2015 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[NWFreeheel11]

So, I'm way late to this conversation, but I thought I would enter the mix anyway. My last letter of rec was submitted today! I am done applying and waiting for news. 

 

Any thoughts of insights on my application and/or chances?

 

Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts school on the west coast - school < 2500 students
Major(s): BS - Biochemistry & BA - Biology
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: Biochem - 3.65, Biology - 3.83, Math minor - 3.87
Overall GPA: 3.65
Position in Class: No class rank given, but top 25% for sure
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 164 - 88%
V: 161 - 87%
W: 5.5 - 98% 
B:

Research Experience: 

6 months in an ecology lab (undergrad) - author on a poster presentation and grant proposals

2 years in neuroscience lab (undergrad) - Research proposal award (only 5 at my institution), poster presentation, we are preparing a manuscript but not submitted yet

2 years in an entrepreneurship lab (after graduating) at Stanford - Im interested in biotech, so it fit the theme 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Awarded the highest academic honor my university grants - 5 total in the school across all disciplines. I was the only Math/Science person

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

8 years of tutoring experience, including students with learning disabilities at my university and Stanford

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Varsity athlete for 2.5 years - I know I can suffer

 

Applying to Where:
UIC - Neuro

UIC - BioE

CU Denver - BioE

UMN - Neuro

Boston U - Comp Neuro

UW - Neuro

UMich - Neuro

UCSD - Cog Sci

Yale - Neuro

Dartmouth - Quant Biomed Sci

Cornell Tri-I - Comp Bio

Brown - Neuro

Brown-NIH - Neuro

[mayanway]

Shadowclaw - out of curiosity, are you finding these announcements on the ecolog listserv?  I subscribed for a while, but for me it was too much volume compared to my (relatively narrow) set of interests. 

 

I've submitted all my applications except one, which I'm on the fence about.  POI there does cool wildlife research in East Africa and encouraged me to apply, but said that she wasn't 100% certain she'll be taking new grad students this year since she's planning to retire in 4-6 years.  Plus they're the only school that requires a separate statement of purpose and personal statement...

[NWFreeheel11]

Shadowclaw - out of curiosity, are you finding these announcements on the ecolog listserv?  I subscribed for a while, but for me it was too much volume compared to my (relatively narrow) set of interests. 

 

I've submitted all my applications except one, which I'm on the fence about.  POI there does cool wildlife research in East Africa and encouraged me to apply, but said that she wasn't 100% certain she'll be taking new grad students this year since she's planning to retire in 4-6 years.  Plus they're the only school that requires a separate statement of purpose and personal statement...

 

If you dont apply, you wont know if she is taking any new students. The application cost and time needed to submit is negligible if you get to do something you really want to be doing. I would apply to the last program. If you get in and dont want it, all it takes is a NO THANK YOU. If you dont apply, you may be disappointed. 

[nutellarain]

Okay, finally done with all my applications! Now the waiting starts....

 

Undergrad Institution: Large Public University, Top 20 Biology 
Major(s): Biochemistry
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.62
Overall GPA: 3.65
Position in Class: No idea, most of my classes were curved to 2.5-2.8 avg., so I suppose near top
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:162 (83%)
V:165 (95%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
B: NOPE


Research Experience: 1.5 years in undergrad with a senior thesis, cannot publish thesis as the lab took over my project after I left and are still working on it. 1.5 years as lab tech where I've worked on all sorts of projects, but just writing my first paper now. Will be presenting at a seminar in the spring

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors in biochemistry

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research Associate 

Special Bonus Points: Banking on great recommendation letters, two from my PI's and one from a colleague. One of my PI's is part-time faculty at UC Berkeley and UCSF

Applying to Where:
UCSF - Biomedical Sciences

Berkeley - MCB

Stanford - Biosciences

UCLA - Biosciences

UT Austin - Microbiology

UC San Diego - Biomedical Sciences

UC Irvine - Infectious Disease 

[CancerImmune]

Undergrad Institution: Community College then transferred to Public/Mid-size/Liberal Arts (unknown university)
Major(s): Molecular/Micro/Cell Biology
Minor(s): Biochemistry
GPA in Major: 3.83/3.98/3.91 (community college/state school/overall)
Overall GPA: 3.87/3.98/3.93
Position in Class: Top 1%
Type of Student: Caucasian Male, non-traditional

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 161 (80%)
V: 163 (92%)
W: 4.0 (56%) Not sure what happened here. My professors regularly compliment my writing.
B: Didn't realize it was only offered 3 times.

Research Experience: 2.5 years at current university, 2 of which spent studying cell signaling in relation to autoimmunity. I have my own extension to the project. I proposed the hypothesis and designed the experiment myself. Secured a $1500 university grant for the project. A meeting abstract (3rd author) was accepted for a national immunology conference. Poster presentation at national conference.

1 summer internship: MIT in a molecular biology lab. No publications. Poster presentation at MIT and Oral presentation at home institute. 

 

3 additional small projects I worked on or assisted with at current university. This included one poster and one oral presentation, each at home institute.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: University scholarship for exemplary service to the biology department and university.  

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Supplemental Instructor for principles of biology. Lab assistant for histology. Tutor: genetics, cell bio, organic, physics, ecology, botany

 

Clubs: Women in Science (only male), Biology International club (only non-international), Health Careers 

Peer mentor

 

Organizing free tutoring program for STEM courses at local library, targeting underprivileged high school students. 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Spent 7 years in the automotive industry immediately following high school (mechanic/assistant service manager). This is surprisingly helpful as PI's I've talked with get excited about having someone who can potentially fix equipment in the lab. Also have management experience (never hurts). 

Special Bonus Points: Non-traditional. Father of a 9 year old. (These could help or hurt)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Potentially, but nothing comes to mind.

Applying to Where:

Already applied:
Mostly Immunology programs (some umbrella/cancer biology)

MIT 

Harvard

Yale

Weill Cornell

Columbia

Cold Spring Harbor

U of Penn

U of Pittsburgh

Johns Hopkins

Stanford

UCSF

U of Chicago

Emory

Thomas Jefferson

 

I know this is a ton of schools and a lot of elite ones, but my PI at MIT encouraged me to apply to these types of schools and my interests fit with each of them.

[username1824]

@FuzzyWuzzy you're going to be expected to calculate your major GPA. There is no single definition of a "major GPA" however, most schools just ask that you report one. You can choose to include all the classes that your major requires (so if you're a bio major, you'd include chemistry and math and physics courses if your major required those courses), or you can choose all the classes that are in the subject of your major (so you'd be excluding chem and math courses, just the bio courses if you're a bio major) and I've even seen some people just take the last two years of their undergrad and call that their major GPA. Any one of these three choices is justifiable, I think, so just go with whichever one is highest. 

 

And if you have any questions about Yale let me know. I'm a first year here and I interviewed at Harvard and Stanford so if you have any questions I'm always willing to talk about grad school

[bsharpe269]

@FuzzyWuzzy you're going to be expected to calculate your major GPA. There is no single definition of a "major GPA" however, most schools just ask that you report one. You can choose to include all the classes that your major requires (so if you're a bio major, you'd include chemistry and math and physics courses if your major required those courses), or you can choose all the classes that are in the subject of your major (so you'd be excluding chem and math courses, just the bio courses if you're a bio major) and I've even seen some people just take the last two years of their undergrad and call that their major GPA. Any one of these three choices is justifiable, I think, so just go with whichever one is highest. 

 

And if you have any questions about Yale let me know. I'm a first year here and I interviewed at Harvard and Stanford so if you have any questions I'm always willing to talk about grad school

 

 

Do you really think it is OK to call the last 2 years of the classes the major GPA? I did pretty poorly my first year (but did take a lot of major GPA classes then). I never considered using just the last 2 years and am not sure if it would be a legitamate thing to do. How did you guys calculate major GPA?

[CancerImmune]

I calculated my major GPA by including all courses required for my major. I used biology, chemistry, physics, and math.

[Vene]

Do you really think it is OK to call the last 2 years of the classes the major GPA? I did pretty poorly my first year (but did take a lot of major GPA classes then). I never considered using just the last 2 years and am not sure if it would be a legitamate thing to do. How did you guys calculate major GPA?

In a word, no. I calculated it last year by looking at the courses required for my major and figured out what my GPA would have been if I had only taken them. Functionally, this meant I included any science or math class I took regardless of when.

[blinchik]

Yes, I also did some research and asked advisors, and they said anything that is major-specific and required for the major (e.g. calculus, stats, biology, chemistry, physics, etc.) goes into the major GPA. 

[fuzzywuzzy154]

I just went with whatever my courses defined by my program came out to be - it didn't end up deviating that much anyway from my overall anyway so I doubt it will matter. 

[shadowclaw]

Shadowclaw - out of curiosity, are you finding these announcements on the ecolog listserv?  I subscribed for a while, but for me it was too much volume compared to my (relatively narrow) set of interests. 

 

I've submitted all my applications except one, which I'm on the fence about.  POI there does cool wildlife research in East Africa and encouraged me to apply, but said that she wasn't 100% certain she'll be taking new grad students this year since she's planning to retire in 4-6 years.  Plus they're the only school that requires a separate statement of purpose and personal statement...

 

Yes, I am finding the majority of these announcements on Ecolog. I did find a few on the Texas A&M wildlife job board and the Ornithologists Society of America's job board during my initial hunt for grad programs, but I found that almost everything posted to those websites is also posted on Ecolog. Plus Ecolog is very convenient... I set it to send me the digest each day, and for the most part, professors and grad schools put useful descriptions into the subject so I can scan through the list quickly for ads of interest.

 

I also really suggest applying to that last school. Unless you're broke and can't afford the application fee and sending GRE scores, there's no harm in applying and you might miss out on a great opportunity.

[person5811]

Hello! Here are my stats.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Undergrad Institution: State University (~20'000 undergrads, ranked ~140, with research faculty)

Major(s): Biology (Psychology)
GPA in Major: 3.88 (4.0)
Overall GPA: 3.84
Position in Class: Top 5% for sure, maybe top 1%, will graduate summa cum laude
Type of Student: Domestic, minority, female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 155 - 60%
V: 157 - 74%
W: 4.5 - 80% 

Research Experience: 

By the time I graduate, 3.25 years of research experience total.
-1.5 years at home institution (~20 hrs/week)
-0.25 years at top 10 research institution (40 hrs/week, summer program)
-0.5 years at top 10 research institution (40hrs/week, special program)
-1 at medical research institue (30hrs/week, internship)

No publications to date, but will be middle author on two publications that will be submitted soon (mentioned by my letter writers), and some day another 2 for the other 2 projects (their word, but I trust them)

3 research advisors = 3 letter writers

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

10 scholarships (departamental & national), 3 research awards, 3 research internships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

All my research has been paid

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

I was a tutor and teaching assistant a few years ago (but I don't really mention it on my SOP, it's on my CV)

 

Applying to Where:

MIT Bio
MIT BCS
Harvard BBS
Harvard MCO
Stanford Bio
Rockefeller
UCSF Tetrad
UC Berkeley MCB
UCSD Biological Sciences
UCLA Access/ Biosciences
UCI MCB
UT Southwestern
NYU Sackler

~~~~~~~~~

I am aware my GREs are pretty mediocre, but was told by a facutly in the admissions committee at UCSF I make the cut-off for intial review (and I figured if it's good enough for UCSF, it would be good enough to be considered by other schools). My research experience is definitely the strongest point in my app, is what I was told as well. Pretty much all of the schools I am applying to are "reach" schools. I feel I have a pretty good chance at UCI ant UT, because of previous applicants I personally know with lower stats than me that have gotten in.

Two questions:

1. I was wondering what you guys think my chances are, overall.

2. I was curious to know if anyone has heard from any of these schools yet. I heard UT Southwestern sends interview offers early.
 

[chibimolinero]

Ho boy. I plan on emailing potential PIs this week.

 

Undergrad Institution: Very large state school; Known for medical research

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering

Minor(s): Potentially Neuroscience?

GPA in Major: 3.93

Overall GPA: 3.98

Position in Class: At least in the top 1/5th of my BME class

Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores (revised):

Q: 169 (97%)

V: 165 (95%)

W: 5.5 (98%)

B: N/A

Research Experience:

-Summer research at my school; analysis of miRNA expression in prostate cancer patients; got a poster out of it (presented twice, both just at different symposiums within my school); paper in preparation (co-first/second author)

 

-(technically ~1-1.5 years) Volunteer in an injury biomechanics research lab within my school; helped instrument cadavers for impact testing, cleaned tools, prepared instruments, etc.

 

-(ongoing) 5 months of volunteering in a motor neuron disease lab at my school; work with mouse models, PCR, cryostat sectioning, etc.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Merit-based scholarships? Dean's list?

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Anatomy TA and (one-time) calculus tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: ?

Special Bonus Points: I'm a lady. Does that help at all?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Various campus involvement: leadership roles in students organizations (BMES and AEMB, the BME honorary)

Applying to Where:

All programs will be Neuroscience PhD programs. Interests include adult neurogenesis, stem cells, Alzheimer's/Parkinson's, depression, and anxiety

 

Current list:

 

Harvard University

Columbia University

University of Washington

UC San Francisco

Stanford University

University of Wisconsin

Northwestern University

 

 

My big question is: Do I have too many top tier schools? I'm incredibly nervous about applying to too many "reach" schools and getting in to none...

 

So. I copied my stats that I posted previously, but something came up that maybe somebody can ease my mind with. I had submitted four apps without it coming up, but on Northwestern's app, they asked if I had ever had a disciplinary violation and to explain.

 

Honestly, I had forgotten about it until they asked, because it was so stupid and it was back in sophomore year. Basically what happened is that I took a class that said to treat homework assignments as exams (thus, complete them individually). One of the first homeworks asked us to extract data from a file, and fit a line to the data points using a given equation (all in MATLAB). I did it, but it didn't work right. I emailed my TA and got no response. I emailed the professor and was given no assistance. So I stupidly posted on the Facebook group that had been made for the BME class of 2015 and asked if anyone else had a problem. No one responds, and I just modify the equation to work better. Fast forward, the TA grades the assignment and finds that the labels for the two columns of data had been flipped, and that's why the given equation didn't work. 

 

Near the end of the semester, someone reports the Facebook group to our professor (other students had been using it all semester to ask questions on various assignments). He reported me and several others to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. I immediately email the professor to express my sincere regrets. I waive my right to have a hearing and choose to have it settled via administrative decision. I submit a written statement to COAM, explaining the situation and accepting full responsibility. In the end, I got a zero on the assignment and probation for a year (which I have had a spotless record since then). Ultimately, it was a poor lapse in judgment on my part, based on the pressures to get all A's. Since then I've grown, learned from my experience, and certainly believe that the incident does not reflect upon the person I am now.

 

But ever since reading the question on Northwestern's app, I'm terrified that because I do have a blemish on my record, it's going to stop me from getting in to schools. It doesn't show up on my transcript, so I think they'd have to request a disciplinary record from my current school to see it. But the other four schools I've already applied to didn't ask/offer a chance to explain anything, so if they do see it, they won't have any context. Any words on how schools might take this info or if they'll be specifically looking for it (if they didn't ask anything about it on the app)?

 

TL;DR - I'm freaking out and wondering how screwed I am based on this incident

Edited November 30, 2014 by chibimolinero

[shadowclaw]

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure disciplinary actions on your school record would be covered by FERPA and thus a potential grad school will not be able to access this information without your consent. So if a school didn't ask about it in the application and it's not printed on your transcript, then they aren't going to know about.

[Crucial BBQ]

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure disciplinary actions on your school record would be covered by FERPA and thus a potential grad school will not be able to access this information without your consent. So if a school didn't ask about it in the application and it's not printed on your transcript, then they aren't going to know about.

As part of my job when I was vice president of student government, I had the pleasure to remind parents of FERPA and what it meant.  FERPA is to protect student identities by blocking their identities and locations from unauthorized access.  Like when a parent claims their child has not called home in three days and wants to know if they are okay.  We couldn't even acknowledge that a student was at that school with that name.  

 

My undergrad reports academic probation and dismissal on transcripts-- and doing so does not violate FERPA.  Not all schools do this, though, and some also include other disciplinary actions not related to academics. 

 

What you are thinking of might be AACRAO, which is the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers.  According to the AACRAO it is suggested that probations are to be left off transcripts.  Also, what a university publishes on the transcript can change periodically.

 

@chibimolinero:  you need to oder an official copy of your transcript for yourself to see if it is listed or not. 

[shadowclaw]

As part of my job when I was vice president of student government, I had the pleasure to remind parents of FERPA and what it meant.  FERPA is to protect student identities by blocking their identities and locations from unauthorized access.  Like when a parent claims their child has not called home in three days and wants to know if they are okay.  We couldn't even acknowledge that a student was at that school with that name.  

 

My undergrad reports academic probation and dismissal on transcripts-- and doing so does not violate FERPA.  Not all schools do this, though, and some also include other disciplinary actions not related to academics. 

 

What you are thinking of might be AACRAO, which is the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers.  According to the AACRAO it is suggested that probations are to be left off transcripts.  Also, what a university publishes on the transcript can change periodically.

 

I know that academic probation and dismissals can be included on transcripts, which is why I said "if it's not on your transcript." However, disciplinary actions are part of a student's academic record, and FERPA keeps unauthorized people (parents or otherwise) from accessing that record... or I guess technically, your identifiable information in connection with that record... the wording makes it seem like anyone could look at what's on the record if the information isn't there to identify you. But either way, FERPA makes it so no one knows what's contained in your academic record unless you authorize it. That's why you have to sign off on your transcripts. I'm sure there's a statement somewhere at every school that states what goes on your transcript so that you know what you're sending when you request a transcript, which is probably why they can release disciplinary information on a transcript. Although there is a difference between academic probation and what chibimolinero is talking about. I don't remember off hand the term for that kind of disciplinary action is, but it's not called academic probation.

 

However, the point is moot, because while looking up information on FERPA to confirm whether or not I was correct in that disciplinary actions are covered by FERPA (which they are), I also discovered that there are a number of situations where schools can give out your information without your consent. One of those situations is when a student applies to another school. So regardless of what FERPA covers, your school can provide whatever information they want to these graduate schools.

 

[katsharki3]

With a 4.0, great GRE scores, and great experience, why are applying to only Master's programs?  I have looked into many marine bio/biological oceanography programs and Maine is the only one that requires a solid commitment from a potential advisor as far as I know.

 

UNE:  you will get into this program. The school itself is better than it seems (I used to live in Maine, did some schooling up there) and the marine science there is geared more towards marine mammal rehabilitation, which is a very big deal for UNE (wounded marine mammals get taken there over other locations).  Considering applying myself.  

 

VIMS: for the Master's, you will get in.  I have been talking to them, I'm sure you stand a great chance for the Ph.D., program, too. 

 

I think it depends a lot on the school. I am really primarily interested in doing shark/ray research, so my school choices are somewhat limited. Even within that, my most experience and interests lie in studying reproduction, life history, movement, habitat, etc, which limits advisors down further (even if I did want to do other sorts of shark research, the advisors understandably want their students to have some experience doing the type of work they do). The other two schools I was seriously looking at were branch campuses of TAMU (Galveston and Corpus Christi), and both very clearly say that they will not consider you for admission unless you state that an advisor has agreed to accept you. UNF also similarly says you must include the name of the advisor who has agreed to accept you if you get accepted to the university in your statement of intent, though they don't say they won't look at your application if you don't have one. And luckily I have been in contact with and received an eager response from the professor at UNF.

 

As for why I'm only applying for Master's programs...I imagine this isn't very common on these forums, but I'm not entirely 100% sure I want to go for the PhD. I'm about 95% sure, but I really felt like I wanted to get some more research experience, especially some more experience working with sharks in the field. There's also the fact that since I live in Hawaii for school, I likely won't be able to visit any of these schools. So I also wasn't sure I wanted to commit to a school at this point for 5+ years without visiting it first. I'm not sure this answer will make sense to some people, but yeah. One of the main reasons I am interested in VIMS, though, is that they have a Master's bypass option. They actually do say they very rarely accept students as PhD candidates straight out of undergrad, but you can bypass doing the Master's thesis (and thus shorten your time in grad school) and move straight to a PhD candidate after you have been at the school for a year. 

 

Anyway, sorry this was long. Thanks for your response. I almost went to UNE for undergrad, but they are an expensive school and didn't give me as much scholarship money as other schools. I'm really interested in all four of the schools I have currently applied to and the work I could do there. I'm actually concerned I won't get into any of them, not because of my stats, but because marine biology programs are incredibly competitive, and shark research more so than other fields of study. But we'll see. I'm not solely interested in sharks (though I am very passionate about them), so if it doesn't work out this year, I will probably broaden my searches more next year--still apply to some shark programs, but also I would love to do research with general (bony) fish reproduction and life history as well.

[Vene]

As for why I'm only applying for Master's programs...I imagine this isn't very common on these forums, but I'm not entirely 100% sure I want to go for the PhD. I'm about 95% sure, but I really felt like I wanted to get some more research experience, especially some more experience working with sharks in the field.

I'd actually still recommend you try for a PhD program. There's nothing unethical about changing your mind during it and deciding you're satisfied with a MS (a lot of people do this). Besides, PhD programs are better funded.

[chibimolinero]

@chibimolinero: you need to oder an official copy of your transcript for yourself to see if it is listed or not.

I have an official copy (I guess "official copy issued to student") and didn't see it on there. But do schools separately request disciplinary records from schools of potential students?

[tito balisimo]

So. I copied my stats that I posted previously, but something came up that maybe somebody can ease my mind with. I had submitted four apps without it coming up, but on Northwestern's app, they asked if I had ever had a disciplinary violation and to explain.

 

Honestly, I had forgotten about it until they asked, because it was so stupid and it was back in sophomore year. Basically what happened is that I took a class that said to treat homework assignments as exams (thus, complete them individually). One of the first homeworks asked us to extract data from a file, and fit a line to the data points using a given equation (all in MATLAB). I did it, but it didn't work right. I emailed my TA and got no response. I emailed the professor and was given no assistance. So I stupidly posted on the Facebook group that had been made for the BME class of 2015 and asked if anyone else had a problem. No one responds, and I just modify the equation to work better. Fast forward, the TA grades the assignment and finds that the labels for the two columns of data had been flipped, and that's why the given equation didn't work. 

 

Near the end of the semester, someone reports the Facebook group to our professor (other students had been using it all semester to ask questions on various assignments). He reported me and several others to the Committee on Academic Misconduct. I immediately email the professor to express my sincere regrets. I waive my right to have a hearing and choose to have it settled via administrative decision. I submit a written statement to COAM, explaining the situation and accepting full responsibility. In the end, I got a zero on the assignment and probation for a year (which I have had a spotless record since then). Ultimately, it was a poor lapse in judgment on my part, based on the pressures to get all A's. Since then I've grown, learned from my experience, and certainly believe that the incident does not reflect upon the person I am now.

 

But ever since reading the question on Northwestern's app, I'm terrified that because I do have a blemish on my record, it's going to stop me from getting in to schools. It doesn't show up on my transcript, so I think they'd have to request a disciplinary record from my current school to see it. But the other four schools I've already applied to didn't ask/offer a chance to explain anything, so if they do see it, they won't have any context. Any words on how schools might take this info or if they'll be specifically looking for it (if they didn't ask anything about it on the app)?

 

TL;DR - I'm freaking out and wondering how screwed I am based on this incident

I am not sure what you even did wrong based on your story. You couldn't find the answers so you asked for help and couldn't figure it out. Next, you switched two data samples on your assignment and you get zero points. This is where I lose your story. You say your TA tells the prof about this and you get punished by the school? I have no clue how doing an assignment incorrectly or asking for help can get you in trouble unless you are cheating with it. Chegg and yahoo are options for homework so how is Facebook unacceptable? Your story doesn't fully explain the situation. I Can't give advice because I still don't understand what it is you actually did to get probation.

[chibimolinero]

I am not sure what you even did wrong based on your story. You couldn't find the answers so you asked for help and couldn't figure it out. Next, you switched two data samples on your assignment and you get zero points. This is where I lose your story. You say your TA tells the prof about this and you get punished by the school? I have no clue how doing an assignment incorrectly or asking for help can get you in trouble unless you are cheating with it. Chegg and yahoo are options for homework so how is Facebook unacceptable? Your story doesn't fully explain the situation. I Can't give advice because I still don't understand what it is you actually did to get probation.

The syllabus outlined directly that we were to treat homeworks as exams and thus were not supposed to work with others. By posting a question on Facebook, this violated the rules of the syllabus. This is why I got in trouble.

[Crucial BBQ]

I know that academic probation and dismissals can be included on transcripts, which is why I said "if it's not on your transcript." However, disciplinary actions are part of a student's academic record, and FERPA keeps unauthorized people (parents or otherwise) from accessing that record... or I guess technically, your identifiable information in connection with that record... the wording makes it seem like anyone could look at what's on the record if the information isn't there to identify you. But either way, FERPA makes it so no one knows what's contained in your academic record unless you authorize it. That's why you have to sign off on your transcripts. I'm sure there's a statement somewhere at every school that states what goes on your transcript so that you know what you're sending when you request a transcript, which is probably why they can release disciplinary information on a transcript. Although there is a difference between academic probation and what chibimolinero is talking about. I don't remember off hand the term for that kind of disciplinary action is, but it's not called academic probation.

 

However, the point is moot, because while looking up information on FERPA to confirm whether or not I was correct in that disciplinary actions are covered by FERPA (which they are), I also discovered that there are a number of situations where schools can give out your information without your consent. One of those situations is when a student applies to another school. So regardless of what FERPA covers, your school can provide whatever information they want to these graduate schools.

 

I labeled it as a academic probation because the poster in question said he was placed on probation and that the resulting incident had something to do with asking/posting a homework-related question through social media. 

 

In case I was not previously clear,  I am in agreement with your second paragraph.  

 

I have an official copy (I guess "official copy issued to student") and didn't see it on there. But do schools separately request disciplinary records from schools of potential students?

If it is not reported on the transcript, then yes they can ask.  However, if it is not reported on the transcript then the school has to inform you of the request.  You can say yes, or you can say no, to the request.  The school cannot not move forward until you sign off or deny access. 

 

They probably would not ask unless they have suspicion to do so.  

[tito balisimo]

The syllabus outlined directly that we were to treat homeworks as exams and thus were not supposed to work with others. By posting a question on Facebook, this violated the rules of the syllabus. This is why I got in trouble.

I wouldn't mention this stuff or you are screwed. Grad school is so much about academic honesty, and this won't help your case.

[chibimolinero]

I wouldn't mention this stuff or you are screwed. Grad school is so much about academic honesty, and this won't help your case.

 

I felt ethically obligated to answer "yes" and explain on the app that directly asked about any incidents. For schools that did not ask, I did not mention or explain it. But I'm not sure what to do about an app that does not directly ask "yes or no", but does provide a space to explain any situations.