lzerimar

I haven't had the chance to update you guys, but last week I got accepted for the Baylor TBMM program and this week I got accepted for Harvard BBS on Wednesday!!! I also received a call from Dr. Susan Dymecki, the head of the Harvard BBS program and my first interviewer, this past Friday letting me know of my acceptance I still have two more interviews (Rockefeller and Scripps) but at this point it will more than likely be between Harvard and Rockefeller. If you are still waiting to hear on Columbia CMBS or Baylor, I will be declining their offer soon and I really hope those spots go to fellow grad cafers . Just some of my input. At Columbia and Harvard the majority of the applicants had already graduated and had been lab technicians for about a year or two, but at Baylor most of the people were still undergrads. It does seem like a major component of these applications is research experience as I didn't have the best GRE scores or anything but I had an amazing research experience so far. When Dr. Dymecki was interviewing me, she appeared very pleased that I had been in research for a long time and that I had experienced the ups and downs of the whole discovery process in science and I still persisted. They definitely want to know that this is really what you want and that you know what you are getting yourself into. Also, as much I as I enjoyed seeing that much snow in Boston (I'm from the desert) winters are definitely going to be rough for me. As some have already mentioned, climate should be something you should definitely take into consideration if you don't want your ass and toes to freeze like mine did. This whole interview process has definitely being a blessing and not something that I expected to be doing just a year ago. Although I would have loved to have applied to more schools and possibly traveled more around the country, I am glad I applied to a few schools, declining offers will definitely be hard after their hospitality. If you guys have any questions about the interview process in general or about the schools and environment feel free to message me and good luck on your applications

Wooo first acceptance to the Columbia CMBS program!!!

I actually just came back from the first Columbia CMBS interview weekend! They have another interview weekend in about two weeks during Jan 29-Feb 1. They told us that they would notify us of our acceptance or rejection in about two weeks from our interview date and that we should let them know as soon as possible whether we will be attending Columbia or not so that they can give our spots to other applicants who have been interviewed. In your case, there is still hope as they told us that there were two main interview weekends and possibly other smaller interviews depending on what their interviewees decide to do but no exact dates. They also told us that about 50% of the people that are interviewed will be accepted and there were about 47 applicants in this interview weekend. They expected about 80 interviewees for the next weekend since it will be a combination of CMBS and the other Columbia programs. In my opinion, people that receive interview invites should definitely try to make the first interview weekend as it appears that a smaller pool of interviewees will be present during that weekend and it will allow you to stand out and get to know the admissions people, faculty, and graduate students more intimately. Regarding the other questions about interview attire, drinking, socializing etc.. I will give you guys my perspective of what I experienced during the interview. I wore a full suit with a tie because I like having an excuse to dress fancy but in general the majority of the male applicants did not wear ties and only had slacks and buttoned up shirts. There were maybe three other people with suits on but it was not the norm. My advice is wear slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie as it is better to look presentable than sloppy. You can always take the tie off if you see that other applicants aren't wearing one and it makes you uncomfortable but plan ahead and adapt to the situation. I have my Baylor interview this week and the letter they sent us said to dress at our own discretion and they suggested no jeans for the Thursday dinner and interviews which means slacks, dress shirt, and maybe tie! The rest of the events say to dress comfortably so it is fine to wear jeans. For my Columbia weekend I only dressed up for my interviews and the dinner the day of the interviews, the other time I was covered in layers as New York was freezing those days! I am not a big drinker but the majority of the events had alcohol so I said what the heck and joined in on the fun . After our Friday dinner they took us to a bar and the majority of the applicants came for about 1 hour and then the majority left. Two other applicants and I stayed with the graduate students until about 3 am and they joked around that since we were the last ones standing that we were admitted... who knows if this will turn out to be true, but I do know that it was to my benefit to talk with the graduate students about their rotations, faculty, the research environment, etc... it shows interest and the graduate students remember you the next day and sorta make you one of their own. Drink a lot of water if you are going to be drinking so you don't regret it the next morning during brunch like I did For those of you that will be exhausted after your interviews take a quick power nap since there will probably be time between your interviews and dinner. You will need this extra energy for the activities after dinner and I highly recommend that you attend these events. If you are sorta antisocial just try to ask about the research of the graduate students as there is probably someone there that is doing what you are interested in and conversation will naturally follow with this interest. The graduate students, if they are doing a good job, will ask you about your interviews and what you think about the school. This is your time to clear any doubts or get answers to any lingering questions you might have. Remember you got to the interview stage so at this point they are trying to woo you. My last observation is directed more towards the behavior of the interviewees. They come in all forms from shy to outgoing and a critical moment in this whole experience is when you are all gathered in the hotel lobby just before your interviews. I would advice to be there early before the meeting time and get to know the other interviewees as they come one by one, a simple hi is enough to start the conversation. Its hard to break the ice, and if you are the one who is being active and engaged in this role, then you are more than likely to find other interviewees that interest you. I recommend that you interact with other people because by Saturday a lot of the other applicants have already formed groups that they are comfortable with and they will usually stick together. I saw a couple of people who were sort of ostracized and i'm almost sure they did not enjoy the experience as well as the other applicants. If you are one of those shy people, then I would recommend you interact with the other shy people as you already have a mutual trait that will allow you to bond together. The important part of this whole experience is to have fun and to interact with as many people as possible since these will be your future colleagues Oops I lied one more thing! The majority of the interviewees had already graduated from their undergrad and were lab techs. I was one of those few that were still in undergrad so definitely your research experience plays a huge role in these graduate school applications!

I got a Rockefeller interview!!! I love that place so much i'm so excited!

I just got an email about 30 mins ago for an interview at La Jolla.

Scripps interview invite

I got a Harvard BBS interview, I'm so excited!!! These interviews are the best pre-christmas presents I'm still in awe and trying to process all of this, but I want to wish everyone good luck and congratulations on all your interviews

I also received an invitation to interview at Columbia CMBS in the morning as well !! I'll be going the same days you are so we might see each other there.

Yay, first interview to Baylor TBMM!

Oh man this is my first time applying to graduate schools, the waiting is definitely a stresser! I'm applying to mostly top schools and honestly I'm a little intimidated since I come from very humble beginnings but its ok to dream right Undergrad Institution: State school Major(s): Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry GPA in Major: 3.87 Overall GPA: 3.74 Position in Class: Near top Type of Student: male GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 158 71% V: 156 71% W: 4 56% Research Experience: 3 years SUMO-Influenza research experience (5 publications: 1 published 2nd authorship, 3 pending co-authorships, 1 pending 1st authorship), A summer at Rockefeller with the 1999 Nobel Prize winner on nuclear pore complex research 3 poster presentations Special Bonus Points: Minority status, first-generation college student, MARC student, research with 1999 nobel prize winner for HHMI EXROP program at Rockefeller, glowing letters of recommendation, interesting life story... Applying to Where: MIT Harvard Rockefeller Scripps Columbia Baylor College of Medicine