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Has anyone heard from Boston University for biostats PhD?

They called to accept me at the beginning of March and I then heard about funding a few days later. I turned them down shortly after so hopefully that acceptance makes its way to someone else.

Hm... are you sure the updated rankings have been posted already? On the main page (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools), there are links to previews of the 2015 list. Edit: Clarified my question!

I have heard back from the latter three. Emory is doing interviews, UCLA seems to slowly sending acceptances, and UNC seems to have made most of their decisions.

Update: Harvard biostat will be making their decisions "fairly soon". I'm not sure how long that'll be, but my hope is that we will hear back by the end of the week.

Thanks for all your thoughts! I really appreciate it. The other part of this that I should have posted is that I live on the west coast and almost all the schools I applied to are on the east coast. The schools that offered a fixed amount to cover travel do not fully cover my expenses. Hmm... so much to consider.

I apologize in advance if this sounds like bragging... it's an honest question and I would love to hear feedback from others. I've heard back from a number of Ph.D. programs over the last week, and all of them want me to fly out to attend either an open house, interview, or accepted student day. Some are covering all of my expenses while others are offering a fixed amount of money to help with travel expenses. Is it standard practice for an applicant to do all of these visits? There are some schools I know I will visit, but there are others I feel iffy about. I am finishing my last semester of undergrad and the thought of missing so many classes is tough to swallow. However, I don't want to feel like I missed out on an event that could have possibly swayed my final decision. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Has anyone heard from U of Minnesota biostats? From the results search, it seems like they had some very early admits back in December but nothing since then. Do they continue to extend offers as they review more applications?

I was admitted to UW biostat on Friday, and my acceptance email (but not the attached official letter) was personalized.

I had the same problem a few weeks ago. It lasted for a couple days and then was fine again. What is the error message you are getting, if any?

I had several family members recently tell me that I could only apply to master's programs straight out of undergrad for any field. When I told them that I had only applied to PhD programs, they panicked and told me to hurry up and finish some master's degree applications so I could still be considered for some schools.

My LOR writer missed a deadline- will the school still consider my application if the LOR arrives late? The rest of my application has been submitted since early October. I am deeply frustrated. I asked her for a LOR back in mid-September, and she enthusiastically agreed to write one. I started checking in with her in November to see how everything was going, and she kept saying she'd do it in a few days. Well, here is it, a day after the deadline, and I am afraid I am out $100 and the opportunity to be considered at a school that is a great fit. Any insight would be very much appreciated.

We should get our scores on Saturday, right? I am anxiously awaiting mine....

Thanks so much! I asked my contact to resend the letter of recommendation, and it now shows up as "received". One down, two to go.

1) For anyone here who is also applying to the University of Washington, did your status change from "activated" to something else on the graduate application status page after your letter writers submitted their recommendations? I have a professor who I believe has submitted the form, but I haven't seen the label change from "activated" to "complete" or something of the like. I don't even know if it does change! Any insights from fellow applicants would be much appreciated. 2) Out of curiosity, does a Washington state resident have any advantage in the application process at UW over a US citizen who has never lived in Washington? Thanks all.

Hmm... one school says this: By the posted deadline, applicant must E-submit their application to SOPHAS and all required documents received by SOPHAS. And the other school says this: To receive priority consideration for collegiate level merit-based awards, applications must be submitted and complete, with all required supporting documentation, by Dec. 1. Applicants meeting the priority deadline will be automatically considered for a range of School of Public Health scholarships. Applications submitted/complete after Dec. 1 will be given scholarship consideration based on availability of funds. For school one, it seems like I should be okay as long as all documents are submitted by Dec. 1st. For the other school, I'm not sure. I'm probably going to play it safe and email admissions at both schools with my query... thanks for your help though!

Hi all, I'm applying to three biostatistics schools that use SOPHAS for their application, and 2/3 have deadlines on December 1st. I recently e-submitted the application and 2/3 LORs are now in, so hopefully they will verify my application soon. My third recommendation writer made it clear when I asked him in early September that he would be more than happy to write a letter for me but probably wouldn't be able to do it until Thanksgiving break. At the time, I was unaware of all the processing details for SOPHAS and said that should be fine. I am concerned that my applications won't be submitted by SOPHAS in time if my third recommender doesn't finish his form until late November. Does anyone have any insight on this? If my application is already e-submitted and has been verified by SOPHAS, will it just be mailed immediately as soon as he finishes his LOR? Or should I ask him to try to do it sooner? I am fearful that my application will be late and will basically be disregarded at these two schools.... If anyone who applied last year has experience with this, that would also be super helpful. I am getting pretty frustrated with SOPHAS. Thanks.

I have another question regarding LORs and SOPHAS. I'm applying to three schools that use SOPHAS for their application, and 2/3 have deadlines on December 1st. I recently e-submitted the application and 2/3 LORs are now in, so hopefully they will verify my application soon. My third recommendation writer made it clear when I asked him in early September that he would be more than happy to write a letter for me but probably wouldn't be able to do it until Thanksgiving break. At the time, I was unaware of all the processing details for SOPHAS and said that should be fine. I am concerned that my applications won't be submitted by SOPHAS in time if my third recommender doesn't finish his form until late November. Does anyone have any insight on this? If my application is already e-submitted and has been verified by SOPHAS, will it just be mailed immediately as soon as he finishes his LOR? Or should I ask him to try to do it sooner? I am fearful that my application will be late and will basically be disregarded at these two schools.... If anyone who applied last year has experience with this, that would also be super helpful. I am getting pretty frustrated with SOPHAS.

I took the biology subject GRE yesterday...

I am applying to several biostat Ph.D. programs that run their applications through SOPHAS. One of the optional sections in the SOPHAS application is the writing sample. I haven't seen any of the biostat websites explicitly mention wanting a writing sample. Should I include one, and if so, what kind of paper should it be? I have an analytical paper I wrote in an English class a few years ago that I really like, but it feels weird to include something like that in an a biostat application...

Hi all, I recently took the general GRE and will be applying to grad school soon. However, as part of a requirement for my college biology class, I need to take a GRE biology subject exam. Is it possible for me to send a GRE general score alone, or do subject test scores always come with a general score? I am worried about what I would do in the unlikely situation that my bio subject score is poor/mediocre. Thanks in advance.

I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on the number of schools one should apply to for biostats Ph.D. programs. Is there a recommended range, or does it depend more on profile strength? Thanks in advance. I have nine schools on my list currently, and they are a mix of sizes and rankings. I'm not sure if this is enough or too many.

I have another side question for cyberwulf about biostats Ph.D. applications. How many schools should one apply to? Is there a recommended range, or does it depend more on profile strength and domestic vs. international status? Thanks in advance. I have nine schools on my list currently, and they are a mix of sizes and rankings.

I am taking the computer based GRE in the coming week, and I can't figure out if I need a ticket or not. There was no obvious place on the ets website where I would print one out. I printed out the information in my email confirmation... should that be sufficient? Thanks in advance.

Hi all, I just finished my junior year as an undergraduate and am hoping to pursue biostatistics at a graduate level. I've struggled to find much comprehensive information on the internet about programs and levels of competitiveness. Here are some of the questions I'm trying to investigate right now: 1) How do I gauge how competitive I am? 2) It's fairly easy to find a list of top biostats programs, but where can you go to find a list of "middle tier" programs? 3) Financial aid will be a must for me. How do I figure out which programs are most inclined to give financial aid? Thanks for any help in advance. I know I definitely want to continue learning, but I am not sure of how I should be going about this. I openly admit that I am very naive about this process and appreciate any tips!