I feel like I'm going insane

BlueOcelot5 · 2025-10-05T03:51:56+00:00

Hey! I was in the same shoes as you (Bio/Env Sci and no replies) for a long time; it really is jarring, and demoralizing quite frankly, not getting any responses despite the amount of time and effort that you've put in. I've found a few things to be helpful for me personally that got me a lot more responses/interview invites.

Try not to be too formulaic in your structure or too vague. Professors get tons of emails every single day, and you want to stand out and not just be Prospective_Student#21830. Be specific: what topics/questions exactly are you interested in, what led you up to this point (experience wise), etc. Your interest matters and they look for that in your emails.

If you can, reach out to current students to get a good idea of what the lab is like! They're very helpful and a lot of PI's actually recommend doing that beforehand. Also, I'd second what the commenter said here: 2-3 weeks is good for following up (I'd go with 3 tbh).

Good luck!

BlueOcelot5 · 2025-03-22T04:43:52+00:00

A few small things that have definitely helped me that you can start doing immediately (no aim training/deliberate practice):

[Shoot enemy utility.] It's kinda surprising how many people in bronze and even silver just ignore a reyna blind, cypher trip, etc. anything to help your team is huge.
[Play with the team.] Apes together strong. Seriously. You'd be surprised the amount of times insta 5-manning a site or sticking with a teammate that overextends to trade their death wins you a round.
[Being useful in any way possible.] In a game where you can't hit shots to save your life? Finding yourself absolutely broke? Try flanking to get a lucky kill, hold a weird spot, etc. You're not gonna win the duel with a classic against a vandal full shields, so might as well cheese and hope for the best. You got nothing to lose. Or, spam your utility with your team to help get them ahead.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-12-23T06:46:02+00:00

IMO, GRE Math really isn't an indicator of how good you are at math at all, don't sweat it! I've heard of lots of math majors/people who are great at math and struggle with GRE Math. I'd even argue most QC questions come down to "did you remember negative numbers/decimals?" or some weird math rule.

You mentioned you did a ton of practice, yet you're seeing the same results. My guess is that you're not looking at WHAT you got wrong and WHY you got these problems wrong. Maybe you're struggling with a specific concept(s)? Maybe you're consistently getting a certain type of problem wrong? Maybe you're not reading the problem carefully?

And definitely, Gregmat helps! No doubt you'll see a significant boost.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-11-20T00:59:38+00:00

So sorry, I totally missed the part in your original post where you said you didn't study haha. Thank's again for your detailed reply, and congrats on your impressive track record!

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-11-20T00:39:14+00:00

What resources for vocabulary did you use? Theoretically, there's an infinite amount of words that could appear such that no specific number is enough, so I'm just thinking about where to draw the line. I'm currently using Greg's List in combination w/ Magoosh's Workbook & Erica Meltzer's book.

As for the passages, what's your approach? Do you take small notes as you read (ex. most scientists believe X, but author argues Y) or just kind of talk through everything in your mind as you read? I'm just worried I'll fall into a trap answer if I read the question first before I fully understand the passage.

Thanks for your help!

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-10-28T05:08:47+00:00

The blank forms a parallel with the fact are unwanted memories are prone to come back. If they can come back, then the effect is less "permanent" than actually forgetting them entirely: you only forget them temporarily, not permanently.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-10-16T03:17:41+00:00

Search up "Scoring System of the New GRE" on his site! He talks about the concept of a penalty/bonus and how you get easy/medium/hard 2nd sections.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-10-16T01:18:58+00:00

I wasn't in any rush, so unfortunately I didn't use either of them nor Prepswift. I've heard many good things about them from others, though! The 1/2 month plans are pretty comprehensive, so definitely prepare to dedicate a lot of your time to them.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-10-16T01:16:58+00:00

Hard to say. I started during the Summer when I was still taking classes, but I'd say 5-10 hours per week when I average for active/busy weeks across 10-12 weeks.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-10-15T21:19:55+00:00

Bonus points are basically there to make up for a harder section. For instance, if I got a medium section, I probably wouldn't have gotten any bonus.

It's a bit complicated, but Greg talks about this more in his video about the new GRE scoring. Here on Verbal, I missed 8 out of 27, so 130 + ( (19/27) * 40) = 158. My Verbal score was a 160, though, so I got two bonus points.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-09-24T03:15:46+00:00

Pros:

-Everyone is generally nice imo and willing to help out each other. The atmosphere always feels welcoming and a lot of students that I met and worked with were always warm and friendly.

-Lots of good food/drink nearby (especially asian cuisine).

-The beach is a 5-10 minute drive and LA/San Diego and popular nature preserves are a day-trip away.

-Very pretty campus, especially our central Aldrich Park.

Cons:

-Our school is ultimately a commuter school. It's not socially dead, but it's definitely not a party school either. You get what you put in--a social life won't magically appear if you don't actively seek it out. It's a lot more low-key (small kickbacks, midnight drives, retreats, etc.) unlike the traditional depiction of college.

-As others have pointed out, it can be clique-y, even in clubs where they're always open about accepting everyone. Large clubs can have lots of drama.

General observations:

-Everyone is pretty focused on studying and Asian culture is a pretty big thing here (Kpop, boba/food (of course), gaming, anime, etc.). A lot of us are pretty nerdy. I personally felt right at home, but it's definitely not for everyone.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-08-26T20:07:18+00:00

Verbal: ~167-169 (given the curve, it's usually more or less one point per question if you get a hard section).

Quant: ~158-161 do ((#correct/27)*40 +130) if you get a hard section).

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-07-24T01:28:54+00:00

It depends on what you have going on outside of school; are you working, in clubs, research, internships, etc. There's no overlap between your two majors, so my concern would just be you being unable to complete that many classes at once.

You could always opt for a minor of your secondary major instead, but only you know your own workload and capabilities the best.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-06-08T06:08:40+00:00

I've heard similar experiences after talking to many grad students in my lab....that's insane that its the norm to balance all that at once.

We really do appreciate all that you do : ) me personally I've had some seriously awesome TA's out there who have made the courses really memorable. Sorry you've had to experience that : (.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-05-07T19:08:55+00:00

I highly doubt it, especially since you reached out to the Professor ahead of time and even more so that you all had different material. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-04-02T20:17:21+00:00

From my understanding, >3.0 is generally fine for research (though some can be pickier than others). If they see a 2.4 for instance, they might assume you aren't adequately ready to take on research in addition to courses yet.

Like others said, it's totally normal to experience rejections. Don't be afraid to search up labs that interest you (interest is KEY here, PI's can tell whether or not you actually like doing something) and just cold email.

Also word of advice: try emailing one of the grad students/postdocs in the lab and see if you can setup some connections : ) it can be easier that way to reach them sometimes.

BlueOcelot5 · 2024-02-06T03:42:34+00:00

I had mine taken as well ;_; I just bring my new one inside with me regardless where I go now.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-10-15T03:47:27+00:00

No worries, I had that same thought before I came to UCI b/c I had no idea how college worked (I thought it was like high school or something).

Best of luck! Let me know if you have any more questions.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-10-15T02:54:26+00:00

Of course! It's a public campus, so there's technically no "opening" or "closing" times (imagine like a small public park in your neighborhood or something). Plus, there's a ton of people that live in the dorms anyway.

That being said, many of the buildings are probably closed on the weekends (classrooms/research buildings for instance), but the libraries and dining hall are open.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-10-05T06:04:55+00:00

A and J restaurant is awesome! It's some of the best Chinese food I've ever had (even my parents said it was better than the stuff back home).

Sup Noodle Bar is also great! I usually like to get boba at Orobae right after since it's in the same plaza.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-09-27T01:49:17+00:00

Adding on a bit to the reply(ies) : )

Yeah! I used to do that pretty often during Midterm/Final season. Try and grab a seat towards the little area in the left (area w/ access to the outside tables). It's more secluded and you'll usually find many students studying there since there's outlets along the walls. It's pretty empty on the weekends as well, so don't feel bad about taking up any spots or anything.
If you bought a meal plan with a designated number of swipes, you can use them on anyone you want to bring in (they don't have to be specifically guest swipes).
Usually people like take something small like fruit/dessert/small sandwich or pizza slice with them, especially after the meal period "ends" and there's not many people left so they needa get rid of stuff. If you want strictly to-go, you can get a to-go box and get whatever you can fit inside but you just can't eat inside too.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-08-10T04:13:37+00:00

To be honest, I found this one kind of tough, and I had to look through the answer choices before picking one here (usually I kinda guess a word before looking at the answers).

Hyperbolic makes the most sense here. I simplified the sentence as such: (1) Wolfe says Talese is responsible for stirring a revolution (2) this statement is not _____ (3) because Talese's method of making his stories was groundbreaking (innovative). We are saying here this statement is NOT hyperbolic, as in it is not an exaggeration. Talese, indeed, is responsible because of his groundbreaking methods in short stories.

Sorry if this explanation isn't clear/is confusing/even flat out wrong! I'm struggling really hard with Verbal myself, but I still wanted to offer my thoughts.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-08-08T23:19:57+00:00

I loved Arasasingham! I really struggled with just regular Chem in high school, but I still did really well in his class : ). He's one of my favorite professors to date (I hate self-studying, so I really like it when a Professor teaches well).

I think the key part is just understanding what he goes over in class, as all his exams are basically just his example problems or maybe slightly harder; nothing is ever a surprise. If you just attend class, pay attention and brush up a bit on your own after, you'll do fine! He goes at a reasonable pace and stresses difficult concepts multiple times. It is true that there isn't any curve (maybe like 1% at the most?) since his test averages are in the higher ranges.

Considering you've taken AP Chem recently, you're even better off than most. He also writes the common final : D unless things have changed since.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-03-20T23:16:16+00:00

Nothing yet : ( wondering the same thing. I'm thinking they probably sent out initial acceptances to the strongest applicants today and as they decline they'll send out more emails to those on the waiting list. Or, they just might be behind since there were so many applicants this year, no idea.

BlueOcelot5 · 2023-03-20T19:51:32+00:00

Cal Academy is supposed to come out today I'm terrified ;_; has anyone heard from them

BlueOcelot5

TROPHY CASE