deianira

wow, thanks for the pod recommendation. I'm moving from California to Maryland. The moving companies have quoted me between $1.5-2K for a 1-bedroom apartment. The other (big) POD company quoted $4K!! U-PACK is only $1K.

My impression is that they want to decide asap, so it may take only a week for them to meet and vote. The only problem is that they may have two groups of people interviewing. So if you were int he earlier group you may have to wait another few weeks for them to interview the later group. Since you've already interviewed, you should have personal contacts at the department. It's acceptable to email them, express your interest, and ask about approximate decision dates.

oh, yeah, my life has been on pause for the past 12 months or so as well

I thought that if you have been waitlisted,that means that your rank has already been assigned. So there isn't much that a specific professor can do for you to get you in. If there are no more spaces, he/she can't make one for you. Deadline is April 15th for everyone, so you have plenty of time to wait for the wait list, and then plenty of time to prepare for the September start date.

I have asthma, which has been linked to higher risk for panic attacks, but never had real panic attacks until I _started_ grad school. If you are having them now just waiting for responses, you may have a very tough time with them in the first year in a PhD program. So if you have not found non-destructive efficient ways to control them, I suggest seeing a doctor now. They can suggest coping techniques, breathing exercises, lifestyle changes, etc. I know it sounds like flimsy psych stuff, but it will come in handy when you are faced with the real stress of grad school.

Stanford Biosciences Neuro department just replied to my request with a personal and very polite email, saying that they cannot disclose the information before or after the review process. So it sounds like this particular program may actually have a formal policy about nondisclosure.

We're all checking email every 5 minutes in anticipation of that coveted graduate program contact. But most of the time it's spam, right? Someone posted "Crate and Barrel U" in the results search - cute. I get Banana Republic ads, and random invites from graduate programs I've never heard of (U of TX biomedical, anyone?). But lately the most numerous spam category is the russian wives spam- several a day. Sample subject line: "Looking for a hot new wife? Get one from Russia!". This is made even more interesting by the fact that I am from Russia, and a heterosexual female...so if I were looking for a mail order...um...person it would be a man-toy, not a wife, and I certainly wouldn't want one from Russia ('cause that would just be same old). SO what's in your inbox?

I actually emailed UCSF asking for a reason or reviewer's comments after I got my rejection. No response, of course. So yes, I agree the process could be a lot more transparent. On the other hand, these are such important life-and-careere-changing decisions, that I can see how admissions committees would want to stay as anonymous as possible.

Correction: you share a sandwich and some rabies

Yeah, same deal. But my corporation isn't so much soul-sucking as apathetic. And everyone I know, including my boss, have been really supportive. So basically, we're all just waiting out my final days here and pretending to do some work. I have been trying to be at least marginally productive, though, int he hope that they will keep me on as a consultant (supplemental income, baby!).

My SO and I also discussed this dilemma. We came to the conclusion that he couldn't possibly leave to come with me, and that we also would have a very hard time with the long distance (cross-country) relationship. So we decided that if I have to go, we would try it, but wouldn't expect it to work, and wouldn't have hard feelings, so we would stay friends. And if we were both single when I finished the PhD, we would try to pick it up again. My decision was eventually made easier by rejections from the schools in my current city But the bottom line for me in the decision making was that I was going to give away 5+ years of my life for something that would change my life and open a lot of opportunities for me, and for which there is no substitute. And unless you are ready right now to settle with your boyfriend and start a family/spend your life with him, the rest of your life should trump this relationship. All personal opinion, of course

Geez, people, 4 pages of responses and no one really indulged in a bit of psychoanalysis?? Come on, position of power, father/mother figures, opportunistic behavior...oh, so much fodder

[quote name="Louiselab

Do we really need a book to tell us to get our work done on time?? Does anyone have recommendations for more specific books on choosing and advancing a thesis in the life sciences?

I just did my first "open house". There was quite a lot of trying to impress from the graduate program's side, so I wouldn't say that it's all about you. People were dressed nicely for both the pre-interview dinner and interviews, but I wouldn't say they were dressed tot he nines. Women were mostly in business casual (a couple were in suits), most wore heels. A few men wore formal suits and ties, or business casual. I would say I spent about 75% of the time asking and listening to people talk about their research, the program requirements, and graduate life (and other completely random topics), and 25% talking about my experience and goals. All interactions (with faculty and students) were very relaxed, and I did not feel like there was any pressure on me to impress.