getting back into things
Somehow it seems rude to say that I've had more important things to do lately, but, well, I have. For the most part, it's been NSF-grant-related stuff. If you're curious (and I don't know why you would be), I'm trying to choose between writing my grant proposal on some sort of pharmacogenetics experiment looking at secondary leukemias or on an experiment looking at the effects of CDK inhibition on histones. For right now, this means lots of pharmacogenetics reviews. There's some really interesting literature available on the legal and economic implications of pharmacogenetics; unfortunately, I'm not allowing myself to read things like that til I've worked through all the science. Maybe once I do get to read it I'll post something. I'm very attracted to pharmacogenetics as a research topic; the main disadvantage that it has over the histones experiment is that I'm more familiar with research techniques for the histones experiment. I'll get this all straightened out soon.
My G5 came, and it's gorgeous. Unfortunately, between orientation and NSF reading, I haven't been able to get it set up yet.
I went to
REM's concert Friday night (in the company of
Ed and
Amanda). The concert itself was lovely (in particular, the dauntlessly bouncy
Scott McCaughey warmed my heart); the weed-smoking aging hippie retreads, not so much. They played more of Reveal than I might have expected (All the Way to Reno, She Just Wants to Be, and Imitation of Life), but they played two of the songs I like best off of Lifes Rich Pageant (I Believe and Begin the Begin). The opener was
Sparklehorse, of whom I had never heard. I don't know if they couldn't work with the sound system or what, but I couldn't understand a word of what they sang. I tried to write down the lyrics to one of their songs, and here's what I came up with:
Gonna get a little nookie (repeat four times)
Maude Gonne (repeat four times)
Gonna get a little chowder (repeat four times)
I assume these are wrong, as delightful as it would be to have a song about Yeats going to Boston (or whatever we can assume this to be about). I can't seem to find the real lyrics, though.
Today was occupied with shopping and watching a horrible movie. As far as the shopping goes, I can't see what the big fuss is over H&M. Looked like three floors of polyester crap to me, and it's not very cheap at that. Highlights (lowlights?) included a large shawl made out of Cookie Monster, the Itchiest Tube Top Ever (Lurex! Ouch!), the "Do Men Really Wear That?" "Maybe Just David Beckham" Metrosexual Top, and an entire line of clothes for hookers on skis. It's not really my sort of place, though; I'm decidedly untrendy, so cheap, trendy clothes that are only intended to last a season are pretty useless for me. After the shopping, there was ...
Underworld. The movie, while it was pretty terrible (no movie that includes the line, "BITE HIM!!!!" and expects to be taken seriously can be any good), lent itself to all sorts of fun science discussion at dinner afterwards. I think the most significant conclusion that we came to was that the werewolves would be at a significantly higher risk of cancer than the normal population. Oh, speaking of fun science discussions,
ask a biologist already. You slackers know who you are.
The redoubtable
Emily has started a blog, which you should read. Emily makes a damn fine enchilada, and she has been known to be down with the
sake pot.
From here on out, I expect I'll be back on the normal update schedule. Is that a good thing?
catching up
I've been in Naperville for the past week or so, taking some time off before orientation. So far as I can tell, I've turned into a nerdy grandmother--all I've been doing is working on my NSF grant, knitting (a hobby I picked up two days ago), and walking the dog. Also, lots of MTV2.
I have also been reading the best book ever. Jessica Mitford's
The American Way of Death Revisited (a revision of 1963's
The American Way of Death is a scathing and hilarious critique of the funeral industry. I'll be able to speak more cogently about it when I've finished it, but I encourage you to read it.
Oh, and I've joined
Will's evil dominion of comment-free blogs. I do think I like things better this way. If you do have any comments on anything, please feel free to
email me. I imagine this will be more relevant when I'm posting actual content.
on the mass
Kathleen blogs on the Latin Mass (and some basic etiquette). I used to think that I, too, preferred the Latin Mass. I still do on a purely aesthetic basis (don't see no lifeteen shit in a Latin Mass), and I do think that it's an experience that every Catholic should have. However, I'm a little too pro-Vatican II to really embrace Latin Mass--I think that the importance of the assembly that's stressed in the modern Mass (lay ministry, the position of the priest, recitation of more parts of the Mass by the assembly, and use of the vernacular) is Vatican II's most crucial legacy. It's the only regular reminder that most Catholics have of the catholic mission of Vatican II--to promulgate the call to holiness of all people. While we've lost the beauty of the Latin, I can't consider it anything but a necessary (though regrettable from an aesthetic standpoint) sacrifice.
And good God, people, of course you're not supposed to clap for liturgical music. Weren't you raised right?
how to get into graduate school in biology--the visit
preface
In case you don't know, there are two kinds of visits--the interview weekend and the recruitment weekend. On an interview weekend, not everyone invited to visit will ultimately be accepted, so the weekend is your last chance to pitch yourself to the school. On a recruitment weekend, pretty much everyone who's invited will be accepted, and the school's trying to pitch itself to you. This isn't to say that you should behave differently at the two kinds of visits, though--the following advice applies for both sorts.
general tips for grad school visits:
- BE NICE--this is by far the most important advice I can give you. Yeah, you're being judged primarily on your research and your intellect, but at the end of the day, no one wants to work with a jackass. I'm not just talking about being nice to the faculty--at some schools, current graduate students get to weigh in on whether prospective students should be admitted, so be nice to your student hosts as well (more on that later).
- Be prepared to talk about your research (in little words, if necessary)-- if you did a good job on your personal statement, this should be pretty easy. One situation that can be a little sticky is if your undergraduate research is in a very different field than the program to which you're applying. Take my case--I did my undergraduate research in plant genetics (more specifically, I was trying to identify genes in the salicylic acid signaling pathway using a suppressor screen). I applied to graduate program in cancer biology. After my first round of interviews, I revised my little research spiel to include more background and more analogies to human systems (some of which were rather stretched, I admit). Welcome to the world of specialization--even the most brilliant professor may not be especially informed on (or interested in) a subject quite outside his field. Present your research at a level that engages your audience (and make sure not to be patronizing).
- Be prepared to not talk about anything at all--for every interview in which I was grilled on my research or my grades, I probably had two in which the interviewer spoke for nearly the whole time. If this sounds boring, it really isn't--I heard some really fascinating mini-lectures about DNA repair pathways, viral oncogenesis, and developmental signaling pathways, not to mention the best overview of the RNA world hypothesis I've ever had. Listen and learn. If a professor's work sounds really interesting, this is a good time to ask her if she plans to take on any new graduate students in the next few years; you really don't want to attend a program to find out that the professor you liked best is not taking any students or (worse) is leaving the institution.
- Take naps--you can laugh, but recruitment visits can be very wearing, and you'll look like a big idiot if you're nodding off during an interview.
- Grill the graduate students as much as you possibly can--they're in the best position to speak about how the program treats its students. Ask them about their labs--some institutions have a lot of labs with a PI, a postdoc, a tech, and two or three graduate students, others have lots of larger labs or a mix of both types. Ask about the working environment. Ask about the attrition rate--you might be unpleasantly surprised by what you hear. Ask about their future plans--do most students go into academia or industry? Ask about the classes. Ask about the program's administrators--good administration can make your life easier in a million little ways. Don't be afraid to ask about less academic things (housing, the health insurance plan, the social life); while these factors may not be relevant to your decision, they're good things to be informed about in case you do choose that program.
- Make friends with your fellow applicants--one of the best things that came out of my interview process (aside from actually getting in) was that a group of us who all applied to UW-Madison (which is a really excellent school, by the way, especially for virology) ended up emailing each other all during the application process. It's really wonderful to have people who can help you compare programs, figure out housing arrangements, snark about schools you didn't get into, or just sit around and completely overthink the whole application process. Seriously, this is something you should do.
- Uh, watch it with the booze, if you're into that sort of thing--so they literally wine you and dine you at interviews. There was always a bar trip (or several bar trips) at the ones I went on. Nothing wrong with going out drinking, but it's probably not a good idea to make a complete fool of yourself. Also, do you really want to be hung over for your interviews?
- And finally, have fun--the weekends are supposed to be enjoyable, you know. Enjoy your (dorky) mini-vacation.
swamped
Apologies for my inactivity of late. I've been preoccupied--first, and most wholly, by my NSF application, secondly by
mycoplasma infection of my poor cell stocks, and thirdly by
rhinovirus infection of me. Not too much I can do about the latter two at this point, but if anyone has any helpful hints on how to get an NSF graduate fellowship, I'd love to hear them.
Oh, and does anyone want to go to the Mates of State concert on Thursday?
how to get into graduate school in biology--the application
I was inspired by a recent post on
Tacitus to tell you all how to get into bio grad school.
First of all, let's define what I mean by biology graduate school: a fully-funded doctoral program in biology. I understand that there are reasons for getting an MS in biology--you have more opportunities for advancement in a biotech firm, and you can do pretty well as a lab tech--but this isn't a path I'm going down, so I really don't know much about it. And I can't fathom why anyone would go to a graduate school that didn't waive their tuition and pay them a stipend. This is science--if it's a good program that wants you, it'll pay for you. Why would you go to a bad program, or a program that didn't want you? Better to wait a year and reapply.
The average application includes the following components (individual breakdowns follow): GPA/transcript, GRE scores (definitely general, possibly subject), a little bit about your research experience, faculty recommendations, and personal statement. I can't tell you which of these is most important--that really depends on the school, and anyway it seems that graduate schools tend to look at their applicants more holistically. A student with fair-to-middling GREs isn't going to be automatically rejected if they have a good GPA, impressive research experience, and glowing recommendations. Similarly, fantastic GREs can offset an unexceptional GPA (personally, I think this is pretty silly, as GREs are not a good predictor of graduate performance, but no one asked me). Don't worry too much if you have one weak area on your application so long as you can make it up elsewhere.
the transcript and the GPA
Obviously, your classes are important. I'm not going to go into the "three quarters of organic chem, two quarters of physics" ... rigamarole; a graduate program will generally tell you what courses it expects you to have taken. One thing I'd recommend (and this is especially important if your undergrad institution has pretty loose core requirements) is that you take a few biology courses that involve a lot of writing. It's not going to do you much good to have excellent research experience and plans if you can't write about them as a scientist. Furthermore, focus on courses that make you keep up with current research, especially ones that have you read a lot of journal articles. If you can't get enough experience reading articles in class, join or start a journal club. Reading journal articles isn't only a good way to learn about new developments in your field--it's also essential for learning techniques and experimental design. In graduate school, you need to know how research works. When you're designing an experiment, you need to know what techniques are relevant to answer your question, what exactly they can and cannot tell you, and how you're going to set up controls. A lot of undergraduate classes (and a lot of undergrad programs) do not focus at all on experimental design, to the great detriment of their students. Oh, and as far as GPA goes, don't be one of those grade-obsessed morons who takes the easiest classes he can find. Take the most challenging courses you can find. You needn't take ones that are hard because the instructor's bad, or that you find difficult because the topic isn't relevant to your interests, but it's important that you challenge yourself. A student with decent grades in a bunch of graduate classes will look better than a student with excellent grades in basic courses. Of course, a student with excellent grades in a bunch of graduate courses looks
really good.
the GREs
You'll definitely have to take the general GREs, which, I assure you, are NOT THAT HARD. I tend to think that science students have an advantage over humanities students in the GRE--humanities students can forget math, while you're pretty unlikely to completely lose your verbal skills after English 101. So don't go wasting thousands of dollars on prep courses unless you know that you have some sort of testing problem. That said, it's still a good idea to look over a prep book, particularly one with sample tests. I used the Princeton Review's
"Cracking the GRE" book--while the errors I found in the math problems annoyed me, the tests on the included CD-ROM were helpful in familiarizing me with the format of the test. If the math errata are going to bug you, too,
Kaplan also has a book/CD-ROM combo to try. Note: the GRE has now dropped the analytical section (logic puzzles) in favor of a writing section, so devote your time accordingly.
As far as the subject exam goes, please make sure you need to take the exam before you go ahead and take it. Not all programs require it. Also, make sure you're taking the right test. The exam in Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology is newer than the regular Biology exam, so many grad schools aren't especially familiar with it. Also, it's supposed to be considerably harder--that is, a lower raw score corresponds to a higher percentile. My advice is to just take the Biology exam, which is pretty straightforward and easy, unless you need the other exam. And by all means, do NOT use the
Best Test Preparation book (I'm linking to Amazon only so that you can see its cover and all of the horrible reviews). This book is purely awful--the tests are nothing like the actual GRE, and the book is filled with errors large and small (including the misidentification of molecular biology as microbiology and vice versa). DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. The GRE tests provided by ETS are by far the best study guide.
the research
When I am a powerful department-mistress type, I shall not accept as a graduate student any student who elected not to do research as an undergraduate. If you are at a school where you can work as a research assistant, you absolutely must do so. It's a good idea to start working in a lab in your first (or early in your second) year as an undergraduate. Starting out as a dishwasher/media preparer is fine--it's a good way to get to know the people in the lab and see who you might want to work with. In the summer of your first year, try to work on a research project, whether you're a student assistant or an independent researcher. Once you gain enough experience in one lab, you can move to a different lab if your research interest changes (though staying at one lab is a rewarding experience as well). Also, it's important to talk about your research whenever you can--data club, lab meeting, formal presentations, boring random people on the street, whatever. You need to be able to speak intelligently about your research and to understand why your research topic is important.
While the main benefit of undergraduate research is that you're getting an early start on your career, it has lots of side benefits--you can throw together a B.A. really easily, and you're more attractive to graduate schools and grant-giving foundations. For some people, taking a year off after graduation to do research (and make money!) can be a good option--not only are you more attractive to grad schools, but it's easier for you to go on recruitment visits when you're not missing classes.
the recs
Faculty recommendations are fairly straightforward. Don't ask for a recommendation from a big-name professor who doesn't know you well. If you have done research, get a recommendation from your PI (or have a really good explanation for why you don't have one, because people will ask). If you do well in a class that's relevant to the field you want to study, ask the professor for a recommendation at the end of the class (this is where a service like
Interfolio, which will hold onto your letters of recommendation for up to five years, is helpful). Basically, get recommendations from the people who are most familiar with your best work. Bear in mind that schools generally want no more than three or four recommendations--you can collect more if you're not sure which ones you want to use, but don't send the school more than it wants. Two final points of advice: I'm sure I don't even need to say this, but you always want to send a SEALED letter of recommendation (i.e. one that you aren't allowed to read). Unsealed letters are worthless. Also, make sure you give professors plenty of time to write your letters. At least two months is ideal.
the personal statement
Now, your GPA may be nothing remarkable, your GREs might be fair, you may not have a lot of research experience, or you may not know people who can write convincing letters of recommendation (okay, the last one's fairly unlikely). These are things you can't easily change. However, the personal statement is completely up to you, and it should be a positive addition to your application. Note: it's important not to confuse this personal statement with the kind required for med school and law school applications. Graduate admissions committees do not want to know about how your weaknesses have made you a stronger person or whatever. Also, you don't want to get overly creative with your personal statement--a friend of mine was told that the "originality" of her personal statement almost cost her admission to one of the programs she was considering.
Here's what you should cover:
- why you are interested in the topic--here, I don't mean "I want to cure cancer and save all of the fluffy little bunnies", but "My interest in cancer biology began with a course on cell signaling in which I studied the NFkB pathway." Talk about what piqued your academic interest in the topic. Talk about what you hope to do with your degree. (Note: if you really want to teach, mention it here and get used to not talking about wanting to teach for the next five or six years. It seems to be frowned upon in research science.) This is basically your introduction.
- how your academic/research background has prepared you for graduate study in the topic--here's where you talk about your undergraduate research. Also, mention graduate classes you've taken, special programs you're participating in, and whether you're graduating with honors.
- why you want to go to this particular school--obviously, this section is different for each school. You can address the program itself--it's interdisciplinary, it's affiliated with a teaching hospital or a museum, it's the right size for you, or really anything special about the program that attracted you--and you absolutely must talk about specific professors in the program--"I am interested in the work of Professor X because of her work in the field of Y" and such. Presumably, you are applying to the program because you are interested in the work that's being done there (if you are applying for any other reason, you should seriously, seriously consider reevaluating why you're applying), and it's good to let the school know that you've looked at their faculty to see whose interests complement yours (and if you find that no one's interests complement yours, APPLY SOMEWHERE ELSE). A word of advice--this section is likely to determine who you talk to on your interview. It behooves you to be familiar with the work of the people mentioned in your application. It's fine to "discover" someone's work while writing your personal statement, but make sure you look over a few of their papers before you talk to them.
If you're familiar with any professors on your undergraduate institution's graduate admissions committee, ask them to look over your personal statement--they'll have the best perspective on how it will be judged.
That's about all I have to say regarding the application, save this: make sure everything you hand in is well-proofread and on time unless you want to look like an unprofessional, inconsiderate slob.
Notes on "the visit" and "the decision" will follow.
Edited for typos and wayward parentheses, and also to direct your attention to some excellent advice at Pharyngula on why not to apply to grad school.
