nicknameless

I can sympathize with wonderful, but difficult problem of deciding which excellent school to go to (my top choices are MIT/Princeton/Berkeley, so if anyone wants to weight in, I'll gladly take your 2 cents). I'm currently working at a lab at UChicago and, while not a student, I have worked quite a bit with IGSB labs. It is a pretty collaborative environment here - if your interests have an evolution of cis-regulatory elements/gene networks or strong cytoskeletal/mitotic machinery cell biology interest, I think Chicago has people who are particularly strong in those areas. Chicago is a great place to do research - Hyde Park and the University have a pretty unique environment which encourages intensive work.

Which place is doing research that is more interesting to you?

I would definitely let the secretary know - even by email before you get there. Just say there has been an emergency with your immediate family, that you still want to interview, but wanted her to know/imform your interviewers that you may step out for calls. Some schools may also allow you to reschedule or do a Skype interview. In general, people are understanding - be honest and then show them that you can talk about your work. Profs should realize that you are mature enough to be applying for grad school and that this isn't "oh my grandmother died for the third time this year so can I get an extension on the final?" issue. I hope your father's condition improves - thoughts are with you and your family.

Case Western Reserve University (BSTP): Feb 3-4, Mar 2-3 Columbia (Pathobiology & Molecular Medicine): Feb 3-5 Cornell (Weill): February Dartmouth (PEMM) March 2-3 Emory University (neuro): Feb 9-11 or Feb 23-25 Harvard (BBS): Jan 26-29 and Feb 9-12 Harvard (Neuro): Jan 19-22 MIT (Biology): Feb 11-14, Feb. 25-28, Mar 10-13 Northwestern (Neuro: NUIN): Jan 19-20, Feb 2-3, Feb 23-24 Rockefeller: March 1-2 and 8-9 Scripps Research Institute-CA campus: Feb 24-25, Mar 2-3 University of Chicago (BSG): Feb 23-25 UC Berkeley (MCB): Feb 5-7, Feb 26-28 UCLA ACCESS (Molecular and Medical Pharmacology): Dec 22 UMASS Worcester: Feb 2-4 and Feb 16-18 U Maryland - Baltimore - Feb 3 UNC Chapel Hill (BBSP): Feb 2-4 UPenn (Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics): Jan 19-21, Feb 9-11 UPenn (Neuro): Jan 20, Feb 10 UW-Seattle (Biology): Jan 13 or Jan 20 U Wisconsin - Madison (Biophysics): Mar 1-3 Vanderbilt (IGP): Jan 12-14 Yale (B.B.S.): Feb 2-5

Undergrad Institution: Top 10 University for undergrad Major(s): Mathematics, Biology GPA in Major: 3.5, 3.7 Overall GPA: 3.6 GRE Scores (old version): Q: 740 V: 710 W: 5.5 Research Experience: 2.5 years in developmental/systems bio lab - did REU and honors thesis in undergrad and now tech-ing. 1 middle author paper in MCB, just submitting 2nd author paper to Nature Genetics, multiple posters and several presentations. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: merit scholarship for undergrad. Honors degrees for both math and bio. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA'ed quite a bit for both math and bio courses Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Respected PIs writing letters Special Bonus Points: was one of several undergrads AAAS asked to attend conference about undergrad biology education Applying to Where: NYU - Developmental Genetics Berkeley - MCB UW - MCB Yale - Biology MIT - Biology Princeton - QCB Haven't heard back yet.