soramimicake

Hi everybody, So I'm a week into my third lab rotation in a biological sciences program. My first two rotations went really well and I basically got offers to join either one. I recently heard that the PI for my current rotation already offered the two spots in his lab to the two students who rotated in his lab last quarter, so, even if this rotation goes well, I would probably only have a spot if one of those two chose a different lab (the PI sort of told me this when I agreed to rotate, basically said that he wasn't positive that I would absolutely have a spot since he's going to have lots of rotators). This is okay with me since I've basically wanted to join my first rotation lab since I rotated there, and that lab really wants me to join as well. My question is, when should I tell the PI of the first lab that I want to join? He's continued to keep in touch and asked me to keep him updated on my plans, and I'm pretty positive that I want to join that lab, but I feel kind of weird deciding only a little bit into my third rotation while continuing to work in a lab that I'm not planning on joining. Should I tell him sort of unofficially and then hope it doesn't awkwardly get around? Or should I wait to decide officially until the end of the quarter? Or something else? Note: My school doesn't have an official way of sorting this stuff out, there's only a date that you have to decide by, so you're supposed to just sort it out on your own with the PI and then fill out the form. Thanks!

I'm a little late in responding to this topic, but...that seems like an awful lot of research to do. When I was writing mine, I honestly went to the web pages and picked out professors whose work seemed interesting and gave a brief explanation as to why I thought it was interesting. I feel like reading multiple papers of each person's work is kind of a waste of time. However, I also didn't make that a huge part of my SOP--I think it was the last two sentences or something in the section where I would talk about my interest in the school. So yeah, seriously, don't burn yourself out reading a bunch of papers to write a few sentences. Also, in a similar vein, when you go on your interviews, you don't need to read a bunch of papers from each person you're interviewing with. Towards the end I got really lazy and knew maybe only the general field that the person was studying, and my interviews all went fine. They're gonna tell you everything they want you to know anyway.

Do you have any research experience? I feel like in a lot of cases, that's the defining factor as to people who are sought after by top programs. I think that having research experience can really reduce some of the weight of having a low-ish GPA. Also, you go to Berkeley, which should negate some of the low GPA factor. I think the most important thing is to find a school that fits your interests and explain in your personal statement how that program is particularly suitable for you. Also, another tip: I didn't realize this until I applied to a lot of umbrella programs, but the umbrella programs tend to accept a lot more students than programs that are defined to one particular discipline. Obviously this is partially because the umbrella programs are spread amongst a bunch of departments, but it also seemed like some really good students were having problems getting into defined departments, while students who thought they didn't have as much of a chance were able to get their foot in the door by applying to umbrella programs that accept more students. One program that I might suggest is the University of Michigan's PIBS program. I really liked their program when I visited--It's definitely a quality program, but it's also large, so they accept quite a few students into it. Also, I met a girl who visited Michigan during one of their visit days prior to applications being due. She thinks that visiting beforehand and showing her interest was a big factor in getting an interview later. So if you have the opportunity to visit any schools that you're interested in before you apply, that can probably be at least somewhat of a benefit in just getting your name out there. And then they can also see an awesome person rather than just an application!

I mean, from your descriptions, it sounds like you want to go to School C. However, the money can be a big deal...on the other hand, I dunno, I don't think I'd want to go to a school with a brand new program that didn't make a good impression (I mean, I'd even be nervous about a brand new program that DID make a good impression). School B sounds great except for the whole feeling uneasy thing--I know I'd want to go somewhere that I'd feel comfortable. How many years do you think you'll be in school? Are you going into a field where you'll be able to pay off your debt semi-quickly once you get out? I guess you just have to weigh the money you'd have to pay off with how much you like the program. I know this is all stuff you probably already know, but just my two cents Good luck!

Hi! I applied and heard back, but I think that you can check your status on their website: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=nwu-grad If you log-in, I think it should have your status. Good luck!

Well, I actually visited both University of Chicago and University of Michigan, hehe. To me, both places had students that were really happy to be there and seemed normal, not overly bookish or weird or anything. I actually asked the grad students at UChicago about the "where fun goes to die" stereotype, and most of them told me that it was a difficult school, but that that stereotype mainly referred to the undergrads. Apparently it's a really difficult undergrad institution and the undergrads can be a pain to teach....anyway, at both of the visits, students went out, had fun, and seemed to enjoy being at the school. I chose UChicago for research/school size reasons, but both seemed like good places to me!

I don't think it's silly at all to choose Berkeley over UCSF! Both are really good schools and I feel like once you get into the category of "really good school" there's not really a one is better than the other type of thing. I'm in the biological sciences too, and when I decided, it came down to the one that I really felt at home at and the one that I was already excited about and knew that I'd be excited about all summer, even if I turned down a school that might be considered "better". I'm not sure that's really the exact situation you're in, but what I'm trying to say is that it's not silly to choose one school over another if it's the one that YOU want to go to.

I was told by friends of mine who applied to similar PhD programs that I didn't need to take it given that my other stats were good. I actually go to a small liberal arts college that nobody's ever heard of and didn't take the GRE subject test and still got into top schools. It looks like you have a lot of research and a good GRE score, so as long as your GPA is pretty good, I would say don't worry about it unless you're worried that something in your application could be better!

whoops here's the link: http://rs.uchicago.edu/graduate_housing/faq.shtml#8

I was reading about the University graduate housing and what I gathered from it was that there were only certain apartment complexes that you could live in if you wanted to room with another graduate student (see FAQ "Can I share an apartment with someone?"). I looked up these apartment complexes and it seemed like all were just furnished two bedrooms. Is this the idea that everyone else got? I was kind of sad, since I wanted to bring my own furniture, but I'd also like a roommate and would want to stay in University housing my first year. I might just go for a 1-BR....

Don't worry about it! I know that's hard to do, but I just had to e-mail a bunch of people that I'd been talking to from other schools, including one school that I did a summer program at and got really close with some of the faculty. It's hard, but everybody who responded to me was really supportive and wished me the best of luck. And if they don't respond or are weird about it, then you can be glad that you decided not to go there!

I'm trying to decide between Princeton's Molecular Biology program and University of Chicago's Molecular Biosciences program. I really like both programs--the research at the University of Chicago fits my interests more closely, I hit it off with multiple faculty there, and Chicago is closer to where my family lives. I also think that I would enjoy living in the U Chicago area more than Princeton. However, I'm kind of scared of the "where fun goes to die" stereotype--some of the grad students told me that it doesn't really apply to the grad school as much as to undergrad, but I still don't want to be miserable somewhere for 5+ years! I felt really at home at Princeton and out of all of the "prospective classes", I felt like I got along best with the other people that I met at Princeton. Princeton also had the opportunity for a teaching certificate, and I think that I may want to go into teaching, so that's a big plus. The faculty all seemed great there as well, but the research didn't fit my interests as closely, and there were fewer faculty choices. I've talked to students from both programs in person and over e-mail, but everybody seems to have solely positive things to say about both schools...does anybody have any thoughts on either place? Thanks!

So I'm to the point where I've narrowed it down between two schools and have no idea what I'm going to decide. I remembered some questions that I forgot to ask current grad students while I was interviewing, and also kind of want to hear from some grad students who weren't necessarily involved in the recruiting process. The school I want to contact has a list of grad students in the program as well as their e-mails. Is it weird to just blind e-mail a few of them and ask their opinions? If it's okay, how should I go about asking questions? Just say, Hey, I'm thinking about going to this school and wanted to get input from some other grad students? Thanks!

I'm kind of a fraidy cat, so I would probably wait until I got the full-blown acceptance. Plus, if they've already sent it to the school, it shouldn't take too long to get to you! Just my two cents.

Congratulations! I got one too so maybe I'll see you there!

I agree about the Michigan thing--I think they're doing it by department because I got an invite as well and the first thing she said was that she was from the microbiology department. In fact, she didn't even mention PIBS. Also, I got the phone call on Thursday and she said I should be getting the e-mail soon, but I haven't...do you think I should e-mail them asking about it?

Hi everyone, I'm in the process of applying to umbrella schools in the area of the molecular biosciences. I definitely want to do research in my future, but I want to teach as well. Does anybody know of particular graduate schools that have a strong teaching component or teaching option involved in their graduate degrees? I know that a lot of schools tend to look down on teaching and make the requirement as small as possible, so does anyone know of schools that actually encourage teaching? One example that I've found is that at Northwestern University they give a few students the opportunity to get a teaching certificate while in their graduate studies. Another possibility would be schools that are willing to add a little bit onto a student's stipend if they're willing to TA a few more classes? Any ideas? Thanks!