seunghwane

I too think that it'd be idiotic to apply to as few as 4. Even if you are a top candidate, how can you be so sure that those two programs are the best fits for you? I knew that I would get into most schools I applied to, but I wasn't sure which would be the best, so I applied to 11. While that was probably a waste of money, I would like to VISIT at least 5 schools. Besides, I could use a free trip to New York and other places, if nothing else.

Pssh. Get out of here with your high sounding physics mumbo jumbo. I says we teach the the creative theory of designed falling as an alternative to the theory of gravity.

The PS has many grammatical errors and spots where it gets a bit awkward. As others have noted, you should get a native English speaker/writer to edit your PS, because these little things will distract readers.

I don't like playing the devil's advocate (no pun intended), but I wouldn't be that harsh. There are many examples, even in the 21st century, of brilliant intellectuals who are religious. (But Francis Collins is not one of them. Any serious biologist would know that Francis Collins was just an administrative person, while Eric Lander was the one who truly spearheaded the human genome project). However, as you noted, those misguided individuals are likely exceptions, rather than the rule.

Plato? Immanuel Kant? St. Aquinas? What do those people have in common? They are people who lived CENTURIES ago. It's funny that you forgot Newton though, which would've strengthened your point considerably. Why these brilliant people from centuries ago believed in something so ludicrous probably has more to do with cultural indoctrination than anything else, but since you are supposedly trying to be "serious," in all seriousness, are you serious with Einstein being religious? Any person equipped with google and wikipedia should know better than that. Although it may not have been the case in 18th century, in the 21st century, which is a bit closer to now (I think), there is a very clear correlation between (science) education level and tendency to be irreligious in America. For instance, the American public is something like 80% religious according to some polls, while that number drops to 10% among national academy of science members. What is also clear is that most forms of monotheistic religions rely on suspension of reason and evidence. Believing in Bronze Age myths necessitates that one must either suspend reason completely at all times (Sarah Palin), or at least while one is at church/synagogue/temple/whatever, depending on evangelical faith, or "moderate" faith. That is why, I believe, an overwhelming majority of the best scientists in the US has a hard time believing in a deity. Whether you call that or something else faith is just trivial semantics, which would not make for a very interesting discussion unless you're going to be a lexicographer... I am not planning to compile a dictionary any time soon myself. Clearly, depending on how you interpret the word, we can view it in less negative or less positive ways.

Einstein a man of religion? Someone doesn't know his religion.

Nearly every religion has an inferiority complex. Everyone wants to be THE persecuted one. The only valid case, as far as anyone can tell, is in the case of the Jewish people... but then as you explained, to be a Jewish person is also about belonging to an ethnicity.

Anyone know anything about this place?

I'm actually an atheist (or a very strong agnostic) so all religion is fair game for criticism as far as I am concerned.

I've heard from one Dec. 1st deadline school on Dec. 14th. I heard from another Dec. 15th deadline school around Dec. 20th. Other Dec. deadline schools have told me that they will get back to me before the end of January.

A famous professor I know only publishes in Nature, Science and Cell- the three premier journals in biology. I always wondered how he ONLY publishes in these three journals, never even bothering with very good, but not top 3 journals, such as Genes and Dev, Nature Neuroscience, Neurons, etc. It turns out that he left his name out of his students' papers. It does kind of suck.

Come again? I didn't realize I genuflected to anything.

Belief in a universal force that seeks justification? Come on! What are we, 5?

Well, technically speaking, since we are all educated people here, there is no evidence supporting the validity of things like wishing good will (e.g. praying) having any effect or a even more fuzzy concept such as karma. But the OP and the readers may feel good from this thread, which has to count for something.

Did anyone see this graph? http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive ... micid=1078

hell yesss i just got invited to harvard and i have some serious blemishes on my records and my GRE is about the same 670 v (95) 800 q (94) + 97 perc. subj test

Applied to: -Harvard (neurobiology) -Stanford (neuroscience + biomed) -UCSF (neuroscience) -Caltech (biology) -HHMI/Janelia Farm -Rockefeller (neuroscience) -Columbia (brain...) -Berkeley (neuroscience) -MIT (biology) -MIT (brain and cognitive science/Picower) -Princeton (neuroscience) Accepted: None Invited to Interview: -HHMI/Janelia Farm -Harvard Neurobiology Rejected: None

Thank you for your kind words. Holy crap I am so excited bc I got an invitation just now... I really really hope you get your top choices as well!

I know I'm being the Captain Obvious, but I think your research experiences and recommendation letters will determine your chances. But it's really great to see a post by a fellow biologist!

Invited to Interview: -Harvard Neurobiology, UC Berkeley, Princeton, UCSF, MIT Biology, Caltech Accepted: Rockefeller, UC Berkeley, Caltech, Princeton, UCSF Have not heard from: MIT bio

I think this is always the case in biology. I don't know about other fields.

I think it's field-specific. None of the neuroscience departments has that listed on their website.

Hmm that's strange. Which schools are you applying to? I'm applying to: Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Columbia, Rockefeller, Princeton, WashU, UCSF, Caltech and Janelia Farms.

I've never heard this either. Please back up your claim.

Oh geez I cannot wait any longer.