Harvard's interview weekend for the graduate Program in Neuroscience was this past weekend. And so it was that I happened to be sitting in the airport Thursday morning before my flight, sporting a new black peacoat with my carry-on bag in front of me (with gloves, hat, and scarf easy to reach in the outer pockets). There I met another applicant from Berkeley, and we boarded the plane together, chatting about our majors, the interview, and our expectations.
About an hour after our arrival at the hotel, the first year grad students picked us up in groups to take us to pre-arranged dinners at various restaurants around the city. It was a nice opportunity to talk to not only the grad students, but also the other recruits, the majority of whom I will probably see at future interviews (we'll all be best friends by the end of this, I guess!).
Anyway, for the night, we stayed at the Best Western Inn a couple blocks from the Longwood medical campus, which was convenient, as the next morning turned out to be quite snowy.
A short walk down the street, and we arrived at the Harvard Medical School campus, where the program and many of the faculty's labs are housed. Nearby were the many hospitals and medical institutes where most of the remaining faculty worked.
We had 2 half-hour interviews that morning, with a short break for a talk (during which my eyes were closing not for lack of interest, but for lack of sleep) and lunch, followed by another 3 interviews, and then a reception/mixer at which we could mingle with and talk to other faculty we were interested in working with.
Busy day. Exhausting, really. And so of course that night everybody was taken on an outing to King's for bowling fun! Except the few of us under 21, who went instead to an improv comedy show (Improv Asylum, check them out if you're in Boston - they were pretty good). We had a little time before the show, so we walked a few streets up and down the North End, and got some cannolis from Mike's Pastries.
The next morning, we got on a bus to visit the Cambridge campus (where Harvard's undergraduate college is located) and the faculty working there. Our bus, however, turned down a small side street lined by snow-covered parked cars. Almost at the end of the street, we got stuck. There wasn't quite enough space for the bus to pass, but we were too far to back all the way out. So after some discussion, we disembarked the bus and walked a block in the snow to our target, the building with whale skeletons just hanging around.
Some talks, pizza, and fun faculty stories later, we scurried down to Harvard Square, where we got what was purportedly "the best hot chocolate in the world" (Madagascar for me - I liked the flavor of "citrus with a hint of vanilla"). Extremely rich and chocolatey, and certainly quite yummy. While there, I happened to spot an entire store devoted to my namesake, though unfortunately I didn't get a chance to go inside.
Our hot chocolate done, we waited in the cold for the M2, early enough to visit the library and see the skull of the legendary (to neuroscience students, anyway)
Phineas Gage.
You may have noticed that is the library, not the skull. I have no pictures for you because there was no photography allowed. Sorry. Here, instead, is a helicopter flying in to one of the medical centers, which I couldn't fit in anywhere else in the post.
Returning to my story, that last night, the recruits had dinner with some of the faculty members, either at their homes or nearby restaurants. The advice they all reiterated? When you're choosing a thesis lab, don't focus on a specific topic. Keep an open mind, but pick a lab based on the mentor. Good parting advice. I will keep it in mind.
