humanature

Haha yes. I'm thinking I should definitely travel or just take a break after I graduate.... going straight into a summer lab rotation will probably not do me well.

Yes, I was thinking so. I just want to know my programs deferral policies, because I can't find it on their websites (not surprisingly)... but I was debating if I could somehow ask anonymously...

Yes it's not the same as rejection! Don't cry yet. Some programs review different applicants on different days.... or sometimes one PI is more pushy than another. Others were notified 3 days before me for instance... although I completely understand about the going crazy & waiting for a rejection part... it's just not the case though. Don't give up hope yet, especially after only one day.

nabh, I'm pretty sure they're very careful about this. Especially if the professor was congratulating you himself about joining his group - I would hope he knew who you were! Give it a few business days at least. I'm sure your acceptance letter is on its way. On another completely unrelated note. I am stupid. Don't be like me - i.e. running around like a chicken with its head cut off a few days after seeing other people hear back from my program. I just got the email at noon today (my recruitment weekend ended on Tues) that I've been accepted to the UC Berkeley MCB PhD program! Yay!

I was thinking very similarly. Also, I felt that even taking a year or two off, there was no guarantee I would end up in a good position learning the types of things I wanted to learn. I feel that the best thing for me right now is exposure to a collaborative and diverse research environment, and the programs I applied to would offer that: all allow lab rotations under multiple professors in many areas of molecular biology. I did an internship in industry and met people who were working in very specific capacities (at a large biotech mind you) on not very interesting things without much possibility for promotion, 10+ years out of bachelors and having always wanted to go back but family and life took over. I want to maximize my options. Aside from that, I was just thinking about going abroad, which I never got to do in college.

I really hope that ad coms stagger their review of applicants over days/weeks... still no word for my program either.

Yes I noticed several people sitting on (relatively) a lot of acceptances already over at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/ Gah!

Haha! I'm glad this topic was posted because it made me laugh... For undergrads I guess it doesn't count if the grad student you're dating was never your TA. But it is intradepartmental Sadly, I've also heard a lot about one particular young professor with children in our department who cheated on his wife with no less than 3 undergraduate students of his. She finally found out and kicked him and a grad student he was boarding up at the time, out of the house.

Hmm. What about deferring for a year-long, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? I'm starting to worry that going straight from undergrad will cause a major burn out.

Thanks, unthevert. Yeah, that's what the rational part of my brain is saying. The other 90% keeps wondering what I did wrong, and how to prepare myself for a major let down or an unbearable 3 weeks. Sigh. Well time to distract myself with the classwork I should be doing. Medianerd, I'm 100% with you. Especially since all weekend (at my recruitment) I heard about how high the acceptance rates are at the interview stage...

Aaarrgghhh! The longer I have to wait after hearing other peoples' acceptances, the more frantic I become. Another thing that sucks is seeing people get accepted to your top choice who have already been accepted to their own top choices... just makes you wish they would get on with it and tell your schools' ad com that they'll give away their spot to someone who REALLY wants it.

Wow this is just astounding. I do agree with most here that the fraud/forgery is unacceptable. Addressing this issue is tricky, however. I would agree that - if you have any concern for this girl at all - to first try to talk to HER very thoroughly about what she is doing, and encourage her to take action on her own part (by pulling out of this round of applications, etc). I would try to talk to her (in the least "bullying" way possible) that even if she isn't caught now, her actions could have serious repercussions on her career and it just isn't worth jeopardizing her future. I think this is a very worrying indication about the girl who did this. If she's desperate enough to do this, she must not be thinking clearly about her options... from my experience she seems like a dangerously ungrounded person who feels she has no choice but to risk ruining her life (or at least everything she has worked for). If I were her friend (maybe she considers you one), I would try to help her out of this situation, or at least try to find someone who could help. Instead of falsifying parts of her application she should take a few years to gain work or research experience and form real relationships with her bosses there. Ultimately, however, helping her sort herself out is not your responsibility. As unforgivable as what she did may be, I still feel sorry for her. Sorry you were put in this position.

First I will babble about how great life will be there and try to convince my SO to follow me. Then I will unwind completely by doing something totally worthless and extremely fun for a couple days. Then I will start planning my post-graduation trip to Asia! My other head-in-the-clouds dream for this year.

I applied to 5 schools, and I'm at different stages with all of them! Luckily, I have one acceptance to sit on and I'm extremely happy with it. Although after my last interview weekend it's not really my top choice, I would be peachy choosing to go there... considering I am coming straight from undergrad and don't have the option to just continue in a job where I would presumably make lots more $$$. Also, I suppose I am very lucky to not have to worry about funding, since most bio-science programs offer full stipends. Both UCLA & Berkeley offer $27,000/year for up to 5 1/2 years.

Congratulations! Of course you're worthy. Knock em dead. ...This waiting part isn't working very well for me...

Hi, everyone! I just found this forum and this is my first post. People here seem so much more supportive than at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/. Anyway, this may seem ridiculous, but I just got back from my UC Berkeley interview yesterday, and some people (posted on college confidential) have already received acceptances today! I was really impressed by their program, and now I really want to go... but just waiting while others are getting accepted is nerve racking. I came to the conclusion that the program probably sends out all their first tier acceptances at once - because why wouldn't they?... so is there any point hoping for contact tomorrow or the day after? Although one person was called and another was emailed... I also hope I am not immediately rejected On the other hand, I was told that sometimes final decisions aren't made until after their second weekend (end of Feb) ... which would mean I have to wait a whole 3 weeks if I'm in that category! Also, a lot of people who are also interviewing at Stanford choose that weekend since the two schools coordinate. It's likely that will be a group full of automatic acceptances. I know there's nothing I can do, but this is just painful and I need to rant! Ranting continued... The worst part is, that this school wasn't necessarily at the top of my list because of various other factors including location & a significant other. But after their weekend, I got super excited... and now.... gah!!!