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TropicalCharlie

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  1. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from Urlicht in Signature for school email   
    Good point, Eigen and Michigan Girl. I am a MS student and fairly sure that in my dept, we are not candidates until all the core classes have been completed.
  2. Downvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from mockingjay634 in Contacting professors   
    You should definitely contact professors whom you are interested in working with.
    In my experience, many are great resources for the application process. During my application season last year, I was in contact with a prof from an Ivy school who offered to look over my SOP and advised me on the content. I was not admitted to this school but it was very helpful to have someone on the inside point me in the right direction. Keep in mind that most profs are busy and will not respond to your first or second email, but be persistent and follow up. You will get a response after the second or third email. Good luck.
  3. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from bre333 in Sh*t people say when you are applying to grad school   
    Facepalm!

    My mother on being informed that I've been accepted to my top choice school: "That's good. So you're going to move?"
    My thought bubble: No, mom. I'm just going to telepathically absorb the coursework for my degree from 3,300 miles away! Good grief.
  4. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from gradytripp in If I knew then what I know now...   
    My two cents...

    Maintain your LOR connections long after college. You may enter the work force and be there for a while before deciding that you want to pursue graduate school. Keep your potential LOR writers apprised of what you are up to in a few simple emails each year or a christmas card. Doing so will help you greatly when the time comes where their help is needed in your application process.

    Don't base your decision on a school's prestige. Just because a school is well-known and established doesn't mean that it equates 'good fit.' Do your research, talk to professors and current grad students in the program you are interested in, as well as their colleagues at a different school. Most of the time, you can get a fairly good idea of the internal environment and use it in your pro's and con's list for each potential school.
  5. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from jren76 in Low GPA for bio MS program   
    My situation was a bit different but had the same effect on my GPA as yours. When I applied to grad schools, my ug GPA was about the same as yours now. What helped me was work experience and excellent letters of recommendation. As an undergrad, I did not plan on going to grad school but I knew that I needed work experience in order to be competitive after graduation. I worked in two research labs, each in a different discipline (geochemistry and ecology). After obtaining my BS, I worked in analytical chemistry for 5 years. During that time, I decided that I wanted to pursue grad school and took some postbac classes.

    I recommend that you talk to some professors and get into a research lab before school starts in the fall. If they can pay you, great! If they can't, ask if you can do independent research or volunteer. By joining a research group, you will gain experience and a letter of rec. These will improve your chances of admission tremendously. As for the 2 D's, it's imperative that you retake ochem and biochem during your senior year (or stay an extra semester). Most schools do not consider D as passing.

    Admission criteria vary from school to school. Most schools say that they look at the entire package and not just grades or test scores, but it's difficult to say whether adcoms actually review the entire package. In general, it's safe to say that minimum GPA and GRE scores are there to weed out students with weak applications. With a 3.0 GPA, you can improve your application by having work experience, good LOR's and good GRE scores. Another factor that comes into play is having a POI vouch for you. When you research grad programs and make contact with POI's, discuss your story with them. In my experience, every POI has been candid, and most of them were helpful. Some will tell your outright that they prefer students with better stats, and as hard as it is to hear, it's ok. Just move on to the next one. When you connect with the right POI who is interested in you, they can usually persuade the adcom to admit you, granted that you meet the minimum requirements of the graduate school (the program may have min requirements that are different).

    A note on researching programs: it's great to shoot for the stars, you may get lucky and find a POI who will fight for you. Keep in mind that top tier schools will get very competitive applicants, so your chances of admission will not be great (with your current stats). Spend a lot of time on program research and apply to schools that will be a good fit for you. If you plan to take some time off after you finish your degree, be sure to keep in touch with all your potential LOR writers. I've maintained a good relationship with all of mine, and even after so many years, it was very easy to get letters from them. In fact, that was the easiest part of my application process. If you have further questions, feel free to pm me.
  6. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to rising_star in Signing emails with "Best"   
    I use "Regards" or "Sincerely" for formal emails and "Best" or "Cheers" for less formal emails. I use "Best" to mean "All the best", which by the way is not a snide thing to say to or wish for someone. There's really only so many ways to sign emails or other correspondence. If you find one offensive, then don't use it. But I doubt you're going to change the way everyone else does it, even if you took out a full page ad in the New York Times.
  7. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to fuzzylogician in Signing emails with "Best"   
    Everybody does it. It's like saying 'have a great day!' to service providers or signing your email with '(warm) regards.' It's a polite communications convention. Trust me, you wouldn't like it if everyone signed the email with what they really think about you! Don't you think you're reading too much into this?
  8. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from Tuck in Is this a normal progression for waiting it out? 2/20-7/09+?   
    darkknight9 - Delayed/ late admission is a common practice in professional programs like medical and pharmacy schools. A friend of mine was not admitted to his first choice PharmD program pretty much until the very end, leaving him 2 weeks to move 2500mi. For traditional graduate programs, however, I have never heard of such a late admission response either. Are you able to get in touch with current students in the program and seek some insight? They may not have info on the current admission process but may be able to shed light on previous years.
  9. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to qed67 in Why do you even want to go to grad school anyway?   
    To break to trend of the acceptance/rejection topics in here, how about some soul searching while waiting it out?
     
    I posed think question to myself and I thought it would be good for anyone to seriously think about it: Why? Why put yourself through writing all these essays, taking GREs, spending hundreds of dollars, stalking grad-cafe, go on tough interviews, etc... All to spend 5-6 years of your life to putting even more pressure on yourself until you finally get through it? Most people do fine without a PhD... why do you need to do it?
     
    Don't answer like you're telling me, or like you're writing a SOP... what's the reason you used to convince yourself that this is right? Imagine you're trying to convince yourself from 9th grade that this is what you need to do. Have you ever put these feelings/ambitions into words? Think about it even if you're a lurker, or you don't want to share for everyone to see. You might learn something about yourself. 
     
    I'll tell you why I'm doing it. Because statistically, I can't do it. Statistically, I'm supposed to want to grow up to play in the NBA and sell 1M records as a rapper, not to win a Nobel Prize in physics. I should just settle for working at Walmart and have a few kids I won't take care of, and probably end up in jail before I turn 25, not rock the boat and dare to dream different. I only know of one person from my HS actually got to the NFL, and all he does is sit on the bench, the rest... some are doing okay, but 90% completely lack ambition; they're so complacent with... "mediocracy" for lack of a better word. I'm not trying to say I'm better than them for going to grad school, but I'm disappointed that all these people that are still young are wasting their potential. You can't become the next Einstein unless you try to become Einstein. I'm doing it to prove I can do it. Why live your whole life and not aim high? You only get one chance... Even if your first path was misconstrued, you ain't dead yet.
     
    That's something to consider even if you don't get into the grad school you like or even any at all... you ain't dead yet, so don't act like you can't get higher.
  10. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to Faraday in What are you listening to?   
    "Crystal Ball" by Keane
     
     
    I really enjoy The Ink Spots.
  11. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from Faraday in What are you listening to?   
    by M83
  12. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to Allouette in What are you listening to?   
    Sous la Lune - Paris Combo
  13. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to i.am.me in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    I had a 2.9 GPA in undergraduate and a 3.8 in graduate school. My GREs were not high at all - 470 Quant and 680 Verbal with 5.0 AW. I got into 2 schools. Not Stanford lol but I am in 2 out of my top 3 choices.
  14. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to Eigen in "Dear brilliant students: Please consider not doing a PhD."   
    It's also worth noting that frequently, at least in STEM fields, when people talk about academic jobs, they're really only paying attention to schools with graduate programs, R1/R2 institutions.
     
    That's only a fraction of the colleges and universities out there- about 300 out of 4300.
     
    If you're really interested in teaching, mentoring, and working with undergraduates, there are a lot more available options than the ones people frequently look at.
  15. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to Eigen in Note taking and reading....how to keep everything organized?   
    I still take notes by hand. I find it's for more effective for me as a learning tool.    As for printing- I lament the over-use of paper, but I really need hard copies to read/annotate, and I've tried a number of solutions.    As to cost- invest in a good, cheap, black and white Laser printer with duplexing capabilities. Mine cost about $60, and prints for fractions of a cent per page. I can fit 2-4 pages on one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, depending on the size of the text.   That said, digital files have the benefit of being searchable.    I usually transcribe my notes over into digital files if I think they're something I'm going to need to access a lot. On the MS side, there's OneNote, and on the Mac side Growly Notes is quite good- and both are practically free, since you'll have OneNote with Office, and GrowlyNotes is a free download as well.    They're easy, free-form note-taking software, with a page/section based arrangement. I don't think I'd use them for copious notes, but they're a good way to organize information that I'm going to need to refer to a lot. 
  16. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to CrayolaKate in Sh*t people say when you are applying to grad school   
    Dad- "When you get in I'm coming to visit you and go to football games!"
    Me- "I wouldn't get ahead of ourselves here..."
    My dad leans over to my uncle..."Do you want to come to the game? We can pick a weekend and fly out there?"
    Uncle-"Yeah I want to go! There are a lot of cool things to do there too."
    Mom- "We should all go! It will be so much fun." 
    Me-"I'm not in yet. I turned my application in nine days ago. I may not get in."
     
    Everybody just stared at me like I had interrupted their plans. I really want to get in but if I don't, at least I'll get some weird sense of satisfaction out of ruining their plans.
  17. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to CoolCoolCool in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    This is a fantastic thread because I fall into this category.  A little background on myself.  I graduated from a top west coast research university with a BA in chemistry.  GPA of 2.39 in 2006.  I knew that I wanted to be in biomedical research so during the last year of my undergraduate career, I worked at a big nonprofit cancer research facility.  Thereafter, this one year experience allowed me to get a job at my undergrad university as a research technician for the past 6 years.  While an undergrad and even the beginning of my career as a technician I had no idea that I would want to grow and spend the rest of my life in the biomedical sciences.  So now I know.  This is what i've been doing.
     
    Long story short, i'll be starting an MS in Microbiology/Immunology at Hopkins next year.  If you want to read:
     
    Last year, 2011, I applied to only PHD programs.  I got rejected from all.  I felt as though I had a chance because I have a few publications (1 first author), stellar LORs, 5 years of research experience, and great GRE score.  Turns out, it wasn't enough (though not unexpected).  So in a haste, since deadlines for MS programs were later and I have all my materials prepared from PHD applications, I applied to 5 MS programs in either Microbiology or Immunology.  Got into all of them.  How?  
     
    After talking to three program coordinators, all said that my resume conveyed my research experience, but decided to take a fly on me because in my SOP, I emphasized why I had such a low uGPA, what I have been doing since then, and what I have learned and why I won't fail.  I also stated my reasons for wanting back in school but I assume everyone else writes that.
     
    Obviously, everyone's situation is different.  I have a passion for science and I know where I want to go.  Hopefully getting an MS will help me get to my goal.
     
    For my age (32) I did not want to go back and retake undergraduate classes or get a different bachelor's degree.  I strongly felt as though it would be a waste of my time since I have been working in my field of interest for quite sometime.  I've even mentored/tutored graduate students.  It's all a matter of me applying this experience towards a degree.  
     
    If anyone has any questions I'd be more than happy to help.  I hope my situation gives someone out there hope that all is not lost if you want to attend graduate school with a low GPA in the sciences.
  18. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to booksnlooks in Life after rejection   
    Stop stressing! If your applications are in, you need to let them go. I know, I know, it's absolutely harder than it sounds, but you can't let yourself get carried away. You've done your best and now it's out of your hands.

    In the event you get rejected from all your programs, you take a deep breath and apply again the next year. It's not the end of the world! It gives you an extra year to work, gain experience, and make more money.
  19. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to Zorah in My grad school GPA is lower than my undergrad GPA...   
    I have had a ton of jobs and not one has asked to see my transcriptsl
  20. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from PhDreams in Who here has applied... THREE times?   
    psychdork - i admire your persistence and wish you the best. Good luck. Fiat Lux!
  21. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from GuidanceGirl in What people said when you told them you were accepted...   
    SO: Congratulations! I'm so proud of you.
    Mom: That's good. So you're going to move? (Yes, i'm going to move. I can't commute 3300 miles.)
    Youngest sis: Yay! Congrats!
    Middle sis: crickets
    Friends: I knew you could do it. Congrats!
  22. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie got a reaction from paradisaeidae in What are my chances? - Marine Biology MSc   
    Paradisaeidae, you definitely have a chance at grad school and will get admitted somewhere, though it may not be UCSB, UCSC or UCSD. UCSB is my alma matter, and I also have a degree in marine science. UCSB's minimum GPA for grad school is 3.0. Even if they round up your GPA to 3.0, you will be competing against applicants with very strong GPA, test scores and similar work experience. I have strong ties at the the marine science institute there and have personally witnessed conversations between professors on the admission committee about borderline students. If it comes down to your package vs another student with a stronger package (grades, etc), admission is going to be given to the other student, because UCSB's marine biology program is highly desirable and competitive. Similarly this applies to UCSD (world renown Scripps Inst. of Oceanography) and UCSC, both exceptional marine biology schools. Also these schools typically will not take into account post-baccalaureate grades as part of your GPA calculation. Now if you can network and establish a strong connection with a professor that you are interested in working with, they may be willing to overlook some of your weak spots and waive certain admission requirements. Though this is seldom done.

    While your chances at these top tier marine biology schools may not be as sunny as you had hoped, there are many other state schools in California with great marine biology programs. Check with San Diego State University, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Northridge, San Francisco State University, and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (associated with Cal State Schools- so you can apply through any Cal State). Part of applying to grad schools is managing your expectations and working with the assets that you have. Don't look back at and dwell on things you can't fix. Just look forward and work toward what you can accomplish now. I highly recommend that you check out the other state schools, if California is your destination. I realize that my advice is raw but I don't want to sugar-coat it because it would be a disservice to you. If you have further questions about UCSB, feel free to PM me.
  23. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to Eigen in Lab Rotations and Funding   
    I wouldn't say the department is completely blameless.

    That said, my (brief) experience with BMS programs is that they don't view their departments as separately as traditional academic units might. So to them, accepting more for a department than they might be able to fund isn't that big of a deal, because there are adjacent departments that have room.

    But also, I think this really highlights the importance of asking pointed questions during the visit, and specifically talking to each of the PIs you're interested in about availability of space.

    We've had students have to completely switch areas before due to lack of spots, so it's not uncommon.

    Personally, I think it would be worth waiting things out and seeing if you get into one of the labs. Talk to the PIs you're doing a rotation with, mention your concerns, see what they say.

    If it comes down to it, and you really consider it worth leaving over, you might tactfully mention that you really want to work in X discipline, and that if you can't you'll probably be leaving to apply elsewhere.

    It also may be that people from other departments are "competing", but they aren't really as competitive as you guys are for the spots, since you're actually in the department- but no one other than the PIs can answer that one.
  24. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to ghanada in The sub-3.0 GPAs ACCEPTANCE thread   
    I had a 2.6 undergrad GPA and all my PhD acceptances last year were top 15 schools. One of them was Columbia (which I turned down). Keep in mind though that "ivy" status doesn't carry the same weight in a PhD as it does in undergrad or professional programs. Often time ivies aren't even that well ranked depending on the dept. Nobody will be impressed but your parents. Try and focus more on schools that are solid research fits, that is the most important factor, trust me.

    I would apply to any school that you think is a good fit, ivy or not. Try and not classify schools as a "reach" or "safety". If you goto a "reach" school just for the name but isn't a good fit, you will hate life. If you goto a "safety" you will feel like you were so close to getting in other places and could have done better so you will be disappointed going to that school. Both cases are bad scenarios. Instead, pick schools that are all great fits and whichever ones accept you, goto the best fit of them all.
  25. Upvote
    TropicalCharlie reacted to fuzzylogician in In a bit of a pickle, and I need a bit of advice...   
    I've never heard of a similar story; but taking it at face value, since they didn't outright kick you out of the program, lets assume they still think you have a chance. However, it sounds like they are not terribly interested in investing in you and are expecting you to either float or sink on your own. What have you been doing this year to improve your writing skills, and how successful have you been? The answer to those questions will be important in deciding what to do next. My guess is that if you manage to pick yourself up and get into the pace you're supposed to be in for next year, you'll be able to rejoin the program and do well in it. I gather from your post that you were told as much when you left. However, because of your background, you're always going to have to prove yourself even more than other students and work twice as hard. The point of giving you time off is to have you work your way up to the level you should be in in your third year, so that's what you should be working towards.

    As some point in the future, once you've made significant demonstratable progress with your writing and whatever other issues were problematic, you should contact your advisor again to talk about ways of getting back up to speed with research. Ask him to help you devise a plan to get you back on track to graduating in time. Depending on what you should be doing now (courses, quals, prospectus..), start thinking about what you need to do to pass that stage. Maybe start a research project you can be knowledgeable about by the time you go back to the program and have something written up about it?

    Mind you, how your program replies will be very instructive. If they think you have a chance and see that you are making an effort (and succeeding), they will hopefully give you another chance and work to help you get back on track. If they throw obstacles in your way despite your progress and are unwilling to help, then I think it'll be a not-so-subtle clue that maybe they think you're better off doing something else. At that point, you'll have to decide if you think it's worth fighting for - what kind of degree you'd get, what recommendations you'll have when you graduate and what chances you'll have of finding a job in your field. If what you're hearing is a polite 'no' instead of an encouraging 'yes', I think your best bet would be to leave that program since it will obviously not be a place that's interested in investing in you.
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