NeuroGal

It depends on the competitiveness of the schools you are applying to. A 3.5 isn't mediocre but it's also not stellar. I'd say it wouldn't hurt your application but it alone wouldn't add to it. If other parts of your applications have strengths (GRE scores, letter of recs, publications) then I wouldn't worry about it too much. PS: A 3.5 in chemical engineering is a lot better than a 3.5 in english. I think you will do just fine to apply to whichever schools you want to.

I see this situation a little differently based on my own experience (I have publications and have given numerous presentations). When writing publications, I WANT my mentor to shred it apart. It doesn't matter if I agree with it or not, it is necessary to teach me. I believe you are looking for a pat on the head when the point of her mentoring is to make your work better. This will prepare you far better than simply giving you positive reinforcement and saying that it's perfect. The reality is that drafts are almost never perfect and you will have to take a stand for what you believe it. On my last presentation, my mentor at the time gave me advice and he kept wanting to insert things or change things. I finally told him that his idea was very helpful but I respectfully disagreed. Furthermore, she is preparing you for reviewers which can be ridiculously harsh on your papers. Understanding your needs versus what her role is as a mentor would be helpful for you to not internalize the criticsm. If you need positive reinforcement and encouragement, you should ask her for it. Ask her things like, "What are the stregnths of this paper/presentation?" Be upfront and tell her that understanding the stregnths as well as the weaknesses is valuable for you to improve and maintain morale. If your morale is dropping because of her harshness, use that as an opportunity to assert yourself and tell her. I've had to do this before. I worded it something like, "I appreciate all of your effort as it is helping me create a quality paper. However, some of the comments seem harsh or overly critical to me which is affecting my confidence. It would be helpful if you could strike a balance between the positives and negatives." She's a new mentor so she is relatively inexperienced. She is probably completely unaware of how she is coming across. You could significantly help her and help yourself by providing her constructive criticsm.

When I had my interview with my top choice PI she was amazing! We hit it off spectacuarly and she proved an excellent thought mentor. I was able rotate with her but I later learned that funding is a serious issue in her lab and she was fairly far removed from the day to day work. I realized through working there that I appreciate people who are actually in the lab doing research (this isn't all that common, but it is possible to find) and who have a strong work ethic for conducting research. In addition, the laboratory was a little too unstructured for me which is not something I would have realized during an interview. My point to you is, had I gone to the program only to work with her, I may have found myself unhappy. I know a friend who recently went to work for one mentor and is having a miserable time. His mentor is hardly ever there, wants to move his research in a completely new direction, and provides very little actual mentoring. My friend had no clue about this because they also hit it off well. Going to a school for one person is very risky. How will that person deal with conflict? How will they correct you if at all? Does the laboratory have a good environment for your personality? Do they have several RO1s or are they in the process of reapplying?

You also should consider the cost of living for the schools that you are applying to. 20k may be better than 30k depending on the city.

In my field stipends can also refer to fellowships. I have a stipend but no teaching/RA requirements as well as full tutition coverage.

I am familiar with the field but in this case I don't think the schools matter as much as what you said. The crucial thing is: one PI. You do not want to bank your career on 1 person because numerous things can go wrong. What if they have a family emergency, retire, a horrible personality, change their line of research, go on sabbatical, go crazy, lose funding, etc. Both are actually excellent programs and you would do well at either. You are basing this decision on where you are at right now in your life. Your own interests can change throughout graduate school and ultimately it's better to have options. This was difficult for me when I was applying to neuroscience programs. I wasn't sure whether I wanted a rotation based model or a mentor model and what worked for me was a rotation model. I'm so glad because now that I am a couple of rotations in, I realize that the person I thought I wanted to work with really isn't the best fit for me. In addition, my interests changed dramatically and I am doing something completely different from what I intended on!

For what program?

Fit, fit, fit, fit! If you are miserable the chances of you failing increase. You want to be successful in graduate school because that will enable you to build a successful career. The more successful your career, the more money you will make to pay off your loans.

I was accepted into almost all schools I applied to with full funding for 5 years to all of them and a living stipend (which varied). I'm in the biomedical sciences so it's a little bit different but it was hard to figure out what would be a good fit for me. If you move far away from your current home, how well will you fit into the program? Some of the schools I applied to were in the top of the nation but their student body was disconnected, competitive, or alienated. I wanted to feel comfortable and connected with my schools so I focused on what would be a good fit for me personally. Do not underestimate the value of connecting to your peers in graduate school. When times are tough you will have someone to lean on which is critical for success. If you are in a collaborative enviornment, it will be easier to make longer, lasting connections for your career. In your field, I see this as very valuable for you.

I'm new to this thread and forum. I've been obsessing about when I'll find out so it's nice to have a place I can do this. I'm dying to know! I know many talented people who applied this year so it will be interesting.