<p>If one were accepted to this, when would it start? Immediately after graduation from college (Spring) or does it start after the summer?</p>
<p>Or is it flexible and depends on each student? I want to take some useful "extraneous" courses (6-weeks, so it's half the summer) after finishing all of my major courses.</p>
<p>Hey - </p>
<p>In general it is up to the PI whose lab accepted you. In my lab, the post-bacc’s generally start in June, or at the latest the first week of July. However, I know of other labs that let theirs start as late as August. </p>
<p>So, it’s really up to the PI. It’s a great program, best of luck!</p>
<p>Yeah it really depends on the PI. I started mine in October.</p>
<p>Was it hard for you to get into their labs? What did you have on your resumes/what are they looking for?</p>
<p>I’m wondering how competitive this is.</p>
<p>Hey, </p>
<p>Overall, I would say the program is competitive to get into, but then very laid back once you’re in. My experience is probably a bit different than most, since I am located off the main Bethesda campus in DC (I’m at NIDA in Baltimore), so I am isolated from the more central IRTA control mechanisms, lol. Overall, it really comes down to the lab and PI you get hired by.</p>
<p>I was in charge of finding my replacement, so I can give you some hard numbers. I basically narrowed down the many many many applications (hundreds? thousands?) in the central database to about 30 that met our labs criteria (animal experience, prior research experience, GPA, topics of interest, etc… most important were letter of recs). From that 30, about 20 expressed interest in the lab after I contacted them with more details, and from those 20 we interviewed 3 and (obviously) selected one.</p>
<p>Overall, once we got to the interview stage, the lab was just making sure there was good chemistry with the applicants. Then the one that seemed least likely to go postal by the end of the second year was selected… ;)</p>
<p>In all honesty, I have loved my time as an IRTA. If you get offered a position it’s a great place to hone your skills and develop a more mature scientific focus.</p>
<p>Thanks drugs,</p>
<p>so what kind of animal experience specifically did you look for? In my current lab, I have opportunities to learn the culturing of neurons from rats and sea slugs. I know this will differ from lab to lab.</p>
<p>Also, what were some of the important things the letters said?</p>
<p>One more thing, what did you do during the experience on a daily basis?</p>
<p>Ookla - Every lab really has a different set of skills that they look for in an IRTA applicant, there is no generalizable set. Some labs don’t even particularly care if the applicant has any relevant skills at all, since they will be acquired during the course of the fellowship. My own PI simply prefers students who are comfortable handling animals prior to arrival, even though we are a molecular lab, as we can train anyone to do the molecular stuff.</p>
<p>For letters of recc, we just like to see a very positive recommendation that has the student placed well above their average peers. Similarly, participating in research on the same topic for longer than a semester is preferred, and that at some point the student took an independent role in the research. We also called the letter writers when we got down to the top three applicants.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a generalizable sentence or two that can describe an IRTA’s day, since it really comes down to the lab. Just realize that you are there to learn, and that means being on the bottom of the totem pole until you get things rolling. On the plus side, there are waaaaay more lectures and visiting scientists then you would have time to meet, and you are welcomed to all the events. It’s really an amazing opportunity in that regard. I definitely have no regrets about my time in it.</p>