Jump to content

EdaxFlamma

Members
  • Posts

    15
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by EdaxFlamma

  1. Hawelf- That may very well have something to do with it. Looking at my transcripts suggests I have changed my mind at least once during my undergrad years (dropped a Triple Language double major due to time constraints) not counting this shift to microbiology. For future applications I may want to make an extra effort to solidly show that microbiology is where I want to stay. I also feel as though my statement of purpose may have not been as tailored to SuperSafetyU (first rejection). This combined with a very low number of applications (SuperSafetyU, University of MiddleRoad and Reach) pretty much puts me where I am at the moment.
  2. I can't agree with this more. I am in a similar situation myself or will be in the near future. This may come across as being rather cold and I am aware of that but then again it is only my (though shared) opinion. If you look at this problem as an opportunity to invest in your future there are two options, A. take the path of your preferred academic institution and try to work it out with the SO or B. take your path with your SO and work it out with your secondary choice of academic institution. In my opinion, one option presents the greatest chance of payoff with the least overall risk. I can't be the one to tell you which one that is for you though. For my SO and myself we are both painful realists often bordering on the cynical at times. When we sat down and talked about this, we decided that it was best for each of us to take our own preferred academic paths and go the -albeit long- distance. Our reasoning was that A. it is doable, B. none of us feels cheated in the sense that we had to "sacrifice our dreams" C. deity forbid one of us gets killed in freak buffalo stampede, a car crash etc or there is a falling out between us, we both have invested in ourselves and will still be able to pursue our other passion in life, and D. we are secure enough with each other than it isn't as much of an emotional tax as it could be. This may be a bit biased but again it works for us. I think the biggest thing is that YOU need to be happy with what's going on. These decisions although involving other people, in the end dictate your happiness.
  3. This is something else I have seriously considered. When speaking to my advisers however, they thought I would have a better chance at the bio side of things mainly because I haven't taken any engineering classes save an industrial waste water treatment class. That being said, math has never been one of my strongest points and I as told I would most likely have to take a slew of courses such as fluid mechanics, etc. etc. Basically I don't feel like my application would be strong enough for Environmental Engineering. I am by no means scoffing at this suggestion; I'm just unsure how to tackle the issue. Apply for Environmental Engineering, play with it for a year and then switch over to Micro under the guise of the same adviser? Somehow work the situation into my SoP?
  4. @emmm - That's what I thought. I know a lot of people who took a year off specifically so that they would have the work experience going in. Unfortunate, but it may be a necessity. @greenertea - I would have a lot more hope for my other programs but after being rejected from my super safety school, I need to seriously start considering other options. Albeit the fit wasn't so great, I'd still like to be prepared for the worst. It also doesn't help that my new found love is in the field of bioremediation and not Plant-Microbe interactions. While I have worked on them in the past and they were very interesting, I get more of a buzz from the biotech/environmental bio side of things. All and all thanks for the help. I'll definitely keep my options open and check out some of these labs then. Gotta keep pushin' forward.
  5. I think realistically everyone would be fine if they could survive until either a cold winter hits or a warm summer. Now for my reasoning... Worst case scenario, you are in caught in either spring or fall, or in an area with a very mild climate. Here you might have to wait a bit longer. But, if you could wait until it got cold (night temps around 32F) I feel like your chances improve. Humans really aren't meant to be aimlessly wandering around out in the cold with little to no protection. Even with protection the extremities and any other exposed areas of skin would quickly lose feeling, inhibiting the zombies ability to walk, crawl bite etc. Unless all the cells are dead and being animated by some force other than the biological this would give us would be survivors a serious advantage. Even if a zombie was getting sufficient nourishment, I don't think even the combined heat from digestion and decomposition would provide enough warmth as the temperatures dropped. The other alternative is to wait until temperatures reach the mid 80's (F). As I'm sure most of you have experienced, when driving on busy country roads or even along highways there is often an unfortunate animal who has met with 2 or so tons of metal screaming down the road at 45mph or more. These animals in such heat begin to rapidly decay. Often, if there are no serious puncture wounds, the animal can be seen to grow larger as the days go by. This is because as the body decomposes, it fills with CO2 and other not so pleasant gases as the internal organs are often the first to go. After a while, these gases exit the body through the path of least resistance which is often times the skin. I fear our undead counterparts would most likely suffer the same fate. After the human immune system fails either through sever starvation or via opportunistic infection via massive lacerations to the body these shamblers are as good as re-dead. Now there are some loopholes in these theories. Bokors, genetic engineering, super sentient microbes, etc potentially blow a few points out of the water but regardless of whether we have super fast Dawn of the Dead/Left4Dead zombies or whether we have Night of the living dead/Resident Evil zombies, I think the majority of the threats (ignoring the special mutated ones of course) will die off relatively quickly. Either way, a crowd of people unable to talk and banging on my door with terrible flesh wounds, forgiving some horrible accident which requires me to call 911, will all either stand outside until they drop or get a shovel to the face.
  6. Hey all, I've been drifting around on the forums for a little while now and after holding back for a while, I'd like to ask for some input. More or less as expected, my first round of applications is pretty much going to be a bust. I am guessing that this is partially due to the fact that I am applying for a Ph.D in Microbiology when I will be receiving a degree with distinction in Plant Science with a minor in Biochemistry. While it is true that my first love had been botany, after taking a grad level microbiology course, I was hooked and never wanted to turn back. Unfortunately, I quickly realized that my alma mater doesn't offer a Microbiology major and I would be unable to switch into just a general Biology degree by the time I had made the switch. So, while waiting for some lovely input from you all here in the forums, my goal is to find some kind of employment that will provide me with the qualifications to pursue a Ph.D in Microbiology (environmental). Based on the fact that environmental microbiology is more or less confined to the realm of academia, at least at the into level, (if not I'd love some insider info) what kinds of job options do you think would provided the necessary experience? I have seen many in pharmaceuticals, quality control, and food QC but I'm not sure that is the path I should take. Yes it provides more experience in general microbiology but is that what the schools will be looking for? While I feel as though I have a good amount of laboratory experience, I don't know that I have the specific experience graduate schools are looking for. I have had 3 years of general lab experience, first in a plant tissue culture lab, second in a USDA Plant Pathology Lab, and most recently working on my senior thesis on the topic of bioremediation. Also, if graduate schools are having second thoughts about accepting me into their programs, are employers in the field of microbiology likely to think along the same lines? *insert dramatic music here* In all seriousness though, I welcome any kind of advice and/or input. Some of you have gone through similar shifts of interest and have been in the same position I'm sure. If you have and tidbits of insight I would be most appreciative. Best wishes, -EdaxFlamma
  7. I'm right there with you... When the first thing you hear back is a rejection from your super-safety school you kind of start to rethink things. I haven't heard back from any other program but I've already started making a new list of POIs, potential jobs/internships and plan on contacting those schools that did not accept me for some insight as to why and what I can do to improve the strength of my application. It's taken me a few days to get to this point though. For a few days my life was more or less that one line from the Grinch: "4 o'clock: wallow in self pity. 4:30: stare into the abyss. .... 5:30: jazzercise. 6:30: dinner with me, I can't cancel that again! 7 o'clock: wrestle with my self loathing. I'm booked! Course if I bump the loathing to 9 I can still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness." Everyone hits rock bottom on occasion but make sure you're one of the ones that bounces. The uncertainty really does make getting up the motivation difficult but if you start now, if nothing else it will get your mind off of waiting and you'll be in a better place should things not go as you had hoped.
  8. I joined the club yesterday! I got my first rejection from my super-safety school and I have yet to hear back from any of the others. My prospects are not looking too great... Time to seriously work on my plan C. I just wish that "you-just-got-slapped-in-the-face" feeling would go away - wow.
  9. I'm here in Newark now. I applied to Bio as well so similarly I'm just sitting back waiting... If anyone wants any info about the town or profs I'll see what I can come up with!
  10. Had the same thing with my Cornell application. They just had a server error that made everything register as incomplete. One call fixed it.
  11. If I get accepted to my top choice I'll be putting a new bike, a wardrobe update, a quality messenger bag, a new laptop, and a vacation all on little bits of paper. Then I will build a roulette wheel, equally distribute said pieces of paper and allow myself one spin.
  12. Very good. I was expecting complaints about roaches but that may have been a bit too much. Thanks for that one
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use