BabyScientist
-
Posts
386 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
2
Posts posted by BabyScientist
-
-
2 minutes ago, atm14834 said:
Hi all!
So I saw someone ask something similar somewhere else, but I thought I'd ask here to see what you guys had to say. If you have presented posters and whatnot, and you have a PDF of the poster, is that something worth putting on your application as like a supplemental material in addition to your CV/SoP/etc? I hadn't really thought much about adding that to my application, just curious.
Thanks!
I don't see it hurting, but I doubt they would really look at it unless it was in their field and they were interested.
-
Why do you want a Master's at all? I was always told that, in science, you do an MS if you're not sure you want a PhD or not sure of what you want to study. You can get into PhD programs directly with a bachelor's in the US.
Also, if you're only a rising sophomore, I'd say don't worry about it until maybe midway through your junior year. For now, join a research lab at your school and start contributing to actual research.
-
It sounds like you'd be a solid applicant for PhD programs and would have a unique perspective.
I've enjoyed my experience thus far. I love research, and it's what I get to do.
Best aspect: Freedom. I guess this depends on your mentor but mine is very open to my ideas and I, with guidance, mostly make my own decisions. My day is dictated by what I want.
Worst aspect: Frankly, you'd make a lot more as a PT. The PhD stipend is, on average, around $30k a year. So you're making around that much for 5-6 years, then if you do a postdoc you make maybe $40-50k a year for the 3-5 years of that. Unless you want to go into industry, then you could make a lot more after your PhD.
That being said, I love what I do and am not doing it for the money. If you truly hate what you're doing, and enjoy the research you're doing, it sounds like a great idea to apply for PhD programs. And I admire your commitment to finish what you've started. Good luck!
- cephalexin and swtster
-
1
-
1
-
21 hours ago, Walrus said:
I'm planning on joining the Peace Corps after undergrad, but when I come back (after a little over 2 years), I think I'll want to go to grad school. Has anyone else done this? Would this seriously damage my chances of getting into grad school, since I won't be doing research during my Peace Corps tour?
There was a PhD student in my former lab who did exactly this. I imagine it depends on the field you want to study, and MS vs PhD. There's a chance when you come back you'll want to do research again for a bit before applying, though, just to boost your chances.
-
On 7/14/2019 at 5:23 PM, serialexperimentsleon said:
Hello All,
I am a rising senior studying Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, hoping to do robotics (particularly controls & planning) in a doctoral program. I am finding a lot of difficulty in deciding on my courseload the final semester before application deadlines. I unfortunately don't have the best GPA (3.6) although I have a nice upward trend in my junior year (graduate school was not something I considered until recently). I want to be able to show I can still succeed in more advanced courses and am planning on taking a somewhat rigorous mathematics department course in analysis and optimization (still an undergraduate course, but apparently it is quite difficult and time consuming). However, I also want to be able to devote significant time to research in my final semester to improve my LoR with PI as well as devote time to the application process to schools as well as fellowships. I am wondering if taking one less course than usual (usually I take 5 courses with research as a sort of 6th course) by taking 4 "real" courses with research as 5th would be viewed poorly with the admissions committee. I certainly want to make sure I get good grades in my final semester (although I'm not sure if it affects the application since grades come out after submissions...) so I don't want to overload myself. Of course, there's also the possibility that admission committees don't really care about what courses you take and only the grades... I'm unfortunately not terribly familiar with how the committees evaluate applicants. I would greatly appreciate the insights of you all! Should I just bunker down and try to take my usual courseload of 5 classes + research? Or is 4 courses with research enough?
Thank you all kindly in advance for your advice and kindness!
I would focus more on research and lighten the courseload. Admissions committees don't scrutinize the courses you took each semester, and don't know the difficulty of any one class over another at your school. Take courses that will provide you with knowledge and skills for your interests. Prove to the admissions committees that you know how to apply what you've learned through your research.
-
I'm happy to give it a read. I have a pretty good idea of what admissions committees want to hear
-
-
-
What was your GPA? Often, experience will trump GPA in most fields.
-
On 7/2/2019 at 12:14 PM, Domhellen said:
I am a Bio student at USD and have approximately a 3.1-2 overall GPA but a 3.6 major GPA and have done really well the last few semesters. I’m already studying really hard for the GRE in October. I’ve worked at a biotech company for 5 months (but did very little actual lab work), and will be 1st publisher on my research once I submit it at the end of summer. I also have extremely strong letters of rec. I’m planning on applying to bio PhD schools and was wondering if I had any shot? I would like to end up in like a top 50 grad school.
It all depends on the strength of your statement of purpose and your letters of rec. Your GPA will definitely hold you back at schools that have GPA cut offs, but I know someone who had under a 3.0 and got into USC for a bio PhD. Contact faculty you're interested in working with in advance and build a relationship - that should help too if you have someone pulling for you on the inside.
-
2 hours ago, drkenobi said:
Hi, quick question. I am planning on applying for graduate school this year and am unsure how many programs I should apply to. I've seen recommendations that you should only apply to 5 or so, but most of the people I've asked have applied to more than that. I've also heard that applying to too many schools can actually decrease your chances of getting an interview. What's your take on it?
I've never heard that applying to too many can decrease your chances, and I don't know how the schools would know.... I think 5-10 is the standard number, but that's only if there are 5-10 schools with faculty you're actually really excited to work with. Don't focus on how many schools you apply for, focus on finding faculty working on things you're interested in, and only apply to the schools that have 3 or more faculty members you'd want to work with.
What I did was think of areas I'd be happy to live in for an extended period of time, then look up schools in that area and look at all their faculty and their research interests. Then I made a list of all the faculty I'd be excited to work with at each school and decided which schools to apply to based on how many faculty there were that I wanted to work with.
Of course make sure you're not applying to all/mostly "top-tier" schools.
-
It's more than enough. Honestly, it's unnecessary. A 3.3 is just fine. Aside from improving your GPA, though, it'll be good if you can prove that you have an understanding of biology/neuroscience, so it's good if the classes you took were in that realm.
There's someone in my neuro grad program with a physics BS and I think a 3.1 GPA who spent 2 years working as a programmer for a physics thing and is now doing computational neuro.
-
2 hours ago, HawaiiLee808 said:
Yeah he has really been pulling for me and was fairly disappointed I didn't get admitted to the GPN; this year, BU apparently had >500 applicants but only wanted to take a class of 8; it was insane.
Regardless, congratulations! It sounds like a great option.
-
8 hours ago, HawaiiLee808 said:
Thanks yeah I just found out from the Chair that there are no hard rules for this and it's really up to the individual PI (it's direct admit). I had a good conversation with the PI and they think that matching the stipend of the GPN students is perfectly reasonable.
That's amazing! The PI must really want you.
-
17 hours ago, crispr2019 said:
I appreciate all of the responses.
I too was wondering about the LOR's. I had my PI and another professor who wrote an LOR review my SOP. They both gave me the stamp of approval, but maybe it was still not what they wanted? I would be more than happy to send my SOP to get the feedback if anybody has the time, maybe that can give me some insight into ways I can improve for the next application cycle.
I don't want to think I could have had a less than favorable LOR, but I suppose it's possible?
Thank you.
I know someone who had a LOR be the culprit of all her rejections. Undergrad prof said he was happy to write one. After getting so many rejections, she was able to get insider input on why and it turns out that prof wrote something blatantly false, but a red flag, about her. Our suspicion is that he either didn't remember her at all when he agreed to do it or that he was rewording a letter he wrote for someone else and didn't change that part.
Never know what might happen.
-
On 4/8/2019 at 1:31 PM, HawaiiLee808 said:
Yeah I’m just worried about the stipend: at UW, I’ve heard their psych stipend is $8,000 lower than the neuro one. I’m also worried about the TA requirement and the different community as I’ve heard they have less programming (in the number of student activities sense) than the GPN. I know that they are also direct admit but it’s to the professor I most preferred.
Just asking because I’m trying to reduce the information gap as early as possible because I’m still waitlisted for two schools and will need to make a quick decision.
The stipend question is legitimate. It may be worth contacting someone in that department and asking what the stipend is. As for TAing, find out where their funding comes from - is your stipend dependent on you TAing every semester? These are things to consider. I'd worry less about programming, especially since grad students tend to be too busy to go to most things.
-
I didn't do a master's so I can't speak too much to this, but from what I can tell they actually look at undergrad grades even if you have a masters. 3.5 isn't despicable, but it's also worth setting your bar at working with a top scientist rather than going to a top school. Maybe you don't get into a top school, but you get into a mid tier school and work with someone great - you could end up at the same place regardless.
I don't like when people start with "my dream is to go to a top school" because TOP school shouldn't be the dream. The dream should be to go to graduate school at all to study some important thing and figure out something others haven't. Down the line, the science you do, the connections you make, and the skills you gain will benefit you beyond just what a "top school" would, so focus on going to a school with research you're interested in and strong mentorship - those matter more.
Good luck.
-
6 hours ago, HawaiiLee808 said:
Seems like there's not many people on the thread anymore but does anyone have any information comparing BU's GPN and BU's BBC programs for neuroscience? I'm still waitlisted for the GPN but have received the generous offer to be let into the BBC program if I don't get admitted to the GPN. Thanks in advance!
It's more of a psychology/neuroscience hybrid program. If the program allows you to work with the same faculty/faculty you're interested in, then it doesn't necessarily matter which program you're in.
-
-
21 hours ago, blondebiophysicist said:
Applied to 5 schools this year. 2 in top 30, 1 in top 50, the other two didn't even break the top 100. Pretty sure I was outright rejected by all 5, and am looking for a little bit of clarification. I went to a small, private institution, had almost 2 years research experience under my belt, LORs from current PI and profs I have tutored for. I have a 3.5 GPA, which could have been significantly higher if it wasn't due to a health crisis during my sophomore year, every other semester hovers around a 3.8. GREs were alright, not 90th percentile but certainly strong enough not to be thrown away. Presenting my research at a national conference in a few weeks.
Due to an unfortunate medical diagnosis my senior year for a condition thats out of my control, I had to withdraw from one class in order to attend multiple doctors appoints, and preoperative assessments. Could this have been the deciding factor in my application? I know a withdraw is quite an ugly mark on a transcript, but I explained it in my SOP. I'm currently at a loss. For those who succeeded, what were the things you credit your success to?
I am looking to reapply next year and come back even stronger. I plan to find an excellent job, maybe take a few supplemental classes in order to show how serious I truly am about this.
Thanks in advance to you all! And congrats to those who have got in ?
The withdraw is almost definitely not the problem. Most schools scrutinize your transcript a lot less than you'd think. Your GPA is great, your GRE scores are probably fine. The SOP is a great place to start. Did you list techniques and projects you did? Comma separated lists are not the way to go. Did you adequately describe your interests and emphasize why do graduate school at all? Also consider LORs. Did any of your writers seen in any way hesitant? One red flag in a LOR is enough to put someone out of an interview. Also, we're those 2 years experience during undergrad or after? During undergrad holds less weight than being full time after undergrad. Did you have publications? Presentations?
The best next step is to work full time in a lab for a year or 2 and get publications/presentations out of it. More research experience is always better, and publications/presentations show that you know how to carry out projects fully.
-
12 hours ago, DRMF said:
I applied to 14 programs in immunology/umbrella biology programs that include immunology. I am very happy to have gotten 6 interview invites, including 2 from my top 4 choices (yes from Harvard and GSK, no from Yale and Stanford). My top choices happened to be the earliest interviews and I already got offers from both, so I declined 2 interviews that had scheduling issues, and am just gonna chill through the remaining 2.
About myself: I'm an international student from China who finished undergrad in the US and am currently lab-teching in my undergrad lab. My numbers are fine (GPA 3.75, GRE >90% for all 3 subjects). LORs are likely very good but not the absolute strongest (my PI is extremely young, so although it must have been a fantastic letter, it might not carry the most weight). Research experience - 3.5 years in the same lab, 1 small 2nd author pub, honors thesis. I started seriously writing my essays and such maybe early-mid November? I did consult people in my lab on how they structured their essays when they applied, but did not actually have people look over my draft. I did get people to proof-read my resume and crowd source fancier ways to say certain things haha.
I think you're right that you need a few more matches/safeties in the next round, but also remember that things can be really unpredictable, even to people who are familiar with a particular program. When I was at GSK, 2 faculty members I interviewed with saw that I applied to Weill Cornell and were genuinely surprised that I didn't get an interview there (you probably know that Cornell and GSK share a lot of faculty and most people apply to both). It might have been because Cornell got more incoming immunology students last year than they expected - I think this is the kind of information that's good to keep track of, and deciding to apply last minute obviously didn't give you a chance to research such stuff.
Regarding funding, I vetted my list such that all guarantee funding for international students, and all except one (Stanford) had good international student numbers. I also had a faculty member help me polish my school list (he's the director for my undergrad biology honors program and has many years of experience advising people about grad school). But in the 40 or so schools I considered, only 1 said they wouldn't guarantee funding for international students; I'd say for most schools, if they're short on private funding, they'd just outright take fewer international students rather than admit you and then tell you "actually, you gotta look for money yourself".
A fantastic letter from a new PI outweighs a generic letter from a famous PI.
-
11 hours ago, neurotic12 said:
Hi all,
Going a bit crazy here waiting for a post-interview decision, and wanted to get an honest opinion rather than blow this out of proportion in my head.
I emailed the main PI I have been talking to at this school a brief thank you (mentioning that I enjoyed my visit and his advice) and he emailed back:
"If you are at all on the fence about your decision, please let me know and I'd be happy to talk again to discuss questions/concerns/etc. I hope to see you at School X this fall"
Is this more of a "hypothetically" if I get in thing or... I just can't tell. He is part of the adcom but still he obviously does not control all admissions. Thanks for any thoughts on this!
They don't want to admit people who don't want to come to the school. If you respond to the email and tell them you're not at all on the fence and very excited about attending this school, they will likely admit you. Only do this if you do truly want to go to this school.
-
4 hours ago, Ayub2306 said:
Can anyone explain to me the meaning of the following email snippet. Does it mean i am waitlisted. Please see -
"Although you were not selected this year, we value you as an applicant. If you plan to apply again in the future, I would be happy to discuss your application with you; however, this is a particularly busy season and I ask for you to wait to reach out to me until late spring. Unfortunately, I will not be able to respond to you if you email now."
It's a rejection. It says that if you want to improve your application for the future, you can contact then in late spring to find out what you can do to be a better applican next time.
-
On 2/10/2019 at 11:02 AM, shanaya_neuro said:
Hi,
I needed some advice on applying for Post-bac program in Neuroscience. So I am an international student and I have applied for Fall 2019 admissions in Neuroscience. I already got 4 rejects and awaiting any reply from other 4 . But since it's late I have already accepted that as rejects. I was thinking to apply for Post-bac programs at various schools. Could you suggest me places where I can apply and what are the chances for an international student to be accepted for this program?
Thanks in Advance!!
It depends on if you want a formal postbacc program or a tech job. Both are equally valuable if you get the right one. As an international student I don't think you qualify for any NIH programs, and I imagine it depends on if you need a visa and if the employer is willing to sponsor you.
It's really hard to say what the chances for admission are especially since I don't know the visa situation. If you want a tech job, that's just a matter of emailing faculty anywhere who you're interested in working with and telling them you're looking for a technician or RA position as a postbacc. Alternatively you could find out which universities have formal postbacc programs and apply for those.
University Selection Help
in Biology
Posted
So long as there are at least 3 faculty at each institution that you'd be excited to work with, I think your list is fine.