singlecell

This is foolish and the comment distracts from the OP's problem.

taken! I wish you well with the project.

I agree, at least you should give the mountain bike a try in Madison. A lot of commuters have two bikes, a faster road type bike for good weather and a beater for rainy, slushy weather. In a place like Madison or Chicago you have to consider SALT too. All that salt on the road in winter really does a number on your components and paint job. I am taking my Fuji road bike to Madison and I am building a Mercier fixed gear for more of an everyday townie bike.

I'm a lifelong Chicagoan, and I have never seen a tornado. But supposedly they do happen here. As schoolkids we had tornado drills every year! I think it is more in the suburbs than the city proper.

Huh??

lol, Yes! I am glad it is not just me. I made a killer Google map for my apartment hunt and uploaded it to my android. Then when I visited I had a great idea of the city and where I needed to go. The only thing gmaps did not prepare me for was the vertical component of distances, for instance the apartment I chose looked super close on the map but was up a huge hill so biking in will be a bit more strenuous than I thought!

My pitiful score on world cities: 6810! Thanks for the website, I better go practice some more

have you gotten a chance to hear a member of the lab present yet, even informally in a group meeting?

Hi Sam! I have a medium Timbuk2 messenger bag and it is great. I do not mind the larger capacity because I can fill it way up and still bike comfortably. It's weatherproof and durable as others have stated, and it has reflective patches and a loop to fasten my safety light. I got mine on clearance at sierratradingpost.com for ~$40. Don't think about paying full price for one!

You're welcome Immuno! Good to hear that your PI will write you a strong letter. Feel free to pm your CV draft to me (you can remove personal info) if you want; I can send you mine of you want to see a template.

I am sorry to hear your PI isn't invested in helping you get any publications. It sounds as though you deserve to have been published "way down the list." I have another idea though. Can you look for a school-wide or regional research symposium for undergrads, and convince the PI to let you you prepare a poster for that? Many science societies have undergrad poster competitions at their annual and regional meetings, and I thought most universities had a student research showcase as well. That would basically ensure you have to be first author, since you as the undergrad are the presenter. I did a bunch of these and it added many lines to my CV, but I am lucky to have a PI who wants students to present a lot. As for the directed individual study, I am not too sure.. obviously it is not a formal publication you can list, but perhaps you can list this as experience in experimental design and execution. Maybe highlight that you asked an original question, designed the study, and carried it out. Even undergrads in the most famous research labs do not normally get to ask their own questions so that is pretty cool I think! I would definitely include the lecturing you did for class as "peer leading" or something similar. In general I think all these things you did are amazing, it is just a matter of finding the right way to spin it to make you stand out to the AdComs. You are being quite proactive in starting now so I think you will do really well. Incidentally, is your PI writing one of your letters of recommendation?

Definitely include those merit based scholarships on your CV. What about Dean's List? Any clubs, volunteer work relevant to biology? Has your name been in the author list of any posters or talks presented by your PI, postdocs, or grad students from your lab? Then that should be included under presentations. If you have not been included on any posters or talks and you have been with the lab for 3 years (impressive, by the way!) I think it is appropriate for you to ask to be included so you can beef up the CV. You can join professional societies for pretty cheap as a student. For instance I joined ASBMB for $20/year and now I can include it under Memberships. Did you get any certifications such as radiation training to work in your lab? Those can go under Certifications/Special Training. Have you done any tutoring or peer leading? Those can be extra points under experience. Good luck!

tee hee, I skimmed that and read as "work on my social anxiety in labs" ... I don't doubt some of us need to do that anyhow, this summer I am 1. taking my undergrad research project to a finishing point and training my replacement 2. taking Calculus I and Organic Chem II to meet requirements for my PhD program 3. Saving money for the move and new furniture 4. getting into/staying in shape by running and cycling 5. enjoying my farewell summer in Chicago

Wow, thanks for that. I had no idea... it makes sense once you read the explanation. So I can go from 20% annual capacity loss to 4% by not keeping it constantly plugged in.

I love hardwood floors too. I did not see too many places with hardwood for rent in Madison but they are out there. Good question as to WHY so many places are carpeted. My guess is it is cheaper to replace carpeting than to refinish wood floors??

I'm with you! My 2007 Dell laptop just died but it was a beast right up until the end.

Every apartment I visited was from craigslist. Or, sometimes I would look at a listing on cl and not like the apartment, but then would go to the leasing company's website and see their other apartments. The place I ended up taking apparently gets a lot of referrals from individual departments too. I tried using the UW housing listing service but the places I called/emailed were already taken so my impression is that site is not updated regularly or landlords don't take their listings down when places rent. I won't list them here but if you want specific listings I looked at and thought were good just shoot me a message.

Hey all, I just spent the whole day in Madison looking at apartments. It was only the second time I have been there. I found a beautiful apartment and developed a better sense about the neighborhoods, so I will share for the benefit of those who can't make it there for a visit. I will be living in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood. It is 2, maybe 2.5 miles from campus, on the isthmus near Lake Mendota. It is a quiet grad student neighborhood with parks, little shops, and homes. I really love the vibe of the neighborhood. It is also near several bus lines. It looks really safe and quiet. I will move in August 15th. I visited an apartment complex in the south part of town... Burr Oaks neighborhood. I do not recommend it. The area is not neighborhoody; it is more a mix of industrial and commercial parks from what I saw. The bus line I took there was full of some very colorful characters. I don't think it is dangerous there, it just was not as nice as the rest of what I saw. Pass... I saw three places just southwest of the capitol, on Main and Doty streets. Some people I met in town said that this area was not nice and full of transients, but it looked quite nice to me. There were one bedroom apartments with all utilities included, of decent quality. It might be a little louder in that neighborhood because of undergrads, but the proximity to campus was great, only about 1 mile. My second choice apartment was on Willy street, which is an independent sort of hippie area. I liked the charm of the neighborhood a lot. There are lots of houses and 2 flats for rent. The place I looked at was a converted storefront, really unique. However, Williamson street itself is all ripped up and being resurfaced. I was told they just started the project so that could be really loud and annoying to live near. I can definitely see myself shopping and eating in the restaurants and the co-op on Willy street. Another down side, it is farther from campus- about 4 miles. The buses were great. If you visit without a car, you can get a one day pass for $4.50. Normal rides are $2.00 each. As grad students we get a free pass, of course. I was able to get everywhere I needed to be in good time. The drivers were friendly and patient with people who did not know the system. Madisonites (Madisonians?) are so lovely and kind. People were great, striking up conversations on the bus, giving me directions, one of the leasing agents even gave me a ride. I only have one complaint: they love to tell you what an isthmus is. Thanks, folks, I got it! A narrow strip of land separating two bodies of water! I know!!!

Welcome, lagenialester. Congrats on getting into UW! I am also moving from Chicago, but at the end of August. I suggest you look at sublets for the summer. There are many on craigslist. Some sublets can even be extended once the school year begins, or, you will be able to find that perfect permanent place to live while staying in the sublease. I have heard that the buses are excellent. But sadly, no more El for us. I will let you know my impressions after I visit-- I am going up tomorrow! What's pfmp?

this is pretty helpful. It looks from the poll like 1-3 miles is the sweet spot.

Maybe this isn't constructive advice per se, but I have the same fears. I think is is very risky! The same thing happened with my incoming group, and I bet they are all lovely people, but I just can't do it. I figure I will spend a lot of time with them without also living with some of them.

Thanks everyone

Thanks for responding, this relates to my (and others') grad school apartment search. I had a conversation with a friend who left her grad program during the first year and she said she wished she had lived closer to campus, and it may have contributed to her demise that she had to commute an hour each way every day. So how far do you live from campus? Is it more important to live close in the first two years of PhD while taking classes, and less important afterwards? Is there something to be said for living a couple of miles away, to get away from the noise of undergraduates?

Definitely, it is worse in big cities. I am glad no one was offended. What scares me too is how unfazed I was by the number of crimes and sex offenders on the map compared to what I know about my current and former neighborhood. I was using the time filter on the map, thinking, "oh, only one assault and three burglaries in one day in neighborhood, X, that is pretty good!" It truly is all relative. Not too sure what a minor sex offense is, either... grr society.