charmquarkz

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, I have not been able to connect with anyone on my campus who has applied (nor have I found any PIs who have had their students apply either). I am applying to the Planetary Science program. I have gotten pretty good feedback on my proposal, but it's a new feeling for me to go in blind, without knowing what a successful application "looks like". Something I'm going to have to get used to, I imagine! Thanks again for your response.

Has anyone applied to the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) or know where one might find examples of successful proposals online?

I tuned into a webinar from the AAAS shortly after the election where they put together a panel which included Celeste Rohlfing (was a deputy assistant director at the NSF) to discuss the future of R&D funding under the new administration (you can watch it here: http://view6.workcast.net/AuditoriumAuthenticator.aspx?pak=2704109997656236). Some of the most asked questions had to do graduate/post-doctoral funding initiatives by government agencies like the NIH, NSF, etc... Honestly, their answer was neither comforting nor discouraging because it was so vague! Probably because there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding R&D budget cuts (and still no science advisor on the horizon). They said something along the lines of "funding allocated to those programs will depend on how much money there is left over"....... I interpret that to mean that it depends entirely on whether the federal budgets are indeed slashed and to what extent. I think what is certain though is that if you are awarded the fellowship this year, your 3 years of support are locked in. But there's no guarantee that those opportunities will exist in the coming years. At this point though, it doesn't even seem like the federal agencies know the answer to that themselves.

Yes, I am confused! I am hearing conflicting things as well... Someone called the program coordinator last week and they were told that they were still reviewing applications. Shortly after that is when someone posted in the acceptances thread that they were already invited. This is what they said: "I received an invitation to interview with them on Jan. 10th. The available dates were feb 2-5th or feb 23-25. Extrapolating from the email it looks like they had around 250 applicants and invited somewhere from 30 to 40 people to interview". So I lost a little bit of hope, but who knows if they are still in the process of sending them out!

Also waiting to hear from Boulder MCDB, but saw in the results one interview invitation received on 1/11/17, and someone in the applicant profile and acceptance thread said the same thing (don't know if it's the same person). Still keeping fingers crossed as that's the only thing I've heard so far!

Hi! Are they official interviews with a member of the adcom or a particular faculty member you expressed interest in working with? I'm in a different field (biology) but maybe my experience will still be helpful. Both of my Skype interviews were with prospective POIs I had reached out to and they were very conversational. It didn't seem like there was any real structure. They asked me about my past and current research, and they were very interested in why I wanted to do research with them specifically. In both instances, the majority of the discussion was centered on their active projects. The one question I was expecting and was asked yet still felt unprepared for was "do you have any questions for me?" so in addition to preparing for the questions you posed, I would think about that too! One of the interviewers also flat-out asked me what kind of project I would be interested in. Luckily I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do, but I could see that question catching you off guard if you haven't given it any thought and are relying on your mentor to make that decisions for you. I didn't get any general "about me" questions, but if it were with an adcom member instead I could see that question coming up. Hope that was helpful. I think the questions you listed are good to prepare for, but I would also plan around what you want to ask. I've been told by my previous mentors that you want your interviewer to end up talking at least as much as are!

So I'm sure this would be more appropriate in a thread dedicated to interview prep, but because there has been a lot of very useful advice here on the subject (I myself being on the receiving end) I thought I would share something I just discovered. I searched for my interviewers on YouTube to see if they had any publicly available seminars, and turns out most of them do! I watched the most recent for each faculty and I found it extremely helpful for the ones I'm really interested in working with. I also feel like I almost know them a little better and don't feel as nervous about talking to them in person??? I guess I'll know for sure whether it helped tomorrow after my first interview takes place, but just thought I would share in case anyone is feeling a little stressed about reading and not processing very well!

I have one that starts tomorrow and I only received my itinerary last night so I wouldn't be too worried, but I do find it odd that they wait so long to let students know what their schedule is!!!

That's a great idea, I hadn't even considered looking at their active grants and proposals. I've read a couple of papers for each interviewer mostly focusing on the intro and discussion to get the big picture idea, but I am definitely going to re-read with future directions/applications in mind as you suggested because I feel like I am having a hard time coming up with questions that aren't just for the sake of asking a question. I think that will help me feel more confident during the interviews themselves as well, as I won't just be listening to them talk about their projects and desperately trying to come up with a good question on the spot. Many thanks for your advice!

I'm glad you said that because it's my first interview and I definitely panicked when I saw the list of people I'd be meeting with and have been frantically looking up papers. It sounds like it's not going to be particularly helpful to do that! Thanks.

Oops, I'm not sure if I offended with this post (I see the negative mark; Sorry, I'm new to this!); in re-reading I see how it could be off-putting... I was hoping to see some other members from here there, and also express surprise at how little notice we seem to be getting compared to the experience of previous posters on this thread. Sorry!

Anyone else going to UCI CMB recruiting event on Thursday? I'm surprised they only sent our schedules out tonight, I was hoping we would have them sooner. I feel like I don't have much time to prepare!

PHEWW!!! Hahaha, no worries at all!

Hi! Did you receive an email from MCDB? I saw that someone posted that they were invited and that the interview dates in the results section saying that they have two weekends in February. Does that mean they have 4?!

Hey! Thanks for the info. I have no clue about the MCDB interview dates but would love to know! I've searched all over the website for an email contact so I could ask but no luck. Have you seen an email address by any chance?? I'll keep you posted if I find anything!

Did you apply to MCDB or another program?

Ah, yes I wonder if the process is different for the subtracks. I applied to EEB. There are some entries for just general Biology in the results section from previous years and it looks like the interview offers could come in a little later this month. Fingers crossed!

Anybody applied to the Georgia Tech Biology PhD program? If so, has anyone heard back?

Also, I don't know if you've mentioned this already, but did you contact prospective mentors before applying to express your interest?

Can you comment on your previous research experience? Have you been doing this kind of research already? From the description you provided of your SOP, it sounds like you certainly did a good job explaining your interests, but how much did you talk about your practical/theoretical experience and how it ties into those interests? I ask because I am switching to geobiology/astrobiology/origins-of-life research myself from a completely different area of biology (mostly regenerative medicine and cancer biology), so the challenge for me has been justifying the disconnect between my practical skills and true interests! In fact, the number one questions I have been asked by prospective mentors during interviews is "so why the change in interest?" and that's usually followed up by something along the lines of "how has your formal training so far prepared you to do research you have limited experience in?" I will add that I have been mostly successful so far, and I think the key has been not only being specific about my interests but why I think I'm qualified to pursue them as a doctoral student!

I'm sure someone who has already gone through the interview process will comment but it is my understanding that these interviews aren't strictly with potential mentors... I am scheduled to meet with several faculty in the department I applied to but that are completely outside my area of research. They could be part of the admissions committee or simply faculty who have been tasked to "get to know you" and how you discuss your science for the purposes of deciding whether or not to admit you! I wouldn't flat out say that you don't want to work with them, as that might not be the intention to begin with. Although if they ask you if you would like to do a rotation in their lab, I'm not sure exactly how you should address the fact that you are not interested (perhaps someone who has been in this situation can help!)

Oh! Perhaps I should consider doing the same... I have a similar concern with two other recruiting events which coincide with both of MIT Micro's! Also looks like we've applied to a few of the same programs. Good luck!

Wow congrats!!! I applied too and haven't received an invitation... but, the day isn't *quite* over so I won't give up hope just yet!

University of Arizona Tucson EEB sent out invitation e-mails on Jan 5th.