lizie.johnson

It depends on the school. I was actually told by someone on an admissions committee NOT to mention specific potential mentors. Unless you've gotten in contact with the potential mentor, you don't necessarily know that they are looking to take a student. By mentioning them by name, you are then limiting yourself. It is better to talk about the school and the program and why it is an overall good fit. Unless of course the instructions specifically ask you to talk about why you want to work with a specific person. Usually applications have a space where you can list people you might be inter

I had a similar situation, not with a paper but with a fellowship announcement. I actually called the admissions point of contact and told him verbally. He congratulated me and asked that I send him an email with the information so that he could include it in my application packet to be given to the interviewers and admissions committee. So I'd say the advice from Cassatrass is perfect! I would also add that you could bring an updated CV with you to your interviews (print out multiple copies and carry them in a folder along with a notepad to take notes). Then you can hand the CV to your

Look in Carrboro! A ton of UNC grad students live there because it's still pretty close and it's much cheaper.

Nice to electronically meet you all! I'll be moving to Chapel Hill mid-May right after graduation. I'm originally from Chapel Hill, and my parents still live there, so I'll be moving home until I can find an apartment. If anyone will be in the area over the summer, let me know, because I'd love to meet some people before classes start.

Yeah...... I overthought interview outfits too... But hey, it shows you care!

I went through this same agony leading up to my interviews! I did a ton of online searching, and the results of those searches were almost more overwhelming than the interviews! Some said wear a suit, others said be casual, some said heels, others said heels will kill you. At the end of the day, I really think you need to wear what you'll be comfortable in. For me, dressing up helps me feel confident, and that's absolutely something you want for an interview. I wore slacks and a blazer for my interviews, and I was certainly more dressed up than the grad students and professors, but th

Crossing my fingers for you that you hear back soon @colorandlight! Let me know when you hear back.

Well, I hope you hear back soon!! When did you interview? You could possibly reach out directly to the PI and just reiterate that you're really interested in his research and would love to rotate in his lab pending your acceptance.

Anyone heading to UNC in the fall? Especially BBSP, since that's the program I'll be in, but I'd love to talk to anyone heading to the area!

@colorandlight were you accepted to BBSP? That's where I am going in the fall, and I'm unsure if I should just work on setting up my first rotation or if I should go ahead and try to set up all three.

Not selected for research to Israel ? I'm obviously super disappointed, but luckily I have a backup plan that I'm also thrilled with (fully funded PhD program at UNC). Thanks to everyone in this forum for being such a fabulous emotional support system! I'll still be rooting for each and every one of you!!

Here's to hoping for a day full of positive announcements!!!

Just wanted to weigh in on the whole funded masters vs Fulbright discussion. I'm going for a funded PhD program, so it may be slightly different from a masters, but everyone I've talked to has been super excited to hear that I'm a semi-finalist (impatiently waiting for Israel to announce). I was accepted to two fully funded PhD programs, and they both will allow me to defer for a year and come back with the same financial package. Talk to your specific program, but to me, Fulbright and deferring my program is my ideal situation. If you can't defer, it might be more complicated...

Accepted to Duke MGM program!! Still waiting to hear back from UNC BBSP, but I know they have more interview weekends coming up. I'm hoping to hear by next week.

@Emma987 and @BeeKayCee Just thought I'd jump on the train regarding whether to notify your potential grad schools of your semi-finalist status. The two grad schools that I interviewed with say that they only allow deferrals under certain circumstances, and I'm hoping the Fulbright would be special enough that they would allow me to defer. I did end up telling both schools that I was a semi-finalist (I notified them about a week or two before my interviews), and I just got accepted to Duke! Still waiting to hear back from UNC. My personal feeling is that if I am lucky enough to get the