[The Butterfly Effect + Various Scenarios Affecting Admission]

I think unrealistic optimism is very important for us during the waiting period. If we don't get in, we'll be disappointed no matter what, so might as well feel more at peace while we're waiting to hear.

Guinness is my source of unrealistic optimism!

[Collective Scream of Anticipation]

Suggestion for next "collective" thread:

We all decide on a time (adjusted for time zones) to take a shot/drink. Then we repeat soon after until we aren't so anxious.

[Biology PhD Fall 2009 applicants]

No fair! The bioinformatics peeps need to hurry up!

[It seems a little ridiculous]

Watch, updating university systems in USA will be up next as Obama tries to update all our technology (but medical files first!)

[Collective Scream of Anticipation]

It's kinda like the barbaric yelp from...who was that? Whitman?

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Heh, we actually were encouraged to do that in 11th grade when we read that poem in English. I was the only one brave enough to stand up and scream as loud as possible. Had an assistant principal come in to check on us.

[I think I need a break from waiting]

I think it is totally understandable, when you put it like that. Plus, many of us are planning on moving, some with our families, all the way across the country and there is a lot that needs to be put in order before the move. I know my husband wants to know where he should start looking for a new job...

My wife as well. I would love to know where I'll be living in several months. I just don't like the idea of the direction of my life being decided by others. Wish they'd hurry up and decide.

[I think I need a break from waiting]

I only want a complete end to waiting if it ends happily ever after.

I agree, I just want to know

[It seems a little ridiculous]

Theory: all the expense of applying to grad school is the first test in order to finish grad school. If you can manage your money and all the communications necessary to apply, then they might let you try to manage all the money and communications necessary to do research!

[I think I need a break from waiting]

I had a dream last night in which at one point I was in an interview and all the questions were asked by my current PI.

Almost as scary as when I was running around campus looking for equations so I could do my physics homework.

[The Butterfly Effect + Various Scenarios Affecting Admission]

That's one of the interesting things about going for bioinformatics, it's still fairly new, so there are no reliable statistics about admissions. There might be 100 people applying for a program, there might be 5. So I can construct all manner of odd scenarios.

[A BIG HINT]

How do you find the room reservations?

[How big is your discipline's package?]

Univ of Kansas and Emory Univ, my top two for Bioinformatics/Genetics and Molecular Bio, will award tuition, health insurance, and $24-25,000 stipend to entering students

[Application Remorse]

I would have loved to have applied to more. The money train ran out.

[Here's a way for someone to pass the time...]

Ok about molecular biology and biomedical, but leave us bioinformaticians alone! I also haven't heard!

[Course Syllabi]

I asked for a couple first year syllabi from grad recruiters or professors I already have met in a couple universities. The classes look wonderful, can't wait. The first bioinformatics class at NC State looks to be easier than the one at WashU, but WashU's covers more protein/signal transduction, which is far more interesting to me than genetics/genomics.

[Biology PhD Fall 2009 applicants]

Graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Dec 2006

GPA: let's just say it's low, I switched majors a couple times then rushed through requirements just to finish BA

Degrees: BA in Biology

GRE: V600/Q750/A4.0

7 publications as coauthor: 2 Posters, 1 presentation at Amer. Heart Assoc. Scientific Sessions, 4 papers (including a J. of Clinical Investigation! woo!)

Research experience: 5+ years, full time for 2 years, all within the same lab. I'm currently running 3 different projects.

Applied to:

WUSTL PHD in Molecular Genetics and Genomics 

Univ. of Kansas PhD in Bioinformatics

North Carolina St. Univ. PhD in Bioinformatics

George Mason Univ. PhD in Bioinformatics

Accepted:

None

Invited to interview:

None yet

Rejected:

None yet

[Here's a way for someone to pass the time...]

I'm geeky, anal and obsessive because I know I'm at a disadvantage. I worked 25+ hours a week in a research lab on campus (where I have worked full time for 2 years now, 5 years total) throughout my undergrad since I had no other sources of income, and barely managed to scrape by both financially and GPA-wise. Good GRE scores, research experience, co-author publications (my list has now hit 7!), LoR from world-known experts should overshadow the uGPA, but there's still that nag.

Too bad they don't have a place to list your screen-names for sites. I know I'm very new here, but it does help to see others as nervous (I think is the word) as I am. So I thank you all.

[The waiting is the hardest part]

I have a confession: To distract myself yesterday I hung out on a local news station's website and picked a fight with someone on one of the articles about Obama, always taking a position opposite of the other guy, and it had a feeling similar to the writing portion of the GRE.

Guh, I'm still not used to waiting yet, though. After spending a lot of time writing and re-writing application materials, I feel as though I'm being lazy and should be doing something.

[The waiting is the hardest part]

I find it kinda fun to surf around Craigslist, rent.com, and MLS listings of my hopefully, possible future towns/cities to see what kind of homes are within my price range. It at least keeps my mind off of the adcomm for a little while.

[Best of Luck to All!]

I always figured there are three very simple classifications for religiousness:

1) Theistic: this one's easy, it's the religious who pray and go to church and have a defined religion that they practice. This view point does allow for an infinite universe, as it accepts the limitations of human understanding, that we will never comprehend everything.

2) Agnostic: think religion from a science point of view. There's something out there that cannot be explained by science, and as such is impossible for a human to comprehend it enough to have an actual religion about it. Sure, it might be as simple as God or the Hindu Pantheon (I say as if Hinduism had a simple pantheon), but there's no evidence that completely and utterly supports one religion. It's just safer to believe something's out there and keep it that simple. Also can allow for an infinite universe.

3) Atheist: nothing's out there, everything can and eventually will be explained by humans eventually. Seems to allow for only a very large but finite universe (as eventually nothing would come as unknown).

But this only holds true if you hold a godless society that believes in there always being an unknown as agnostic, i.e. the universe of Dune, post-Scattering in which Leto II set it up to allow for human expansion into an infinite, unknown future and universe without the need for a godhead.

[The waiting is the hardest part]

Dream world: my boss comes downstairs from his office, stops me in the middle of my experiments (so far, pretty realistic), and takes me up to his office. A couple visiting professors from whatever university are there, and they happen to be good friends with my PI. We talk for about 15 minutes before they offer me admission.

[The waiting is the hardest part]

I think the hardest part of the waiting is not doing anything. I got so used to re-editing my statements and triple checking applications. Heh, I even emailed professors that teach the first semester core classes to ask for syllabi out of curiosity. I think I'm bugging all my family and co-workers with my constant worrying.