crustaceangirl

I've been accepted to UNC and Emory for PhD programs in life science/neuroscience (Emory = neuro, UNC = biological science umbrella program). They both really appeal to me! I'm trying to decide which I would choose (I still have one more school to visit, but I'm trying to make these decisions as I go, in order to give prompt decisions for the wait-listed folks). Both programs have tons of good faculty -- UNC's program spans 12 departments, Emory has over 120 neuro faculty. UNC has a sub-department of their neurobiology curriculum that focuses on a research area I really like, and I had a really good meeting with one of the profs from there. Emory has another really interesting sub-department in a different research area that is also interesting, and I met several of those professors, who were cool. UNC is offering me a bit more money ($500 more per year, plus a one-time $3000 award my first year). Cost of living in Chapel Hill seems slightly lower as well, based on the apartment listings I've seen. But, finances are not the biggest issue for me as I will be living with my partner who has a real job. ;-) Emory gave me a really good feeling based on how the professors and students interact, and everyone I met there seemed super friendly, nice, and helpful. Not that they were mean to me at UNC, but at Emory it seems like the students have a lot of input into the curriculum, sit on various committees, and so on. It struck me as a place that takes care of you, while UNC seemed like a place where one could achieve great success, but perhaps in a slightly more "hands off" way w/r/t the administration. (Obviously a lot depends on your individual lab and mentor... I expect to be able to find a good mentor wherever I go.) Complicating things is the fact that my partner is moving with me. He's in the IT industry and should be able to find jobs anywhere, but he is also concerned about cost of living, transportation (he has a car but doesn't want an awful commute, and would like to take public transport as much as possible), housing options, fun things to do in the city and in nearby nature spots, and so on. Emory/Atlanta would be a reasonable drive from our families and friends in northern FL, which is also a factor (we currently have to fly to visit them just once or twice a year, and would enjoy seeing them more often). If anybody has any insights into either school or city, I'd appreciate hearing them! This is hard...

The Back Bay is an expensive area. Here's what you can get for about $1000/month in the Back Bay: http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/fee/600399675.html Ad might expire, but it's a tiny little thing (lofted 1 BR). I've lived in dorm rooms bigger than that apartment. I'd say that anything that looks like a "deal" in this area has something wrong with the building -- either a tiny space, or the building is really run down, or something. Your best options for living affordably are to commute from a cheaper area (I work in Boston but commute ~30 minutes from an affordable place in the suburbs) or to live with one or two roommates.

I have lived in Boston and the surrounding suburbs for 6 years without a car (although my SO has one, and we now live together and I begged him for rides before that). Parking in Boston and some nearby towns (Cambridge, Brookline) is very hard, and with all the snow/salt in winter and horrible potholes year-round, it's a city that is hard on your car anyway. If you're going to a relatively urban school like Harvard, Tufts, BU, Northeastern, or Simmons, I can vouch for the ease of car-free living. Schools further into the suburbs (Brandeis, BC...) you can take or leave the car. BC is on a branch of the subway. Brandeis is on the commuter rail, which is annoying, but they do run free shuttle buses into the city on weekends. Boston also has Zipcar (zipcar.com), which allows anyone 21+ to get discount car rental, basically. This is great if you don't want a car but want to make several big shopping trips a month (groceries, Target, the IKEA in Stoughton) without dragging your stuff all over the T. You can reserve a Zipcar for a few hours at a time if that's all you need, and they are located in areas all around the city and some nearby suburbs. Maybe not as convenient as an SO with a car, but a viable option that my friends use. The T is pretty good. A monthly subway/bus combo pass is about $60, and many schools provide free or subsidized passes for students. This gets you all around Boston and nearby towns. Once you learn more about the bus system it seems like a whole new world has opened to you, but even if you just stick to the subway (which is very easy to use and goes to the biggest centers of activity) you can get around to all kinds of things. Carless folks can even take day trips to the gorgeous Boston Harbor Islands (by ferry), or to beaches and quaint New England towns like Salem (by commuter train). The downside of the T is that it shuts down early. The last trains tend to depart the terminal around midnight, although some of the nightlife here is open until 2 AM. If you want to party late you're basically stuck taking a cab home or walking. Walking actually isn't that bad, since the city is not that geographically large, but of course if you're drunk and wandering around a city at night you should travel in a group for safety. Also, if you want to go visit a friend in another part of New England, or in NYC, there are pretty good commercial buses (less sketchy than in more car-owning parts of the country, because a wider segment of the population including students relies on them) and Amtrak trains that you can take for a range of prices, many quite reasonable. Coming from the southeast where there is NO public transport I have been quite happy with the state of things in Boston.

I had a roommate 3 out of 4 times. It wasn't a problem except for one girl who would set an alarm for reeeaally eaarly and then hit the snooze button over and over for an hour. Most places only sent me a detailed itinerary in the last few days before I left. I got flights more in advance, but the details didn't come together until later (rides to/from airport, faculty interview schedule).

I've been accepted to Emory too, so I'd be interested in hearing what people say. It seems like there's not a lot of affordable "house" housing (as opposed to grungy, undergrad-riddled apt. complexes) within walking distance of Emory, which makes me sad. I'm looking to rent a small house or an apartment in a multi-family home/duplex. My partner and I have one car, and we'd like to keep it that way. Assuming we can live close enough to campus that I can walk/bike to class, he could then take the car to wherever he ends up working. I've heard that some of the big fancy houses in the Druid Hills area (right by Emory) sometimes rent out a carriage house or apartment, so that might be good for us. I don't think I'd want to walk more than a mile and a half each way, which is pretty limited. Biking would give more range, but it sounds like Atlanta is not very bike-friendly. I visited the campus and also got an Atlanta-dwelling friend to show me around different areas. I really liked Candler Park (it had character, and delicious Flying Biscuits). My friend lives in Virginia Highlands which was also really nice. We took a tour through Decatur, too, where a lot of the Emory grad students I met seem to live. But it seems like everyone in these places drives to Emory. Boo. Am I being unrealistic about what I want for my living situation? Maybe my partner could just drop me off in the morning and pick me up in the evening. Or I could shoot for a MARTA bus line (which of these go to Emory?).

I've been accepted to UNC and am trying to decide whether I want to go there. I liked the program, campus, etc. a lot when I interviewed. I also got accepted to Emory, though, and found the faculty, program, etc. just as impressive, so I feel like "quality of life" stuff like the feel of the city, cost of living, job opportunities for my partner and so on will be factors as I decide between them. (I have one school left to visit, so I'm not making a final decision yet, but I should start trying to decide b/t UNC and Emory now, I think, so I can decline one of the offers in a timely manner.) As far as stuff to do in the city, is Franklin St. the main deal? Do people from UNC ever go into Durham or Raleigh to do stuff? I haven't been to those cities at all. Chapel Hill seems like the kind of hippie/yuppie town that would have good farmer's markets and possibly CSAs: true or false? I know that smoking is allowed in bars/restaurants in NC -- the school took us to a nonsmoking bar for recruitment. Are there many of these, or will my asthma keep me from participating in most of the city's nightlife? (Lame I know, but one of the things I'm considering.) Ideally I'd want to live walking/biking distance from campus or on a bus line, in a house (single family or multi family is OK) rather than an apt. complex. Craigslist makes this seem doable for our price range, assuming my partner can find a job with a salary comparable to what he earns now, which Craiglist also seems to support. How is the job market in Chapel Hill itself? If my partner has to commute from the UNC area to RTP/Raleigh for work, will it suck? (Could it suck more than commuting in ATLANTA?) Thanks in advance!

Ah, your theory does make sense now that I know they accept 6-7 applicants. In that case yes, I think it does sound likely that you are the 7th admit and they (for now) just have funding for the first 6. Though I suppose they could have picked 7 alternates in case all 7 admits got funding/decided not to come, that seems a bit less likely, especially if they are saying they're so confident for you. Good luck! Let us know!

Position 7 means that there are 6 people ahead of you to get funding, so apparently you need 7 currently-funded students to win fellowships before the department can afford to fund you.

Had you communicated with this professor before about whether or not he was taking new students? If you put all your eggs into one prof's basket you are taking a risk as to whether that person will get grant funding, plan for retirement, plan to move to another institution... If he found a current NU student to join the lab, that doesn't mean he wouldn't have space for another student who is less advanced in their graduate career (most profs don't want all their students to join/leave at the same time). If you want to work with this guy, establish email contact, try to find him and talk about work at your conference, try to make contact with his current students (go to their poster sessions?). If he doesn't have room for you, though, you may be out of luck. If your heart is set on NU, try to get in touch with the other, less of a perfect fit prof, too. Even if you don't end up working for that one, he or she can help you get admitted to NU.

running_circle, it can be done. You'll want an apartment somewhere on the Red Line (subway) if you don't have a car. (I dunno about parking at UMass... might not be a good idea to drive in if parking is scarce.) When I was living in a 3BR shared with 2 other roommates in Somerville (which is on the Red Line, but rather far away from the JFK/UMass stop) we each paid about $625/month for rent, another $50-150 in utilities (summer vs. winter -- get a place that includes heat if you can! it's the biggest utility expense). I budget about $40-50/week for groceries. A monthly subway pass is another $60. Doesn't leave a TON of money for going out, etc., but you can do it. You might want to look into apartments in Dorchester. It has some pretty unsafe parts, but there are safe, more gentrified areas springing up all over, and the rent is more affordable than in someplace like Cambridge (other end of the Red line) if you're concerned about finances. I can't give much more specific advice as I've never lived in that part of town.

At my last interview weekend I met a professor who was really awesome, so I sent him a thank-you email, very brief, just thanking him for meeting with me and referencing some stuff we talked about so he'd remember which interviewee I was. I also met with the curriculum director for my potential department and he was really enthusiastic about getting me all the info I need to learn about the school and the program, so I sent him a short note as well. But typically you meet with SO many people that it's impossible to send thank-you notes to all...

I just came back from one of these weekends, and they'd scheduled me to meet six faculty. Several were ones I was interested in working with, so I read the most recent publication from each of their labs. The others I was just like, "Oh, they must be on the adcom" so I didn't study their research in detail (just read the little biosketch on each of their websites to get a really general idea of what they do). Try not to freak out too much. This is a good thing, a way for them to get to know you and how awesome you are, not a time for them to scare you with really hard questions. Prepare to answer things like "Why do you want to study [whatever field]?" and "What made you apply to our program?" as well as to talk about stuff on your CV, your experience. They'll probably also give you a brief research spiel where you can ask questions about their work. If the prof has a nice personality, these can actually be very fun meetings.

As soon as you have two acceptances, you should decide which one to turn down so that people on the waiting list can get your spot. Of course, I fail to practice what I preach... but I am planning to let the school I didn't like as much know this week that I will be accepting another offer. (Though I'm not sure what offer that will be, since I'm waiting on 2 more admissions decisions...)

njc, I didn't send thank you notes. I've interviewed at 3 places so far and met with 4-6 faculty at each, also members of the admissions committee and deans who didn't do a formal research interview but still helped me out, plus 2 more interviews to go... that's a lot of stationery! I did send a follow-up email to one prof who asked something more specific about my research (I sent her PowerPoint slides with some photos and graphs) after our conversation. Probably a quick email couldn't hurt... I'll have to do that after this week's interview; good idea!

For graduate admissions songs I'm fond of Teenage Lobotomy by the Ramones -- Guess I'm gonna have to tell 'em That I got no cerebellum Gonna get my Ph.D. I'm a teenage lobotomy ...as a neuroscience person I have to respect any song that rhymes something with "cerebellum," even if that's not the part of the brain that gets removed during a lobotomy.

ks106, you make me blush! I'm no expert, but I have been on some neuroscience interviews already. njc, congratulations on your interview! I was very nervous about my first one (earlier this month) but when I got there it was not bad at all. Everyone was friendly, and while I was intimidated by some of the professors, I found them to be very reasonable in the kinds of questions they asked me. Most of my professor interviews consisted of me talking about my research projects, the prof talking about his/her research projects, and then both of us talking about the school's grad program in general. If you understand the general ideas from projects you've done and classes you've taken, you'll have plenty to talk about. No one really asked me specific science questions, all you have to say is 1) what you did and 2) why you did it, whether you're talking about a research paper for class or a big lab project. On the days when you don't have interviews you will probably be spending a lot of time hanging out informally with current grad students. They are a great resource -- ask them lots of questions! They can tell you their likes and dislikes about the program, explain why they chose it over other schools, and talk about life in the city where the school is located. These people generally volunteered to meet with the prospective students, so they are friendly, enthusiastic, and easy to talk to. Keep in mind that you got this far because they liked your application! All you have to do to get an acceptance is to confirm the impression they already have of you based on your GPA, test scores, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and essays. All of those things indicate that you're a great student, so you probably are! Just be yourself, be relaxed, and they'll know they were right to invite you to their school.

It sounds like you have a good chance for admission at US schools -- I don't think your age will count against you, since you spent your time doing meaningful work at your own business or in the military when you weren't in school. One issue with international students applying in the US is that sometimes US professors don't understand the educational traditions of other countries (and might not be familiar with Finnish universities, which are the best, which are the worst, etc.). So, try to find professors who can explain these things for you in their letters of recommendation. The recommendations are often considered the most important part of the application (along with your statement of purpose essay), anyway, so make it a priority to find good writers for this. Professors are the best option, but a work supervisor from a job that's relevant to your field is okay for one of them, too. As for your transcripts in CS, you should submit them. If your grades are not as good as your math grades, that's okay -- you are applying for math, not CS. But it is considered dishonest not to submit ALL transcripts for ALL universities attended, and it sounds like the grades are not bad, just not as good as your other grades. Really you have nothing to lose except the application fees, so you might as well apply anyway, at least to a few schools! Good luck.

I got some missed calls from a school I applied to and no message, too! I was going insane 'cause I recognized the area code and knew it had to be them. A few days later I finally got an email about it and was relieved.

I think it's always a good sign when they interview you. Since you are local and it didn't cost them anything to have you come visit, it might not be as strong an indication as being flown in from out of town. Still, it's normal to not hear anything for a while after the interview. Typically the admissions committee meets again after doing a round of interviews to discuss the students they met, and make their final decisions. They may have more people to talk to still, or they just haven't scheduled their meeting yet. I've been interviewed by three schools (2 in person, 1 phone) and only one has gotten back to me so far. Often the interview is like a "sanity check" -- they liked your application, so they wanted to meet you and see if you're as smart in person as you sound on paper, and to check whether you seem like the kind of person they want in their program (based on personality, etc.). You should feel good about it!

You don't have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Most of the interview weekends I went on, people dressed up for the day of interviews (men wore a shirt and tie or suit, women wore slacks and a blouse or a pants suit), but were casual the other days. The color of the shirt doesn't matter. Wear whatever kind of undershirt you like. Just wear something comfortable! You don't want to be distracted by your clothes and fidgeting all day.

Ahh, that's discouraging. But I have heard of places only giving you ~2 weeks notice before an interview (esp. if they had some kind of waiting list, and someone changes their mind or can't come). I honestly didn't feel like I was a GREAT fit for their department (seems like almost everyone there does vision, which is not my area of interest) but I felt pretty qualified. Oh well... we'll see.

Got my first ACCEPTANCE! At Albert Einstein College of Medicine. YAY! They were my first interview (on 2/3) and said they'd get back to us with decisions in 1-3 weeks. A week later and I got a phone call from one of the profs I interviewed with to tell me the news. So exciting! I want to see if I get offers from other places, too, and I still have two or three more campus visits to go. But even if none of the other places I'm interviewing will accept me -- I AM GETTING A PHD!

I haven't heard a peep from Berkeley! And haven't seen anything on the web from anyone else who has. I wonder if they're just slow?

Congratulations!! If they're one of your top choices, I would go ahead and RSVP. April 5 is a bit late to have a visiting weekend, since most schools require you to decide where you're going by April 15, so I don't know how likely a schedule conflict is. If you're really worried about it, you could write to them and say you'd love to come but you're trying to work out whether or not you'll be able to visit at that time, and you'll get back to them as soon as you know (it's the truth, but you don't come right out and say you're waiting to see if a better school accepts you). If they're paying for your travel expenses, let them know whether you're coming as soon as possible -- the cost of plane tickets will go up over time, and they will probably try to reserve a whole block of hotel rooms at once. Check the websites of other schools where you applied. About half of mine were up-front about when their interview/recruitment visits would be, so I penciled them into my calendar and worked around them when making plans. (It was sad when one of them rejected me and I had to delete the stuff on my calendar... but not too sad, as another interview later went into its place.)

I'm not sure what to do about working over the summer, either! I'm planning on taking a vacation for part of it (Europe with my lovely SO... it will be grand) and then moving to whatever city houses my grad program. But that leaves maybe two months before I start classes. I doubt anyone would want to train me for a new job just to have me quit two months later, and I don't want to keep a part-time gig while still in grad school. So I may have to start calling SO "sugar daddy" during that summer... (thankfully I have some savings, too, if I don't spend them all in Europe that is).