eco_env

I've been looking for jobs that are specifically for the summer or temporary, but it hasn't really worked out so far. If you have connections, use them.

leave out objective- no one does that anymore. put in a grant/awards section if you have any.

The problem is that I'm looking for an apartment which is not where most students live- it's a 20 minute drive away from campus. plus, I don't know any students. I might be able to get someone to check out apartments for me in Sept though...

Anyone have experience renting without visiting first? I want to rent somewhere that is not very close to the university. when would be a good time to start looking for an apartment that is available for mid Sept? Mid Aug? earlier?

that doesn't sound right to me- I got a 4, and it was in the 45th percentile, which must mean that the average is slightly higher than a 4 (this was in Sept).

Based on my experience, I would say don't stray too far from your current research experience. I tried to do something different in grad school from my undergrad research and failed- no advisor would accept me. I ended up finding an advisor whose work was more similar to my undergrad work.

How about joining other honor societies (Phi Beta Kappa, for example)? is there any point to any of them?

Here's a list of RU/VH universities (formerly known as R1): http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/lookup_listings/srp.php?clq={%22basic2005_ids%22%3A%2215%22}&limit=0,50 I know some pretty intersting EEB researchers at RU/H unviersities. If you work with a respectable advisor and do good work, I would suspect that the university that gives you your degree won't be so important.

If you've applied to higher ranked programs without success several times and there are no substantial changes in your application, I would suggest staying in this program. My situtation was somewhat different: applied right out of undergrad, but with higher GPA and scores in everything except analytical writing (no publications). I got rejected from most programs (4/5) and had quite a battle to get into the 5th which is ranked around 15-40 by NRC. I'm not sure what you consider low ranked, but if it's about the same rank, I'd think that you should consider settling for it.

the US news report rankings are almost useless- they are just based on reputation. look at the NRC rankings (though the data is a little old): http://www.nap.edu/rdp/ They rank 94 neuroscience programs based on research, student support, and diversity- you can look at specific data based on what's important to you, or you can use Phds.org to do it for you. you can also try searching for specifc school names on US news.

they don't use GRE scores anymore, so it's probably not really a matter of having specific stats across all programs- but I do wonder about average GPA, number of pulications, how many traveled abroad/tutored minority students, etc for each field of study. I doubt that kind of data is available.

1. the research proposal is not something you actually have to do, so yes. 2. about 10% acceptance rate, I think

I'm transitioning between labs this usmmer, so I don't have a lab group right now, so I'm looking for people to talk about ecology with- conversations that will help me develop a research plan for grad school. Does anyone know of a good forum for that kind of discussion? or have any other recommendations for thinking about big picture ecology? I started reading Laws, Theories, and Patterns in Ecology by Dodds and like it so far.

Is there any point to join Sigma Xi (the science research society)? what are the tangible benefits of spending $45?

application submittion deadline? the longest was almost 4 months.

Despite my previous advice, I'm planning to attend if my poster is accepted. The thing is, I'll only be there for 1.5 days (from Thurs mid morning on). I don't know if I'll be able to fit 14 hours of volunteering into that timeframe. Any idea how competitve the student section travel grants are? I don't know if I want to pay the fees if I don't have a chance.

What I meant is, should I present my research at a conference? I have't done it yet, and I'm wondering if it's worth the bother and expense (the conference would be a great experience in general, but it's not ideal timing for me, and I'm not sure if my travel costs will be funded).

I'm planning to live kind of far from campus- about 45 minutes on the bus or 20 minutes driving (but I won't have a car, probably). I'm still wondering if I should live closer to campus and give up certain (rather essential)convienences.

Thanks for the replies. A couple other questions: 1. is a poster presentation at a conference worth much on the application? I'm trying to get a paper published, but in case that doesn't work out... 2. any good resources for applicants (for writing the essays in particular)? answers specific to ecology would be particulalry useful.

I'm starting my first year of grad school in Sept, and I was thinking of applying to the NSF GRFP this year (so starting work on it this summer). I can probably write a better proposal the next year, after I've done some research, but I'm thinking that it would be a good idea to get some practice and feedback on the application. Has anyone found it helpful to do this? Are people more likley to get the fellowship if they are applying for a second time?

Searching for local results for "summer" on indeed.com. When the semester is over I'll start searching for jobs categorized as temporary, if I don't find anything by then (I'm thinking it's too early to look for a temporary job now, since I can't start for a few more weeks).

Also have a bad case of senioritis- I've gotten to the point in my thesis where I have to do a lot of editing to a section that I didn't want to write in the first place. But it's actually an important skill for grad school- knowing what to spend less time on because it isn't important. Though I guess I need to prove to myself that I can survive the beauracracy of a thesis, because if I can't how will I manage to finish my dissertation?

it can't hurt to wait until April 14th.

I take between a few seconds to a few days usually, depending on how much thought the response requires. Sometimes I'll email first to say I'll get back to them later if it seems like they are really looking for a response. I'm have my email open an average of about 1/5th of the day, and respond to emails as soon as I get them if I can, but I'm crazy. My professors tend to take 0.5 hours to half a day to respond, depnding on what day of the week it is and what time of day it is.

I got an external fellowship of $11K contingent on financial need. Should I tell grad schools about it? some rejected me already, so I guess I wouldn't tell them. One program (A) accepted me, but will rescind my admission if I can't find an adviser. I've spoken to several POIs that told me they don't have funding so they can't take me, but 1 POI hasn't rejected me yet. Should I email that 1 POI to say I got a fellowship? I already got a fellowship from program A, so I'm not sure what he is looking for, and I'm not sure if I'll even get to keep this fellowship if I go to A, since I may have no need remaining. Then there is school B- I didn't get an offer yet, but I will be accepted if I can find an advisor. One person at B told me he can't accept me because he has no funding; should i tell him I have partial funding? I hope this makes sense...