allisonkermit

This year I contacted three, heard back from two and got admitted to those two programs which were my only two applications. I'm in bio and I can't imagine deciding on a school without getting a really strong feel for the PI I'd be working for and their lab group. If you won't work well with someone your PhD is going to be a nightmare. For both PIs I extensively emailed back and forth, had a phone conversation and then talked with them extensively at the prospective student weekend (outside the scheduled interview time). I do agree that you shouldn't be asking questions you can find on the school's/department's website, but you should find out the PI's advising style, how on track their students are with their research, what funding they have for project's you're interested in, etc.

I agree - I would not ask that professor for a letter! And for other letters, I think the best way to phrase the request is to ask, "Do you feel comfortable writing a letter of recommendation for me?" which will give the prof an out if they, for any reason, don't want to write one, without putting them on the spot.

Do you know what type of research you're interested in? I've found that contacting professors whose research interests are aligned with my own, and asking them about admission potential works better than contacting the program. Also, if you're interested in marine biology at all, there's a professional master's program at Northeastern called Three Seas which takes a year and a half to complete, helps shore up coursework in marine biology and also gives you the chance to complete a research project during a 6 month internship. One of the other students that did this program the year I did actually came from a non science background, and while she's not applying for PhD programs now, she certainly will be able to in the future. Hope that helps!

Hi again - nope I was eligible - I was enrolled in a professional master's program that only takes a year and a half, and applied for the GRFP 1 year in. Trust me I checked the qualifications over and over again, lol! Thanks though.

Yup, I'm talking about the NSF GRFP - sorry about that. It's a fellowship for new graduate students that provides funding for 3 years. Thanks Elgen - that's really good to know!

Hi all, So I applied to the GRFP at the same time as applying to PhD programs. Since I've previously completed a master's, this was my last possible time to apply. I applied with a specific project in mind, but I'm now considering a different program, and if I decide to go with this other program I would not be able to do the project I applied for. If I get the GRFP (and I'm very aware that I probably won't), is it possible to change the research project? It would be in the same broad field, but on different organisms with a different focus. If anyone knows the answer to this I'd really appreciate it since I haven't found anything on this on their website. Thanks so much! Allison