sanfonts

So... the National Council for Science and Technology of my country (México) will pay for 60% (17000 GBP/year) of the tuition fees and will provide me with a meh stipend (770 GBP/mo) and I'll cover the rest (10,000 GBP/year) with a preferential loan from the Mexican Central Bank (2% rate, interests do not accrue until I've finished my studies). The director of the programme told me that some interesting opportunities for funding are likely to pop-up during my second year of studies, but I'm not sure whether he's being completely honest or just trying to lure me into the PhD lol

Excellent question! I want to have the flexibility of working in the industry or following an academic career if things go particularly well during my graduate studies Maybe people will think about me as someone shallow, but the though of being pigeonholed in a post-doctoral position without a clear path to tenure track and a mediocre pay scares me, although I'd guess that brilliant students do end up enjoying a full professorship, with has its perks compared to industry.

Hi there! With April 15th looming, I've to make one of the most transcendental decisions in my life, and -truth be told- I'm getting sick just by thinking about it. Long story short, I have 2 options to pick: an Oxford PhD in Synthetic Biology or a M.S.E. (Johns Hopkins, Biomedical Engineering). Most of the people here will agree that doing a Masters isn't required if you are shooting for a PhD, but I assume this advice only applies when one is 100.00% sure about pursuing an academic career. So... people who have PhD's or are working towards one: would you advise against picking the doctoral programme if I'm "only" 70-80% sure about it? What are your thoughts on this matter? THANKS!

Yes, apparently we'll hear from them Wednesday-Friday of the next week.

After e-mailing them, I was told that they will contact us the next week with the results.

Sooo... is a 86th Math percentile result a particularly mediocre one for STEM-related graduate degrees? What are the expectations? Honest question.

I submitted my application just a few minutes before the deadline (never again!).

Thank you! I received the offer of acceptance exactly 10 days ago. No idea whether they are sending them in batches or not. Best of luck!

Thanks for the insight. On a separate (and hypothetical) note: does the consensus (about the worthiness of the degree, that is) shift when the Master is unfunded but the applicant has the financial resources to pay for it without going into debt?

Nothing at all! I e-mailed them a few days ago but my request was ignored

Hi there, Let me start this topic by quickly summarising my stats: Int'l student (B.S. Biotechnology Engineering) from a Top-3 Mexican University, GPA: 3.96/4.00, GRE Percentiles: 86 (Math) & 90 (Verbal), tons of research experience but no publications so far. After reading some sobering posts, I realised that I wasn't as competitive as I thought: it seems everyone here has 4.00 GPAs and 170/170 scores in the GRE, but I digress. I decided to apply only to 1 PhD programme (MIT Biological Engineering, rejected) and 3 Masters (Biomedical Engineering: Yale, Johns Hopkins, Stanford). So far, I've been accepted to Yale & Johns Hopkins, but, alas, with no funding. I'd really appreciate some insight from you guys because right now I'm facing two tough choices: 1.- Should I go for it? It's obvious I'm not competitive enough for a direct PhD programme, although the idea of acquiring 70+ k loans doesn't seem particularly appealing... I know I can ease the financial burden by working as a Teaching Assistant, even though that could be considered a merely palliative approach. 2.- If I do decide to study the Master's, what are your thoughts on Yale vs. JHU? I'm thinking about JHU, picking a 2-year thesis-track with the 2nd year fully funded by them and then pursuing a PhD degree at a Top-10 Department. I feel like Yale's (or Stanford's, if I were to be accepted) 1-year MS might be too short for me to leverage my experience into a top programme, but I'm not quite sure. In any case, does my strategy make sense? Are there any fatal flaws? Thank for your consideration on this matter CHEERS!

No. They will send rejections 2 weeks from now.

So... it seems the invitations for Stanford Bioengineering program have been sent (yet another rejection for me...). Did anyone here get one?

So... it seems the invitations for Stanford Bioengineering program have been sent (yet another rejection for me...). Did anyone here get one?

One question, mate! Does your application, by any chance, still appears as incomplete due to the lack of the official transcript? I sent mine since november, but it seems they haven't received it yet... I have a strong delivery proof b/c the package was signed for by their administrative assistant, but they refuse to answer questions related to status of documents