nhyn

i can tell you that i didnt see anyone interviewing with Dr.Veenema, and 2 students were interviewing with Dr.Petrovich (she wants to take in 2 students). Hope that helps! (i didnt interview for BN but Social)

go home. i havent been home in 2 years and visit my friends who live in yet another country.

interview with a grad school for most of the day, and hopefully, somehow, pull together a five-course meal for my bf!

This is going to be a long post as I tried to reply to everyone Thanks for the link - knowing other people's experiences definitely helps in my decision making As for doubts: I really admire people who absolutely know what they want to do; I was like that when I was younger, but as I become exposed to more and more things, I become more and more unsure There are just...too many ways to live your life, and not just one. I think it's good to have doubts. It makes you think carefully before you decide, and just more realistic in general. he is. But his job right now is just perfect, and he only started in the summer. I'm not sure if it's good for someone so young, in this kind of economy, to jump ship after only 1 or 2 years at that good a place. Also...except one or two schools, most of the schools with star PIs are in the middle of nowhere (you know, towns where the only real business is the school itself), I'm just not confident that he'll be able to find jobs there. You spoke my mind! I agree with you completely - my job is also part of my happiness (I guess when I wrote "personal happiness" I only meant "relationship/emotional happiness" as opposed to "vocational/occupational happiness"), and my family is important to me. I'm not so ambitious as to win a Nobel prize or anything, but I do aspire to be a good researcher, and I'm constantly in doubts (esp. after visiting one of the schools that recently interviewed me) whether these schools/PIs will provide me with the resources I need. I guess at the end of the day, like you said, I'll just have to go with my gut and live with my regrets later I guess I should have written "she" instead of "he" and said I was a man? haha. I'm not sure about others, but no one "expects" me to give up my goals for the man. Also, I'm not "giving up my goals", rather, I'm having to make "serious adjustments" of certain goals (i.e. working for famous PIs). I'm NOT abandoning grad school altogether. I'm just not sure if my career prospects are as good if I work for less famous (but conveniently located) PIs. I guess my priorities are a bit different than yours - I view relationship (this is a long term, serious one; if it's just any relationship I'd probably have had an easier time deciding) and career/dream as equally important. My partner supports me, and is open to the possibility of moving to where I go to grad school, but if that happens, like I stated above in my reply to other posters, I'd feel like I am hindering HIS career. I don't know why we started this discussion of woman and choosing career and family, as I have no doubt career can be just as, if not more, fulfilling as family. But I understand your frustration. If you notice, I had the opposite situation - like I said, I had to explain myself to my professors as I was afraid they would think less of me for choosing family over career. Surprisingly a professor got back to me with her own story of how her husband and she had to go through immense difficulties because they were trying to do both - career and family. It was actually very encouraging Also, I feel like I'll regret no matter what I decide on; I'm just trying to minimize the regret rather than eliminate it altogether (doesn't seem possible right now, sadly). Again, I completely agree with you. Nowadays it seems like women who choose family over career are looked down on o_O which is rather funny, as choosing career or family is really just a matter of personal preferences. You're somewhat right - we had a conversation, but...my partner being the person that he is, said yes, very definitively, when I asked if he would move to where I go to grad school, except...he doesn't really have a plan. It wasn't a very helpful conversation, and we probably have to talk again at some point. But there's also me who feels like I'm getting in HIS way by asking him to move so soon after he started this *perfect* job. Choosing school is the only time I can afford to be flexible. I imagine once I look for post-doc positions or teaching/research jobs, I will have to go wherever the job is, and then we'll have to be long distance for some time again, so why not use this chance to stay close? - was my logic. Now I still think my logic is not very flawed but I do wish I had applied to faraway places, just to give myself some options

i applied to the psych dept, not Lynn school. not sure if all invites have been sent out but the emails about a pre-interview social thingy with current grad students are sent to a mail list (aka group email).

that is right. If I don't get in this year, I will be forced to apply more widely, therefore including schools far away. The idea of LDR really depresses me but the idea of not getting a good job after my PhD also depresses me. I guess we can't have our cake and eat it too... edit(to reply to your new post): I'm sorry that happened and yea, I think if I don't get in this year, I will have to/will be willing to do LDR for 4-5 years and then try to work out something with my SO. I admire people who can endure that long though even if it's worth it.

Maybe it's just because the waiting process is too long, I have been having...um, thoughts. It's a mix of the usual self-doubts and some personal stuff. I was just wondering...Is anyone thinking it might be a good thing not to get in this year? Why? Also, if you have to choose between your marriage/engagement and grad school, which one will you compromise on? For me, maybe not getting in this year is a good thing, because: - If I could, I wouldn't have applied this year. I was really hoping to work for at least 2 years, but as an international student, my visa only allows one year of work in the US. My work as an RA now is very useful, and if only I could work for another year, I believe I could be an even better candidate. My significant other and I are planning to get married later this year, and once I become a permanent resident, I can work some more and gain more experience. - I'm working in a different state and my SO and I visit each other from time to time. It's doable, but we have been doing this our last year of college, too, so it has become very tiring. I am realistic about our relationship, and so is he; we really think we're going to last. Which is why when I chose schools to apply, I chose those that are at most 2 hours of driving from where his work is. He has been working for a year - his job is to his liking, utilizes his expertise, and pays very well, which is why I don't think it's possible for him to change job, at least in the next few years. So I made my compromise, and now I'm sort of regretting it - not because of our relationship. It's still great, and I think it'd be so great if we could live together at last. BUT, all the programs/POIs I'm applying to aren't exactly stars in my field - don't take me wrong, they're still very respectable POIs with very good research, but in terms of "star power" - connections, fundings, etc., they are probably not as strong as some other POIs who work in some other faraway states. So maybe if I don't get in this year, I will get a chance to apply to more schools with more "star power" POIs. (it was also very unfortunate that the famous POIs in my (geographical) area aren't doing the research that I want to pursue). When I asked my professors and boss for LORs, I always felt the need to preface with explanations of why I'm not applying to more schools and more famous POIs. Compromising my career for personal happiness (relationship-wise) was NEVER something I was capable of, up until recently. Even during the summer, I was still contacting POIs from all over the country, full intent to apply, but when it was time to send in apps, I caved. What would you do if you had to choose between personal happiness and a successful career? Or rather, did you go through the same thing and if you did, what did you do?

I applied to a prof that is listed in both Social & Developmental (im on the social side with some interest in working with faculty on the cog/neuro side), and a week ago he invited me to their interview day. their interview is on feb 14th, i'd say wait till then and see

wow, those grad students sound ... lol while i think a first year grad student is essentially at the same level with me re: experience (i graduated last May) and perhaps maturity (a lot of them are mature beyond their age, though), i've found some pretty amazing first-year grad students here. they are all very smart, know what they are doing, and have extensive experience in areas im not familiar with, hence i always learn a lot from them. the third-year student i've been working with - amazing. she's not only smart, precise, productive, but also an inspiration (or intimidation? lol). her passion for her work really scares me, to be honest. makes me wonder when i will ever be passionate like that. and the other labs i interviewed at, the lab managers told me grad students and lab managers are pretty much equals. and while some lab man. may have more responsibilities than other RAs, and grad students have more say in certain things, i dont think grad students are supposed to "tell you what to do". of course RAs are hired to do certain things, with the profs' money, so the prof can assign you work, but if you have a grad student ordering you around, thats pretty weird. I mean, you can help them run studies, and that's your job because your boss is the PI, essentially. there shouldnt be a hierarchy in a research environment anyway - research is a product of contribution so, to answer your question, i dont think it's weird at all that the grad students don't tell you what to do. it is sad, however, that they can't teach you, give you instructions, or have something you want to learn from. but i think it's great that you operate independently despite lack of instructions! all in all, im sorry you're stuck with these grad students, but trust me, if you get into a good lab for grad school, youll meet fantastic people, and will be doing what proper grad students do

ok, no offense, but..it sounds like a really bad lab. I've never encountered grad students who don't know their experiments (you didn't make it clear - whose experiments were you trying to explain to them?). If the level of intelligence of grad students is like that (judging only from what you stated here), if I were you, I'd get another PAID RA job elsewhere. It also sounds like a messy lab. Unless the PI/school is reputable, I doubt if your rec letter is going to carry much weight. Here's how it works in the labs I've worked in: 1/Lab A: very big lab. There are a few grad students and a few full-time RAs, and a bunch of undergrads. PI and grad students design a study, grad students program it, set up the infrastructure, and full-time RA coordinate undergrads to run it. RAs also run projects set up by PI and therefore can be 2nd author on that PI's paper. After a while grad students and RAs colllab on a project, so RAs get to program and analyze data too. Undergrad rarely do anything further than recruiting, data entry/cleaning, etc. (i.e. grunt but essential! work). If undergrad is doing thesis, then h/she gets to do more (i.e. data analysis, add stuff to an already working study and run it themselves for their thesis, etc.). Full-time RAs might not always get to write the paper (even though they can be 2nd/3rd author), but occasionally they get to edit/write some stuff. So, since this lab is so big and is of a hot stuff PI, grad students rarely have to run the experiments - but trust me, they are super knowledgeable and are always on top. They always have to make sure undergrads are not screwing up lol This is a behavioral lab. 2/Lab B: small lab, but has quite a number of students from other labs jumping in to collab. This is a neuroimaging and behavioral lab. For neuroimaging studies, grad students ALWAYS run their own study, together with another RA (has to have 2 people scanning). Grad students and RAs do data analysis as well. For behavioral studies, grad students run their own study as well, and have help from undergrads and RAs. But since our grad students run soooo many slots and studies at the same time, usually grad students and RAs have the same share of running and recruiting. The other stuff is similar to lab A as well, except undergrads don't do much neuroimaging and we're a much smaller lab. 3/Lab C: big lab, 3 PIs. The lab manager of the head PI, besides doing the stuff mentioned above, also takes care of all kinds of admin stuff (ordering machines, allocating funds, communicating with other labs, etc.). This lab manager does the most admin stuff I've seen. Lab A also has a separate manager (besides full-time RAs) to do admin stuff alongside research duties; lab B has a lab manager who does a bit of admin but since it's a small lab the prof takes care of a lot of admin things. I've interviewed with 11 different labs (for jobs) and a lot of them (except some clinical labs) expect the full-time RA to operate on a grad student level. So I'd say as an RA you do a lot of the same work as a grad student, but you might not be able to initiate your own project easily/quickly (due to experience, funding, expertise, etc.), or a lot of your projects depend on the PI (that's what they hire you for anyway), although full-time RAs can and are encouraged to initiate their own projects. And of course as a grad student you have less money (as opposed to getting wages, which I assume you don't have right now since you're volunteering) than a full-time RA, more pressure (qualifying exams, attending conferences, classes, etc.). But being an RA does prepare you a lot for the grad school life. I think that's why applicants with RA experience are desirable to PIs.

when i was an undergrad, i always called profs by "Professor X" until we were better acquainted,then I'd go with whatever other students were using. It also depends on how much i like the prof LOL if i dont have much emotional attachment (as in, liking/respecting them), i keep the formality. if not, i use first names. coming from an Asian culture where teacher = godly beings, it was very hard for me at first to address the profs more informally, even if we're very very good friends. i think its a matter of a/closeness/acquaintance and b/comfort level. its always safe to use the more formal way of addressing, at least for the first couple of times.

i'm not sure how she did it, but i know an applicant who deferred 1 year so she could do a MA in a closely-related field (MA in Ed that focuses on Neuro, which is the field she was admitted for). i have been going through the same thing: i've always been doing psych, is there something else I'm even more passionate about? I havent even tried out anything else yet. I'm too young! but at the same time, I dont have the conviction that i will excel at, say, being a chef (which i think i could totally enjoy but not sure if i could put up with the stress). i think... a. you should just go for it if: - you understand that fear is a good thing. it will motivate you to look for jobs actively. sure, it's hard in academia, but i think it's hard elsewhere too. there's always going to be something. - you know that a lot of grad students are probably not 100% committed either. i've worked with grad students who are so passionate, it intimidates me. those people are destined for success, i'm sure. but i also have friends who are grad students, and who consider their grad studies a kind of job that they like, and don't make too much out it (as in, they don't try to romanticize it and are very objective about it - but then again these friends are in bioengineering and have slightly better job options than us social scientists ) b. you should not go for it and definitely ask about deferment options - probably just asking casually first before you detail to them why, if: - you don't have anymore attachment to the work you do. one of my friends stopped seeing the point in critiquing the same books over and over again and decided to quit her English PhD at a very very good institution, and she was also in a state of doubt when she started. And a degree in English promises even less than what a degree in social sciences does, so of course she was scared for her job prospects, too. So I guess what I want to say is, as long as you think the work you do is meaningful to you, it should be ok. But if you don't see the point, don't do it. - as a grad student, even if youre busy, i believe theres still time to do other things (family, hobbies, etc.). but if you think your life is going to completely disappear and you're the type who can only focus on one thing, and would like to explore the world more, then probably you're ready to spend 5 years of the younger part of your life on academia yet. im sorry if my advice is completely useless - this is what ive concluded after going through this "crisis" myself and receiving advice from my grad students friends (as mentioned above) and my other wiser friends. you're still so young, i'm sure whatever decision you make, it's gonna be ok. its really what you make of it.

i went to Oberlin, visited Cleveland a couple of times (its 30 minutes drive from Oberlin - and, well, I fly around a lot so I use the airport more than 5 times a year) and interviewed (for a job) with someone in the Psych/Neuro dept., so I might be able to give you some insights caveats: im from a tropical country where its 80 degrees all year round. ive been to Houston during the winter and I considered that "cold" lols (it was 40-50 something, i think). the weather: is atrocious in the winter. Snows a lot! When it snowstorms outside, you can't even walk because the wind will just blow you away (or im just very small). It gets uncomfortably cold around December - November is cold too but bearable. Goes on like that till April. It snowed (!!!) like crazy in April when I was a freshman. So pretty much dreary days for 4, 5 months - although we do have clear winter days. But once you've lived here for 2 or 3 years, you just have to put up with it lol even if ice covers up your doors and windows and your backyard is full of snow you cant take the shortcut to campus It cannot be nicer in late spring/summer - maybe it's just our school, but all kinds of flowers bloom like crazy the weather is just perfect, in May its always around 60-70, the ideal temperature, i think. it rains often in the summer, but not too bad (again, im from a country where it rains 3 months of the year, almost every single freaking day). The Fall is nice too but towards the end it becomes a little sad with all the naked trees.. From a scale of 1-10, I give a weather a 4. So it's rather unbearable, but if you have enough money to pay for adequate heat and can work from home, you'll be fine. I was so happy when I got a house and could cook from home, instead of having to walk to the dining hall. In terms of Cleveland...I've heard that CU is in the nicer part of the city, but from what I've experienced in Cleveland, it's a sad-looking city with lots of old, rundown industrial buildings. No one is out at 5pm in downtown - im serious, theres even no car on the streets - but it was quite the same in Houston so I'm sure you're used to that. Also, me being Asian, I was rather miserable with the severe lack of good Asian groceries. We always have to drive an hour or two elsewhere to get our groceries - so be sure you have a car, if you want good food. If you don't care, that's not a problem. Cleveland has some good restaurants I had 2 phone convos and lots of email convos with this one Neuro prof who was super nice. If you're applying to this dept, I can pm you to disclose who it was but from my impression, it's a nice, small (?) department. I almost went there for a job but I dreaded Cleveland and no longer wanted to stay in the Midwest lols but if you're fine with all the things I said above, I think you'll enjoy CU

I'd probably get angry for about a week. And make plans to bomb the places that rejected me... ...and then, maybe try something new. I've always been doing psych. Every summer - internship. Every semester - research. I feel like there's so much more out there I don't know about yet. Maybe I can try waiting tables (and quit after 6 months? ha.) I don't know, I think I'd need at least 2 years or so to recuperate and maybe find out for real if psych is the only thing I like and can commit to (I'm sure, right now, that I like it enough to stick with it for years. But, you know, it's like getting married - you don't know if there's anything better out there.) And like a poster above said, we're young, so there's really no harm in trying

oooh...that's a very good explanation. your logic describes the reality i want, haha and it's good to know that his wording is indeed rather unusual i kept reading it over and over, like a GRE reading comprehension question, even showed it to my 2 native friends, and none of us could make heads or tail of his email. thanks!!

So my POI sent an email that confused me, and I think either I'm dense or it's just my non-nativeness clouding my judgment. I speak English for only 1/3 of my life so I might have missed some nuances at play here. Let me describe the context first: Back in Sept, I got in touch with a POI to check if he was accepting students, and asked for some descriptions of current projects, and he forwarded my email to his post-doc, who didn't get back to me. I didn't follow up. So recently, I just submitted a publication, and emailed the POI to update him with this info. I said that I didn't receive any email from the post-doc (phrased more politely than this, of course), but I hope I understood their research and demonstrated it properly on my app. He got back quickly, said he would ask for my app (which freaked me out a bit cos i was afraid i sounded like i was pressuring him) and asked the post-doc to get back to me again, which she did. She asked me some questions about my app, I answered, all was fine, and before we ended our correspondence, I politely asked if she could give me a general time frame of when I would hear back from them. She said the POI should email me soon. A few days later, he emailed me, telling me about the interview day at his school, and "I can ask if you can be invited, if it's possible for you", and offered to check out about reimbursement, although he was sure the school didn't pay for applicants. So in general he was very, very nice. ...except, I don't understand. Why can't it be, "i would like to invite you...", but "I can ask if you can be invited"? Does this mean he's on the fence? I keep feeling my initiating communication has something to do with this, and I'd hate to know that he felt "pressured" to invite me (which is stupid of me, I know, because why would a prof humor me like that). Well, anyway, I said I'd love to go, and half an hour later got an email from the chair with the official invitation. I guess I can gauge his interest once I'm there, but I'm still very much puzzled by this and would like to hear some opinions. Any thoughts?

i dont know if it helps anyone, but Columbia already started calling people. My friend who doesn't use gradcafe got called by 2 different professors, both in modern Jap history. They did not mention when the results would be out (she didn't ask), and di say that they haven't picked anyone yet, although one of the prof seemed highly enthusiastic about my friend's application.

its my top choice too, only because theres not one, but about 5 different ppl i'd LOVE to work with (except one is not accepting students ). their department is constructed very well in the sense that the social and cognitive sides complement each other well - i love it i feel like in the US winter is horrible anywhere except maybe California wish i could apply to some schools there, but...

good news (or bad?): the big interview day for Dartmouth is on Feb 5th. They will still be sending out invitations from now till then (thank God). So I guess if we don't hear anything after that we know... source: PBS's admin. (just called today)

if it helps, my boss (a prof at Princeton) said the big interview day is in mid-Feb and they have been starting to call people for interviews, but since each prof is assigned a different bunch of apss and can call at their disposal, people will hear from them at different dates. im seriously going through a nervous breakdown with Dartmouth T_T if only they answered their damn phone...

hmm i'm working so i should be busy enough not to think about this but i find myself checking gradcafe like crazy, despite myself due to some personal reasons i'm just applying to a few schools around Boston. Dartmouth, Umass Amherst, Tufts, BC, & Brandeis (all cognitive/affective neuro). i know i shot myself in the foot but...these schools do have PIs I really hope to work with, so hopefully....

i didn't even get that lol no one picked up the phone. actually, this department is like a ghost office - no one EVER picks up the phone (i called earlier about some problems with my application as well). sigh. i guess we'll just have to wait for now. i was really devastated because i was really confident that i'd at least get an interview (and no i'm not a naive optimistic undergrad ). best of luck to you too and hopefully we'll both hear back soon.

^ sorry, i meant "and if they're that consistent..."

hmm i applied to PBS and within that dept. there's the Cognitive Neuroscience branch - that's what I applied for. Well the thing is last year they sent out notifications around the same time (from what i read on the results page), so i got really nervous as if they're that consistent doesn't it mean they should be done sending out notifications? im going to try and call them today, see what is going on

i was wondering if anyone knows...so if it's past Jan 7th and we havent heard from Dartmouth cogsci program, does that mean we're screwed? on the results page some people seem to have heard from Dartmouth about interview...