banksy

I would suggest applying to as many schools as you can afford or have time for, like you said times are tight and programs are becoming more selective. If you have had any mentors you should talk to them about which programs would be good for you, also refer to post-docs you know or other professors you have had good experience with. http://www.phds.org/ is a good reference to familiarize yourself with the programs that are out there and where they stand compared to other programs. Also take note of the programs rank...when applying i realized i was not the best candidate but still wanted to go to the best programs (UCSF, Princeton, UCB, UCSD, Stanford, MIT...etc), so I picked a few of the top tier programs to apply to and then applied to second and third tier schools as well. I don't know much about a lot of different programs, but i applied to a lot of "umbrella" programs because i am not 100% sure what i want to do. Look into so of the programs i applied to if you'd like....i liked UT-Austin, Northwestern, UMass, UW-Madison, and UCSF a lot when I went there, three of those programs however are colder climates so you might not like them. Most major cities in the country have at least one graduate program - Boston, San Francisco bay area, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Houston, LA, San Diego, Seattle, D.C. I am biased based on places where I live, again refer to PHds.org Give yourself a lot of time on the essay, mine took ~4 months of editing with a post-doc at my work. You need to go through it with someone that is familiar with science and ideally familiar with what your background is and what you want to do in the future. (Note : I needed a person like this, you might not....definitely will not hurt your app). At this point the only things you can improve upon is your essay, resume, and LORs. I think the essay is a major piece to the puzzle and needs to be supported by the LORs...resume is not a big deal i do not think. The LORs need to convey that you are 1) extremely enthusiastic about science 2) you have determination and perseverance when problems arise 3) you are creative and can think outside of the box 4) that you have done good work. I talked to numerous faculty about the LORs and what they look for and this is the list. I notice you have not done much actual research, you need to make sure that your recommenders avoid saying you are a good worker...they are not selling a worker, they are selling a scientist. In your essay, avoid stories about relatives with cancer or another disease and how that has motivated you to pursue science in search for cures. message me if you have any more questions... i don't check this site very much anymore

i would go with whatever your gut is telling you. to me it seems like it is dartmouth

all done. so much to do in the lab now. attending Northwestern IBiS, is anyone else?

i see acceptances for Davis popping up and i want one.....gimme

its been a long month and a half.... wish the remaining schools will hurry with their post-interview decisions so this can finally be over!

congrats!

rejected from ucsf, sad face even though i was expecting it

i have gotten wind of the disorganized admissions coordinator. she told me she would be in contact with me regarding an alternate date when more students presented interview conflicts. she never contacted me, so i emailed her last week...still no word. this is a bit of a turn off for me. when i expressed interest in not attending the interview to my boss, she said, "You should go, it's an interesting program." so, if the admissions coordinator ever gets ahold of me with an alternate date, i will most likely go. at this point it doesn't seem like that will be the case. it's crazy that only 12 people went to the interview. the reason why i applied to the program was for the algae biofuel focus...

East coast is the easy coast huh? I was under the impression that the west coast was easier! obviously a type-OH I'm also waiting for my top choice response (UCSF IPQB), should be here this week or next. I've been making sure no one has posted anything on the results page, last year they came out early March. I am very nervous about it, but I have some other good options. I will probably need to take the day off of work or whatever I am doing if I get accepted!

yup, I'm in California so I've been hopping around the country. This is a once in a lifetime experience and I have the time to make all of my interviews, so why not?

just got done with Madison CMB, seemed like a good program. also got accepted to umass med school during my interview, but will be declining the offer this week. 5 interviews deep and I am pretty exhausted! Want to schedule myself a massage before Friday!

the 17th this year was a Sunday and yesterday was a holiday. you should relax

there will be fun i've heard from a lot of people - "graduate school was the best time of my life"

lol. i agree Evanston seemed like a drag, but it's graduate school not undergrad.

what is your opinion?? seemed to be awesome research going on there.