kevinrhinoceros

I'm planning on traveling through East Asia and working on writing up a few of my projects into papers. Like others have said, I think relaxing before grad school is definitely an option to consider, especially if you're coming straight from undergrad. I think most PIs would prefer a well-rested 1st year grad student to a burnt-out 1st year student who marathoned through a rotation in the summer after graduating.

Oh, I got that email. When I first read it I thought they said that "we have more highly accomplished applicants than you." I was pretty upset for about an hour before I realized I misread it. Still a little annoyed because during the interviews I qualified my responses with things like "if I have the opportunity to go here, _______" and just about every prof would stop me and say that everybody gets in. Guess not.

I attend BU now for undegrad and applied to PiBS. From my understanding, they're waiting for students who they've extended offers to respond yes or no before extending more offers, if needed. You're probably on some sort of de facto waiting list. I'm sorry

Hmm. Well, the GRFP is pretty different from a regular grant in that they're more funding you as a person instead of your research. NIH grants are also pretty different from NSF grants in terms of scope/focus. If you can find someone who has NSF funding, they'll at least be helpful with the research statement.

In addition to the websites listed above, I would highly highly recommend working with multiple profs on your personal statement and research statement. Try to see if anyone from your institution has served on a GRFP review committee before, even if it's in a slightly different field or subfield (it can sometimes be better to have someone who doesn't know you look at your personal statement, too!). You can also work with grad students or post-docs who've previously won the award, if you know any. The general tips from those websites are great (and I used them to a degree), but nothing beats the one-on-one feedback from a prof or other live person!

Honestly, that's what I'm assuming. I didn't apply to Vanderbilt, but I applied to Columbia Biology before the "priority deadline" and still haven't heard anything I know they have interviews in early March, but I'm not holding out hope, to be honest...

If the director doesn't help you, go to the dean. Trying to further yourself after you graduate is a totally legitimate reason to miss class, I don't see how some high and mighty professor expects you to negotiate with half-a-dozen schools to get them to work around his silly bravado.

Congrats! Me too! (nearly fell out of my bed this morning when I saw the email)

Got an interview offer by email from Scripps Florida! This is one of my top choices, I'm really excited :')

UW got back to me about two weeks ago? There's another thread for EEB students on this forum, I think.

Did anybody else apply to The Scripps Research Institute? I'm surprised I haven't heard much talk about it, I thought it was a pretty decent program?

I also applied to UCSF Tetrad, and it seems like they're doing the same thing as last year where they send them out in waves. There were people hearing from the program as late as mid-January for interviews last year, so I wouldn't be too worried if you haven't heard anything yet. I also highly doubt that only one or two people on this forum got interviews at such a popular program Congrats to those who did, though! I'm hoping at least a few of us will be joining you!

No, it was their general biological sciences program.

I just got an interview offer by phone for the University of Washington (Seattle) Biological Sciences umbrella program!

Undergrad Institution: Boston UniversityMajor(s): BA: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology // MA: Biotechnology (combined program in four years)Minor(s): n/aGPA in Major: 3.88Overall GPA: 3.80Position in Class: Top. I'm right on the border between magna and summa cum laudeType of Student: Domestic, MaleGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 164V: 165W: 5.0B: n/aResearch Experience: Two summers in high school at an institution back home, three years at my current institution in a Biochemistry lab. Highlights: Multiple independent projects Three seminars Two posters ~$3k in supplies funding over three years. ~$10k in personal grants Mentored multiple other undergrads Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Full-tuition need-based/merit-based scholarship Dean's List (all semesters) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Resident Assistant for three years, Tutor for one year, Special Tutoring Program Coordinator for two years, Teaching Fellow for one term, Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for one termApplying to Where: MIT Harvard Medical School Boston University School of Medicine Rockefeller Columbia Johns Hopkins Scripps UCSF University of Washington