FoggyAnhinga

Wow, I believe saying that was quite uncalled for, also rude. Grow up.
 
I guess that brings me one thing to vent: people taking out on others because they're frustrated/angry, etc. I mean, what good does that do to people? It just makes you look angry at the world. 

I assume at this point everyone has heard from most, if not all the schools they applied to.
 
Best luck to you all on your graduate school career for the upcoming fall!

To be fair, I don't think the last name Schwarzenegger is really as common as you think it is...
 

Alcohol. Sigh.

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. 

I too am waiting for UCSC EEB. Still no word from them, but according to their application status page, supposedly they are expecting a higher volume of users this week, which means many admission decisions might be released this week.
 
Haha PNW is a fun place to live. I heard from several colleagues who attended/worked at UW SAFS that many grad students at SAFS actually are not very happy with their current program and the professors there, so I guess it was kind of a good destiny for me not to get accepted lol (still it doesn't stop me from being disappointed with the rejection...).

I did my undergrad at UW in the SAFS department and I didn't notice that many unhappy grad students (at least from the undergrad perspective, might have been different than my impressions though). There were, however, quite a few funding issues that might present some difficulties. Still, not to make you guys feel bad for not getting accepted, but I loved my time there. 
 
Sorry you guys didn't get in, but I'm sure you'll all get into awesome schools. Just participating in this board mean you guys care about your grad school decisions wayyyy more than a lot of people I know and I'm sure the admissions committee will be able to tell.

FoggyAnhinga-- Sorry to hear you didn't make it into your top choice, but your signature says you've already been acceptance to one program. Just take solace in the fact that it's no long a question of if you're going to graduate school, it's now where. You've already made it past the worst part!

Thanks sfrie! That admission in my signature is actually a professional master's degree program (that was a backup program I applied to in case if I am rejected from all the PhDs - I've been applying to various jobs as backup as well but no luck with them), but I'm okay with that too since my dream career is to work for a government agency or a company rather than to become a professor (and this 1-2 year program apparently trains their students on attaining these jobs well, seeing how most of their graduates have good stable jobs in gov't agencies as researchers afterwards - though my ultimate dream when it comes to education was obtaining a PhD, but I guess I can reapply again next year or so, if I'm rejected from the remaining four schools). 
 
The lab I applied to at my top choice school was crazily competitive - there were well over 100 potential applicants for only four PhD/MS student openings (actually, only two PhD student openings - the others were MS) in ONE lab at that university, and I had to pass through four rounds of application reviews (including two interviews - video and lab visit) to become a finalist. I definitely knew that getting through the last hurdle (final verdict on whether I'm accepted or rejected) was going to be the most difficult hurdle of all, haha... (at least it felt nice to be a finalist out of that many applicants).
 
Congrats on your amazing admissions and best of luck choosing where to attend this fall!

Thanks sfrie! That admission in my signature is actually a professional master's degree program (that was a backup program I applied to in case if I am rejected from all the PhDs - I've been applying to various jobs as backup as well but no luck with them), but I'm okay with that too since my dream career is to work for a government agency or a company rather than to become a professor (and this 1-2 year program apparently trains their students on attaining these jobs well, seeing how most of their graduates have good stable jobs in gov't agencies as researchers afterwards - though my ultimate dream when it comes to education was obtaining a PhD, but I guess I can reapply again next year or so, if I'm rejected from the remaining four schools). 
 
The lab I applied to at my top choice school was crazily competitive - there were well over 100 potential applicants for only four PhD/MS student openings (actually, only two PhD student openings - the others were MS) in ONE lab at that university, and I had to pass through four rounds of application reviews (including two interviews - video and lab visit) to become a finalist. I definitely knew that getting through the last hurdle (final verdict on whether I'm accepted or rejected) was going to be the most difficult hurdle of all, haha... (at least it felt nice to be a finalist out of that many applicants).
 
Congrats on your amazing admissions and best of luck choosing where to attend this fall!

Shut up

(That's my add a word. Don't actually shut up, I love this game!)

Minimum requirements are an undergraduate overall GPA greater than 3.00 and at least 15 credits of Undergraduate Psychology, Neuroscience or equivalent courses. Both of which I don't have.
 
 
 
 
I have applied to more than 50 job postings in the Boston area and in the US. I've gotten interviews from HMS, Boston Medical Center, and Transnetyx. I've applied to every Job I can find on Linkedin. No offers.
Ever since i got the layoff notice, I've been looking for work. That was almost 10 months ago. 

I should mention that the position that I held at MIT no longer exists. I have limited income and no tuition assistance.
 
Some have suggested to find another research job. I have looked for other positions at MIT and else where, got interviews, and no offers. I do not anticipate getting another research position, but I will have to work full-time/part-time to pay for coursework or a MS.
 
Someone also suggested I go to Australia and try to enter grad school there. I'm not sure of the merits.

I actually read that article before. It basically told me I need to get one guy to pull alot of strings to get me in to a program. I thought I had that at some of the places I applied to, but obviously not. Hope it will help someone else reading the thread.   I'll definitely look into Queen's college, any labs there that you know are taking students? 

Hi
Starting a game is a good idea.Also please allow me to do this post about water filter.
..............................................................................
http://www.ezdia.com/epad/water-filter-reviews-information-water-filter-system/6864/'> WATER FILTER REVIEWS AND INFORMATION

Hey you're an ecology applicant too! Nice
 
Six of the schools I applied have issued student ID numbers as though I'm already an official student to all these schools haha... yeah it is odd, I personally would prefer keeping my original username/email and password for the application to check my application status. I remember when I applied for master's program several years ago, one of the schools also issued me a student ID, but after I was rejected from that school, they kept my "student ID" for the next six months and kept badgering me via email that my password will soon expire. It took several phone calls to persuade those people at that university's admission office that I'm not attending that university lol.

I was TAing an undergrad bio course and one of my students emailed me letting me know that she didn't turn in her extra credit project because according to her, "I lost it" (too bad). BUT, even though she didn't turn it in, she says she still deserved those extra credit points because she put her effort into doing it. When I told her that makes absolutely no sense because if that was the case, I'd be awarding extra credit to everyone in the class regardless of whether they turned in their assignment or not. She then went on trying to reason me with this, complaining to me that I'm being very unfair, and vehemently claimed that she still deserved the points. She even decided to take this issue to the professor by cc'ing her in the email. 

Gosh...... I thought graduate students / young adults who are considering a career in academia would be mature, respectful people.
 
Mods please delete or lock this thread.

Everyone seems to love Duck Dynasty - I've watched a few episodes and I'm not exactly sure what's so fantastic about it lol...

Rejected from University of Washington School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, but that was kinda expected, seeing how they only accept ~9-10% of applicants each year (according to UW grad admission statistics over 150 ppl apply every year and only 12-15 people get accepted, master's and PhD applicants put together). Also it seems like many professors are tight on funding... 
 
Still waiting from my other schools! Fingers crossed for everyone!

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, but what I would like to vent about are irresponsible owners or owners in constant denial. I knew a colleague who didn't give her dog much attention as she should and her dog would go around chewing/destroying household items whenever her owner was absent (it's quite mind-blowing to see how your place looks after being gone for only a few hours). Sadly the owner was always sugarcoating it, saying that it's because she's only a puppy (she's 5 years old! Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is not a puppy) and she was always in denial (didn't want to admit her dog had problems nor admit her problems with not giving her dog enough attention). If I nor others were there to witness her dog doing the destruction (even though it was obvious it was her dog since other dogs were kept in their crates while the owners were out), she would stubbornly argue that we can't prove her dog did it... sigh...

I got an email that I was one of the most attractive people on there in my area. 
I just feel like there aren't insanely attractive people in my area.  

Hey don't worry one of my first posts was about finding a husband in grad school and a large number of people on here were totally douchey to me.  You want what you want and grad school takes up a lot of time and effort which can suck for people who want to be married and have families before they are old and gray! Good luck!!

Thank you.   I hadn't heard of Meetup before. I will take a look.
 
Sorry for being off-topic, I just thought that since this is a gathering-place for everyone who is thinking about attending or already attending graduate school, there might be a more relevant group of young people I could try to connect with.

@abberant -- I looked at the Wired link you posted and I am not sure if you are playing a joke on me or not. You can't be literally suggesting that I do what that person did.
 
 
I was sincere when I wrote my opening post.
 
The criteria are stringent because as a woman I do not have a lot of time to waste. Men can wait until they're 35 to look for love, but women just don't have that many years where they are fertile. So I have thought very carefully about what I want, and this was just an attempt to get the message out there.
 
I am sorry if my post somehow annoyed or offended you in any way.