BabyScientist

I don't think there's any problem asking things from the website. Most program people/faculty have no idea what's on their website.

1. Holy crap for an international student a 6 in AW is very impressive! 2. 161 is NOT low

I like capital one. I especially like the venture card because my PhD program is across the country from my family, so I like the travel perks.

My general rule of thumb is to take a gap year. You'll be more prepared for applying AND for succeeding in the program.

It sounds like you've been over thinking everything for months. You chose a certain school for reasons. No matter which school you chose, you could end up with the same level of career success and at the same place. It's all what you make of it. If you go to B feeling like you hate the place, you'll have a bad time. It doesn't sound like B gave you any reasons to hate it, you just started wishing you chose A? Get over it. You likely chose a great program and will achieve whatever you set your mind to once you're there. Be positive.

About to finish my rotations. 2 of us were competing for 1 spot and the PI liked us so much she lobbied to keep us both!

Yeah, it's not anything direct. I mean, you can say something like "My experiences have shaped me into a dedicated and inquisitive student, and I look forward to bringing my talents to this university." That's not a great sentence, but just an example of how you can incorporate describing your personality. Really you should just imply it with anecdotes and writing style. Good luck!

Well, for graduate schools (at least PhDs), it's actually a statement of purpose. If you convey personality, you're doing it through your writing style or with an anecdote. The SOP is meant to be a statement describing your purpose in applying/going to certain graduate schools. Why do you want to? Why are you qualified? What are your research interests? Why this program? Those are the questions you should be answering.

I think that if you want a PhD you have good odds of acceptance (aside from you being international, I don't know how that plays into admissions decisions). Your list is just about half top programs and half upper mid tier. CMU, BU, Penn State, UWisconsin Madison, UCSB, UVA, UMinnesota, UPitt are examples of safer schools for you. There are a lot of schools out there, but I have to emphasize that you shouldn't apply to any school that doesn't have at least 3 faculty you sluod be excited to work with. Only apply to schools that fit that criteria, but pick an even spread of top tier, mid tier, and safer (there are no true "safe" schools).

Capital One Venture! Great travel card.

I think you really have to be aware of budgeting to save during grad school. The worst part is getting paid only once a month and having to factor in how much you'll need before the next month. As Warelin said, there are too many expenses that are too variable to judge for any individual. I actually got paid similarly before starting grad school, so I'll give you my experience there. I lived in LA, my rent was $800 a month for a shared room. I'd say I was able to save anywhere from $100-$300 a month, depending on the month. But I could end up pretty broke before my next paycheck, and I got paid every 2 weeks there.

Why don't you ask your postbacc mentor? I think it would look weird if you didn't. That way they can explain that you have contributed significantly to the project even though there's no publication yet. Those are solid GRE scores. I wouldn't worry too much about verbal, especially considering that isn't a low score.

I think you have a pretty good spread of schools on there - just make sure there are actually at least 3 faculty you're interested in working with at each school and you aren't just picking schools on name. Your GREs would be helpful to judge your odds, even just what you've been getting on practice tests (in my experience, online practice tests were very indicative of my actual scores). You don't have any publications from your 2 years postbacc? Why not? Why don't you think your LORs will be very strong?

I like my 2 in 1 laptop for that. I load all relevant pdfs into one note, where I can annotate them as I please and keep them organized.

It's worth a shot to throw in 1 or 2 top tier schools. Your stats are good and sometimes it's a crap shoot. But definitely focus on mid tier schools. I don't have any references, but I would suggest emphasizing perseverance on your SOP. Show them that hard times in the lab won't make you drop out.

Could you return the older version? Maybe rent the new version to offset the cost? Sometimes school libraries have reserves of certain textbooks?

Probably whichever is closest to more biotech companies.

I used Kaplan flashcards. Did a first run through where I split the ones I did and didn't already know, removed the ones I knew for sure, and started studying the ones I didn't. I essentially did it alphabetically. I'd pick up a group of like 10 cards, study them until I was pretty confident, did a new group, studied until I was confident, then went back and reviewed the first group to see what I actually still remembered, etc etc over a few days. Worked pretty well.

Your application looks pretty strong, aside from the challenges that come with being an international applicant. Not sure how that will play in, but you otherwise have a strong application with your numbers and experience. Make sure you get strong letters of rec and write an SOP that effectively illustrates your motivation to and goals in applying. Your schools are generally pretty high tier, especially considering being an international applicant. Have you considered Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis?

From what I've heard, it's totally common for people to change their minds about lab interests. I don't think you should judge entirely based on what you've heard from others. If the research interests fit and you had good interactions with him, why not just do a rotation? If the rotation doesn't go well, you'll both recognize that and he can't hold it over you.

Presumably you can just tell them that in your email?

Your list is fairly well spread, although it's still a bit top heavy and you really don't have anything "safe" on there.

Publications? Also, not a good idea for your whole list to be top tier universities. Pick a few of those and add some mid tiers

I agree with this entirely.

Well you just have to gage the person's reactions when you ask. If they're hesitant, don't do it.