Time for a rant: grant reviewers, why are we penalizing applicants for not publishing peer-reviewed papers as undergraduates?! Publishing as an undergrad, when most work is part-time, means that whether you're driven and talented or not, your ability to publish is always, 1/n

to some degree, dependent on being in the right place at the right time, with the right resources on the right project. Don't get me wrong, it's impressive as hell to see undergraduates publishing their own work or even collaborative work. But I have a hard time believing 2/n

that undergraduate publications are strongly predictive of substantive scientific success. (if anyone has good data otherwise, prove me wrong). There's no reason that prior 'luck' should hold students w/o pubs back from grant approval. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicChatter 3/n

If any undergrad out there doesn't have a publication, don't be discouraged fro applying to graduate school! It is not a reflection of your ability as a scientist! This trend in review comments needs to stop. n/n