hugely regret my attitude). I used to be very stubborn when I started my master's, but as my research project progressed, I realized that I still had LOT to learn, and by embracing changes & sacrifices (and becoming more open-minded and less stubborn), I was capable of impressing a number of my colleagues, my major advisor, and my committee within 15 months after I started graduate school. However, let me remind you this: a persistent stubborn attitude will get you only so far (yes it is true, I cannot emphasize it enough). In fact, even if you get admitted to a program, if you continue to be very stubborn, you will have a very difficult time building bridges with other faculty, other graduate students, and maybe even your advisor. A persistent stubborn attitude can be perceived very negatively by the people around you. Many people who have responded and given you advice on this thread have substantially more experience than you when it comes to graduate application process / admission procedures, and hence are trying to help you, not discourage you. Nobody here is trying to treat you as though you don't know what sacrifices mean. Don't get defensive or abrasive, and cut down on your stubbornness, because with those traits you will have a difficult time building a network even when you are in a graduate program.

Or if people keep asking "did you hear back from them yet?" My response always has been "I will let you know if I hear anything", but sigh, some people get pretty impatient I suppose...

Sometimes, but certainly not all, based on my experience. It depends on faculty - some professors are more stingy about this than others.

I remember spending one month in the previous year without eating out at all, which was VERY hard to do, I'm not going to lie (not even a single visits to any bars or Starbucks, etc), and it's staggering to see how much you can save per month on food! However, as most of you know, eating out is inevitable these days even when you don't want to go, because as a grad student your major advisor or your postdoc may invite you for lunch, which you can't really refuse (especially when your advisor is trying to introduce you to another professor to discuss collaborative work, etc), or if you are meeting a friend from outside the town (sure, you can ask him/her to meet with you in a parking lot just to chat if you feel super stingy, but I don't know if anyone does that lol).

Official interview and a lab visit for another program in a few weeks! Excited but very nervous... probably more nervous because it looks like a fantastic program but I will have to see if I am really impressed with the lab personnel, the facility, and the area in general once I visit

port elizabeth

Ah group projects... they can be especially frustrating when the workload somehow gets unevenly divided and a member or two of the group slacks off (most annoying part is when I ask them "did you get this done?" Their response is "uh, no. should I?"). Best of luck to you though! It'll be over before you know it.

trick treat

"Why is funding so important to you?!" Umm... hello... no funding, no admittance for research programs... got it??!?

Hahaha I hope she didn't respond to you after that... oh boy, the things undergrads do these days for a better grade... Another stupid thing I overheard was during a seminar by a guest speaker (the presentation was about ocean currents in northern Pacific), one undergrad student in the audience (who clearly wasn't paying attention, I'm guessing he was attending to fulfill his class requirement on attending these seminars) suddenly interrupted the speaker and asked in his loud obnoxious voice "Is that a mountain range in France or something??"

Good luck!! Hopefully you might get good news sometime in February