a lot of students asked me whether a #1 or #10 or #20 schs better...(if the funding is inversely proportional to ranking...)
i just say that there wont be big differences no matter what they choose. it should be their future effort which determines.
1)when i come to college. or i should say when i decided to be a scientist when i was small
2)year 4. but i gain the necessary knowledge and experience starting from year 1.
3) realistic
4)aim at having more experiences. publish or grades arent sth can be guaranteed, but experiences and reading guarantee knowledge and abilities.
your question is too general. the answer can be different when we apply to different schs, diff programs, master or PhD...
in general, experiences (research or wtever) and interviews are more important, provided your gre and gpa are ok.
suggestions to international students: if still not yet got I20 after waiting for a long time, better call the assistant directly and check for it. better ask them to send the form to u again by federal express if the previosu mail is lost (even if they ask u to pay for it)
http://jcs.biologists.org/cgi/content/full/121/11/1771
Share an essay: essay The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research, written by Martin Schwartz, professor of University of Virginia. Interesting title and good content.
The profile of seunghwane is really impressive. No wonder he/she can get so many interviews.
Good luck to astaroth. Try to email individual professors and tell them about your interest in their research directions. It may help a little bit.
Your exam result is okay, so it depends on the quality of your research and SoP. It is hard for forum readers to evalutate your research and rate your chance of gettting an admission. It would be better to ask the PI and colleagues in your lab.
Yes, it is better to read about the professors' research directions and their publicaitons beforehand. It is also crucial to familiarize ourselves with our own research - from how we talk about our research, the interviewers can check our talent and diligence in scientific research.