<p>Hi </p>
<p>I'm new to this thread...great work...
im an international student...got into baylor cpl of weeks back...still waitin for some results...mainly uchicago...nyone heard from uchicago's mol bio cluster??
hows baylor..been readin some scary posts and some really good ones abt it...ny inside info?</p>
<p>molliebatmit,</p>
<p>I have never heard of the fact students withholding their own tax. I am (well started) in a PhD program in chem eng and I have tax withheld like in any other job. I wonder if you case is special to Harvard or it is common.</p>
<p>RE: tax withholding</p>
<p>I currently am paid by a grant, and we definitely do not have taxes taken out automatically. We are required to pay quarterly state and federal taxes through some IRS forms, and from what I understand the same situation applies to most grad programs. It's a kind of annoying process, but you get used to it.</p>
<p>PS: At UPenn, where I am planning to attend, I've heard that Pennsylvania does not levy any state taxes on grad student grants - It might be the same at PennState, UPitt, Drexel, etc., the other schools in PA.</p>
<p>To lemonkid: Lol. You r right. But there has to be a better justification of the $45 application fee than just comparing GRE scores. That's my point.</p>
<p>To molliebatmit: Thanks for that figure..my school website doesn't mention anything abt taxes..or maybe I haven't looked hard enough.</p>
<p>HELP!!
Anyone familiar with the Immunology field? I am really confused between Sinai and Pitt. I have been emailing professors whose work I am interested in, asking them about lab rotations. Fortunately/Unfortunately, everyone at both places were excited and willing to have me rotate in their labs. Stipends for both places come out pretty much the same after taxes. City-wise, NYC wins hands down (duh!). So should I go for Sinai then?</p>
<p>In case anyone has been waiting for them, Yale BBS has started going through their waitlist to admit students from it.</p>
<p>sydneya, what do you mean by admit? I got an email that says if I wanna come to Yale and that's it.</p>
<p>If they're going to ask if waitlisted students are interested, then they must be admitting some of them..? I'm looking ahead sure, but if they had enough people then they wouldn't bother with the waitlist.</p>
<p>The way I see it, they're garnering interest. They don't need to extend offers to people who already made decisions or for people with no intention of going there (bad for their numbers). What they can do, is to see who all still wants to go and then rank them in another list and offer enough invites to fill their class.</p>
<p>I am a junior and planning on applying for various bio grad schools in the fall of 2009. I work for a biotech company in San Diego and the CEO (PhD U of M, postdoc Scripps) who knows me well said to go to her for some LORs if I needed them. Shes very nice. The problem is you usually send 3 LORs and I'm not sure who to choose from. I plan on getting one form the dean of physical sciences, my organic chemistry professor (PhD - Stanford), and adviser for my club (biology professor, PhD - UC Berkeley). Out of the 3, which ones do you think I should choose? Will a LOR from a CEO of biotech company help me as much as an academic adviser? Thanks!</p>
<p>Did you do any undergraduate research? You should definitely have a letter from your undergrad PI. You want to have letters from people who can speak to your capacity for independent research, rather than your capacity to do well in class.</p>
<p>If you can't decide among four or so people, just send four letters. Most applications allow you to send supplemental material.</p>
<p>boltdude,
Some even let you send more than 3 (up to 6) LOR right on the application. Other schools put only 3 slots, but would accept additional references that are mailed in. I also had 4 references, so I called each school beforehand just to make sure. It also takes a bit more work with >3 LOR because you have to get into the applications early so you have the right paperwork/instructions to hand to your references.</p>
<p>But other than that, I think >3 references works in your favor. As long as they're not "filler" references where the person doesn't really know you, additional references are always a positive. (The admissions committee can smell out right away which LOR are "fillers".)</p>
<p>I think if the work you did at the biotech company is related to what you want to do, then her LOR (the CEO's) is probably your golden ticket.</p>
<p>sydneya,</p>
<p>well I hope they make the offer before april 15th. Are you going to wait out for Yale or are you gonna accept another offer first? Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi, Has anyone received official notifications (admits and rejections) from UCLA Access Ph.D program? Thanks</p>
<p>sunmaya: yes, i got an offer a few days after the interview weekend.</p>
<p>wampa- I'm not explicitly waiting for Yale. I'm still deciding between two other schools right now. I actually don't expect an acceptance because I'll need convincing to go there as I'm very content with my other options.</p>
<p>Thank you Scatterbrain!</p>
<p>sydneya, so did you tell them you're interested?</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I am a newbie to these forums and I just wanted to wish everyone the best during their admissions process. It seems like most of the people here are pretty damn smart and its pretty impressive.</p>
<p>As for me, I am currently a junior at and I was wondering if I can throw some questions out there about the application process. My dream program is UCSF's pharmD/PhD program but I doubt i will get in. Some questions I have are:</p>
<p>1) What if i don't have any research experience? I could have gotten a research experience early on in my college career but I chose to work at a pharmacy and biotech company instead because they actually PAID me. I needed a job that paid badly. But now I kinda regret that decision but I also realize that I am a starving college kid like many others so I can't really blame myself? It seems research is everything these days.</p>
<p>2) I see a trend where if I look at the lab website of some of our faculty's research - there's a section that has a list of past undergrad lab members and it lists the grad schools they went on to. The unusual thing is that most of the past undergrad lab members went on to the PI's alma mater. Is this common? Does the PI literally get them into that school? Also, does this happen with public schools as well? I've always thought you can't get into a public school based on connections?</p>
<p>3) Thanks again everyone!</p>
<p>Hi, astrina. I am an international student from China. I think I will go to the medical school, mechanisms of health and disease, Pathobiology and molecular medicine program. How do you think of that program vs. Penn CAMB? Also, I heard the Med campus of Columbia is not safe? Is it true?Thanks~~</p>
<p>Cornelli2008, I am an intl student from China and I think I met you at Penn CAMB interview weekend. I am now still having a difficult choice between Penn and Columbia. I heard that the Columbia campus area is not quite safe. Have you heard of that?</p>