cog

Ohhhhhh yeah you should definitely shatter that illusion. I won the award last year (why am I here?) after two years of nothing (no HMs). The things that reviewers tune into are SO WEIRD. One of my reviewers from last year went on and on about how qualified I am because of all the biology techniques I'm trained in... that I haven't used since I was a freshman in college, and which are totally irrelevant to my current research. The other two reviewers' comments were actually germane to my current research, so some of them pay attention. In the past I had a reviewer suggest that my advisor probably came up with my research proposal. This was for NO REASON. My advisor even told me he included in his LOR that my essays were all my original work (I guess that's something they're supposed to say). Also, the research really was, in reality, very sincerely my own idea AND different from what my advisor normally does. So frustrating to be eliminated because of a reviewer's whim. I've also read reviews from friends who had reviewers that fell in love with them and wrote long, poetic reviews about how what an inspiring applicant they are. Reviewers are crazy! And they go through these things fast. There's a big luck-of-the-draw dimension here. So if you get the award: be gentle to your colleagues who didn't! And don't rest too long on your laurels. And if you don't: Please don't take a GRFP rejection as any kind of statement on your value as a scientist.

I love it here.

Ranking has so, so little to do with it! You've heard it a million times but it truly comes down to fit. So far, I've been accepted to 2 top-10 schools in my area and REJECTED by my safety school (which is ranked in the 60s). My research interests fit perfectly with the schools where I was accepted. At my safety school, there was no one doing exactly what I want to do. That kind of stuff shows through! And yes, yes: it's a crapshoot indeed.

Here's some advice I recently got about being on a waitlist: It's important to keep in mind that rank-order won't always tell you much anyway. You probably won't hear anything until late March or April (when the accepted applicants have all responded, or when enough accepted applicants have declined their offer to open up a spot). By that point, other people on the waitlist will probably have made other plans. Keep in touch with your POI, let them know that their school remains among your top choices. Some schools don't rank-order their waitlist and reevaluate everyone once a spot opens up. You still have time to impress!

WUSTL's holding interviews this coming weekend. UCLA sent out acceptances a couple of weeks ago. 10 were accepted to cognitive, 5 were waitlisted.