coonskee

Biggest fear right now: "Wow, the head of Department X is really fighting for her acceptance... must be because he wants to get some!" Insecurity about intellectual worth --> stupid stupid worries.

I was the one (one of the ones?) with the thank-you cards

cute overload

fleece blanket

I'm doing long-distance now as I attempt to attain my Master's (if I get into my dream PhD program, then the distance will be significantly shorter, which is a wonderful plus). There are definitely some frustrating moments, especially since my SO works in a completely different field than I do (he's finance, i'm biology), so he sometimes doesn't understand why situations are stressful for me (in his words: I mess something up, I'm only set back a week; he messes up, he sets his fund back several million dollars - but what about my precious DNA samples!!!!). We've had a bunch of rough patches but we've worked through them, and having those rough patches has both made us stronger, and made me a lot calmer about the relationship - like artofdescribing said, if it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. All I know now is that we've given it our absolute best shot, and I'm proud of us for that

The SOP I wrote had a word limit of "around 500 words," so I used the 10% over/under rule and had, I think, 545 words in my final version. I got an interview, so apparently I didn't piss too many people off In my personal experience, I mentioned three professors with whom I would be interested in working. This is because my desired areas of research are microbiology and pharmacology, but I haven't hammered out exactly what I want to do yet - therefore, I mentioned my interest in those labs to show what kinds of things I'm interested in, and also to show that I'm thinking ahead (each professor got one sentence with a project I'd be interested in working on with him or her). I think stating which professor you'd enjoy working with helps you really demonstrate fit, but if you manage to show fit while talking about general research areas - well, more power to ya!

Eh, doesn't hurt to repeat the advice here In my (completely personal) opinion, I think thank-you notes are necessary just because profs are taking time out of their day to speak with you. I also think that it's good to reiterate your interest in their labs, if that's the case. In my case, I had four interviews; two were excellent, one was very close to excellent, and one was so-so. The length, tone, and content of each of the four cards varied by my excitement about their research and my general impressions for the interview. The lab that I ended up liking the least was polite and relevant (I mentioned things that we'd talked about, etc), but not gushing - why would I say that "zomg i absolutely love your research, i would give both my kidneys to work in your lab, etc etc etc' if I don't mean it? But for the labs that I did love - damn straight I expressed how interested I was in what they did! I think general content should be this: Dear ____, Thank them Mention what in particular you enjoyed about the conversation (hearing more about research? discussing an issue relevant to science and science policy?) Follow up on any advice (did the PI tell you to contact someone in particular? Tell them if you've done so or when you plan to do so) Any other pertinent details (especially ones that will remind them of you specifically), if such details are natural in the flow of the card Thank them again Sincerely / Best regards / PLEASEACCEPTMETOTHISPROGRAM*, -Name *I'm joking, don't actually include that. Don't write them a letter - I doubt they have the time for more than two paragraphs of writing. Keep it as short as you can while keeping it meaningful, but more importantly, keep it to the point. It's much easier to read 500 words of concise prose than it is to read a paragraph of writing in the style of a philosopher. If the program has multiple interview weekends (especially one after the other), you might also find it helpful to include the date you met somewhere in the card. If there's a graduate secretary or somesuch who also helped you out in the process (i.e. you sent him/her emails outside of what was necessary or asked multiple questions), it may also be worth sending them a thank-you card Just my two cents! (again )

I actually didn't apply to Cold Spring Harbor - I heard about the interviews from a friend, and I couldn't remember the exact number - just that it was obscene I've only applied to one program this year; if I don't get in, I'm casting a wider net next year :]

Are there any Canadians out there who have funding for a PhD in the US? How does paying taxes work?

Better anxiety and hope than sadness! Fingers crossed for you, Clou

I think it depends. If you get rejected and know you're going somewhere else, then that might be a bit awkward (unless you got along REALLY well with the POI and hope to either collaborate with them in the future or if there's some indication they'd be willing to mentor you in the future)... but if you got rejected from all your schools and you intend on reapplying, it might be worth it? I don't know.

cross training

I would imagine that, if the classes are relevant to your application, you should mention them (e.g. you're starting German that semester). I'd try to put it in your CV if that is the case (I had a section titled 'relevant coursework' with professor names; you can add the semester you're taking the class).

I actually wrote the cards the night after the interviews and dropped them into a mailbox the next day (a weekend) in the same city. I also sent a quick email saying "in case the USPS sucks" (not in those words) that just had a generic thank-you to it - basically, my failsafe in case the cards get lost. Exactly. I imagine they had already had a good impression of how they'll score me right after the interview. I don't think a card will turn a "no" into a "yes," so that's not the main reason for my sending it - I want to thank them for their time and reiterate my interest in both their program and research! If it makes me a little more memorable, awesome; if it doesn't - well, at least I was polite, and it only cost me $3.00!

I guess that depends on what your gap year consists of... if you putz about doing nothing then I strongly doubt it. If you pursue a Plan B that makes sense (especially if it improves your application, like gettin gmore research experience) then it had better help!

bahahah i love the person who wrote that textbook. And the reason no one reads the introduction is because they explain to us, for example, what statisticians are! Of course I'm going to skip ahead to the next chapter...

They said about two weeks - just cruel!

Is anyone else freaking out even more now that one of their interviews has passed? I thought it would get better but it's only gotten worse...

I wrote thank-you cards. I was raised to always, ALWAYS write thank-you notes, so it seemed natural for me to do. My cards varied in degree -- I had four interviews; three were great (one was with someone who had already taught me) and one was meh, and the length and content of each card varied with how excited I had been at meeting the prof and learning about their research. If you have like eight different interviews (or the, what, 10 that Cold Spring Harbour does?), then writing emails to all of them could be superfluous... but it still seems natural to me to write an email or note if you met with one or two PIs who really got you excited about the program. *shrug* Anyway, just my $0.02

I think a lot of people on the boards have emailed about whether invitations have been sent out - as long as you're polite and don't nag, I don't see why it would be a problem. I've only applied to one program this season (long story why) and I just got back from their interview weekend - I do NOT know how to deal with the wait right now. Uuuuughhhhhhh

To respond to the reimbursement part - I'm a Canadian who just interviewed at a US university. We were provided with special forms for international applicants in order to be reimbursed for our expenses. I think reimbursement is fine, as they're paying you back, not paying you for services rendered, if that makes sense?

Am currently at an interview weekend (biology), and yesterday (interview day), females were in a wide range of attire. My roommate was in a skirtsuit+button-down (about as business as you cqn go) and did not look out of place, but the girl that dressed the most casually did. Guys were in a wide range of business casual to business and I saw no outliers on either end of the formality scale. The only thing we were told about dress code was not to wear jeans or sneakers. I know that this isn't super-helpful but I think it definitely leads me to second a previous poster's point of "you can never be overdressed for an interview". I mean, don't wear ball gowns and tuxes, but you know what I mean.

I second the Kaplan recommendation - I learned like 300 words the week of the test from it! And it's wonderfully portable.

I have nothing to do with the field, but both my parents are Polish and lived there for a few years! </not really helpful response >

Be careful -- my friend had a steak after 8 years of being a vegetarian, ate it too fast, and ended up getting sick from it!! Relish the steak. If I get in, I'm buying two bottles of Veuve Cliquot (about $80 a pop) - one to bring to my friend's office (she's helped me soooo much with the application process), and one to bring home to celebrate with my mom. If I don't get in, I'm buying two bottles of some hard liquor, and performing the same actions.