L543

I applied to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology programs last year and received my interview invitations between mid December through the end of January. My interviews were from early February through early March.

My opening paragraph was all about my interests and why the school I was submitting it to was a perfect fit given those interests. For each school I named 3-5 faculty specifically that I was interested in at the end of that first paragraph. Some schools' applications have a specific area for you to list faculty you are interested in but I still kept it in my statement. Others might advise against this, but I wrote one statement that was applicable for all the schools, and then all I did was switch out the names of the schools and professors I was interested in. Obviously be very careful to make sure you have changed all the names to the correct school before submitting. Edit to add: I had my statement edited by my PI, my academic adviser, and my writer father who knows nothing about my field. They all had different and very valuable feedback for my statement. I would recommend getting as many people to read your statement as possible.

I applied last year. In my SOP I had one paragraph talking about the goals of my project, what had been accomplished so far, what conclusions we had drawn, and what I was going to do going forward. I talked about the skills I developed in my research, but I didn't give any super specific details about the techniques I was using.

I took the GRE in August and then again in October. I was advised not to take the subject GRE and I still got interviews at all but one school I applied to, even though every program said the subject test was strongly recommended. I wrote all my essays in September, had them edited by advisers/PI in October, submitted all my apps in November (they weren't due til December, but I wanted to be done with it). Before you decide to apply to a program, go through and make sure there are at least 3-4 professors you would want to work for, otherwise don't bother applying.

I don't know anything about applying to dental school, so all my advice will be for applying to chemistry programs. In terms of letters of recommendation, you will need at least three. One of these should obviously be from your PI, and the others should be from professors who know you well and speak to your abilities. Make sure when you ask them for a letter of rec that they feel they can write a strong letter, not just a generic letter. PhD applications are mostly due in December or January, and they typically open in the late summer or early fall. Your GPA is obviously very strong, and the fact that you have a couple years of research experience is also good. The most important aspects that you should focus on are your personal statement and making sure your letters of recommendation are strong.

I did not like Ohio State OSBP Program. The grad students seemed happy, but I did not like any of my interactions with the faculty. I had concerns about moving to the midwest, but I was willing to consider it due to the amazing research they are doing. The visit did not really inspire me to do that, though.

Someone posted an acceptance to the program I interviewed at on Feb 10th and now my anxiety has skyrocketed

Well here's hoping we both hear by the weekend!

Same...Every time I get an email notification, my heart jumps, and it just ends up being spam. The program I interviewed at Feb 10th told me to expect a decision late February-early March, but at my interview I was told more like 1-2 weeks...I am stressing out

I have not tried calling, perhaps I will do that. It just seemed weird to me that they have an email specifically for "prospective students", but then they don't respond to prospective students' emails. Well anyway, good luck to you!

I applied to their biochem program and never heard back. I even emailed them over a month ago inquiring and never got anything back pretty bummed but I knew it was a reach

My first interview was like this - very casual and just talked about their research. My last one, however, the professors had a list of typical job interview questions that they went down and asked me (like what my PI would say I do well, what they would say I don't do well, biggest achievement, biggest mistake, etc.). I have two more so we will see how they compare

I have not been in this situation, but I would reach out to the coordinator first and say that you had corresponded with said faculty member and you would like to meet with him if possible. If she says it's not possible, then I'd email the faculty member.

I am interviewing there in a couple weeks! Care to share anything about the things you talked about?

I was actually able to catch a flight and I am here now! Definitely a high stress day. But thank you for the response!