next »

[hcbr98]

points taken, thanks for the advice, Ill make sure to look through articles and try to find interesting profs that way. I wasnt basing my applications on the school's rep or standing for the most part. I actually got my list of schools from the SOT website (society of tox) and based my choices on the areas that Im interested in, namely schools ranging from Maryland to Louisiana due to the ecosystems they're located in and proximity to wetlands or the Gulf...It just so happens that the vast majority of the schools in those areas are very good (UNC, Duke, Clemson, MSU, UF, chapel hill, Vanderbilt, UGeorgia, LSU, etc).

Im not terribly worried about the ranking of the school in terms of how that serves my PhD, Im just noticing that the majority of the schools Im interested in happen to be very good schools. From the sound of things contact with professors and admissions boards will do me a lot of good. Any ideas on when I should start contacting them If I plan on applying next Dec?

[o_rats]

Bookmarking

[scampster]

Im not terribly worried about the ranking of the school in terms of how that serves my PhD, Im just noticing that the majority of the schools Im interested in happen to be very good schools. From the sound of things contact with professors and admissions boards will do me a lot of good. Any ideas on when I should start contacting them If I plan on applying next Dec?

Late summer, early fall next year. You don't need to contact admissions boards though, just the faculty you want to work with. They are the ones that will pull for you if they want you. The admissions coordinator probably probably won't say anything more than if there are cut offs. Since you are starting early and have defined research interests, you should start coming up with a proposal for an NSF fellowship - your undergrad GPA will hurt you most here, but if you write a good proposal and get a fellowship, then you have written your own ticket to grad school.

[hcbr98]

Since you are starting early and have defined research interests, you should start coming up with a proposal for an NSF fellowship - your undergrad GPA will hurt you most here, but if you write a good proposal and get a fellowship, then you have written your own ticket to grad school.

Good to know

Are there other good sources like the NSF? I know of the Hertz and NDSEG, but I also know those are crazy competitive. I would imagine the more funding I could accrue the more appealing I would be to a grad program

[scampster]

Since you are starting early and have defined research interests, you should start coming up with a proposal for an NSF fellowship - your undergrad GPA will hurt you most here, but if you write a good proposal and get a fellowship, then you have written your own ticket to grad school.

Good to know

Are there other good sources like the NSF? I know of the Hertz and NDSEG, but I also know those are crazy competitive. I would imagine the more funding I could accrue the more appealing I would be to a grad program

I'm guessing EPA STAR would probably work for environmental toxicology as well. Definitely make sure a faculty member (probably one of your references) reads over your research proposal before submitting to any of them. I'll be frank and say I don't know anyone straight out of undergrad (meaning with no grad coursework) who had a mediocre GPA who got one of these though, so definitely don't bank on it for your first year. If you apply during your second year of grad school, you will presumably have a nice grad transcript to apply with (your first year is too early since you won't have first semester grades yet). But I still think it is worth it to apply, because you never know.

[hcbr98]

I'll be frank and say I don't know anyone straight out of undergrad (meaning with no grad coursework) who had a mediocre GPA who got one of these though, so definitely don't bank on it for your first year. If you apply during your second year of grad school, you will presumably have a nice grad transcript to apply with (your first year is too early since you won't have first semester grades yet). But I still think it is worth it to apply, because you never know.

Im not banking on much as of now, but any ammunition I could use to my advantage I will definitely take, even if its a longshot. All suggestions are welcome, so thank you

[jackit_n_tyy]

If you demonstrate interest (by actually doing field work with good references), some research experience, and real aptitude (again, one or two really good letters plus high grades in key upper level courses plus very good GRE scores), and you write an enthusiastic, well-written letter, you will have no problem finding research scientists and program admins who want you.

Basically, what mouseman and others already said.

Good luck!

[alleyoxenfree]

Keep in mind that once school is out in May, many profs scatter to do fieldwork and are only sporadically on email.  Also, they plan fairly far in advance for openings in their labs.  Just my experience from working in a major lab.

Be sure any "big names" they advertise are going to be there.  You'd be surprised how many big names are actually moving somewhere else, or semi-retiring, etc.  Hopefully, when you contact them, they will be candid.
Don't have your parent or advisor contact them.  You'd be surprised how many use an intermediary and it never goes down well.  Make the intro yourself, very professionally, and talk about why you're interested in their work, what you bring to the lab, etc.

There are some good searches vehicles for grad school funding.  UCLA GRAPES is a good start.
Some money is state-specific, that is, some states have more private foundations that give exclusively to institutions in that state.  Duke is well-funded, FI.  You can also explore grants.gov. or try the 24-hour free trial at Foundation Center.  Look at Smithsonian fellowships.

[kron3007]

Another thing you could consider is applying outside of the USA.  For example, up here in Canada, graduate school applications only look at the last 2 years of the undergrad, and we dont use GREs.  Most profs I have worked with up here dont put too much stock in grades, and course work is not as major a component of grad school.  I dont know if this option is of interest to you, but it may be worth considering.

Of course, on the down side, you will have to spend the next 5-7 years surrounded by Canadians.

<Ducks and runs>

I thought the same thing (only in reverse) during my brief stint in the US and A...

As for the cold you could look at UBC (or U Vic), Vancouver is quite warm.  They are also well ranked, do a lot of ecology work, and Vancouver is a pretty nice place to spend a few years.  Of course I am extremely biased on this topic...