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DRMF

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Everything posted by DRMF

  1. You should look into the graduate courses first and see who they're designed for. For example, an umbrella biosciences program usually require the same "intro"/"fundamentals" courses for first years that are meant to bring everyone (with different undergrad majors) up to the same level in terms of genetics, mol/cell bio, dev bio etc. These usually will not require extensive knowledge in each subject. But if your program is just for a specific subfield, then it's likely you'll have to review somewhat in order not to fall behind.
  2. I don't know enough about mechanical engineering or German schools to offer specific suggestions, I just hope you can get someone or a grammar-check software to fix the grammar issues. Your essay for the most part is understandable (for me), but there are a lot of phrases that made me stop and think for a second. Since it's not a master's in English, your writing doesn't have to be perfect, but having too many noticeable mistakes/awkward wording will make it harder for the reader to get the message you're trying to get across.
  3. Seeing some different opinions above, I would just like to reiterate my belief that it's unethical not to disclose any potential conflict of interest, including significant personal connections, in the letter. The letter itself, obviously, will be recommending you in a strictly professional capacity. (It's like stating "I received this product for free in exchange of my honest opinion" at the end of an Amazon product review; the review itself shouldn't talk about how nice it is that the seller sent it to the reviewer for free, but the conflict of interest must be declared.)
  4. Have you contacted any of the schools? A phone call to inquire would definitely be appropriate at this point. Also check the Results sections of the grade cafe website to see if anyone else has heard back from those programs you haven't heard from.
  5. I have never heard of this and would assume that it's not respectful behavior on that department's part. Can you reach out to ask for a refund for your application fee, on the grounds that your application was never properly reviewed? Would anyone in your current department be happy to side with you on this exchange, since they (presumably) unknowingly helped distribute misleading information? (I know of someone who asked for a refund from a program that essentially did not consider international applications.)
  6. Does this mean you did NOT get an interview? Or did you get waitlisted AFTER an interview? If you didn't get an interview I'd assume you've lost your chance.
  7. I have a lab mate (current grad student) who finished college in 3 years and when she was applying, she was told that it was controversial whether that would be a positive, negative or irrelevant factor. Did you get specific comments on that from those who helped you? Otherwise, your stats and experience are really great ("second author on 1 pub" definitely did not hurt). You may want to have a few others read over your SOP, preferably people who don't know you well to offer an uninfluenced opinion (I'd be happy to do so if you want to share). Especially since your stats look great, I'd particularly look for parts that could be interpreted as arrogant or presumptuous (I have another lab mate who sat on the adcom of his program, and he said there was one person whose application looked perfect except the SOP just read like "you'd be so lucky to have me" - everyone voted a straight nope on that one). Not at all saying you held that attitude, it's just that sometimes one's tone doesn't come off as intended when read by a stranger. Although I agree in general research fit is important, I'd assume for the schools you applied to there should have been enough breadth to fit your interests (unless you had a very specific subfield in mind and indicated that in the application). And yes, apply to less selective schools. Also, could there have been an unhelpful LOR? Anyway, sorry and best of luck!
  8. I applied for the PhD program at Albert Einstein College of Medicine this cycle, and received this email an hour ago: "As you may know, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine is transitioning from its prior relationship with Yeshiva University to an independent degree-granting institution. As part of this transition, Einstein has applied to the U.S. government for permission to sponsor student visas. Unfortunately, at this time, the application is still pending and we are not yet able to sponsor student visas. Therefore, we will be unable to admit international students this year. We are sorry for this news and will soon be sending you an electronic Amazon gift card to defray part of your expenses." I already have offers from schools higher on my list and have committed to a program, so the situation doesn't affect me in the least (in fact, I'm happy I'll be getting some money back). I just want to leave it here and warn future international applicants to keep an eye on the progress of their visa sponsor application, which I was not made aware of until now.
  9. What kind of offer is this and how did you "accept" the offer? Verbally? Or formally submitting an electronic form with your signature? If it's a funded program and the school is in that national agreement with 4/15 deadline etc. there are specific instructions on how to do this. Generally it's definitely frowned up and may damage future relationships with people in your field, the extent of which depends on your field, the program, your reason for changing your mind, and how you handle it. There are numerous existing posts on on this forum - just use the search tool.
  10. Specifying the actual programs may help elicit more useful replies.
  11. I don't know if you should ask her for this letter; however, if you do, make sure she fully discloses her personal connections with you in her letter. That will make it ethical and fair, but also very likely make her letter less helpful. Whether the damage is significant enough for you to not use the letter at all, it's for you to evaluate. See somewhat related discussion here: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/127124/is-using-the-parents-friend-s-recommendation-inappropriate
  12. I believe you need to actually enroll in that program to request access to those letters (search "FERPA letter of recommendation").
  13. Was there any news about them in the few years when nothing's come out (even small things like giving a talk somewhere)? Is there anyone you know in that university, who might know someone in the cancer bio program, who might know about the PI? You can always directly ask things like "are you taking students next year", but it might not give you all the info you need.
  14. I think you're right that there are a considerable portion of professors who simply don't respond to a good chunk of emails. In particular, I once had trouble getting a response from someone on my undergrad thesis committee, who stopped responding after the first email exchange. It was stressful since I needed to schedule a committee meeting, but in the end it worked out (committee all showed up). So I was relieved and said "oh I guess she's just bad with emails" to my thesis program director, who replied "Yes, she is. I have been lucky that she often, but not close to always, responds to mine." And this is towards another well-established professor in the same department..
  15. I think this is all good advice, for those of us who aren't typically quiet ourselves. One difficulty, though, is that the comment itself is likely just a remark on something a bit unexpected - as in, I noticed this person has been quiet today / hasn't really talked (to me) much for the few weeks or months I've known them. Do they dislike me? Are they feeling uncomfortable/stressed/sad, having a difficult time in life? Or is it just who they are and they're perfectly happy this way? Are they in need of me actively reaching out to them? Are they baking an idea in their head, and not sure whether/how to say it? Because I have no idea why, I can't jump straight to "hey do you need help?" or "yo do you have an issue with me?" or "wow I admire your calm disposition." So I guess I'll just put it out there, and hope their reaction will clarify it. (And because I'm not the most emotionally aware, I could have exaggerated my surprise a bit too much...) I guess what I'm trying to say is, there's ambiguity on both ends of this interaction - for the person making the comment, it's unclear why someone is being quiet and what action (if any) would be appropriate, while for the person receiving the comment, it's unclear whether the remark is meant as a compliment, a complaint, an invitation or something else (and as you said, someone who's already anxious will likely take it for the worse). So I agree, one should try to be careful and make their (friendly) intentions clear when commenting on someone else's behavior. We should all try to operate the best we can with imperfect information. Also, thanks for making this post! I learned quite a bit reading through your and others' experiences.
  16. I will have to apologize first, if any part of my response comes off as insensitive. Perhaps it's because you are both quiet (neutral) and not the most comfortable with social occasions (a potentially negative thing), that you took her comment on the former to be about the latter? I'm generally an outgoing person, and I've never thought saying "you're quiet" has a negative connotation to it. It just sounds like a neutral comment, unless the context indicates that the person saying this meant it as a negative thing. To me it's not inherently linked to a lack of confidence or social anxiety (although I understand that many who struggle with social interactions/public speaking will tend to be less talkative). Rather, quietness could mean that you're simply comfortable enough with your presence, and don't feel the need to talk to avoid "awkward silence". Or that you like to observe/listen carefully and think deeply before responding (thus someone might notice you being quiet and point it out as an invitation for you to voice your opinion). Or that you carry a serene "air". So while I don't usually feel I need to point out someone's quietness to them, I wouldn't expect anyone to take it negatively if I do. (I've also met new friends who initially thought I was shy and tried to strike a conversation with me, presumably to ease my nerves around strangers; I thought it was a sweet gesture, though not really necessary in that instant.) And I will admit that, since social interactions or public speaking doesn't really stress me out personally, I can be slow on picking up that someone is feeling uneasy (it's jut not the first thing that comes to mind - I'd first suspect they're feeling physically unwell before realizing, oh, they're just shy.) While your feelings of being hurt or embarrassed are surely valid, it may make it easier for you as well if you don't assume the comment was made with any ill intention. Just as public speaking doesn't come naturally to you, for some other people, sensing someone else's uneasiness or empathizing with how you would receive their comments doesn't come naturally to them. It might help to simply let them know that you're not the most talkative person, if you're comfortable saying so.
  17. Does it have any attachment, anything extra at all, compared to the email? Maybe something else will come up in 24 hours... the "we look forward to your positive response" part definitely sounds like you're admitted. Is there anyone on the program you could call to ask?
  18. Click on the yellow "view" button for the top one ("GS Approval Notification" that's dated 04/01). What does it say?
  19. By "leave the course", did you mean quitting the PhD altogether? Have you considered switching labs/advisers at all, or even programs within your department? Is there any collaborating PI/anyone on your committee who may be willing to take you in (without affecting the fellowship)? I don't know how your program handles this, but I've heard of a few people (across different schools) who changed labs in their third year while staying in the same program. In fact, it might be a good idea to get a co-mentor even if your adviser isn't acting negative, since she's retiring and you don't want to be left stranded if you don't finish your PhD in the next 3 years. If you are staying though, it seems your relationship/communication with the adviser needs some serious rethink. Perhaps you can try to figure out what specifically could have caused her behavior towards you to change for the worse, besides the dispute over that instrument. Has she shown such a negative attitude towards anyone else? Could you have upset her with something that you thought was unimportant? Or was it something that happened to her? Is she struggling with funding? Is there anyone in the lab who has been here longer/knows her better who may be able to help you out? My other thought is, she must have taken you on as a student for a reason (she liked you during interviews, she generally likes mentoring, she wanted cheap labor, whatever it was). So if the relationship itself doesn't seem remediable, I'd still try to find out how you can be valuable to her/to the lab, so that she will have to respect and work with your regardless of her personal opinion (which, of course, will be hard as she's not providing you with the means, but maybe possible?) On the other side, if you leave the program (presumably with a master's), do you have any plans?
  20. - Do you have offers from both master's program you mentioned? And when you say research assistant, do you mean in the same lab as you've worked in before? If not, do you have a solid plan lined up? Will it be in stem cells/regenerative medicine? I know very little about how much doing a master's itself matters in the application. I've heard that if you want to switch gears, doing a master's in the corresponding area is a good idea, since it convinces you and the adcom that you actually know the field/are interested. However, if you're able to go straight into an RA/tech position in stem cells/regen med, I myself would probably skip the master's. I've felt that teching, when done well in the right lab, is basically the same as doing a thesis-based master's, except you get paid instead of having to pay. - Did you get any feedback during the interviews? Do you have any clue why you weren't given an offer? I believe some adcoms would actually give you feedback if you ask. I'm under the impression that post-interview rejects are usually because someone didn't love the way you carried yourself, or wasn't fully convinced that "you knew what you were doing and/or wanted to do". In your case, it could also be because you conveyed your hope to move towards a different area, and they don't think it's a good research fit? In general I think it'd be wise to get as much feedback on this round as possible, to inform your next application as well as what to work on in between.
  21. I saw this from CMU's website: "The majority of full-time Ph.D. students accepted through the standard application process receive fellowships that cover full tuition, the technology fee, and a stipend for living expenses for up to five years, as long as sufficient progress is made toward degree completion." (https://www.meche.engineering.cmu.edu/education/graduate-programs/phd-programs.html) Have you asked why you weren't offered funding? Is it because you're an international student? For UC Berkeley that's more expected, since they're a public school, but I thought CMU would be better off with private funding. Now I'm not in mechanical engineering so I don't know if anything like this exists, but for my own field you could kind of look for better funded PIs by searching on websites of public grant agencies such as the NIH or something. Also, did the "department" sound friendly and helpful? Can you ask for specific recommendations of advisers? Or at least a list of people that they don't recommend? Can you connect to any year 4 or year 5 current student who are more aware of the whole department's financial situation? I'm sorry you're going through this.
  22. Because yield can be unpredictable, and they don't know how big of a waitlist would be big enough, so everyone is either accepted or waitlisted, until enough accepted people commit. Someone told me that one year some school sent 47 offers expecting like 15 to come, but 46 ended up coming... what a disaster that must have been. Especially if it's a PhD and the program needs to fund everyone somehow.
  23. It sounds like there's no actual conflict, you're just busier than you thought you'd be? That doesn't sound very good to me.. Also what field/discipline is this? Is there any other in-person interview times that you can reschedule to?
  24. I generally agree with the above that, for now, it probably won't do anything and it'll only make sense if there's any funding negotiation going on. I do want to note that for medical school, getting in a good/top tier school likely makes you seem more competitive to others. I know nothing about business schools, perhaps there's a chance that the same is true there (do you have info on that)? Is your "second choice" generally regarded as on par with your first choice?
  25. Who was it from and how did they phrase it? If it's a call from the program chair ("hey this is unofficial but you're in; everyone on the committee liked you"), I'd say it's more reliable than from a particular PI. If they actually said "you may consider this call your official notification", even better (I had a call like that, the associate dean actually said that it was "set in stone"). Did it sound like the person was calling everyone to give unofficial calls, or was it because they really liked you specifically and wanted to let you know earlier? If it's the former, not getting an email within say a week would be concerning to me. But if it's the latter, then any amount of wait time is probably normal.
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