[Stanford EESS?]

59 minutes ago, Bike13 said:

I don’t have a great sense of the process - if we don’t get invited to an interview, should we interpret that as a rejection?

It varies between schools and programs. In previous cycles, the ESS interview invitations were sent out during the last 2 weeks of January. The invite on the results page was just a heads up from that person's potential advisor; found here. 

[2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Hi all! I just wanted to remind everyone that this topic is not only for app profiles. If you haven't already, please create a free account and keep everyone updated on interview dates, acceptances/rejections, and any other questions you may have about the grad school application process. My aim is for this thread to be similar to the 2016 cycle for Earth Sciences and the 2018 cycle for biology. The 2017 Earth Sciences thread was deleted last year following the suspension of the author. This, unfortunately, has left us with outdated information regarding program deadlines, interviews, and decisions.

Again, I encourage everyone to share any results and questions they may have regarding the application cycle and wish you all the best of luck! 

[2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Graduate & Undergrad Institution: State university
Degree: MS in Biology GPA: 3.92 (1 B in final semester)
Degree: BS in Biology, minor in Chemistry GPA: 3.12 (Strong upward trend)
Type of Student: First generation, domestic, white male
GRE Scores: low and did not retake due to teaching, research, and coursework.
If you're worried about your GRE score: (1) more schools are beginning to take a holistic approach to reviewing apps. (2) some programs are eliminating the GRE requirement altogether. See some of the articles below regarding this topic. Check out the link to an article from the UW which also provides a list of additional sources.

Graduate Research Experience: Since May 2016. Continuing to work as a volunteer researcher until I enter a Ph.D. program. 3 presentations (one at state branch of ASM). Publication in preparation. Environmental microbiology and molecular biology.
Undergrad Research Experience: 1 year and 1 month. 2 presentations (one at ASM national conference). Environmental microbiology and molecular biology.
Graduate Teaching Experience: Teaching assistant/lab instructor for 3 semesters (4 different courses). 
Undergrad Teaching Experience: One semester as 'lab instructor' for a senior-level Environmental microbiology course.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Research assistantship grants (grad and undergrad), grad school scholarships, 2 honor society memberships
Special Bonus Points: first generation to earn bachelors degree and master's degree
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:  volunteer experiences. Multiple skills and techniques. Science communication (not in app package but on my personal website): in the midst of producing my own podcast.

Applied to: Georgia Tech (Ocean Science and Engineering (OSE) - Biological Sciences), Stanford (Earth System Science), University of Washington - Seattle (Oceanography)

 

Links 
Podcast episode about the paper below titled  "predictors of student productivity...":
http://hellophd.com/2017/01/065-does-gre-predict-which-students-will-succeed/

Predictors of Student Productivity in Biomedical Graduate School Applications: 
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0169121

The Limitations of the GRE in Predicting Success in Biomedical Graduate School: 
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166742#sec001

UW article: 
https://grad.uw.edu/diversity/graduate-school-holistic-admissions-workshops/ 

[Stanford EESS?]

4 hours ago, mochamocha73 said:

Just curious, has anyone heard anything back from Stanford EESS (in particular, Earth System Science)? I saw somewhere that interviews are supposed to be in February, but I haven't received any notices. I saw someone in the survey results get an interview a few days ago, so just wondering if I still have a chance. Thanks!

I just sent you a DM. Check your inbox. 

[2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

The 2018 application cycle is well underway, so I figured I'd start a topic by copying the format from the biology section. Use the following template to enter your information, before and after you obtain your results, and remember to submit your results at the end of the cycle for posterity and to help the next cohort of applicants HERE.

SOP checks, LOR questions, interview/acceptance/rejection releases... Any and All questions are welcome! 

You got this CHAMP!     https://youtu.be/_DRnSZhhgA8 

Below are some useful links: 
Ask questions about the PhD application process!      2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results      2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results 

Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?)... Overall Reputation in Biology?)
Major(s):
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA:
Position in Class: (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?)
Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:
V:
W:
B:

TOEFL Total: (if applicable, otherwise delete this)

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest

[Ask questions about the PhD application process!]

After not hearing anything back from my top school choice, I'm trying to determine what area of my application could use some work.  The only potential problem I could see would be with my statement of purpose, specifically my research interests and why I want to go to that school.  I'm interested in studying microbial life of extreme environments, and how that could relate to the environments of other planets.  This is quite vague, so I chose 1-2 professors whose research I was interested in (specifically one at this school).  I read his most recent publications and gave a 1-2 sentence summary, then posed a question along the lines of: " I’d be curious to see if there are other donors to the electron pool in relation to ATP synthesis, other than the already determined ones (I obviously named those in detail)" because a paper mentioned that inhibiting one of the determined donors led to equivalent amounts of ATP generated.  In a different app I posed a question along the lines of: "I'd be interested in determining environmental changes that would promote or impede the motility of the bacterium, which could be done by restricting key elements such as phosphorous."  

Did I misinterpret how I should go about stating my interests?  The thing is, I don't have a very specific set of interests. I'm open to molding my research based on the topics that my potential advisor is interested in.  I'm aware that unlike when I was choosing master's research based on projects available, a PhD advisor expects you to create your own project.  In my SOP I  wanted to show that I understand what is going on, and that I can develop a potential question relative to their research, even if it may be a small contribution to the subject.  

 

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

On 1/9/2017 at 4:09 PM, washington_virology said:

I'm waiting to hear back to. I just emailed them asking when they would be sending out interview offers.

They're contacting applicants this week about interviews.

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Has anyone heard back from the University of Washington's Microbiology program yet?  They sent out interview emails on Jan. 7th last year and Jan. 9th the year before.

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

59 minutes ago, prospectivegrad1 said:

I can't answer your overarching question of whether you are a strong applicant or not, but I can pitch in my opinion on the impact of GREs. For sciences, the admissions committee is mainly looking for good quantitative and analytic writing scores and judge less on your verbal score. So in your scenario, it depends on which section of the GRE  you scored low on. Moreover, the admissions committee typically will look at your master's GPA more strongly than your undergrad GPA; so even though your undergrad GPA is quite low, it is very possible that your master's GPA will compensate for it.

Even if your quantitative and analytic writing scores are not terrific, I truly believe that the two most important aspects of an application are your LORs and SOP. The admissions committee is looking for students who are competent (based on your LORs) and motivated/enthusiastic/a-good-fit (based on your SOP). If you have letter writers who know you well and are enthusiastic about you, then their letters should mitigate the negative effects of your GREs and carry you into grad school. Don't let numbers (GPA, GREs) affect your confidence level -- your LORs and SOP mean much more. 

 

43 minutes ago, Epigenetics said:

On that note though, committees care about independent research experience most of all, and idk if a master's actually demonstrates that, largely depends on the nature of the program. I can tell you the two biggest things committees care about, from friends who have been on them, are letters of rec and research experience. They want to know you know what you're getting into.

Thanks guys!  You kind of summed up what my advisor told me, and that makes me feel a lot better.  I went deep into the details of my research because my advisor believes that showing competence in your work is the most superior aspect of the SOP.  Paraphrasing him: he would want to see that someone understands what they're doing in lab (techniques) and why its being done.  By going into immense detail you will show the connection between certain techniques in relation to your research.