BabyScientist

Anyone know when BU GPN is coming out? I know it's supposed to be late January, but ugh.

I received an interview invite from Brandeis back in mid-December

I wouldn't take notes during the interviews. It's supposed to be a conversation, and most people don't usually take notes on conversations. I took notes after each interview on what we talked about and what my impressions were so I could refer back to it later. I also took notes on my impressions of the school in general. I figured I'd need some way to refresh my memory of what I thought of the school when it comes time to make decisions.

After having my first interviews this weekend, this is what I came away with: I didn't really need to know much about the faculty's research, just the general idea of what their research focuses on. A few told me about their research, but the interview was focused on my experience, and I didn't really get the opportunity to comment on their research, because it was usually toward the end of the interview. So long as we were talking the entire 30 mins, it was a successful interview. Either I went on and on about my research experience, answering their questions throughout, or we sparked a random conversation about almost irrelevant subjects and kept on that track the whole time. With one guy I talked about the difficulties of getting patients into studies for half the time (I do molecular biology research, not anything clinical). Whenever I felt a lull in the conversation coming, I thought of a question to ask. With one we just spoke about my general interests, including non-science related interests. Almost every interviewer asked me to tell them about my research experience. In one of the first ones, I decided to start from the very beginning of my lab experience (5 years ago), which I quickly realized was a bad idea. It was my earliest experience, and although I know the big picture of the experiment and my part in it, I don't have a firm grasp on everything, so I couldn't answer a few of the questions about it. What I did in the rest of my interviews was immediately bring up my most recent, most significant research experience, and reference my prior experiences where appropriate. There was a panel interview for 20 mins with the entire admissions committee (6 people). It was intimidating at first, but actually ended up being the least stressful interview. I just talked about my research the whole time and they asked questions about it throughout. Finally, wear comfortable shoes. They don't have to be the most stylish, so long as they're formal enough and you can spend a day in them walking up and down hills (my interviews weren't all on the same side of campus). The director of the program/head of the admissions committee told me I did really well, so I'm coming away from it assuming I did something right.

One of my schools only gave me only one option for an interview date even though they have a second recruitment weekend. Doesnt mean anything.

I got my BU PIBS interview the Friday before Christmas.

I'm waiting on UW neuro too, but I'm pretty sure they're done :/

1. Because I wasn't one of the grad students, I can only tell you what I observed. They seemed happy, and said they were when I asked. They had time to have lives outside of lab. They almost always came and left the lab at normal work hours, and had time to do stuff outside of lab (trips, hobbies, caring for pets or children, etc). They seemed pretty friendly with their class - the 3 in my lab weren't necessarily best friends, but studied together frequently and got along well. 2. For California, Davis and the area is pretty cheap. Rent can be as low as $400 for a private bedroom if you have apartment-mates. 3. Where people live depends on where their lab is. If it's a ucdmc lab, it's in Sacramento. Otherwise, it's on the Davis campus. Of the three in my lab in Davis, 2 lived in Davis, and one lived in woodland, which is like a 15 min drive and even cheaper to live in.

Congrats on the Davis interview! I used to work in a lab there with a bunch of IGG PhD students, so I might be able to answer some questions if you have any

Have all of your schools sent out invites already? I know someone who had essentially quit because she was only getting rejections, but she just got her first interview today. Don't start freaking out until February.

I would respond after filling out the form. Just say something like "I've completed the form and look forward to meeting you at the interview." For me, personally, it's like insurance that they know I'm interested in case something happens and the form doesn't go through. Also shows enthusiasm.

Super helpful, especially since one of my interviews is actually at the NIH. Thank you!

What do people recommend as far as preparing for interviews? Obviously, know your own research. I know the work I've done at 2/3 institutions like the back of my hand. The 3rd was a 3 month internship I'm more vague on, but am currently reading the publication that came out of it. I have my first interview next week, and I know I should know the research of the people I'm interviewing with (I have my itinerary). 1/5, though, works on something pretty removed from my interests, and another works mostly with techniques I've never used or read much on. Should I have talking points for each person, or is it okay to not know as much about some if they weren't people I requested/aren't doing what I'm interested in? Also, generally, what should one do to prepare? I'm interviewing for neuroscience programs, by the way.

I don't. I may have seen that one and misunderstood. Thanks!

Probably waitlisted for the interview itself. Some people don't show up to the interview or they like fewer people than expected post-interview - boom, you've got an interview.

Thank you! That was exactly the kind of response I was hoping for, links and all.

As a female Californian who is interviewing in such places as Chicago, Boston, and Madison, WI in January and February, what are appropriate shoes? Also, if I wear leggings under slacks, am I going to be too warm indoors? Can a nice raincoat count as a nice coat, or will it not be warm enough either way? Is it weird to layer sweaters? What is weather????

Anyone know if Yale BBS neuro is done giving out interviews?

Just got an interview at BU for PiBS! Anyone know about Yale BBS neuro?

Wouldn't you have had to apply to a specific program? Neuroscience vs biomedical sciences vs whatever else?

Thank you for the feedback! I don't actually have any first author papers the opportunity continues to elude me. I have a 2nd author, and 2 later author papers. Another 1-3 papers before I go to grad school, not first author though. I contributed quite a bit to 2/3 of my labs. As I said, I was at the NIH for only 3 months, so my contribution was limited to the grad student with whom I was working (Although she did say she was putting me on her dissertation, which she just submitted).

Hi everyone, Still hoping for some input on my stats. Any advice helps! And any other schools anyone recommends applying to. Thanks!

I think you should look into applying to some lower tier schools. Your research experience is impressive, but I've heard that schools like Harvard, etc filter out people with less than a certain GPA (3.5, I think) before even looking at the rest of the application.

Undergrad Institution: A "public ivy" in California Major(s): Neurobiology Minor(s): Professional Writing GPA in Major: 3.2 Overall GPA: 3.4 Position in Class: N/A Type of Student: domestic, white female GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 159 - 73rd percentileV: 162 - 91st percentileAW: 4.5 - 82nd percentile Research Experience: 4 years, 3 labs: 2 summers and the past year in a neuroscience/stem cell lab with a world renowned stem cell scientist 2 years in college at my undergrad university in developmental neuroscience/biochemistry - included a mini-thesis project 3 months at the NIH in a neurogenetics lab Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Community Service Award Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 year at a KO mouse core 2.5ish years internship translating scientific journal articles about contraception and writing a layman's chapter about it for an author writing a book I don't know about pertinent, but... 3 years volunteer at a homeless shelter (exposure to mental illness) Special Bonus Points: 3 publications so far, 1 as second author. Expect another 2-3 in the next year or so, possibly a first author publication. Presented a poster at an undergraduate research conference and will be presenting another poster at SfN this year. My current PI will definitely write me a killer letter of rec. I'm trying to apply for fellowships but who knows. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have 5-7 people who I could have write a letter of rec - not sure who I'll ask yet. Mixture of professors and PIs. My GPA isn't great, but it greatly improved during my last 2 years (straight A's my last year). Applying to Where: Northwestern University of Washington University of Pennsylvania Boston University Brandeis University University of Pittsburgh University of Virginia UCSD It's really a tentative list, I'm still looking, but these schools have programs and people with whom I'd like to work (looking to do neurodegenerative disease research) How screwed am I?

GRE score edit: Q: 159 - 73rd percentile V: 162 - 91st percentile AW: 4.5 - 82nd percentile