gellert

malignant growth

You know, I was fine before you posted this. And now I can't stop.

World (of) Warcraft

^ Not JW, but from what I can tell, yes, it is. Some schools, like Stanford, even require you to list a certain number of people you're interested in working with at the top of your SOP! I'd recommend just fitting in a line or two about how you're really excited about X's work and would love to continue your scientific development doing Y and Z with N equipment/methods.

Barron's is unbeatable, if you ask me. Exhaustive vocab list, excellent math tricks, practice tests.... Also try to find their giant vocab flash card box, if you can.

evil plans

mutual agreement

world war

break dance

false testimony

That's probably what I meant to write....

Maybe this is a little premature, but I think it's time we started a fall 2012 thread! So, what's everyone planning on doing for their last summer before the app cycle begins?

clearance sale

1. Finish writing IRB for honors thesis, begin work on project. 2. Work on PI's hoarding study. 3. Work in social and anxiety labs. 4. Pick up my old pre-study abroad job to try to make some money. 5. Start writing SOPs and NSF essays. 6. Go to the beach! 7. Move into my new house. Last summer before applications, gotta make it count!

I think so! You can bike or take the bus to most places around campus/Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and then just use Zipcar if you want to go further, for example into Durham. As for vegetarian restaurants...well, not all of these are vegetarian, but as a veg*n I tend to find they have a wide selection of veg*n options: -The Spotted Dog (in Carrboro, actually is 100% vegetarian) -Carrburritos (excellent burritos) -Cosmic Cantina (Franklin St., burritos and quesadillas, but not as good as the one in Durham) -Mediterranean Deli (Franklin, also supplies packaged lunches to the various campus dining halls and convenience stores if you want to pick one up; there's a convenience store near-ish Sitterson) -Artichoke and Basil (Franklin, pizza) -Pepper's (Franklin, pizza) -Buns (just off Franklin, best garden burger on the planet, hands down - I suggest getting it with wasabi mayo, avocado, and a side of sweet potato fries) -Kurama (next to Buns, conveyer-belt style sushi with vegetarian options and inari, not the best quality but cheap/fast/oddly thrilling) -Akai Hana or Shiki Sushi (in Carrboro and Durham, respectively, if you want decent sushi with vegetarian options; the latter's regular Japanese food is also excellent) -Bandido's (Franklin, though again the one in Durham is better. I recommend the spinach quesadilla or the spinach burrito with salsa verde but I'm a spinach freak) Hope this helps!

Ooh, I second that suggestion. I've already got my schools picked out, but that certainly would have been handy. I've been lurking on TGC for over a year now before actually getting my account, and it's finally almost my application season! I've learned a lot just from watching the board and have recommended it to several of my friends from my labs. Here's to fingers-crossed for good summer activity! I'll certainly be here.

Hey all! Planning to apply to full grant in Germany. My field of study is psychology, though I prefer psychophysiological methods. I've found several professors in Germany that I'd love to work with, whose interests are very much aligned with my own. Right now I'm still trying to work out a research project idea, but I'm interested in cultural differences regarding psychopathy, aggression, and emotion dysregulation. Good luck to everyone.

What college you attended for undergrad is not nearly as important as what you did with your time spent there. Did you get a well-rounded education in your field? Were you able to specialize your classes toward your field of interest or, most importantly, to get research experience? The only thing I can think of that would make a big difference regarding prestige of undergrad is relative renown of your research PIs. If you went to a large research institution, you'd have more opportunities to work with people whose names are well-known and potentially get some very impressive LORs out of the deal. Also, it may be more difficult for adcomms to compare your GPA if you're from a relatively-unknown school to other applicants, as they don't know the quality/difficulty of your classes or whether your school tends to inflate grades or not. Bottom line though is that there's nothing you can do about your alma mater now. Focus on your research experience and the things that you CAN change. (Also, just a note: prestige isn't everything for grad schools, too. Just because McGill is a great school doesn't necessarily mean it's a great fit for you, personally. Fit is the most important thing grad schools look at. You don't want to apply somewhere if your research interests don't match. Not only will it decrease your chances of acceptance, but would you really be happy spending that many years of your life studying a topic that doesn't really fascinate you?)

I've been in contact with two of my POIs about the possibility of working as a volunteer in their labs over the summer. Both responded. POI A: No positions open, but likes my research interests and CV and wants to meet me (he'll be in my area in late May). Said he'd have his lab coordinator get in contact with me about maybe finding an opening this summer, but I never heard anything from her. POI B: Responded favorably to my initial email and said there were positions open, but I haven't heard from him since I sent my CV. Sent a follow-up email a few days ago, no response. (Note: I have a lot of research experience in his area and go to a good school, so right now I'm not thinking the problem is that my CV was disappointing and more that it's a him-being-busy thing. He's pretty famous and it's around exam time, plus he took a long time to respond to me the first time -- though he's exceeded the previous delay by two weeks now. So maybe it's just a matter of waiting it out.) I also have the option of staying in my area and working at my home lab over the summer preparing my honor's thesis, or working in my home lab as well as doing work in a different lab that is only tangentially related to my interests but pays well. I can also write to POI C, D, or E about whether they have openings in their labs this summer. So right now what I'm trying to decide is: Do I wait to hear back from POI B before writing to C, D, or E? Do I wait until after meeting with A in hopes that he might make an exception for me for the summer? Or do I go ahead and contact one of my other POIs before it gets too late in the semester? Just to make things MORE complicated, there are also a couple of houses I was interested in renting for next year, but the leases start in the summer and I expect them to go quickly, so if I'm going to be in the area I'd want to decide as soon as possible so that I could sign a lease. I'm a little worried about finding cheap, convenient, decent housing the closer it gets to summer. But I'd hate to sign the lease prematurely, especially if I'd have the opportunity to do summer research in the lab of one of my grad school POIs. Help!