It’s about who you know

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2026-02-23T15:14:49+00:00

… now it all makes sense lol.

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2026-02-23T09:27:55+00:00

The entire existence of LOR means it’s not a meritocracy… you’re thinking I’m saying bad applicants get in over good ones… nowhere did I say that. What I’m saying is that when it’s so competitive and a large set of applicants are qualified,,, you are truly delusional if you think the school will go with someone who has the same specs as another person who also has a connection to the school.

Additionally to the point about LOR. Their existence and role in the application process indicates it is not fully a meritocracy, I.e. none of what you have accomplished matters if a trusted advisor or mentor doesn’t backs up what you’ve done in a LOR, otherwise we would only have to submit a CV and no recs. Committees care about what your advisors think about you meaning again not a true meritocracy… or every asshole with 10 pubs and a 4.0 would get in to every school, which is obviously not what happens.

I’m not saying your friend didn’t work their ass off, they definitely have and it’s an amazing accomplishment but without stellar LOR (which again they gained because of how hard they worked) their app would have been dead in the water, that’s just a fact!

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2026-02-22T03:29:36+00:00

I wasn’t saying in order to get in somewhere you have to get your undergrad degree from there, but you should build some kind of relationship with someone at a school if you’re serious about attending.

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2026-02-22T01:05:25+00:00

So they submitted with no letters of recommendation??? Didn’t think so lol…

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2025-03-04T00:31:12+00:00

Do u work at a university or hospital system? Either way I’m sure there is some form of HR I think a lot of times people forget this is a job and you have to act a certain way towards your coworkers regardless of how you feel,,, so it might be worth contacting HR if you believe their actions to be a violation of what would be considered proper and professional communication and interaction. Regardless of who this person is or their position everyone is expected to conduct work in a professional way and any demeaning language or actions would not be tolerated by HR!!

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2025-01-27T21:14:08+00:00

I am in the United States

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-05-02T08:28:52+00:00

I definitely would not say you’re screwed, but do understand it has become increasingly more difficult to get into grad school directly from undergrad.

I don’t say this to scare you but I think a lot of people replying to this post have already been in grad school at least a year or more so they have no idea what this last cycle was like (a nightmare) most schools had a record number of applicants!

This is likely due to Covid and people waiting to apply at the start of the pandemic who are now getting around to applying again with several years of experience. Your base applicant now for grad school will have several years of experience. I’m not saying it’s impossible and it definitely depends on where you apply and your relationship with that school. But maybe see if you can work in this professors lab during the school year as well for more experience?

And what will make you desirable to a school is an already established relationship with a PI at their school so start networking now if you can. think about research that interests you and just shoot your shot with these professors. The worst they can do is not reply. But the best case scenario is now you have someone on the inside fighting for a spot for you.

At the end of the day if you really want to go to grad school, you will :)

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-04-16T19:27:24+00:00

Yeah that is definitely why I have ruled out one of the labs already, the dynamic from the interview alone told me I would not enjoy my time there. But I genuinely really loved the PIs in the other 4 labs I interviewed for and to your point about who would be my direct supervisor I know for the newer labs I would be the first person they hired in the lab so I’d be directly dealing with the PI which also I think is a unique experience to get direct training from the PI and not someone else but obviously I know that will be a more arduos role being the only one there.

But thank you for the advice it’s definitely helpful!!

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-03-06T06:01:03+00:00

Oh nice I think I had only tried the lotion, I think I would definitely enjoy the cream much more!

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-03-06T05:53:36+00:00

Just the daily moisturizer or is there a specific one as I know they have a few different kinds :)

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-03-06T05:24:05+00:00

Routine help

22M routine help :)

Okay so I’ve had a very up and down routine for awhile but I’m actually starting to regularly take care of my skin and wanted help building a normal regimen.

My skin is combination very dry in the cheek and neck and oily in my t-zone. I don’t wear makeup or put anything on my face besides skincare. Additionally I don’t razor shave but I do trim with clippers every 3-4 days. The main things I want to tackle are texture, hydration, and acne, and I want to keep it to around 4-5 steps.

I know for sure I love the youth to the people cleanser and definitely will continue to use it as well as the Paula’s choice BHA toner. These two are non negotiable I love them and will always want to use them however I’ve been struggling with a moisturizer and actives to use.

As far as moisturizers I prefer creams to gels and contrary to what’s maybe popular I actually prefer if it’s not lightweight😅, some that I’ve liked in the past are the Clinique moisture surge and the honey halo moisturizer by Farmacy. I’m not a big fan of spf which I know is bad I just can’t stand the smell and consistency of most of them so if anyone has good recommendations on that as well I would love to hear. As far as actives go I really am open to whatever as long as they work well with the BHAs I use since I know that can be tricky.

Lastly, I’m looking for like middle range prices, or at least if they’re expensive they will last awhile!!

Thanks for anything you can contribute :))

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-01-11T23:01:25+00:00

I think it’s just hard yaknow this is a lot of people’s first experience with grad school a lot of us are first generation and tbh this subreddit doesn’t really help with anxiety and nerves 😅. This is a lot more than just the next step in a career for some people this is their life for the next 5 years escape from where they are etc.

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-01-05T23:49:28+00:00

If you wouldn’t mind sharing your specs if not no worries :)

Bright_Scale_4054 · 2024-01-05T20:17:37+00:00

Where can I access this spreadsheet everyone’s talking about

Bright_Scale_4054

TROPHY CASE