楼主
今天check结束去美国上海领事馆办护照回转，中午和爱人在必胜客小小地庆祝了一下。因为还要听一个报告，所以下午便回到了所里。今天有一半的同事去外地开会了，办公室很安静，因此有充分的时间和空间将我的心情平复下来，并将半年来我申请出国的经历和经验整理出来，希望对后来者有一定的借鉴和帮助。
一、 我的美国路（申请篇）
我是大概06年底开始申请的，开始由于没有任何经验，再加上文章没有正式接受，所以也是经历了一个痛苦的过程。尽管是这样，本人认为自己的工作还是很出色的，并且大部分的分子生物学或生化实验的技术都做过或接触过，因此一开始的申请还是信心百倍的。
第一轮，投了10封左右的信，撒向那些我所知道的本专业的所谓牛人，当然可想而知啦，几乎很少有回信，很受打击；
第二轮，重整旗鼓，搜索TOP10的学校网页（30－40封），找到相关或感兴趣的专业的老板，一个个给他们发信，这此回信多了点（30％的回信率），但可惜都是据信，要么是没有位子，要么是没有funding。还有一个老板坦言说你的background非常好，但是如果你的文章完全接受或发表的话，我想任何一个实验室都会要你的。受第二次打击。但是即使是受到据信也是满开心的，因为至少人家注意到你了。
于是接下来开始了第三轮申请，这次已略有经验了，完善了CV和cover letter。到处看广告（包括Science job, Nature job, ASPB_http://www.aspb.org/jobbank/, APS_http://www.apsnet.org/careers/, BIOSCI-Bionet Newsgroups_http://www.bio.net/, 等等），但是个人感觉Science, Nature的广告是做秀，好多是找到下家了，为了走程序需要登广告（我所知道的好多H1B位置需要这么做）。这时的回信大概有一半了，并有3个Positive reply。在后续的筛选中还是没有被遴选上，可能主要还是没有文章吧！我的感觉是如果是广告的职位还是竞争满激烈的，如果没有很好的背景和文章胜算不会很大。期间有老师介绍的两个的机会，都是中国老板，一个是UCB的，一个是UP的，要了推荐信，并且面试的结果都很好。但是我对他们的感觉不是很好，其中一个老板，面试时（到我们单位来的）竟然要求我带实验记录，晕！并且问我你现在的工作时间是多少，如果来我实验室工作时间是多还是少？明摆着让我说多嘛。由于听取了我隔壁刚回国当老板的师姐的建议，这两个地方都没有去。信心开始慢慢恢复中。
由于接下来，要准备毕业论文和毕业答辩，因此也没有太多时间申请了，所以必须申请信必须少而精（准确）。并且听国外的同学说今年（2007年）很多funding特别是植物方面的都被cut掉了。所以第四轮的申请，没有局限在植物领域内了，也选择了动物和人类方向，并且也不是一门心思的盯着名校了，而是更关注专业和老板是否牛，专业是否对口。我的方法是打一个TOP100学校的list，从后向前申请，在此过程中发现小学校中也是藏龙卧虎的。我现在的位置就是在TOP40多的学校申请到的，老板是该专业的翘楚，实验室尽管不是很大，但是NCS文章是不断的。
前前后后我大概发了160封申请信，有60－70封的回信，4个Positive reply，一个offer。我的经验是首先要对自己有一个很好的定位，其次一定要有信心，不要气馁，成功就在眼前。
下面是我的CV和Cover letter模板及美国前100所生物名校，希望对大家有用：
CURRICULUM VITAE
Personal Information:
Name: ××××××
Gender: ××××××
Date of birth: ××××××
Place of birth: ××××××
Marital status: ××××××
Address: ××××××
Phone: ××××××
Fax: ××××××
E-mail: ××××××
Education:
××××××
Honors and Awards:
××××××
Research Summary:
××××××
Publications:
××××××
Related Skills:
××××××
References:
××××××
Additional references available by request
Cover letter
Dear Dr. ××××××,
Here I write you this email to apply for a postdoctoral position in your group. I learned about your excellent research and publications in your lab website. And I believing that there would be a good fit between my research experience, interests and your research area, which involved in ××××××, I am interested in a postdoctoral position upon completion of my Ph.D. degree in ××××××.
As a graduate student, I am currently doing research on××××××. I have a strong background in ××××××, and believe these skills would benefit ××××××. Enclosed is my C.V. which further outlines my qualifications. Attachment (file named ××××××.pdf) is in Acrobat PDF format, so if you have any problem in opening it, please let me know and I can send you a hard copy.
I would like to contact you to answer any questions you may have and to see if you need any other information from me. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
××××××
Bio university in USA （2005）：
1. Stanford University (CA) 4.9
2. Harvard University (MA) 4.8
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4.8
University of California–Berkeley 4.8
5. California Institute of Technology 4.7
Johns Hopkins University (MD) 4.7
University of California–San Francisco 4.7
8. Rockefeller University (NY) 4.6
9. Princeton University (NJ) 4.5
Scripps Research Institute (CA) 4.5
Yale University (CT) 4.5
12. Duke University (NC) 4.4
University of Wisconsin–Madison 4.4
14. Columbia University (NY) 4.3
Cornell University (NY) 4.3
University of California–San Diego 4.3
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor 4.3
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center–Dallas 4.3
Washington University in St. Louis 4.3
20. University of California–Los Angeles 4.2
University of Chicago 4.2
University of Washington 4.2
23. University of Pennsylvania 4.1
24. Baylor College of Medicine (TX) 4.0
University of California–Davis 4.0
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign 4.0
27. University of Colorado–Boulder 3.9
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill 3.9
29. Cornell University (Weill) (NY) 3.7
Emory University (GA) 3.7
Mayo Medical School (MN) 3.7
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities 3.7
University of Texas–Austin 3.7
Vanderbilt University (TN) 3.7
Yeshiva University (Albert Einstein) (NY) 3.7
36. Brandeis University (MA) 3.6
Northwestern University (IL) 3.6
Purdue University–West Lafayette (IN) 3.6
University of California–Irvine 3.6
University of Virginia 3.6
41. Case Western Reserve University (OH) 3.5
Indiana University–Bloomington 3.5
University of Arizona 3.5
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center 3.5
45. Brown University (RI) 3.4
Dartmouth College (NH) 3.4
Michigan State University 3.4
Pennsylvania State University–University Park 3.4
Rice University (TX) 3.4
SUNY–Stony Brook 3.4
University of Alabama–Birmingham 3.4
University of Iowa 3.4
University of Maryland–College Park 3.4
54. Carnegie Mellon University (PA) 3.3
Ohio State University 3.3
Rutgers State University–New Brunswick (NJ) 3.3
University of Florida 3.3
University of Georgia 3.3
University of Oregon 3.3
60. Texas A&M University–College Station 3.2
Tufts University (MA) 3.2
University of California–Santa Barbara 3.2
University of Massachusetts–Amherst 3.2
University of Pitt**urgh 3.2
University of Rochester (NY) 3.2
University of Texas Health Science Center–Houston 3.2
University of Utah 3.2
68. Georgia Institute of Technology 3.1
Iowa State University 3.1
New York University 3.1
North Carolina State University 3.1
University of Illinois–Chicago 3.1
University of Massachusetts Medical Center–Worcester 3.1
University of Texas Health Science Center–San Antonio 3.1
75. Arizona State University 3.0
Boston University 3.0
OGI School of Sci. & Engineering–Oregon Health & Sci. U. 3.0
Oregon State University 3.0
UMDNJ–New Jersey Medical School 3.0
University of California–Riverside 3.0
University of Connecticut 3.0
University of Kansas 3.0
University of Miami (FL) 3.0
University of Southern California 3.0
University of Texas Medical Branch–Galveston 3.0
Washington State University 3.0
87. Baylor University (TX) 2.9
Florida State University 2.9
Georgetown University (DC) 2.9
Tulane University 2.9
University of California–Santa Cruz 2.9
University of Cincinnati 2.9
University of Missouri–Columbia 2.9
Virginia Tech 2.9
95. Colorado State University 2.8
Kansas State University 2.8
Medical College of Wisconsin 2.8
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) 2.8
Syracuse University (NY) 2.8
University of Kentucky 2.8
University of Notre Dame (IN) 2.8
University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center 2.8
University of Tennessee–Knoxville 2.8
104. Boston College 2.7
Finch University of Health Sciences–Chicago Medical School 2.7
George Washington University (DC) 2.7
SUNY–Buffalo 2.7
Thomas Jefferson University (PA) 2.7
University of Nebraska–Lincoln 2.7
University of Nebraska Medical Center 2.7
University of Oklahoma 2.7
Wake Forest University (NC) 2.7
113. Auburn University (AL) 2.6
College of William and Mary (VA) 2.6
CUNY Graduate School and University Center 2.6
Rutgers State University–Newark (NJ) 2.6
SUNY–Albany 2.6
Temple University (PA) 2.6
University of Maryland–Baltimore 2.6
Wayne State University (MI) 2.6
121. Clemson University (SC) 2.5
Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge 2.5
Louisiana State University School of Medicine–New Orleans 2.5
Medical College of Georgia 2.5
Medical College of Pennsylvania 2.5
Medical University of South Carolina 2.5
New York Medical College 2.5
St. Louis University 2.5
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (MD) 2.5
University of Delaware 2.5
University of Hawaii 2.5
University of Maryland–Baltimore County 2.5
University of New Mexico 2.5
University of Texas–Dallas 2.5
University of Vermont 2.5
Virginia Commonwealth University 2.5
Wesleyan University (CT) 2.5
