glow_gene

Oh lordy...these prices are making me twitch. My sizable 1bedroom is $850/mo and I pay more than anyone else I know. ( I live a 4min metro-ride from the medical campus). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with living in a more expensive city, especially if you love the program...but there are benefits to low-cost living. It helps that I love St. Louis as well

I wouldn't consider Raleigh/Durham a "small town"; I liked the area when I visited. And that cheap rent thing doesn't sounds like much, but it can make a BIG difference.

eerrr...I just wanted to clarify because I got a few messages about it: 2/3 declined interviews I initially accepted and then later declined because I had already been accepted to programs that I liked better/were more highly ranked in my field. If you know you won't be choosing that school over one of your other offers, why keep that interview slot when it could be given to someone who truly wants it? Then Chicago sent out interview invites at the end of February when I had already decided to go to WashU.... I have since visited UChicago and several people asked me why I didn't choose Chicago..."Because you guys took for-freaking-ever!" And congrats to everyone getting interviews!

I hope it's helpful ^^. Others may have better tactics.... ...and you guys are helping me temporarily forget my thesis proposal is on Friday so rock on

Ugh...I HATED that feeling. I took a few different approaches. I think I most often went with something along the lines of: "Thank you so much for the time you put into reviewing my application but due to <insert reason here: conflicting schedules, unforseen circumstances etc.> I will be unable to attend the interview weekend scheduled and would like to withdraw my application from <institution>. Again, thank you for your time and I wish you all the best with upcoming interviews/new students.." If they inquired further, I was upfront about my situation...that I was very interested in their program, but had been forced to choose given scheduling circumstances. The hardest part is when they REALLY want you and put a lot of effort into changing your mind. Just hold firm; this is your future! But, before you cancel, if you still have any level of real interest in the school, would you be interested in asking for a Skype interview? I did that with one of my interviews and it ended up fine.

Don't worry too much about grades. I found that the highest-achieving students who came straight from undergrad (especially those who were used to As and 4.0s) had the most trouble. Grades in a PhD program really don't matter as much as your rotations/lab work. I personally found grad school MUCH easier class-wise than my undergrad (but my undergrad was insane and I had pretty much already given up on ever achieving straight As. 97.5% and above an A? Come on guys...anyway...) but regardless of how easy the classes are, sometimes you just won't have enough time to study as much as you'd like...and that's OKAY. Seriously...this caused the most nervous breakdowns and ultimately didn't matter. Secondly, for those going to do bench work, there will be a learning curve when it comes to doing it full time. This was the second most common pitfall I saw. A year off prepares you for largely unstructured time in a lab where you have to schedule your own time/projects 24/7 in a way that undergrad doesn't. Summer programs where you do lab full-time are some preparation but that year off still helps. So many people had existential crises because they didn't take to lab like a fish to water. "Imposter Syndrome" seemed more prevalent in straight-from-undergrads. Just take deep breaths and work through it, you're here to learn in lab as well as class. Take lots of notes, ask lots of questions and do your best and your rotations should go fine. I'm not sure how different that would be for a computational program...but I think the same general themes still apply: -Research > Grades (Make sure you pass, but don't look at Non-As as failures) -Be cautious and intentional with your time management -Don't sweat the fact that you don't know everything yet. You're not supposed to.

I'd just like to agree whole-heartedly with this. Including my own class, I've now watched 3 rounds of grad students coming in and students who took 1-2 years off to work in the field seem to handle the transition best. They're also the most frequently accepted group. That's not to say more or less time is a deal-breaker and you're definitely going to struggle. Just my 2 cents!

I highly doubt it will cause a problem. Some of my programs had a stipulation in my acceptance letter that I needed to maintain a GPA above X to take advantage of my acceptance. So, as long as your GPA doesn't drop drastically after next semester, you should be fine.

I can't speak for Emory but WUSTL's DBBS sub-programs discuss applications and send out invites separately. You only need to start worrying if you see invites specifically to MCB. The larger programs also usually send out more than one wave of interview requests. Happy thoughts!

Congrats everyone with interviews! @swaye15: It's something that is pretty likely to happen. The first conflict I just said I had a prior commitment that weekend and did they have another option and everything was fine. It becomes awkward when there are no alternatives and the second school is one you're more interested in. The second conflict I had to call a school from which I had already accepted an interview invite and ask if I could be transferred to a different weekend. Thankfully there was room but it was still an awkward call (they knew what was up). If there's an unavoidable conflict, you may have to decide between declining an interview and asking if a Skype interview/non-traditional weekend visit would be available.

Just wanted to re-mention that I'm happy to talk about any schools in my signature (WUSTL/WashU in particular!). I know it won't seem like it...but interviews are/will be a lot of fun . Best of luck with your interviews/application seasons!

Many places will also ask why you want a PhD, which caught me totally off guard the first time. "I've wanted a PhD for the last 6 years because science is awesome!" might be a good start...but is not enough . As for what other schools I applied to: I was honest and named a few lower ranked schools and a few higher ranked schools from my list. A few times I was asked what I thought at the other interviews, and again, was honest without gushing about a different program.

I think you have reasonable chance at some of those schools but a word of caution. I know from experience that Hopkins will allow you to apply to multiple programs but the programs have little to no communication between them. I ended up with 3 interviews there and quite a cluster during interview weekend...

A couple things, 1) We have pretty much the same basic application (down to GRE scores and a concentration in Genomics). You just have a much higher GPA than me . My application season went very well and there's a part of me that wishes I had applied to Stanford/Harvard (though I would probably still have chosen WashU. I love this place!). I applied all in the top 25, mostly in the top 10 in my field. I think you should apply to whichever programs you think you might enjoy! 2) Some schools/programs you may want to add to your list. I'm in a "damp" (50% dry work, 50% wet) cancer/epigenetics lab at WashU and I really do love it here. Based on your interests, I highly recommend you check out WashU's DBBS program, MGG in particular. Based on your translational interests, I would also suggest Johns Hopkins' CMM program. TONS of translational research. Hopkin's Human Genetics program is also pretty excellent, though they seem to trend much more strongly toward dry lab. I turned down Penn's CAMB interview for a variety of reasons but I went and visited campus/talked to several students. They have a lot to offer and a variety of high quality research labs. I don't think you could go wrong by officially adding them to your "definitely" list! 3) I wish you all the best with your applications! Feel free to PM me any time if there's anything I could help you with during this process ~glow

@plantgirlljl (or any other WashU applicants). I know some current first/second years in the plant bio program (and several other programs) and could give you their contact info if you have any questions before/during the application process. One more cautionary note: I see a lot of people saying "University of Washington in St. Louis" and it's "Washington University in St. Louis" I do not take offense and it's not a problem...until you write it incorrectly on an application or say the wrong thing in an interview >< Just a heads up!

Deleted to avoid heart attacks. Thoughtless post on my part ><.

Hello! Super fast intro! Second year (almost 3rd year) student in the Molecular Genetics and Genomics program at WashU (Washington University in St. Louis)! Please feel free to PM me about WashU (any DBBS programs) or any of the schools where I interviewed (listed in my sig). Best of luck everyone! ~glow

As a student at WUSTL: your stats are awesome . Don't worry! Spend some time with your SOP and know your field as well as you can for interviews. Best of luck with your applications!

I would just like to quickly throw in my 2 cents. As others have mentioned above, if your program is very small or does not have rotations, I think getting in touch with PIs ahead of time is very important. If you're applying to much larger programs/umbrella programs and/or programs with rotations, it's certainly not necessary (unless that person is on the admissions committee...in which case it could theoretically be useful). As an anecdote: I didn't contact any PIs ahead of time and my season turned out just fine! Also, regardless of what the program looks like, if there are only one or two professors that you are interested in at a particular school, you should absolutely get in touch and see if they will be accepting students around the time you will arrive. Also, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about WashU or the other programs in my sig. Best of luck with your application seasons!

Hey there TonyB, I have spent a day or two at most in Cincinnati so I can't help too much with the comparison, but you may find this website useful: http://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/st._louis_mo/cincinnati_oh/climate It compares two cities based on a number of the parameters in which you're interested. If you end up having specific questions about St. Louis, I'd be happy to help with them if I can! ~glow

ah, darn! Didn't get here before you took WashU off the list . I really liked Chicago's program but know little about UTSW so I can't be of much help. Good luck in your decision!!

Whoo! WashU went up a rank in my subfield http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/genetics-rankings

Hey Aremik, I don't know much about the spanish program at WashU. This forum http://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/39-languages/ might be able to give you more input on your specific program. Please let me know if you have any questions about the school as a whole or the city of St. Louis. Best of luck in your decision! ~glow

Hey Katia, If you want to live anywhere in close proximity to SLU or WashU, I highly recommend you start looking early. Many of my friends had put down deposits several months ahead of time. There will be a lot of leases ending/apartments available between June and August and they can go fast. That being said, my fiancee and I took our time and found a great apartment one metro stop away from the WashU med campus in Debaliviere 2-3 weeks before we arrived. There were other, closer options as well, but we weren't as fond of the options we were left with. We love our current place! It's nice to not have to deal with central west end and parking. I can metro in to lab and I can basically cross the street and stroll into Forest Park. As for pet-friendliness. I think pet un-friendliness is an exception, not a rule. A large portion of my friends have cats or dogs and had no trouble finding housing. There's the odd place here and there but it shouldn't be too much of a problem (at least in Debaliviere, Central West End, The Grove, Tower Grove, Soulard, Benton Park <--places where I have friends/looked for apts). A fair percentage of places have a pet deposit or a small (<$30) monthly fee but I think that's fairly standard. I hope that was helpful! Let me know if there's anything else I can help with. (If anyone else has questions, feel free to post here and/or pm me and I'll publicly post the response and question if it's generally helpful. I keep forgetting to check this thread regularly.) I really love this city and I'd like to do what I can to get others properly situated for maximal enjoyment ~glow

Hey! I'm a current graduate student at WashU (I started in 2013). Please feel free to ask me if you still have any questions about housing in the area or the city in general. I'd be happy to help! ~glow