2018 EEB Applicants: Profiles, Results, etc

[Vaudevillain]

Hi all! Noticed that we didn't have an Ecology and Evolutionary Biology thread for this year's round of applicants, and I'd love to see the profiles and school choices and results of the rest of the folks here applying, and open up a place for people interested in the same subjects to chat! Figured I'd head it off even if it is a bit late. 

Undergrad Institution: Highly ranked small women's college
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): Landscape studies
GPA in Major: 4.0
 Overall GPA: 3.94
Position in Class: n/a
Type of Student: Domestic Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 159 (73%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 5.5 (98%)

Research Experience: 

1 summer of molecular bio research at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK

2 independent half-year research projects: one was forest field ecology with my current PI, the other was remote spatial GIS/LIDAR work in plant ecophysiology

A year in my current lab, started a yearlong Honors thesis at the beginning of this fall semester off the research I'd done last spring with my PI, currently also his RA

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Dean's list every year

School award for "Outstanding Work in Botany"

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Horticulture summer internship at my institution's botanic garden doing non-scientific research (archival research, oral histories, etc) developing botanic garden informational portals

Member of the Botanic Garden Strategic Planning Committee (BG outreach, planning 10-year trajectory)

Campus Tree Advisory Committee (educational outreach in the arboretum)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Solid with RStudio and GIS, presented a poster for a school-wide conference showcasing student research (not very impressive but better than nothing)

Special Bonus Points: 

I should have strong letters of rec from at least two professors who've both had me for 2 classes each and I've done research with both, and a solid one from my lab internship in the UK. One of the recommending profs got her PhD and postdoc in the department I'm applying to for one of the schools

I think I have pretty solid statements/essays, I've gone over them extensively with current grad students, professors, career centers, and even one or two PIs and they've all given a big thumbs-up

 
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Captain of the rugby team

Member of the Social Justice and Equity Committee (working in advancing diversity in the college and developing resources for minority students)

I've contacted at least one PI, sometimes more at every school. They are all quite strong fits with research interests aligning very well with mine, and we had reasonably extensive phone or Skype conversations with them, all seem excited for me to apply and most have helped me with the process and committed to sponsoring me. One PI told me that he would ask for my application to be transferred for free to be considered by another department as well since it would increase the likelihood of me being able to get in and work with him, another couple are writing me letters of sponsorship, and the other two have said they think I'm a competitive applicant and would be a good fit with them. 

Weaknesses: I don't have any publications (though my thesis manuscript is currently in prep and I plan to submit it), and didn't take the Bio subject test, and my quantitative experience is lower than I'd like it to be. Also, my non-Honors research isn't as in-depth as I wish it was because of my liberal arts background.

Applying to Where:

Areas of interest:

 -plant biology and ecology

I'm super interested in exploring biotic interactions involving plants, esp. mutualistic ones and studying them in order to figure out how to incorporate more biotic interactions into climate change community modeling (my Honors thesis explores the potential for mycorrhizal mutualist-facilitated range shifts). Plant-microbe and plant-arthropod interactions are particularly exciting. 

 

Applying for PhD programs in:

U of Arizona EEB

U Miami Biology 

U Minnesota EEB and PMB (Plant and Microbial Biology) 

Michigan State U Plant Biology (EEBB)

Northwestern Plant Bio and Conservation

 

[potentiallylovely]

Thanks for making a thread specifically for EEB!  I'm really interested in hearing about other people's results.  

Undergrad Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Major(s): Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Minor(s):  Environmental Studies, Music
GPA in Major: 3.63
 Overall GPA: 3.72
Position in Class:  top 25%
Type of Student: Domestic Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 158 (69%)
V: 167 (98%)
W: 5 (93%)

Research Experience: 

4 years in an insect behavior lab at Michigan, including full-time work each summer and an honor's thesis my senior year.  I specialized in learning and social behavior in Hymenoptera.  

1 year in a theoretical ecology lab, studying coevolution between seed-dispersing vertebrates and angiosperms using quantitative methods in R

I graduated last spring.  Starting in February I have a 3-month internship in Trinidad doing research on the evolutionary ecology of guppies.  

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

University Honors every year (basically our equivalent of Dean's List)

Graduated with Distinction (for a high GPA) and High Honors (for writing a pretty good thesis)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Worked as a study group leader for organic chemistry at our school's science tutoring center

Peer advisor for the Michigan Research Community, an organization that mentors first-year students who are interested in research

Club officer for our school's EEB club

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

3 presentations:  2 at poster sessions hosted by organizations within Michigan, 1 at a national animal behavior conference

2 publications (kind of):  1 (4th author) accepted and in press, 1 (1st author, with data from my honors thesis) in prep

Special Bonus Points: 

PI from my insect behavior lab is well-known in the field.  And because I've worked with her for 4 years, she knows me pretty well and has (hopefully) written a really good letter.  

Applying to Where:

Areas of interest:  Animal behavior--insect neurobiology and cognition

 

Applying for PhD programs in:  

University of Minnesota--Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

University of Washington--Biology

UCSD--Biology

Cornell--Neurobiology and Behavior (my application will be reviewed by their EEB department too if it's rejected by NBB.  POI has a stake in both departments.)

Arizona State University--Animal Behavior

UNC Chapel Hill--Biology

University of Nevada Reno--Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology

 

 

Edited December 14, 2017 by potentiallylovely

[potentiallylovely]

@Vaudevillain can you post here if you hear anything from Minnesota EEB?  I heard their interview invites go out around mid-December...

Also, best of luck to you!  I think your application looks pretty strong!  

[Entobehave]

Hey @potentiallylovely if im not mistaken sounds like you worked for L. Tibbets? And maybe seeking work in M. Sheehans lab? 

[potentiallylovely]

@Entobehave yeah...you're right.  Didn't think I'd find someone this familiar with my field so quickly.  

If you have any feedback or advice based on what I posted here, let me know!  

 

[Entobehave]

Haha same here, this is the first time ive logged on to gradcafe. Pretty coincidental I guess. 

Your background looks fantastic! I'm sure you'll get an interview. In terms of advice...not sure how much more i know than you, but would be glad to chat in a DM about all this (so as to not flood the forum with a convo).

Surprised we dont have more overlap in school picks since we are both targeting the same field. (Im applying to cornell, rockefeller, stanford, berkeley, ucsb, and princeton.)

[Vaudevillain]

@potentiallylovely I heard back from Minnesota EEB today! The department sent me an email inviting me to the Welcome Weekend (Jan 24th-26th plus optional day the 27th) for an interview. 

[bluemonday]

Hi all! The main thread doesn't seem to have many EEB people, so I thought that I'd post here and see how others are doing

Undergrad Institution: Top 15 in the US, good reputation for biology
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Minor(s): Scientific Computing
GPA in Major: currently 3.72
Overall GPA: 3.69
Position in Class: I fall slightly short of the cum laude requirements for my school as of this semester, but beyond that I'm not sure
Type of Student: International female (from India, studied in various countries though)

GRE Scores: I took the GRE twice (to bump up my Q score), so they're listed first try/second try
Q: 157/160 (76% for the second try)
V: 168/169 (99%)
W: 5.5/5.0 (93%)

Research Experience: I've been working in a genetics & evolution lab (although primarily genetics focused) lab at my school for a year and a half and plan on continuing it next semester. I started the summer after sophomore year, and I've worked on a couple different projects, although none have led to any publication worthy results yet (I did manage to link part of a project to a final semester project for one of my scientific computing classes though). I also worked in a biochemistry lab in a top university in India during the summer after freshman year, but that was only to learn basic lab techniques and such.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list for 4 semesters so far - first semester freshman year, both semesters junior year, and this fall semester. I'm hoping to maintain that for my last semester as well.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Currently working as a writing consultant on campus

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I just presented my work to other bio undergrads + professors, so not a terribly big deal but better than nothing.

Special Bonus Points: Some of our higher level classes are mixed, with both graduates and undergrads. I have no idea if this is common practice or not, but I've taken a few of them. As for scientific computing, I used Java and C++ in my CS classes for the minor, and I've used R for biostats and I just finished working with Python for another course this semester.

Applying to Where:

Areas of interest: molecular evolution, population genetics

Applied to:

Cornell - initially to EEB, but after chatting with a professor I'm interested in working with, it's been switched to NBB. I just got the interview invite today as well.

IU Bloomington - EEB, got the interview invite today

Princeton - EEB

Stanford - Biology, Ecology & Evolution track

University of Arizona - EEB, got the interview invite yesterday

U Chicago - Committee on Evolutionary Biology

UNC Chapel Hill - EEOB

University of Minnesota - EEB

University of Rochester: Evolution, Ecology, Genetics and Genomics

WUSTL - DBBS

Yale - EEB

So I have heard back from 3/11 so far, and I'm anxiously waiting for the rest (good, bad, whatever). Good luck to everyone else too!

[potentiallylovely]

@Vaudevillain that's awesome!  I got my interview invite today too!  I'm really excited--my potential PI's research matches really well with my interests.  It's definitely one of my top choices.  Good luck--I guess I'll see you there!  

[lambda]

Hi all, glad to see the thread and maybe being able to talk more if we all get accepted about our future work.

Undergrad Institution: Standard state university
Major(s): Biochemistry/Biophysics
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: 3.80
 Overall GPA: 3.80
Position in Class: n/a
Type of Student: Domestic Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 155 (55%)
V: 160 (86%)
W: 5.0 (93%)

Research Experience: 

Four full summers during undergrad, 3 years of part-time during school year, had Honors Thesis. Mostly focused on molecular biology with various applications.

Two year stint at the NIH for the IRTA program, again molec bio based with physics and statistics.

1 year abroad, evolutionary bio and molec bio 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Fulbright Research

NIH IRTA

ASBMB degree certification

Various department research funding awards and other scholarships
Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

1 and ~half years as a TA/lab instructor/center tutor

Science writer for a couple of terms in undergrad for the newspaper.
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Done a handful of posters and attended several conferences, won a poster award once.  Started
Special Bonus Points: 

I think I have strong essays, but that isn't necessarily objectively true. I have done significant extracurricular work, but I am worried that will somehow count against me due to low pub number. I don't think it should matter much, because undergrad IMO should be about training and learning what you care about, but I know some schools don't like extracurriculars. 

 I met some faculty in a tour before I left the States, and have been in email communication since then.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Significant community outreach and science communication, as this is one of the things I care a lot about. I have set up a few activities/groups at my university that have continued for 3 years, an

Other leadership about things I am passionate about

Advocate for underrepped in science/health disparities populations and work to close the gap in outreach.

Weaknesses: Only one publication, not a top author. Also have not had the most straightforward journey through research in terms of subject matter, and I think one of my letters of rec points this out, though I am not sure if it is in a flattering light or not. My GRE math score also speaks for itself. 
Applying to Where:

Emory PBEE

Montana State Micro

UCLA EEB

Areas of interest:

 -disease ecology, computational/modeling of disease outbreaks among animals and spillovers, evolutionary predictions of infectious agents

[lambda]

Really hoping for Emory!

[Wall7213]

Just heard UC Berkeley IB has sent out all their interview invites.  There goes that dream!

[behavioral_ecology]

Undergrad Institution: Top-ranked private research university
Major(s): Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Overall GPA: 3.73
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 162 (81%)
V: 165 (96%)
W: 5.0 (93%)

Research Experience: 

8 semesters of working in an on-campus lab, including 3 independent projects

Ecology research abroad for 1 summer through a fellowship

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Fellowship for summer research through my university

Fellowship for civic research abroad (ecology project)

Outstanding undergraduate presenter at an EEB poster symposium at another local university

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Barista for 7 semesters

Sustainability internship 1 summer

President of Wildlife Conservation Club

Head of our campus arboretum social media

Dorm government (environmental committee)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

1 publication (not first author)

Applying to Where:

Interested in behavioral ecology, conservation, behavioral plasticity, anthropogenic affects on local adaptation

 

Applying for PhD programs at:

UC Davis

UC Santa Cruz

Michigan State

Colorado State

Iowa State

Princeton

Columbia

[behavioral_ecology]

And I have heard back from none of them yet. Luckily no one has posted in the Results section suggesting these 7 schools have sent out any invites or decisions of any kind. But the waiting is still unbearable.

 

I did hear from my POI at one place that I was qualified for a competitive fellowship and that he would recommend me for it to their grad admissions committee. This at least gives me hope that even if they don't give me the fellowship, I will likely at least be accepted. But no final word yet........

[Vaudevillain]

@behavioral_ecology I don't know about any of the other schools, but I do know some Michigan State ecology-relevant PhD programs (Plant Biology? could very well have been a different one though) sent out some invites to their recruitment weekend on Feb 1st-4th a few weeks ago (they don't really do formal interviews as much). I'm sure they'll send out more information and possibly more invitations/acceptances beyond those though- good luck!!

 

Edited January 19, 2018 by Vaudevillain

[Halek]

Undergrad Institution: Large State University 
Major(s): Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior; and History 
Overall GPA: 3.5
Type of Student: Domestic Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 156 (62%)
V: 163 (93%)
W: 5.0 (93%)

Research Experience: 

One year in a freshman research lab, two years volunteering in a lab with an independent project at the end.
Primary source research from a history keystone course (this is pertinent to my research interests, I promise)
One summer volunteering at the EPA
Two field technician position at a large state university

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Presented at poster at my undergraduate institution
Presented a poster on field research at a field station poster session and at a small conference on the main campus. 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Tutored students in biology and history for a year 

Ran a blog relating pop culture to science

Two field/lab technician positions (mentioned above) 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

One of the field technician jobs things didn't go...as planned and I ended up running and organizing a large portion of the experiment independently. 

Applying to Where:

I'm interested in how humans (particularly before industrialization) interacted and impacted the environment and how that knowledge can be used to better conservation practices. 

Penn State: Ecology (interview)

Montana State: Earth Sciences

Oregon State: Integrative Biology

University of Oregon: Biology (unofficial rejection) 

University of Maryland Baltimore County: Geography and Environmental Systems

[lambda]

Has anyone heard from UCLA's EEB? I saw one interview in the results spreadsheet but that's the only one. I sent an email today but haven't heard back yet. 

[TheScienceHoney]

Rejected from UCSD Biology and University of Oregon Biology. Wondering if anyone has applied to or heard back from UC Santa Barbara EEMB? I had a Skype interview with a professor there back in November and she seemed interested in me (and she's like, my dream PI) but I haven't heard anything about an interview or rejection or anything yet. I'm holding out hope still, but not sure when I should start to look into backup options in case I don't get admitted anywhere.

[Halek]

I didn't get in anywhere last year and ended up getting a field technician job over the summer (which lead to my current, more permanent job). I'd suggest looking at Ecolog L. I started around right now last year and the timing is pretty perfect because everyone is looking to hire for the summer. 
 

[behavioral_ecology]

Good luck to everyone! I commiserate with the stress of checking email incessantly all day. You all sound amazing and will find success anywhere you end up!

[lambda]

Hi y'all, for any interested, I emailed Tessa, the contact for UCLA EEB and she said that interview notices have all been sent out and final statuses go up in March. 

I did not get an interview so I don't need to wait til March to know the answer...sigh.

Edited January 25, 2018 by lyndyloohoo

[lambda]

13 hours ago, TheScienceHoney said:

Rejected from UCSD Biology and University of Oregon Biology. Wondering if anyone has applied to or heard back from UC Santa Barbara EEMB? I had a Skype interview with a professor there back in November and she seemed interested in me (and she's like, my dream PI) but I haven't heard anything about an interview or rejection or anything yet. I'm holding out hope still, but not sure when I should start to look into backup options in case I don't get admitted anywhere.

I would email the prof and ask! I know it feels like you are bothering them (I'm the queen of avoiding these type of interactions), but people tell me it's a good thing to do. You'll also get a direct answer. And/or email the department contact point.

[lambda]

11 hours ago, Halek said:

I didn't get in anywhere last year and ended up getting a field technician job over the summer (which lead to my current, more permanent job). I'd suggest looking at Ecolog L. I started around right now last year and the timing is pretty perfect because everyone is looking to hire for the summer. 
 

Thanks for the tip. Was this in the US? And if so which area? 

[Halek]

7 hours ago, lyndyloohoo said:

Thanks for the tip. Was this in the US? And if so which area? 

Which areas did I apply, or which areas did I end up working? I applied all over the US, and Ecolog L has job postings all over the US too. I'm working in Michigan now, but I interviewed for jobs in Kansas, Texas, and Massachusetts. 

[TheScienceHoney]

14 hours ago, lyndyloohoo said:

I would email the prof and ask! I know it feels like you are bothering them (I'm the queen of avoiding these type of interactions), but people tell me it's a good thing to do. You'll also get a direct answer. And/or email the department contact point.

I thought about it! I've heard mixed advice about emailing the prof directly though, that it can be seen as annoying. I reeeally want to ask but I also don't want to ruin my chances, lol. Not even sure how I would phrase it.