Chrischigta

It definitely is a very competitive program, but I feel that for the enormous quality of the faculty here and the fact that this is an ivy school program, it is less competitive than others. Again, I want to strongly emphasize that this school is fantastic with great research, but I somehow feel a lot of people are not considering applying here when they choose their "top schools". That might just be a personal impression, too. That being said, if you like the research, then go for it! I will ask my friend if he would be cool with taking your questions. I know he was a gradcafe stalker as well, so I am confident that he will be happy to help out. I chose WC, because I really liked to sense of community here. That applies to both the interactions between students and between students and faculty. I feel that there are many faculty members that care about providing good education to grad students. Just the fact that everything is physically so close fosters that a lot. Then, I also really liked the idea of living right in Manhattan while still having this scientific community around. Most importantly, the research fit was just a little bit better. I really enjoyed my visit to Chicago and thought the faculty members there really invested in recruiting me, which was very impressive, but in the end I just had a gut feeling that Weill Cornell is my school and it was not a difficult choice to make. It was much harder to reject the other options haha.

If you want to stay in NYC, I would also consider Weill Cornell as an option. They have a Neuroscience program and some really interesting faculty members. The research community is great with Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller around the corner. So far, I am liking it a lot here I have a friend in the neuro program, I could give you his email if you want to inquire about it.

Hey guys, just wanted to offer my help and experiences for future applicants, especially for internationals I myself am German and will move to NYC in two weeks time in order to attent the BCMB program at Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. If can help in any help or answer any questions, just go ahead and write here or PM me. Best of luck to everyone and never lose hope, even if the waiting can be tough at some point

Thanks, I am really happy with my choice and that I know where I will be going this Fall I am hoping for the best for you - obviously Columbia would be great if you're wishing to stay in NYC.

Just accepted my offer for Weill Cornell BCMB !! - Super excited about moving to NYC this Fall

Yup, I received a rejection last week. However, that was when I already made up my mind and decided that I will accept the offer by Weill Cornell I will officially accept today or tomorrow probably

Hey guys, so, I am sure that I want to go to NYC for my PhD and already got offered admission by Weill Cornell BCMB. I really liked the program and the atmosphere at Weill Cornell and so I was quite sure that I would go there. However, I interviewed for Columbia Medical Center Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences as well and think I did quite a good job during the interviews. I did not get offered admission there so far, but I know that they are doing it on a rolling basis and I also know, that I could boost my chances by stating that they are my top choice school. I obviously only want to do that if I am sure that I want to attend. So now I have to decide, which of the two really is my priority... At Columbia I felt a little less of a "community spirit" compared to Weill Cornell and funding for internationals seemed also to be more of an issue there compared to Cornell. Researchwise, I am sure that I would find tons of interesting labs at both places. The only thing I am worried about right now is, that if I accept Weill Cornell's offer that I would "let go the chance to go to Columbia".. I guess I am just afraid that Columbia might be the better choice career-wise, but I don't know if this is really true. People talk a lot about that you should go to the place where you have the best gut feeling, the best fit. But Isn't it also important to consider, where you have the best chance to publish in a decent paper? And will paper look differently at you PhD when you got it from Columbia compared to when you get it from Weill Cornell? Does reputation really matter at that point? And is there really such a difference in reputation between Columbia an Weill Cornell? Maybe some people from NYC can comment on that.. I hope you more or less get what I mean. Would appreciate any input.

So, I was on the "very small" interview weekend for the Integrated Program at Columbia (Feb 6) and it seemed to me that this was a weekend for all those that they wanted to invite but that couldn't make it the previous recruitment days. We were mainly internationals and for me, they basically invited me on that weekend because I was invited for Weill Cornell the weekend afterwards and wanted to make it easier for me, so that I can make the whole thing one single trip from Germany to the US, rather than having to come to New York twice within a period of three weeks or so. Anyways, what they told us is that they are offering admission on a rolling basis, so that it is very possible to receive an offer at a pretty late stage. They also told us, that it can be a good idea to clearly communicate to them if this is your first choice school, especially at a later stage of the process, because at that point they want to make sure that they fill up their spots.

I got accepted for Weill Cornell BCMB !! I really loved the program and I am about 90% sure that I will be attending.. I really liked the research at UChicago as well, but would very much prefer living in Manhattan than living in Hyde Park..

Just got accepted to UChicago CMB - I will be going to grad school in the U.S.!!!!

If you're referring to UPenn CAMB: I asked them when I should excpect to hear back about a decision and they said that applications have to go through two additional committees and that based on the current schedule, I should hear back around Feb 5.

Had my skype interview with them yesterday and have a really good feeling about it All the best for you and have fun during the weekend!

I know that this topic has most probably been discussed several times on this forum, but I still want to adress it: What to wear during recruitment days? In my daily routine, I am prefering casual clothes; Jeans, T-Shirts, Sweaters. I like to go shopping in Skateshops etc... So I'm paying attention to "my style" but it's just really causal^^ As for official events, I really like to dress up and wear a suit. So originally I planned on wearing one (without tie) for the interviews with faculty members as well. I think a suit looks awesome, it boosts my confidence and I feel comfortable in it. It also shows respect and that I am taking the opportunity that I get absolutely serious. It's just professional. Then, I started doing some research on this online and I found, that most people give the advice not to wear a suit for these occasions and now I am a little bit confused. What were your experiences on recruitment days? Did people wear suits for the interviews themselves? I was taught, that you can never overdressed for an interview. My supervisor during a summer project in Singapore also once complained about applicants for post-doc position coming not properly dressed up. But everyone seems to be like "I would never wear a suit for grad school interviews" and it just surprises me so much. Also, what about the other events during the weekend? I obviously did not plan to wear a suit for a tour around campus or for a get-together and the dinner with other applicants and current graduate students. But is it ok to wear a jeans and a bottom-up shirt with some nice shoes for these occasions? Or is a jeans an absolute no-go throughout the whole weekend? Or rephrased: How big is the difference between the interviews themselves and the other events with regard to the dress code? I now I am probably paying to much attention to this topic, but I think that the right or wrong choice of clothes can have a strong influence on how comfortable one feels during these important days

I find this offending - I think I am a fun and engaged person, but I like to wear a good suit for an interview, anyway! But I'll probably open a new threat for this topic, although there certainly are already tons of them around^^

I'll have my skype interviews for UChicago and UPenn during the upcoming week and I'll be glad to share my experiences afterwards So far, I just had a preliminary skype interview with Columbia, where I was asked about my research and why I applied to U.S. schools mainly. Only took about 15 min, and probably should not be compared with "full" skype interviews as I will have them next week, because it just was one to make sure if I should be invited for an on-site visit.