Nomad1111
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Posts posted by Nomad1111
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On 11/14/2017 at 2:24 PM, ZAureus said:
Hello everyone!
Would appreciate if someone could comment on whether I have a chance to be admetted to programs I'm applying to, since I have low GPA and my Q score isn't so hot as well (hope good subject compensates for that). And my research experience might not be so competitive too. Maybe I should consider some lower-ranked programs?
Undergrad Institution: some Medical University, top for medicine in Russia
Major(s): General Medicine (MD)
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 3.21
Position in Class: n/a
Type of Student: International male
GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 155 (59%)
V: 161 (88%)
W: 3.0 (18%)
B: Biology 820 (90%)
TOEFL Total: 105
Research Experience: 4 years in neurobiological lab in Moscow, Russia, with focus on cellular basis of memory. Got my own little project, but no publications so far. Oral presentations and posters at several all-russian "international" conferences.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: an award for the best oral presentation at local conference (don't know if it's worth mentioning though)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: private tutor for high school students in biology and chemistry for 3 years, also did some toturing at college level in biochemistry, histology ans pharmacology
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Special Bonus Points: one of my recommenders is relatively well-known scientist (compared to other russians)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: would recieve MD degree (don't know if this is an advantage)
Applying to Where:
Applying to Neuroscience programsUCSD
UCLA
UC Davis
UC Riverside
Baylor
Emory
UT Southwestern
Columbia
NYU
You should check out MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences!
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On 10/22/2017 at 5:53 AM, lemma said:
Your GPA and GRE are much, much lower than my friends who are doing biology PhDs at Harvard, Stanford and UPenn. Not a biologist or that across admissions, so I don't have a worthwhile perspective on how likely the research piece will push you across the line.
For what it's worth, my uGPA was about the same as yours and I'm at Harvard. So there are many factors at play and I'd say it's always worth throwing down a few reach apps
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Hey all!
Wasn't quite sure where to put this, but I was hoping someone could tell me when the MIT Media Lab program (MSc/PhD) starts, is it late August like most programs?
Thanks!
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Check in with your program to see if they have any resources at orientation to help you choose.
I was going to start contacting PIs, but I spoke to a current student in my program and found out that there's a poster session at the beginning that is a really awesome way to narrow down your list and find out what available PIs are up to.
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I'm currently in Boston, as an international student, and can definitely appreciate the housing stresses! I've also lived in Canada, where we'd usually see places going up 30 days before, but in Boston I'm asked months in advance (usually 3-4) if I'll be resigning my lease. There is a short period of answer turnaround, and then the place is listed if I don't resign. This does vary a bit place to place, but this seems to be reasonably standard for real estate companies, whereas private landlords seem to post places closer to the vacancy date (this information is solely based on my own personal experiences and those I've seen from my friends and colleagues).
I had a lot of luck renting with Copley. They didn't ask me for much documentation, just ID and my social security card, although a friend of mine was able to sign a lease when she explained she didn't have a SSN. They did require first and last months rent plus a brokers fee, but no damage deposit. All of those payments had to be made using a certified check from my bank, so you'd need to have those funds in your bank account to acquire the check.
If you're looking to get the lay of the land before you dive into the renters market in Boston (and gather al your funds together!), I would suggest subletting for a few months. This is what I did, and it made the transition a lot easier. Just be aware that move in day at the end of August is a city-wide event, and it can be a difficult and chaotic time to acquire a lease. I'm part of a bunch of MIT/Harvard subletting groups, feel free to PM me if you'd like me to send you the links!
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PS UVic is the best
Beautiful place to study.
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On 4/10/2017 at 9:18 AM, npi said:
Anyone got accepted or rejected? Did you hear back ?! This is for Economics Graduate in Victoria BC
I have family members on the admissions committee, have you not heard back?
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7 minutes ago, SarahBethSortino said:
I've traveled a lot, lived abroad, gone backpacking in Europe. I'm 36. I've had plenty of time to do that. This is preparation for a job. I've been working for 10 years in various industries, have done a Masters, had a kid, probably need a break, but in the end there is not a lot more important to me than coming into a PhD program completely prepared. It's not a personal insult to your trip, I just think that in the limited time before the start of school, it is best to get into the routine of intense study as soon as possible. That's how I'm approaching it.
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.
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54 minutes ago, SarahBethSortino said:
I would also say that I would strongly advise against wasting the summer traveling, hanging out with friends, or just hanging out. Unless you need to work full time up until the point you start, which is totally valid, you should not waste the opportunity to get as prepared for the semester as you possibly can. When I did my Masters, I tried to know exactly what was going to be expected of me. I spent the entire summer reading through all the materials for the classes I would be taking. It made the first semester much easier than it would have been had I not done so, because when time was tight and I had deadlines in one class that took a priority over another, I could refer to the notes from my readings. This is likely the last time for several years you will have to get ahead, because you will probably feel like you are perpetually behind for the rest of your graduate school career.
I totally disagree that travelling is a waste of the summer! If you have the time and money, do it! It's going to be very difficult to find that chunk of time during your PhD, you've likely worked your butt off to get into programs, and travelling is a wonderful way to grow and mature as a person. Sure, prep too if ya want, can't you do both?
Globally calling it a waste seems a bit closed-minded?
- jmillar, rockyMicrobe, ire1 and 8 others
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19 hours ago, shikkui said:
It'll be a move for me! Congratulations to you as well! Will you be moving?
I thought there would be more people who would have decided by now. XD
Awesome, good luck with your move
It's extra exciting when it's a whole new set of experiences!
I've been here for about a year, so it'll be turning a temporary situation into a more permanent one
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Congrats! Are you from the area, or is this going to be a move for you? So exciting!
I'm going to be attending Harvard's BBS program
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I've heard mixed message from faculty members/PIs/ADCOM members about narrative structures in personal statements. The most common "AVOID THIS" advice I received was to not hinge your narrative on emotional statements. Like "I knew I wanted to be a scientist when I watched my *insert loved one here* suffer from *insert sad disease here*..." and then carrying that as the main thread underlying your narrative. I'm sure some people are fine with this, but I think the issue is that some people really don't like this approach, so the advice is to play it safe and avoid appealing to people through these types of emotional stories.
I structured my personal statement as kinda a timeline, beginning in the early days when my initial scientific curiosity was sparked, then moving through the experiences I gained over the years and at the end, bringing it back to that initial curiosity still being there as well as other important characteristics that developed along the way.
My biggest tip is to start early, write a draft, walk away from it for a few weeks. Then pull it back out, look at it again with fresh eyes. Re work it and be super open to a complete overhaul (this is why starting early is the first step!). Then start sharing it, and remain open to total overhauls. For me, starting early and walking away from it several times gave me the big picture perspective I needed to take it from decent to amazing, at least compared to the original draft
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58 minutes ago, levelground said:
MIT BCS emails are going out. I've been waitlisted.
Here's to hoping those who intend to decline do so quickly!
I'll be declining, so hopefully that helps
My host did tell me that they over offer, they don't just offer exactly what they need and then waitlist. So I'm wondering if the waitlist tends to move? A friend of mine is also on the waitlist so I'd be curious to know if anyone knows anything about MIT BCS waitlist. Did they tell you where on the waitlist you are?
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If you could show the rest of your stats, that would help put your situation in context
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18 hours ago, TakeruK said:
Yep, I'm happy to answer further questions here or in a PM, although if it's details based on your personal situation, a PM is probably better
I realise I might have misread the intent of your post. I read it as: "The school is giving me a choice between F-1 and J-1 and I don't know what to choose", but maybe you mean, "What would make me eligible for J-1?".
For the latter, the main things you need to qualify for J-1 status are:
1. School's willingness to sponsor you as J-1
2. The majority of your funding coming from sources that are not your own personal funds (e.g. if you're fully funded by the school, that's more than enough!)
3. You are able to provide proof of funding for the duration of your degreeIf you have these things, you should ask the school for J-1 status and for them to issue you a DS-2019 instead of a I-20. You'll have to work with them to get whatever other documentation they need (e.g. you will need proof of your marriage so that the school can also issue your spouse a DS-2019 as well).
Awesome, thank you! The paperwork I received from the school allows me to select (at least it seems) J1 or F1 and then has requirements for each of those listed. All of my funding is coming from the school (tuition waiver, yearly stipend that exceeds cost of living, and health insurance) and is guaranteed for the duration of the degree. So it sounds like, as long as the school is willing to sponsor as you said, I should be ok!
Do you know if people ever switch over from F1 to J1? At this point in time, I'm not 100% sure if my spouse would need the working rights I would have for him with J1, but it's a possibility down the road. So I guess I'm wondering if it's safer to get the J1 and have that in place and deal with the potential downfalls of a J1 (2 year return clause, for example) . Or if people sometimes begin as F1 and then are able to switch to J1 part way through?
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16 hours ago, TakeruK said:
The vast majority of foreign students in the US are on F-1 status.
There are two main reasons why students in the US would choose J-1:
1) They are funded by an exchange type fellowship, such as the Fulbright, that requires them to be on J-1
2) They want their spouse/partner to be on J-2 status so that their spouse/partner can apply for permission to work in the US. A spouse of a F-1 student would be on F-2 and F-2 status does not allow one to work in the US.I'm a Canadian on a J-1 for reason #2. In fact, I had to seek out US programs that would sponsor me on J-1 because not all programs are willing to sponsor J-1 either.
Being on J-1 puts you on more restrictions/requirements, which could be:
- J-1s and their dependents need to buy Medical Evacuation / Remains Repatriation insurance. It's not a lot (like $100/year) but it pays for the costs of either sending you back to Canada if you get really sick or die in the US.
- J-1s need to prove funding for the full duration of the degree, not just the first year
- Some J-1s are subject to the 2-year home residency requirement. Generally, this happens if either i) you are funded by your home government or ii) you are training for a special skills that Canada has marked as "essential" and they want to retain you. If you have this requirement, you may not seek an immigration class visa in the US until you have lived in Canada for 2 years. You can apply to get this requirement waived (I think the decision ultimately rests on Canada).
- There is a repeat participation bar for J-1s going onto another J-1 status. Specifically, I think there must be a 12 month gap between your grad school J-1 and a postdoc/professor J-1 if you want to stay in the US. This means you might have to find a different status in between, such as H1-B (hard to get a sponsor in academia) or TN (very common for Canadians in the US).There are more but they are all minor and mostly come from the fact that F-1 and J-1 are administered different so there are different names for pretty much the same thing.
So, most people would want to be on F-1. If you have a spouse and they would like to work in the US, J-1 is probably the way to go. If you are considering this, I'm happy to answer any questions! We've been in the US for almost 5 years now on J-1 and J-2 status.
Thank you so much for your reply, this is super helpful! My reason for asking is exactly what you highlighted: I would want to consider a J visa so my spouse has the ability to work. I'll send you my questions in a private message if that's ok!
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Hi there,
I've received my acceptance package from Harvard recently, and there is some information about visas (I also looked at their website information). It says some students are on J1s, some students are on F1s, but it's unclear how you would know which one would be your visa. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what would put one in the J1 or F1 camp?
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9 hours ago, Kaede said:
Is anyone going to be at the Harvard diversity weekend?
I probably will be!
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Anyone know when we might hear back from MIT Brain and Cog Sciences?
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13 hours ago, TB12 said:
I'm hoping for some advice on handling my current situation! I have an offer at one program, and they want a decision by March 15. I'm not sure I'll hear back yet from the two other programs I interviewed at (one of which is my top choice), and obviously I'm not going to accept an offer with any chance of then declining later. Is it better to contact the two programs I haven't heard from yet? Or ask for an extension for my decision?
I think, as said above, this March 15th deadline is likely a request because they're holding a waitlist. Columbia told us in the interview weekend that programs will ask for these earlier decisions because they're holding a waitlist and wana try and move it by eliminating people that are going to accept elsewhere. They told us they would do this (they did, they also asked us to decide in March and followed up with a few emails as well), but they also told us that no accredited program can force you to decide/rescind your offer before April 15th.
2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results
in Biology
Posted
You stats look awesome! Have you thought about Columbia for neuro? They have a strong program and incredible reputation/PIs