Astaroth

3.5 (basically an A- and a B+). Perfectly happy with it. I need to maintain a 3.0 to stay in grad school so anything above that is fine by me, I am not really trying to get straight As. I am learning a lot from my courses but the research is really what I'm here for.

I remember UNC having that very annoying part of the application, it was one of the main deterrants that made me not apply there in the end. I would suggest contacting someone at the department and someone at graduate admissions to get some clarity on what you need to do.

I'm not sure how your GPA translates into the 4.0 scale, but in any case, considering you manage to get some glowing references and write a great SoP, you should not have much trouble getting into any of those schools. You'll make it through initial screening at any of those schools, but your application will heavily depend on references and SoP from that point on so make sure they are amazing. What you need to ask yourself is whether you are sure you would be a good fit in the schools you apply to (i.e. look at the research done in the department and make sure there are at least 3-5 labs you would be more than happy spending 5 years in) and that you would like the location (no offence to anyone from there but do you think you would enjoy Baltimore, for example?). Fit is the most important factor though, definitely think long and hard about it to make sure you don't waste time, money and effort applying to places where you don't get the chance to research things that interest you.

No universities pay attention to the AW score, don't worry about it. They are notoriously unreliable.

The only reason you would want to do a Masters before the PhD would be if you have a particularly weak Bachelors that you think might prevent you from being accepted at the schools you want. A Masters is a LOT of work, it is essentially a PhD condensed down to 2 years, so I would avoid it as much as possible. If you intend to become a researcher, you will need a PhD for sure. I don't really know what you could possibly do with a Masters in Entomology other than lab technician, lower level teaching, or maybe science journalism.

How is everyone doing? I'm having a great time, so far at least, classes start Monday and it's looking to be fairly intense what with the lab work and TA duties. Burlington is a truly wonderful place, I really love it here! Living at Fort EA is also nice because it's a "quiet" area (apart from right now due to nighttime roadworks on the highway!) and I've met some cool neighbours, however it is a hassle living so far from downtown and I think I might at least try to move to Winooski next year. I will also really need to get a car sometime soon, I hadn't appreciated just how sprawling the Burlington area is and that you can't really go grocery shopping without being on the bus for an hour (thank goodness they are free!). Seems that the weather is already turning, it's reminding me of English weather more and more, but I'm looking forward to fall AND winter.

It's not really late but it's not early either. You'll be fine. Ten schools is a good number but make sure you fully work out the costs in advance, it is a lot more money than you think and it WILL impact your wallet/life.

Ask your professors at your university. Just email any of them that you trust and ask them to mention 2-3 universities they think you would be a good fit for. Alternatively, you said you read on dev bio in your spare time, why don't you look up the names of some of the authors of what you have been reading and find out where their labs are and what they are doing these days. If they are getting published in textbooks/good review journals, it suggests they are leading their field and their lab would be an excellent one to join (but make sure the labs are still relatively "young" and active, don't pursue a lab that's going to shut down in a couple of years). Your GRE Verbal isn't amazing but it's not a big deal as they only really use the GRE to get you past an initial cutoff. You have some experience by the sounds of it but remember that at places like MIT, UCB and Rockefeller you will be usually competing with other international applicants who have many years of post-degree research experience. Your SoP and recommendations are EXTREMELY important, make sure they are all amazing. Also, it would be good if your transcript shows either consistently excellent grades or at least an upwards tendency. Also make sure you are translating your grades to GPA properly, this usually quite tricky.

Applications are very expensive and very time consuming, and the sad truth is that at most of the schools you mentioned you would not have good chances of getting in. I wouldn't bother with a subject GRE unless you are applying to a school that specifically requires it or says that it would be beneficial to your app, as most of them don't pay attention to it anymore. I would look at some slightly lower tier schools where you know you would have a good chance of getting in so that you don't waste time and money (as I did) on applications where you never really had a shot. With your credentials I think you would have a reasonable shot at excellent schools such as UT Austin or UNC Chapel Hill and schools at around the same tier, and you should aim for at least 2 safety apps. Remember that USNews rankings are extremely arbitrary and very often miss excellent schools so only take them as a very rough guide. If you've heard something about a school that gets a low ranking, find out more about it instead of ignoring it because of the ranking. I got into UVM which ranks very low in Biology, but when you find out about the university and look at the labs and their publications it becomes clear that its ranking makes no sense at all. i think the problem is that some biology departments are closely associated to medical schools (as is the case at UVM) and the publications coming out of those labs may not get properly attributed to the biology department as far as USNews is concerned. In any case, the most important thing is to find a school with as many labs you would gladly do your thesis in as possible. There is no point going to MIT if it turns out you have no common interests with any of their labs, plus school prestige is a lot less important than lab reputation and reputable labs are by no means confined to prestigious schools. I would say these are the things you need to consider when applying: - Research interests - Possibility of acceptance - Location - What your current professors know about the school

Can anyone recommend a bank to open an account with? Hopefully one which can get my account up and running with a debit card very quickly.

I actually heard back last night, they offered me a room beginning August 15th even though my desired date was August 3rd. I am in fact moving from overseas and have booked my flights long ago so they are really not making things easy for me. I've accepted the offer but have asked them to find me some solution. In any case, I am very excited and can't wait to start! Edit: All very nicely sorted

Getting quite frustrated with AFH, they are really not doing me any favors. Last week I called and asked for my status and was told I would definitely know whether I do or don't have a room by Friday. I called again on Friday and was told I would receive an email by Monday. It is now Thursday and I have still not heard. I have 1 month to go before I move to Burlington and I cannot afford to waste a single day not looking for a house if I actually do need to be doing that.

I got a reply from AFH, they said they will be allocating rooms in the next 2 weeks so we should find it soon enough. The rooms are decently furnished, you get a bed, dresser, desk and chair, but the lounge is unfurnished. Could probably pick up a nice couch from a porch sale. I guess I shouldn't worry so much about my roommate, if someone has made it through to grad school they are likely to be at least half sensible I'm not looking forward to have to commute to uni every day but I guess I'll just have to bear through it for a year.

I am pretty much in the same boat, since it's impossible for me to visit Burlington in advance and look for a place I think I will have to apply for AFH and see if I like it. I really wanted to live somewhere close to campus, within walking distance, so that I didn't have to depend on buses to get to school, but AFH is really by far the safest choice. One thing though, is there any type of AFH apartment that comes furnished? There's the $575/mth "shared apartment" for single students which I'm going to apply for, any idea if that is furnished or not? It would be a huge hassle for me to arrive after a long flight and have no bed to sleep in! Though I could book a hotel for the first couple of nights and just order stuff from Ikea. EDIT: Ok never mind, should have looked more carefully before posting. The shared apt is meant to be "partially furnished", whatever that means. I'm going for that in any case. I'm a bit wary about the fact that we don't really get a say in who our roommate will be. I've had some bad roommate experiences. After living in a "house" (essentially a pig sty) with 5 other guys (never EVER do this) and a house with a guy who was convinced that everyone else should pick up after him and had random tantrums about nothing, I really try to choose carefully. EDIT 2: Just sent my application in. Fingers crossed.

Looks like I start August 1st too! Although I'm not actually required to be there until August 17th. I think I might move to Burlington around August 15th. I want to spend a little longer at home since I might not be able to go back for quite some time. A break after finishing my undergrad would also be good. Michelley, have you already begun contacting supervisors about rotations? I already know which labs I want to rotate in but I'm not sure whether I should wait to get there first and actually meet them before committing to do a rotation with them.