lab ratta-tat-tat

I have been secretly excited about my plan b for a while. The more and more I talked about it with my significant other and family, the more excited I got. So I am glad my "plan B" has become my "plan A" and is going to be a positive thing. I think it can be that way for anyone

So as I posted in another thread, I was rejected from my dream school and now the wait is over. I promised my self I would spend days crying, shopping sprees-maxxing the BEEP out of credit cards, eating a crap ton of food, ice cream and drinking beer. Truth be told- and in all honesty, I was sad. I cried for about 3o minutes and questioned every aspect of my application. I was given no info on why I was rejected and truth be told this is the 2nd time with this specific school. Later that night I became (oddly) happy. I was sad to have my dreams of graduate school shattered, but then again I am not the only person who has EVER been rejected, so I know a lot of people are going through a similar situation now. Even this morning I woke up with a new outlook, I could now make a plan B and move on. I could finally apply for other jobs in my field and be happy. The waiting (which IS the WORST part) is over and now I can put that craptastic negative past behind me and move on. Lastly, one of my POI's emailed me telling me they were sorry about my rejection but really happy because they would be willing to offer me a full time position as a "permanent scientist" so to speak making much more than a graduate student makes.... so not all is lost. I hope this gives some a light at the end of the tunnel. Good Luck!

So I found out through the grapevine I was rejected from my dream program. They are having interviews in 2 weeks and unfortunately I am not one of the applicants. When I found this out yesterday, I was sad, I felt I was a great candidate- lots of research experience, publications, blah blah blah. Oddly enough (and the point of my post) I cannot explain to you the joy and the sense of relief I felt once I realized it was all over now. I can move on to my plan B (permanent scientist) and make a hell of a lot more money. I have been offerred a job through one of my POI's who was THRILLED i did not get into grad school because they want a straight up scientist and not a grad student who is taking classes....... I hope this is inspiring or helpful to some people who see no light at the end of the tunnel. I promised I would cry myself to weeks if I didn't get in but even if I didn't have this job offer (which I only found out about like 3 mins ago) I woke up this morning in a hell of a better mood. SO good luck to waiting and hang tight!

ugghhhhhh Congrats to him... for being a JERK! Just kidding, good for him but I can see how that would get annoying to people who are actually working.

@lechatgris I got a dog cooking book for christmas.... needless to say I have been baking dog treats and preparing special meals for my 2 coonhounds. i also agree that the result page owns my soul. i also have become a recluse and just want to hear something before I move on with the next part of my life. Grrrrr!!!

whats your GPA? If it is less than a 3.0 you need to address it seeing as though grad schools require that minimum and profs have to jump a lot of hoops to get some one in with that kind of GPA. Do not say "You look at grad school as a job" they will say "well you should, graduate school IS a job". If anything I would discuss how the experiences you have had, working hard in school and doing research speaks to your ability to succeed in grad school or how it is parallel with your immediate career goals-graduate school, which will facilitate your long term career goals (whatever you choose) I would focus on the positives if there is a blemish in your record you could talk about it briefly but back it up with hell of a lot of positive statements that highlight your abilities and make you look like a good candidate (which you are )

I literally just watched this and was trying to figure out where to post it!!!! AHHH THANK YOU!!!

I was told at a conference by a very respectable person, nobel prize winner, etc. "You go to graduate school at the middle of the road school. The reason is you get more experience and people tell you why you are doing something not just how. When it's time to do a post-doc, that is when you go to a top notch program, those programs the mentor is around less and you will then have the independence you need to grow"

if I see another BEEEP-ing person asking about their chances with their perfect scores I just might die. Seriously? WTF do you think your chances are? Leave us middle class average GPA or Awesome in one area, but over compensating for some deficiencies in another area alone. I have probably gotten a million times worse since this process, I recently signed up for a gmail email account so I could see (on the tab) when a new email arrives and it kind of shows up/flashes upon arrival. Pathetic, probably, but I want to be able to get my brain back the very second I hear something.

That is very unprofessional to accept a position, agree to attend a school, sign a contract and then because your job gives you a better opportunity you cut all ties with the school. It also is unfair to those who applied and are on the wait list and you accept and then deny after april 15th, it decreases a person who is extremely willing and committed, chances of getting in. If you aren't committed to the school just turn down the opportunity and let someone who actually wants it to have it. I am not in your field so this is not applicable to me but if I was in your field I would be pretty pissed. Also, how would you feel if you were accepted to a school and you moved there, invested money such as finding an apartment and moving all your belongings etc. then they decided "Hey were just not going to accept you, just kidding, we thought you were good enough then other applicants came by so- Sorry". You would be pretty pissed off right? complaining on the forum, to your friends and family about this and how awful the school is. Oh how the tables turn....... I am pretty sure that actually happened to someone this year or last year with Houston. The school offered them the position, they accepted, moved there and come to find out the school revoked the offer. The school can get into legal trouble for this, you might want to see what kind of trouble you could get into (maybe not legal but black listed in your field, in that department, that school, those committee members could tell faculty members within your field, etc) Don't put all your ducks in one basket, just because you are ranking up doesn't mean you are going to enjoy what you are doing and you will excel and challenge yourself. Maybe really consider this promotion and talk with some one at your job and at the school and weigh your options.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you but it is still wayyyyy too early to give up now! C'mon! You put a lot of work into this process, don't just give up now!

Mo Jingly- That is awesome you had such a positive feedback from them. Where are you interviewing. I agree if it is close to the deadline and email like that could be appropriate. You don't want to come off as nosey and annoying. I would say hang tight for a couple more weeks, you can do it! You have made it this far through the process. Although your deadline was December or January, think about how long you have been preparing for this... see you have waited a long time, a couple more weeks wont kill you

have you tried the website: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/995669-2011-official-biosciences-interviews-results-72.html They have a lot of life science applicants and updates, even a section specifically for international students. This link will take you to the discussion board you will have to scroll through the pages to get a better look but maybe this will help.

@ Kotov I am so sorry you are not 21 but...... you could always drink copious amounts of coffee or soda and get super energetic and take out your anxiety in a positive way. I am 23 now, but my first time applying to grad school I was 20, my 21st birthday literally fell after the april15th deadline. My parents sent me a box of those chocolate covered espresso beans. I didn't know you weren't suppose to consume about 5 at the most and I was bouncing off the walls (and super productive mind you!) Also, Baileys sells chocolates with some alcohol type filling These are just suggestions, I can empathize with your situation a little bit On another note- I work for the program I am applying to, yesterday while we were having lab meeting I saw the admissions committee gather in the room next to us. My heart just about stopped, I no longer cared about the latest product from invitrogen or the newest pippetts we were getting that cost $3,000 I kept thinking -Oh my gosh they have me application, i wish they would just walk over and tell me something!!! It added a little stress to my day/anxiety eeek!!!

Since we are all asking if anyones heard from....... Has anyone heard from the University of Utah Neuroscience program or is anyone else applying to it???

I think if you take away the content of what you are researching (or the subject) and you focus on the techniques you have learned, how to formulate hypothesis, specific aims/directions, and how to test those things you can enhance your ability in another field. I was once told by a very notable professor that anyone can be taught anything, but motivation and desire cannot be taught, if you have a grasp on these "techniques" as I have listed above, you can insert a new concept, approach, whatever, and excel at it. Hope this helps!

This thread sure has taken an interesting turn. I like it. In real life, I had told a colleague I was having bad dreams and they said "Wait until you area graduate student, then see what kind of nightmares you have". They also told me that they have been worrying about their projects a lot lately and taking melatonin to help them sleep. Lets hope grad school is not a living nightmare....

I had a dream I got an email that said "What are you a retard?" it had attached files and I had to open them. The first was the comment above with a large red arrow pointing to my GRE scores. the rest was my SOP marked in red. At the bottom it said "Congratulations, you were the least stupid of the stupid applicants who applied, you are accepted-idiot" talk about a nightmare

I do not know why I did not read and comprehend the poster above's statement about the HR block large white envelope..... probably due to lack of sleep, nightmares about not getting in BUT......... Last night I flung open the mailbox to find a white large envelope inside. My heart raced and I could no longer think about how damn cold my hands were, i juste wanted to rip that envelope to shreds. I frantically dropped all my belongings right there on the concrete and start screaming "oh my god oh my god this is ittttttt!!!!" In hindsight I should have looked on the outside of the envelope.... I tore the envelope open throwing the contents on the ground only to find "HR block thanks you for your business... blah blah blah" What the BEEP?!?! F U HR block. You mean i have to keep waiting? Needless to say, I threw the contents from HR block away. Damn promotional offers, you piss me off the most GGRRRR!!!

I think being broad, in the sense you described with your interests, is ok in the way you have done it. Let me explain. You stated very clearly why you were interested in those areas and that it was beneficial to a student to become familiar with these techniques. In the real world (grad school) you may work in a lab with one of those specific areas of interest, but to be honest you will probably use a lt of techniques applicable to those other areas. I think you played the field well in terms of marketing your self. Most schools Mol biol. type programs pride themselves on the fact they collaborate with multiple departments in order to develop well rounded students. Excellent job.

Calm down, don't go insane If it is a field you really like, reading the abstracts can give you the competitive edge you need to succeed. I would not spend a lot of time memorizing this, but if you do like this field, it will come naturally to just know the methodology and results. It also gives you something to talk about with the professors and makes it look like you have already done your homework, a great skill which will help you out in the long run (grad school). I would not stress out though, this is the worst thing that you could do. be your self, be able to talk about your research, what you did and what you can do as a grad student in their program. Ask them questions about their lab and their work and that will fill those awkward pauses which are inevitable. Good luck!!

I think it al depends when the deadlines to submit materials was. If it was January 15th, you wont hear back until the end of this week or later, but if you know they do interviews in mid february, you can guess they have to invite applicants for interviews earlier in order to make travel arrangements and push the necessary paperwork along for that process. Don't give up hope yet!

No, the discussion I was referring to was talking about all people in general using them, even those with ADD and how cognitive enhancers should not be used. I was only bringing up an anecdotal situation which I thought might be useful in a persons decision making process as to disclose a condition or not.