Azia

Congratulations!

It's so nerve racking! I'm on the same page, it is going to take a decent amount of wine to get me through the next couple weeks. Good luck!

@wafflecat and @goliath Maybe start by figuring out when their interview weekends were last year? I have 2 interviews out of 10 schools already and I confirmed both because they are both in January. It seems like most interview weekends are February and early March. So it may be worth confirming any January interview offers now. Also, it may not hurt to contact admissions at your top school choices to make sure other interviews don't conflict with theirs, in hopes you get an offer. Good luck!

@Sarahjc Congrats! See you there (:

University of Utah Mol Bio has started sending out invites via phone if any one is waiting to hear from them.

Some will be nice enough to notify you but most just make you wait it out. If you don't hear by mid- February you can expect to get rejected most likely. It's definitely a brutal waiting period.

Congratulations! That's a great program!

@Earl I'm probably going to do a thank you note with a bottle of wine for mine. Last time I applied I didn't and I probably should have.

Sorry! I didn't mean to worry you. 2 years experience is pretty solid and it really depends on the level of research. I agree with @StrongTackleBacarySagna that it isn't the end all be all either. I was just trying to point out there are a lot of other factors that go in to the decision making and despite it being a stressful time for everyone, that you shouldn't beat yourself up comparing yourself to individuals on this forum. I've found the quality of applicants we see here is not representative of the entire application pool, everyone here has amazing stats with great grades/ awards/ research experience. The reality is we can all speculate about why some people get interviews and some don't, but none of us really know what entirely determines that. We all just know what we've heard from professors, other grad students, and the few times we have called up harassing the administrative assistants of these programs. Each admissions committee is slightly different. You all are definitely qualified and I'm sure almost everyone on this forum will be starting a PhD program somewhere next fall.

@biochemgirl67 I know! I obsessively check my email and phone, but not my actual application status. As someone else mentioned I think the applications status takes longer to be updated because it isn't always directly through the program.

Besides agreeing that you sound incredibly snobby and pretentious with this comment (there is no saving yourself now), I think you are forgetting, or maybe just naive to the fact that admissions committees don't only care about your grades. There is a huge push in many of these programs to stop accepting the top 4.0 ivy league students because this limits the diversity and experience of the incoming class. Now many schools are looking for a significant commitment to research (more than just 2 years) and individuals that have had to overcome adversity to get where to where they are. I'm not saying those top students aren't going to get in, but you have to realize adcoms are also interested in the personality and drive of those they admit. Often times individuals who have dealt with set backs and difficulties along the way are more likely to persevere in a doctoral program. You would be surprised to know how many people don't realize what they are getting themselves in to and end up mastering out because they can't hack it. There are so many qualified candidates on this forum that come from "state schools" with average GPA's but who are likely to be amazing research scientist. Grades aren't even half the story.

Invite via email. I don't think they expect you to check your application status that quickly/ frequently.

@pali123I agree with biochemgirl67 on this one. It's to last minute and it might actually give a negative impression, like you are asking for a favor.

Doing a ms now so already gone through my plan B. Hoping it doesn't come to this, but luckily I currently live in Silicon Valley where it would be pretty easy to find a job after graduating. Also, this is my second application cycle, hopefully this time they see my commitment to research.

Congrats! That's so exciting!