nexttosomewhatnormal

Hey! I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to apply this year or wait until next year. As far as I know, not much has changed since last year, but then again, I didn't really look at it much last year.

Wow, do I relate to all of this. My anxiety, which is normally already pretty high, has been ridiculous lately. The rejections are such a hard blow and really difficult to stop thinking about... especially because I got rejected from two schools where I thought I had a pretty good chance, seeing as I did research at one of them just last summer. So... that's been really fun. I had one interview and have two more lined up but tbh I'm sort of so disheartened and frustrated by this entire process that I don't even know if I'm excited for grad school anymore, which is really sad. I know at least two people from the first interview have been accepted (and within just a few days) and I have heard absolutely nothing, even though I thought the interview went really well. "Pending" is currently my least favorite word in existence. I generally try to be a pretty positive person, but I think I underestimated just how upsetting this all could be.

Not sure about NYU as I didn't apply there, but I just checked Einstein's website and it looks like they have PhD interview days Jan 31 and Feb 14. I'd say if you haven't heard from them yet, the Jan 31 is highly unlikely, but you could still be invited for the Feb 14 date! It's not over yet! So she got an unofficial email from at least one PI responding to her thank you note after the interview telling her she got in, then around midnight she got an official letter from someone else, apparently. My advisor told me not to worry about it too much as they might just still be working out funding or a fellowship or something, but that's pretty much impossible advice to follow because I'm definitely still worrying about it lol. Thank you so much; you're so kind! Hopefully it all works out!

Yay! See you guys there! (Also, side note, slowly decomposing over here because I know one person has received an acceptance from an interview I went to last week and I have yet to receive anything. I can't help but think that's a bad sign.... UGH any moral support people could lend would be lovely)

I got an email (I think Monday?) saying that I was invited to interview, and I just got the email today with the actual details. I unfortunately have absolutely no idea if they'll be sending out more or to how many people this was extended. It does seem like there will be only one interview weekend in early February unless you absolutely couldn't make the scheduled dates... but I could be wrong.

I am also from a really small school and am interviewing at big places! There should be some sort of student representative that will guide you to where you're supposed to go... I highly doubt they expect you to get everywhere with no help. They will probably give you an itinerary and there will likely be lots of people listed on it who can help you or even walk with you to each stop!

I feel similarly about UPenn! As much as I want to believe that there's hope, it's definitely dwindling... Also, from the email I got a while back from Albert Einstein, they made it seem as if they'd be sending out invites gradually in batches, not all at once. I think they do their review over time, though I could be completely wrong!

Also, what are the benefits of doing a post-bac program like these versus getting a job in a lab (hopefully doing neuro research)? Does one look better to admissions committees than the other?