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theycombinator

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Everything posted by theycombinator

  1. Me as well, starting a PhD at Wellcome Trust CIMR, Cambridge.
  2. there's a big overlap in the direction, so they might have found out. I didn't get any emails from them today, and the admissions officer is not replying either. Maybe they've postponed decisions, which sucks.
  3. To be fair, this frustrating situation I mentioned didn't take place in the US, but at a top UK institution instead. Part of my frustration stems from the fact that I hoped all this admissions process to be more predictable. I was quite ill during Fall, so I couldn't send many applications. I chose to send a really tiny set (3) to very specific places that I supposed to be good matches. In retrospective, it's been a disaster so far even though I've been interviewed in all 3 places---with one offer I declined and no rejections so far. The other two places might or might not reject me, but I don't think they have a good picture of who I am. And that sucks cause it feels like playing the wheel of fortune, with just 2 attempts... Although I have some strong points, I'm rather old (29), so I guess that waiting till next year, which I wouldn't otherwise care much about, could turn admissions into a really uphill battle.
  4. This is very frustrating, and I have experienced it last week. Short interviews with almost no technical content, just vague questions like where do you see yourself in 5 years time. Hard to distinguish yourself or impress anyone in this framework. Many if you're a good speaker, but that doesn't have any correlation with science.
  5. I've interviewed at a top program, and they called in 25 people for just 5 positions---which I found rather extreme. Plus, the interview was short and non-technical, which left me a bit frustrated. It's OK to be selective, but at least I wish they enhanced their interviewing techniques. Otherwise, I don't see how they will be able to make wise choices. End of my rant
  6. I see, I hope they write to me today or tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm probably out.
  7. I'm getting quite impatient too. I recently rejected a PhD position from a good German university and only applied to Cold Spring Harbor and University of Cambridge. Let's see how my risky bet turns out.
  8. Well, this probably outbalanced most of the other parts of your application ;-) As far as I understand, having one or more papers is generally very well regarded by admissions, especially if you are one of the first authors and/or it is a good journal. Yes, I will make sure not to place too much emphasis on program prestige per se. Would you be so kind as to post some of the programs you were interested in? I'm already preparing GRE. As I expect to have quite some time to study, I'll take it by the end of Summer. If I'm not happy with the scores, I'll retake it during Fall.
  9. Thanks again for your reply! Yes, I've been thinking about it and I'll do that. It's always good to start early & iterate, if given the opportunity. After a two practice tests, I'm expecting to get a great quantitative score, but only a fair verbal one. Not too bad, but not stellar either. Given finite time to improve my application, I guess that addressing other aspects (like publications) will yield a better returns, right? Do admissions officers of top schools value high verbal scores?
  10. Thanks, this is a very good heuristic! One additional question regarding standardised tests. What's a good timing to take GRE & TOEFL given that most schools close applications on Dec 1st? I'd like to leave room for a second attempt, especially in case of GRE, as my verbal score might not be terribly good.
  11. Thanks for such an awesome reply. What ranking are you referring to? It sounds like a really good program. And I love that you get done with coursework after 1 year, as I've already passed a gigantic amount of courses. What was the deciding factor? Yes, I had a teacher from Utah at CSHL and I was very impressed by all the ongoing research they are doing there. Sometimes schools with lesser known brand names are still fantastic if you end up with the right supervisor. This is something that, as a European, scares and at the same time excites me about PhDs in the US. You don't have a preassigned topic / supervisor when you enter grad school. You can make much better informed decisions once you're an insider. Thus, do you place a lot of weight for choosing a grad school in the potential advisors that belong to the faculty? Since I'm not a Biology major, I think I'd have a hard time getting a good score in a subject GRE test.
  12. Yes, that's a great advice, thanks! Any suggestions of other similar programs to CSHL? I really like their high-profile labs, broad coverage of topics (with a strong focus on genomics, oncology and quant. biology, among others), plus flexible coursework.
  13. Thanks for your detailed reply. Yes, I've seen that GRE is compulsory in almost every school, with the notable exception of CSHL—which is my top choice at the moment. But since I'll be obviously applying to more places, there's no way around it. I must send TOEFL scores to all of them too, as far as I can see. Waivers are generally granted when you have obtained a BSc taught in English, which I haven't. I have a very high GPA (graduated first of class and top of my country). Interestingly, in US terms it's a low GPA. Only 3.4. Most European schools have very different grading policies compared to what is customary in the States. Grading policies were so crazy in my undergrad institution that very often nobody would have a BSc GPA greater than 3. Yes, I'm only interested in molecular biology and genetics. That's a very good point. Some programs labeled as quantitative biology, computational biology or bioinformatics also fall within my field of interest. Perhaps also biomedical sciences and interdisciplinary programs are worth having a look at. Could you mention some good ones / the ones you applied to? I've done a fair amount of research, but perhaps I'm still missing some. For example, while at CSHL I met the dean of Mount Sinai, which seems to be a fantastic interdisciplinary programme. Scripps seems to be an outstanding little place as well. I have the impression that those places can be very competitive due to their extreme focus on research. Thanks
  14. Thanks for your reply. Could you list some of the schools you applied to? There might be some great PhD schools I'm not aware of, or whose quality I'm underestimating. I'll have a closer look at the GRE requirements in all of them. In case it is common to provide it, I'll definitely take it. I don't want to have a hole in my application.
  15. Hello, I'm getting prepared to apply for admission to PhD programs in Spring '14. Being from Europe, and having an unconventional background, I'd love to hear some advice from you. ==Education== * BSc + MSc in CS, MSc in Math Modeling & Statistics * 2 Molecular Biology courses at CSHL and some others elsewhere ==Research== * One paper submitted as coauthor to Nat. Methods * Another one as first author already accepted in Bioinformatics * Might submit a third one during Fall * No wetlab experience * Still quite weak bio background ==Highlights== * Graduated first of my class and top of my whole country ==Letters of recommendation== Pretty bad, I'm supposed to start a PhD at my current institution, but their research sucks despite good publication profile. I'd rather run away from here as fast as possible. Good chances of getting great LORs from my previous non-bio environment, though. Might be able to get one from a low profile guy here as well. ==Questions== 1. What schools would you apply to? I have a slightly theoretical / quantitative bend, but I like collaborating with people that do lab work, and I'd love to learn that too. I'm mostly interested in the mechanics of complex diseases. My papers are in the field of oncology. 2. Should I take GRE? I'd rather spend some time optimising other parts of my application. Maybe this depends on the schools I apply to. 3. Other advice is welcome. Thanks
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