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prospectivegrad1

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  1. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 reacted to Nomad1111 in Summer before Graduate School   
    You've travelled a lot, you've gone backpacking, you've had plenty of time. Others likely haven't, so why sweepingly say that travelling is a waste and you strongly advise against it? You're approaching it from one of many angles but others are in different positions coming at grad school from different angles. 
  2. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 reacted to TakeruK in On living with your 'second choice'   
    Here are my honest thoughts:
    1. Many people, including myself, often think of our lives as a story where we are the main character and we get to do the things we want. In reality, while we do possess the ability to influence many factors of our lives, we will all at some point, learn that there are situations where there is nothing we can do about it.
    2. When we don't get our #1 choice, we are reminded that we're just one of many people in the world. But this learning process is not necessarily linear. There will be times where we have a very good understanding of our place within the world, and there will be other times where we might forget and revert back to thinking about the what-ifs. That's okay.
    3. "Getting over" disappointment is not a binary process, it's not like you're "over" it or not. There are different types of being "over" it and so it's also normal and fine to sometimes think back and wonder what might have been. Even if you feel like you are mostly gotten past the disappointment.
    4. Over the last 5 years, I think I have experienced a lot of rejection and know how to handle it most of the time. But sometimes I do get an illogical urge to "prove myself". I admit that in the mix of postdoc applications there were one or two applications sent to schools that didn't have the best fit for me but since they had rejected me for grad school, maybe I just wanted to prove to myself I could get in. At the time of applications, I convinced myself that I was really applying because I thought there was a potential fit, not for these petty reasons, but in hindsight, I think a big chunk of it was me unconsciously trying to "prove myself". Needless to say, I didn't get an offer from any of these applications. Probably should not have wasted the time on petty reasons but I'm not perfect! 
  3. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from jougami in UCSF vs. Rockefeller (for systems neuroscience)   
    Both are really good schools. I would let the science guide your decision, and by the looks of it, UCSF seems to have more PIs you are interested in so I would go with UCSF.
  4. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from fitzgradschool in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Once you get an interview invite, you've defeated 70% of the battle, and I think interviews fill in the remaining 30%. Your interview experience is highly dependent on your interviewer. I think the few people who don't get accepted post-interview are the ones who got unlucky and got interviewers who would continuously grill them. 
     
    I think interviewers are looking for 3 things from you: knowledge of your own research project (based on your ability to answer the questions they ask you about your research), ability to communicate your research project, and enthusiasm/ability to ask good questions about their research. I've attended 5 interviews so far, and I think all my interviewers try their best to gauge these 3 variables. 
  5. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from Cervello in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Once you get an interview invite, you've defeated 70% of the battle, and I think interviews fill in the remaining 30%. Your interview experience is highly dependent on your interviewer. I think the few people who don't get accepted post-interview are the ones who got unlucky and got interviewers who would continuously grill them. 
     
    I think interviewers are looking for 3 things from you: knowledge of your own research project (based on your ability to answer the questions they ask you about your research), ability to communicate your research project, and enthusiasm/ability to ask good questions about their research. I've attended 5 interviews so far, and I think all my interviewers try their best to gauge these 3 variables. 
  6. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 reacted to Bioenchilada in Question about external funding   
    Some grants will cover a fraction of your tuition (i.e NSF), but there's typically many benefits besides that. 
  7. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 reacted to jmillar in Question about external funding   
    This will depend on the the university, and in some cases the specific department, as well as what kind of fellowship it is (which funding agency), the rules associated with the fellowship, and how much the fellowship is for. For instance, some universities will tack on a little extra as a congratulations to you, since their funding is similar to what you would get through the fellowship. Some universities will help make up the difference in funds if a fellowship is less than a typical RAship and other may only contribute up to a certain percentage. Depending on the granting agency, some will let you double up on stipends, while others do not allow this. Certain grants pay only a portion of your tuition, expecting the university to pay/waive the rest, while for others you are responsible for the rest. It's good to have a talk with your POI and other people at the university to see what specific situation applies to you.
  8. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 reacted to Bioenchilada in Question about external funding   
    That depends on the school, I think. In my program, the program pays for your tuition and stipend during the first two years. After that, your PI starts paying for your stipend, the university keeps paying for your tuition till you are done.  Getting an NIH grant will usually increase your stipend. 
    Who pays what doesn't really matter because it's the university's responsibility to maintain your funding. You should never be in a spot where you have to pay or get a pay decrease.
  9. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from jumanji5a in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Phew~
  10. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from jumanji5a in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Stanford Biosciences sent out their invites already?
  11. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from CRYTIME in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Stanford Biosciences sent out their invites already?
  12. Upvote
    prospectivegrad1 got a reaction from Lalbadshah in Diversity statement -- first generation student?   
    Hey all,
    Would it be appropriate to write that you are a first generation student when the application requests a statement about how you contribute to the diversity at the school? Is this something that counts as "underrepresented"?
    Michael
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