aberrant

i think it really comes down to personal preferences. It could be a budget issue, or some other reasons that makes your program to have and only have 9 new students. My program this year has 2 new students and the total number of students (no masters) are often less than 25. Funding after first year is straight from the PI so it really doesn't matter if the school is large or small, chances are the funding isn't from the state anyway. Welcome to Tallanasty, or what I prefer to call, hell.

I actually don't know how to fix it since I haven't use it for 2 years (and counting). However, if other issues persist in the future, I would strongly recommend Mendeley for citation. My boss is a huge fan of EndNote but I hate its poor ability and flexibility to search the detail info of an article and specific formats.

You are correct. My undergraduate major was in Chemistry, so I took the Chemistry GRE instead. Because the areas that the subject GRE covers a very broad area, so the better way to find "what to study" is by identifying your weakness in a specific discipline. You can simply started by taking the GRE subject practice test, and see how did you do in a specific discipline/area. And study the specific discipline that you didn't do well in the practice test. I do think that the GPA is a little low. You may want to contact some of the graduate program coordinators and address your concern. Should you explain that the GPA is deflated severely in your school? Should you explain that how you are the top of your class? I think that there is a room for discussion. However, in general, it doesn't look too promising. For that reason, you can kind of prove yourself by going great in GRE. After all, you are competing with everyone in the world who is applying to that specific program, not just the students from your alma mater, right? Good luck!

Interesting that nobody replies you yet, so I will. You'll need to translate your grading system from India into GPA in the U.S. You can either do it by yourself, or, the better option is, follow the direction from a specific program. GRE in quant is just a little bit low. 160 or above is preferred, especially if you are an international student (so am I!) For subject GRE, you can choose to take it but not report the scores if you want to. Obviously it costs money, but I'm certain that if you do well in the subject GRE score, it will only be helpful for you to apply any schools (if by MA and TX you mean those top tier schools). You'll still need 1 more strong recommendation letter from someone that knows you well, who can write about your potential to be successful in graduate school. Is there any reason you are only looking at MA and TX school? Areas in these two states are in general very different (weather, culture, etc.). Bottom line is that for us international students, it maybe wise to apply a range of schools with different reputation/pedigree -- if that is your concern regarding how your profile ranks.

if you are worried about the numbers, your subject GRE score can compensate your GPA (if you think it is low).

Although you recently migrated to the U.S. -- is OP an international student? That alone plays a huge role when admission officers categorize you with the residents applicants or international applicants -- and international applicants are far more competitive solely based on standardized test and academic performance. Focus on your goods and just briefly mentioned your personal struggles. Personal statement should be about what brings you where you are and, more importantly, why do you want to attend a specific program at a specific school. Your research experience and accomplishment seems fairly solid, you'll just need good recommendation letters to back you up. Finally, for those schools that you named, some are more competitive than the other. but make sure you understand the differences between physical chemistry and chemical physics before you applying one or the other program.

agreed totally. 1. most grad school application requires CV instead of resume. CV requires nn description of what you have done/learned during a specific work/research. In other words, under your research experience, it should just be 1 line with the information of: name of PI, name of department, time, and your title in the lab/at work. 2. As a result, OP will need to elaborate on the research experience, typically in an essay that elaborates what you have accomplished as a researcher and why are you applying grad school for a virology program, and/or why that specific school. I'm unsure how admission committee view when your CV has a bunch of med school-oriented experience listed in the CV. you definitely need to tailor it so that they don't think you are applying the program because you cannot get into med school -- this is what I have been told once by a professor friend of mine, who was the head of the admission committee for years.

1. you are accepted by the program 2. if there is a faculty member who is willing to pay for your stipend, insurance, and whatever that are necessary under the school and program policy then it is possible. otherwise, your situation is extremely unlikely. the only time that I know a spring admission is possible is when a student deferred the admission to begin grad school in the Fall, is when they are highly qualified but there are obligations/requirements for them to complete during the Fall semester/quarter in their alma mater. those situations are almost "an exception", though you would still call that "a spring admission" just because those students begin their first semester in grad school during Spring.

so I guess you already have a general understanding of the field at this point -- just need to read up the detail (of the biological process) when you get the paper. The first thing that I would do is to read up and truly understands the experimental designs and approach -- every bit of it. I'll then go to the figures and understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what are the results indicate. Ultimately, I'll read the main text (if necessary) and supplement things that I may have missed / unsure of. I would read through the supplementary information, if any, thoroughly. Finally, go to the references to pick up the historical aspect of this particular research -- what/why people study this particular research at the beginning, what are the questions that were needed to address, and solutions that were proposed on the way-- until this day. just one of the many ways that you can study for a paper Edit: you should prepare the actual critique part (on the paper) -- the pros and cons about this paper. what would you do, experimentally speaking, to improve if you were the author? what type of experiments need to be done to address the hypothesis by the author? what are the flaws / weak points in the currently presented methods / data? just a few things to think about. for that, you will need to know enough of experimental techniques to know when to use what, to address a specific question. i supposed there are a few things that you can read -- biochemistry/biology books for the metabolics/biological process, research articles in the field for the common techniques. i would imagine that this exam requires you to translate everything that you know (textbook, research, etc.) into the answer that you want.

i like your candidacy exam format -- no writing of grant proposal, verbal defense it, and all that jazz. My program doesn't do it that way but here is a question for you before giving my piece of advice -- would you know what that specific paper is? my lab does biweekly journal club and a monthly/bimonthly paper in-depth presentation, which sounds like something that you have for your candidacy exam. If you already know what that paper will be, your strategy would be far more simpler than, for example, having you to read and explain a paper on the spot.

I assumed that you are moving from somewhere outside of the U.S. into the U.S. in that case, pack enough clothes that allow you to wear for a week, for example. you can always get more clothing after you arrive the city (order online / go shopping). maybe a pair of long pants/jeans, a sweater/jacket, a long sleeve shirt -- just in case it gets cold as soon as you arrive? most students don't bring a lot of things to move if it involves intercontinental flight(s).

if I understand correctly, you are applying to a specific program because of the name of the school instead of a specific PI? I can tell you right off the bat that some of these schools actually don't have a strong computational biology program (no big names in the field). while your numbers are great any everything, I think that it would be the best if you prepared for the worst scenario. after all, you are competing with applicants from around the world, especially with the big name schools. the only weakness that you have is applying your programming knowledge in a research environment. also, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but computational biology requires LOTS of chemical knowledge, mostly physical chemistry. so if you want to prepare yourself for computational biology, doing well in those classes will be very helpful. It really is about using your knowledge is chemistry, with the skills if scientific computing, to study biological molecules and relevant phenomena. for that reason, I would recommend you to look at individual PIs whose research interested you, and then shoot them a e-mail to ask if they are taking new students, about your chances to get in to work in their lab, or even the program itself. all these information will help you the build a list that fits your research interests and skill sets, not straightly based on ranking. Just my 2 cents.

in general terms, if you graduated from a school in Hong Kong (in this case, HKU), it will be fairly easy to stay in HK for a job. However, graduating from HKU with a PhD, doesn't effect your chances of going to Europe for post-doc (if "go to Europe after PhD" is what you meant).

Did OP communicate with the PI? I prefer to take the initiative and talk to my PI, instead of having my PI "following me". I think OP has a communication problem with the PI, and it is something that needs to be address ASAP, after all these years. ps. to clarify, I'm talking about communication, not language per se.

Not sure how or why AHA Predoctoral fellowship seems quite underrated in this forum, but for those who are curious/interested to know more about American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship, here are some info (valid as of July 2015). Few key points regarding the program: - Two application cycle per year -- Winter (due in mid Jan) and Summer (due in mid/late July) - Available to international students who are studying in the U.S. (I got it this year) - Does not have to be directly related to cardiovascular diseases / coronary heart diseases / stroke. In other words, basic science/research is okay -- as long as it is "broadly-related to AHA's mission". For that section, you'll have to put more effort to relate your work with CVD, CHD, stroke, etc. -- literature references would be a good start. Otherwise, be creative while scientifically sound. - Fairly high acceptance rate - Typically a 2-year funding/award - Allow resubmission -- twice (not a resubmission if there is a significant change in specific aim / experimental approach. you can read more on the website). Something to be aware of regarding the application: - Require preliminary data. In fact, it weights more than your writing skills - Does not require broader impact section in your proposal unlike NSF GRFP (doesn't mean you should totally ignore it, however) - Does not require career plan essay; do require an multiple-choice / selection based Individual Development Plan - Previous publication is not required, but preferable - 3 reviewers per application, but at least 2 reviewers will provide comments - When several applications are scored closely, they are ranked based on layman abstract, summary, and "broader impact in layman terms" -- this is part of the application, but not in the proposal - Require to select the focus of your research (e.g. cell biology, structural biology, biochemistry, etc.) for categorization purposes - When in doubt, always call their office and ask any questions that you have. They are very friendly and helpful . From questions regarding application to technical difficulties, they always work things out with you. Any other questions or comments, feel free to post it here on PM me (not very active on TGC these days).

This might be field dependent, but I can list countless of labs in top-tier institutions that recruit post-docs across the world AND schools with different "caliber". Aside from the "list of publication" and who did you receive your PhD training with (how big your PI is, which matters quite a lot), your presentation as a post-doc applicant will also be a huge factor. Communication skills, knowledge, personality, almost everything can be observed in a 30-60 minutes presentation will be evaluated. To OP, if you do great research, you will succeed no matter how and where. If, for example, you get a post-doctoral fellowship (that has a less stringent pre-selected lab requirement), you financially can choose any lab that you want to do a post-doc with (I personally know 2 individuals who got their a PhD in top-tier public school and, interestingly, go to a less well-known school for post-docs -- to work with an expert in their corresponding fields). I also got a verbal commitment from a PI for a post-doctoral position at a very prestigious institution should the funding situation allows few years from now. So, anything can happen. You can definitely go out and do big things even if you are a "big fish at a small pond", as your quality of work is reflected on various tangible and intangible "records"; on the contrary, being a "small fish at a big pond" doesn't guarantee you a bright future, neither. All in all, if you are a big fish, with the right mindset, you will succeed no matter what and where the pond is. A friend of mine was thinking what you weren't thinking. Briefly, he chose Berkeley over Princeton and Yale for his PhD, and he is now doing post-doc in Harvard. So take your time -- no pressure.

Do as many lab rotations as you are allowed to if you are genuinely interested in all these labs. You eventually have to pin-down one (or two labs for collaboration project, if possible) and commit to the lab for your PhD. It may help if you can start lab rotation early, like summer? Also, physically visit those labs will get you the experience of the working environment, which can be important to some students. One lab may have interesting research projects but with an environment that you may not like, so visiting those labs (or doing rotations in those labs) can help you determine (or eliminate) possible labs to join in the future. Finally, talk to advisors/POI to see if they are taking any students of the incoming class (your class). That will also help narrowing down your list fairly quickly.

That is an incorrect statement. First, it depends on your location (city). Some car dealers are more business-friendly than the others, where they let you to finance your cars, by paying certain percentage of the down payment and pay the rest of the value for anything between $100 - $400 USD a month (depends on what car you are getting, of course) for a specific length (months to years) to pay off the car. OP can also lease a car easily as an international student. A lease is typically a year long. A friend of mine (international) leased BMW Z4 for a year, and he paid ~$200 USD a month for a year. The amount you paid for a lease car is mainly based on the market value difference before and after leasing the car, since cars typically depreciate over time and driving distance / mileage. Like aforementioned advises, getting the state driver license, and getting a credit card to establish your credit history in the U.S. will help a lot. Although you don't need a credit history if you intended to get a used car from owners (as opposed to dealerships). Craigslist is a good place to start. And, while depending on location and culture, typically cash, and probably checks, are acceptable. You'll just need to get the third-party insurance, drive the car to DMV to complete the paperworks, and that's pretty much it (possibly a smog test if your are getting your car out of state).

My personal ranking/rationale: 1) Number of advisors/PI that are 1) do research that I am interested in, 2) may be taking students for my year. I wouldn't consider a school where no advisors that I wanted to work with will be taking any students -- why would I want to go to a program that wouldn't let me do research that I wanted to do, and do things that I wanted to learn? 2) Track record of a specific advisor/PI. To me, it doesn't matter if this advisor/PI is from the most prestige school, or at a school that nobody heard of. The track record, where the alumni of the lab go, matters a lot to me. It would be discouraging for me if an advisor/PI never place anyone into a competitive/great environment for post-doctoral research, or, a job in academia. Given that I have all the intention to go into academia. (Vice-versa if you are looking to get into industry). Network helps a lot, and therefore the reputation and network of a PI/advisor, to me, means far more important than the prestige of an institution. There are no "bad PhD" degree holders, there is no "bad quality of PhD" in my humble opinion, although there is "bad quality of work" which is reflected on ones list of publication. My assumption is that everyone that applies to a specific position is competitive, but having a network can absolutely do you no harm. Network from your advisor/PI can at least get you an interview (even if a lab that is not looking for any post-doc in particular -- if your advisor/PI and the other POI [for post-doc] have a positive relationship). Having said all that, it would be a bonus to attend a big, top tier program, but what matter to me more is the advisor/PI. In a hypothetical question to choose between a leading expert from a public school that is not "top 10", versus a good researcher from an ivy league, I always choose the former, for all the reasons I listed above. 3) Location of the campus and its regional culture. I don't want to stay in hell for 5, 6 years, with majority of the people holding extremely opposite view/values of mine. These values can be political, religious beliefs, etc. It matters to me because I can't deal with extremist. I'm less concern about finances, since in my field, it is common that the program (and eventually advisor/PI) provides stipend that is sufficient for PhD students to live without financial burden. Heck, if everything went wrong, I can live in the lab since I spend most of my hours in the lab anyway. I don't really care.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but OPT is different than CPT, in a sense that you will need to complete a degree/program in order to work for an employer through the OPT program (e.g. post-bac research assistant / lab technician positions; post-doctoral researcher, etc.). CPT allows you to work off-campus during the study of your program (whether you are working towards a bachelor degree, MS, or PhD), where the nature of work needs to be related to your study (e.g. research in a chemistry lab if you are a chemistry-related majors). Both programs required a student to be a full-time student (3 quarters or 2 semesters) in the previous academic year. If you took an academic break (not enrolled / registered at your school) in the past 12 months before you apply CPT/OPT, you will have to reestablish this "1-year full-time enrollment" status before you can (and qualified) apply CPT/OPT. I went through the situation myself when I was an undergrad (with F-1, full-time for 3 years, took a year-long break, came back to the U.S., then was told that I cannot do research at an off-campus location, even though the PI has a joint appointment at my alma mater and at the off-campus location [another institution that was not directly affiliated with my (then-enrolling) school]).

The point of that link is -- you either write programs (like what he did) to efficiently "filter out" those who you are not interested in, or, you will have to answer a lot of those questions in order to have those dating websites to work. I met my current gf (+90% match) on OKCupid, and I answered +2000 questions total. Most of those questions are no brainer if you already know enough about yourself, and what you are looking for. The "stringent" part is because in your second post you indicated that you were looking for graduate students, which, presumably, looking for schoolmates, new friends, etc. (" a gathering-place for everyone who is thinking about attending or already attending graduate school"). In your first post, however, you did indicate that you are looking for serious relationship. Since, I believe, that The Grad Cafe is a forum mostly about academic / research advice, featuring a bit of everything else that are graduate school-related, I couldn't take your post seriously, and, as the moderators of this forum point out -- you are at the wrong place. I do apologize if anyone here, somehow, offended by my posts, though.

I understand what she said, and I am indifferent what she said. Yet I find it difficult to take OP's post seriously, at "The Lobby", Those websites and apps are more meeting/dating focused -- if that is what you are looking for. I don't know about Plentyoffish, but OKCupid, in my opinion, has a pretty good algorithm to match with someone that may share the same values and ideology as yours. If you think that you are getting too many irrelevant matches, maybe you should consider answering more questions and make more questions to be more important to you (hence your selection/screening process). To understand the general idea of how these dating website works, you can read the post about how a PhD student (at that time, in Mathematics) found his current S/O here (http://www.wired.com/2014/01/how-to-hack-okcupid/). Those aforementioned criteria seems very stringent if you are intend to meet other grad students who are attending UBC / near UBC only, based on what you wrote.

Seeing that this thread is getting off-topic, I would also point out that those rankings, especially "the world" ones, without paying attention to the ranking methodology, can really be taken as a grain of salt. (Especially the ones that counts "international faculty" as one of the major factor. I would only elaborate this through PM.)