Dear la_faerie_joyeuse,
I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected *this is where the screaming starts* to participate in the NIH-NSF Bioengineering and Bioinformatics Summer Institute (BBSI) Program at the University of Pittsburgh, to be held between May 26 and July 31, 2009. Your official admission and acceptance letter is attached... Thank you, and congratulations. I hope you will decide to join us for the BBSI 2009 program.
-Awesome director person.
For those of you who are in college: it's a time of discovery. It's a time when you can basically do
anything you want. It will be the best time of your life, if you manage your time well. Find what you love to do, and
do it. There is no limit.
For college-bound high school students: apply to as many schools as you possibly can. Try to visit. On your applications, pick an interest/major,
even if you're not sure you want to do that. Rave about that specific program in the school you're applying to, and talk about how excited you are to expand your whole self while contributing to the experience for everyone. (Also, try to do well on those AP exams. When you get to college, you'll be glad to have the pre-reqs out of the way.)
In related news, will anyone be in Pittsburgh over the summer?
Comments (16)
that's awesome! congrats <3
molly just got a letter today that she has 24 ap credits that will transfer. that's a real budget angel ;D
congratulations!!! that sounds pretty prestigious!
Very exciting!
Congratulations. Have fun!
Unfortunately, no. I'm higher up north.
awesome.
well... i could make a visit... but i'm not too sure... but congrats to this new event... this is cool...
Congratulations!! =D Hope you have fun!
hells no.
congratulations :)
Congrats :D
I go to Chatham, which is like 10 minutes away from University of Pitt. My house is like an hour away from Pitt...so I might just pop by :Phow do i know if i should major in math/science? im pretty neutral toward anything and i really need to decide soon. also, what colleges should i apply to? haha
Congrats, congrats, congrats!
Woo. :)
Woot!!!
Any advice into getting into grad school? I applied this year, got rejected, and am going back to undergrad to get another degree (I already have a BS in molecular biology, going for another BS in biochem). I am doing research in a lab on campus...
Oh and by the way, congrats!
@ironic_vertigo - Grad school in molecular bio, or what?
@la_faerie_joyeuse - yes, well, I was trying for pharmacology PhD program.
@ironic_vertigo - Okay. Those are really competitive.
First, apply to as many as possible. I applied to TEN summer research positions, and I have only been admitted to TWO. I am a very strong applicant, with a 3.8 GPA overall and over 3.8 GPA in the sciences. And I'm pretty sure that most pharmacology PhD programs are even more selective than the things I was applying to.
Also get other people to look at your resume, personal statements, etc. Get all the feedback you can.
Get involved in things outside your academic work. Leadership makes your application that much more competitive.
Be sure you tell your recommending faculty about all your achievements and accomplishments. It can be difficult for them to keep straight who is who, and you want them to write you the best letter possible, with as many detailed descriptions as possible. When you ask for recommendations, make sure that it is from faculty who know you well. Then supply them with your personal statements, resume, transcript, and anything else you think might help.
And your undergraduate institution should have an office of career planning (or something like it). Visit that office and ask. Gain whatever knowledge you can from them.
Finally, actually go and look up the universities to which you apply. Find out about their program, what specific approaches and methods they use, and the research of the professors with whom you want to work. Mention why your background makes you a prime candidate for that sort of research, and why you are specifically interested in doing that.
Good luck!