Cookie
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Posts posted by Cookie
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I will be starting in a physiology/pharmacology lab next semester working with seizures doing immunohistochemistry and optogenetics, possibly behavior analysis and should have several publications. I am also required to do two independent projects for my major (BS, biology) and minors (neuroscience, chemistry) requirements. These need to result in at least poster presentations. My lab is with mostly post-docs and grad students, though, so I feel confident that I can get my name on publications- but is not working directly with your PI a negative? Also, pretty sure the lab usually publishes to journals with an IF around 2-3 if that makes a difference.
Right now, I'm starting to seriously look into Yale, UC-Berkeley/Davis, CSU Boulder/Denver, Duke, UNC-CH, UMT, UVA, Scripps, Stanford, UVT, Caltech, MIT, and possibly Cornell or Princeton.
Are there any other schools I should be considering? Obviously, it's hard to tell without GRE scores and another year's worth of courses, but I really want to make sure I'm on the right track and not overshooting things.
Also, any courses that I absolutely must take/ ace for certain programs? Any part of the application process that I should really focus and improve on so far?
If you are serious about applying to the top programs, your chemistry GPA should be improved a lot.
Also, dont expect you will get publications because you will join the lab (It is a little far fetched). Work hard first. You dont get your name on publication(s) unless you actually make contributions to the project(s).
When you do research and develop some research interests, then you can pick programs to apply for grad school. Dont simply pick schools based on prestige. There are plenty of threads on here with helpful advices you can check out.
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LGBTQ folks are no longer considered an underrepresented group in academia. However, a history of extreme financial hardship and/or non-white ethnicity/race both have the potential to qualify you for diversity scholarships -- people who grew up in working class/impoverished households and people of color ARE still underrepresented in university settings.
THIS!
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I'm going to apply for NSF GROW+GRIP as an NSF-GRFP fellow; these opportunities allow fellows to do research in the US or abroad for 2-12 months. To me, it's a long absence from the lab!
I'm finishing the 3rd semester in my program. By December I will complete all my coursework. I have already passed a progress exam and writing my 3rd papers (one submitted and the other two in preparation). So is this the best time to go on a (fairly) long internship 3+ months? My potential collaborators are doing slightly different projects than mine (although there are some common grounds in the theory part), so working with them on their projects would mean spending less time on my current projects. I was thinking about waiting til I finish my current projects/papers, but then it is not easy to predict when.
I'd love to hear from your experience about: (1) When do you choose to do internship? (2) How do you manage working on your internship project and your own projects at the same time?
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Does being gay give you some sort of advantage ? I wonder if I should add it on my other applications as well
Gosh, so being straight would be a disadvantage? It should NOT matter.
- trogdorburninator, Cookie and doyleowl
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TakerUK has great advices!
I would like to add: There is no perfect advisor-student relationship. People change, and their goals/attitudes towards things change. I think it is best to communicate as soon as you feel something is going wrong (slow progress, problems with lab mates etc.), and to remember that advisors are also normal people who have bad days, can be moody. I also learn not to take things personally when being critiqued.
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I attended the first webinar for GROW/GRIP today and want to share my notes to those who are interested. More information can be found in 'Dear Colleagues' letters for these programs.
GROW: research abroad, GROW (traditional) or GROW-USAID (research must related to development of that country) in the list (currently 21 countries, and growing).
*Allowance: on top of the NSF-GRFP stipend.
(1) $5000 travel allowance, to and within the host country, and associated supplies, travel insurance, extra baggage, immunization, by NSF.
(2) Additional in-country support from host: extra each month for housing etc (varied by countries, e.g. $1850 per month in Japan).
*Status/Eligibility:
Can declare reserve or on tenure during GROW.
If you already use 3 years of tenure, you can still do GROW/GRIP in the 2 extra reserve year as long as you havent graduated.
Can NOT declare reserve/tenure for less than a year.
If awarded NSF GRFP during the first year of grad school, then eligible for GROW in year 2, 3, 4 (Can apply after completing the first year of grad school).
Fellows are encouraged to contact the researchers directly to establish the connections.
One GROW application per year. Cannot proposed research more than a year early. Must propose to do research for that year. Can re-apply for more than one GROW.
GRIP: internship at agencies in US.
*Allowance: on top of the NSF-GRFP stipend.
$5000 research allowance, additional research support varies.
*Status/Eligibility:
Can apply within the first 4 years of grad school.
Must go through points of contact on NSF website to search for opportunities at specific agencies (fellows not encouraged to directly contact researchers).
Maximum 2 GRIP applications per year, but must be to 2 different agencies.
Applications for both GROW & GRIP:
The budget justification must include budget for both $5000 and any additional support.
Biological sketch: encourage using standard 2-page NSF formatted template sketch.
Letter of Endorsement not the same as rec letter: what do YOU get out of the experience?
Letter of Collaboration must include how GROW will benefit your host.
The whole application must be in ONE pdf file, in the same order asked.
Can apply and do both GRIP and GROW as long as your advisor approves.
The proposed timeline and any adjustments must be approved by your host, your advisor and your institution (6 months at least from application submission to start date).
You wont be notified if you pass the first round, except for GROW Switzerland.
Acceptance rates:
GRIP: 25 slots this year.
GROW: 2013: 52 awards (87%), 2014: 128 (73%)
Contact:
GROW+USAID: RIFellowships@usaid.gov
GROW: GROW@nsf.gov
GRIP: GRIP@nsf.gov
- husky, gellert, littlemoondragon and 1 other
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My lab is the only French cook of my institution. Sometimes I had a hard time communicating my work with other cooks in my department (particularly to my committee since they cook Chinese and Tex-Mex), but I am learning to explain what I do in a broader context.
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For the research proposal, does anyone know if the title that we submit in the entry form of the fastlane application will be generated in the header (with name, ID, keywords) on our behalf for the reviewer version?
I currently include my title in the upload version... but need that 1 line of space!
You dont need to include the title in the actual file.
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Imho, even though "NSF funds the person, not the project", you should propose a long-term project (> 2 year). Longer projects tend to have more components for you to elaborate. They are likely to have more impacts. In research, one year is a pretty short period of time. In my proposal, I wrote a detailed timeline of 3 years.
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Other parts of your application must be stellar: rec letters, GRE scores, SOP... You can check out the thread for Applicants with sub 3.0 GPA.
What I asked you is pretty much what you should elaborate in your SOP.
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Most applicants with low GPA have better chemistry GPA. If your chemistry GPA is not stellar, why do you want to pursue a graduate degree in Chemistry? Are you confident of your fundamental knowledge?
Unfortunately, your GRE is just average and probably doesnt improve your chances. I have been told If you take Chemistry GRE and get very good scores, then it might help a little.
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I use XeLaTeX and make custom classes for everything, and my favorite fonts are Lato and Adobe Caslon Pro. Lato is big and clear (and free!), has many styles and weights, good for keynote presentations. Adobe Caslon Pro makes all written documents look like Shakespeare's.
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Hello!
I recently discovered a new university (for me) called KAUST. Thoughts about this university? Its authority, discoveries in science and university life (if someone studied or studying). This university has great staff, professors are really good. Also, specifically, what can you say about Applied Mathematics and Statistics?
Before making this post, have you put "King Abdullah" or "KAUST" in the search box under "Forums"? I found quite a few topics talking about this school.
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Limited research experience doesnt outright disqualify you. How much you learnt in the lab though is more important than how long you have been there. I know some students in my undergrad school spent most of their "research experience" petting rats' heads (neuroscience lab). Polish everything else in your application while you gain more experience. Read papers and establish the directions that most interest you, so that your SOP sounds more convincing. TA experience doesnt really help much, but its good to have. But GO AHEAD AND APPLY!
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Thank you for your suggestions. Can I ask what format of bibliography did you use? Was it \bibitem?
I used bib format in achemso package (for ACS journals), but abbreviated journal names. You can do it manually (as text) so that it takes up less space than normal bib, since you shouldnt have more than 10 citations anyway.
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1) My research is in the field of algebra/number theory, so I am not sure how to handle the Broad Impact criteria as it is not going to have a direct influence on the general population. What should I include for this section?
2) Has any one used/is using LATEX to write their research statement? What is format/document type that is acceptable ?
1) BI doesnt mean you propose a cure for cancer. BI can be educational, eg. You can propose a math teaching module that introduces HS students to related concepts in your project.
2) I used LaTeX. The \doublespacing in LaTeX is different from double spacing in Word (you get more content per page in LaTeX). You can easily find the solution in StackExchange, something like
usepackage{setspace}
\setstretch{2}
The margin setting is also easy. Write a simple .cls file for your LaTeX, and if you are paranoid, paste it to Word to be sure its the same format.
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I'm in second year (3rd semester) of Theoretical Chemistry PhD in quantum dynamics. Your research interests to me are pretty vague
Most of the top 50 schools will give you +2 choices of POI. Can you elaborate more about "something with energy applications"? Do you want to do high-level theory to get more accurate excited states, or dynamics, or both? Do you want to do hard-core theory development or just application-based? Imho, when you actually elaborate your interests more, you will see that there are many QM problems and many approaches to these problems. Thinking about it, QM research in electron transfer of biosystems is also related to energy applications -
Unfortunately, international students are mostly funded as RAs or TAs. One STEM fellowship for intl students I can think of is Schlumberger Foundation's Faculty for the Future but it is for female only.
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They are not being difficult, they probably just want to make sure you are not a 5 year-old (that doesnt know how to google).
Since you are too lazy to type "GRE university codes", here is a link:
http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about/bulletin
You are welcome!
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If you dont have a bachelor's degree in physical sciences, as long as you accumulate enough credits in Chemistry curriculum & have some research experience (during your postbacc), you can get accepted to Chemistry PhD programs. Many older students I know have done it.
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Has anyone received the award and not used headings? I think I prefer that style for my essays since I think it makes it more readable and I think my IM and BI will be very obvious.
I did not use headings for BI and IM in my personal statement, instead I had headings for "undergraduate research", " graduate research"... since I wrote it as a narrative.
In my research proposal, I had headings for everything: introduction, research plan, BI, IM, timeline etc. in the same format as a real grant proposal.
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Hey guys, what do you think of the application question: "Is the proposed graduate research plan expected to have a significant international component?" A friend did pretty well last year but was denied the award (She scored mostly VG and a couple G). One of the negative comments made by reviewers was the lack of international component. She answered no to this question and plans to answer yes this year because she thinks it negatively effected her applicaiton. I am wondering if I should answer yes to this question, even if I sort of have to dig a bit to get there. What do you think?
You can pretty much do my proposed project anywhere with a decent computer cluster (so like any university) since my methods are MD simulations, modeling, etc. At the same time, the broader impacts of my project relate to tons of different health issues so I can definitely argue international impact.
I asked this to multiple previous readers and they told me to answer truthfully. 'A significant component' here means if your research plan has international collaboration or data collection will be carried out partially oversea etc. To be honest, most applications do not have any international components. So I think having it makes your app look slightly better, but in no way it will make or break your chances. Also, from what I gathered at my school's fellowship support series, most winners (including me) have mostly VG and E in their reviews. So perhaps your friend's app just didnt make the cut because the scores werent high enough.
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Your verbal and writing scores are awfully low for Journalism schools, don't you think? On the bright side, your Quant is excellent! Do you have time to retake?
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Hi,
Do i have even the slightest chances of getting into a PhD program in chemistry in average Universities. If so then plzz suggest some universities. I am an International student.
My GRE 297 ( v-148, Q- 149, AW-3.5), TOEFL iBT- 102 (R-22, L-24, S-28,W-28), GRE chem- will be taking it in two weeks time.
No publication yet, though manuscript preparation is in progress but not sure if it will be ready on time and i will be only given the 2nd authorship (Though i worked on it mainly).
CGPA in MSc-8.66/10,
BSc- 70% overall, 80 % in chemistry,
Study gap of 2 years Between BSc and MSc due to financial reasons.
Your general GRE scores are too low to even pass the cut-off of many schools. I think you should retake.
When is the best time for doing internship?
in Research
Posted
Thanks juilletmercredi! I will apply for a shorter internship.