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When I was at Dartmouth there was a woman there who had been accepted to BU PiBS.

I think it would. I would ask if they were planning or able to take an REU student and maybe ask for details on the project. Not every professor in the department will take a student, so this would be good to ask ahead of time.

I just said something like I was able and excited to attend. Short and sweet. Also for my fellow friends on the SO applying to grad school adventure... My SO got rejected from Cornell. Which I'm sort of happy about (horrible, I know). But it's one less problem we could have!

That's awesome! I'm wondering if the rumors about Yale BBS (very similar to Harvard BBS) are true. I feel like you can't believe everything you hear anymore.

I know haha it's just nice to hear something positive. Makes me slightly less neurotic.

http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/114139

I got an email back from one professor saying he hopes he'll see me in September! Yay!

I emailed all of them (I interviewed with five). I had something different for each of them. The program at Dartmouth is fairly small so I figured it couldn't hurt to reach out to them all. Also, I interviewed with two faculty who share a lab so I couldn't email one and not the other! Haha. Also, I've only had two interviews and I preferred Dartmouth by a long shot. I really want them to know how much I liked the program. They also told us who was on the committee, which included two of my interviewers, so I definitely wanted to reach out to them! Most of the professors also encouraged me to email them if I had any questions, so I didn't feel uncomfortable. I didn't do any of this for Penn State (probably because I didn't like it as much...) I would just use your best judgment.

Sending my thank you emails.... really hoping I get accepted. Of course all I can focus on is the little things I might have messed up on....

My biggest tip: apply to as many programs as you can. I only applied to five and I was lucky to get one. They are extremely competitive, but they look at different aspects than graduate school does. The applications are normally free, so just apply to a ton! Also, you could apply to some chemistry REUs and still do biochemistry research. (That's what I personally did) Good luck!!!

I talked to a woman over the weekend who got an interview from Tufts Sackler ISP and she said she got an interview offer but hadn't scheduled yet. Not very helpful but it's something.

Interesting thing here: while at Dartmouth, a grad student came up to me and said that a certain professor really wanted to meet me but couldn't. Very interesting! I'm thinking maybe he knows one of my PIs? I'm emailing him now. Never heard for this kind of thing happening... especially since I can't find a school or research connection to my PIs/research. Hope everyone else's interviews are going well!

I'm assuming that if we don't have an interview at this point it means no. I have no idea why they won't just say that! Unless they're afraid a lot of people will turn them down post interview and they're keeping us on some sort of imaginary wait list.

I emailed Natasha three weeks ago if all the interviews had gone out and she said I'd be hearing "shortly" with no information about whether not getting an interview means not getting in or anything. Confusion! Haha.

Boston U did the same thing to me three weeks ago... Still nothing. I've stopped trying to speculate haha.

Thanks so much! I'm thinking about wearing dark jeans, boots, a nice blouse and a jacket. I think my dress pants with the jacket would be too much.

The problem I'm having is my dress pants are really flared and all my boots are high black boots. I may be running to target tomorrow to get lower profile black boots... I bought a dress, but I'm afraid it'll be too formal for a "casual" interview. The other idea I had was wearing my crappy boots and changing into flats there, except then I'd have to carry boots around all day. Decisions!

Freaking out about what to pack to wear... Email from Dartmouth said the event is "casual" and stressed not to wear dress shoes or business suits! Ugh. Any advice??

It's stopped now and it's not supposed to snow again until Sunday. So hopefully they'll clear it up fast!

It isn't that unsafe. It has good and bad areas like every city. I live in a rural area about 20-25 minutes from RPI. There's a lot of suburbs too if you're willing to commute.

Got my Dartmouth itinerary! So exicited!

I'm a "science person" but here's my advice anyway: 1) Funding for me would be HUGE. Unless I completely fell in love with a more expensive program, this would be the most important to me. Not having as much debt will be much easier for you in the long run. 2) Location is important. I didn't apply to any schools in areas I knew I wouldn't want to live in (NYC, for example). You're pretty much choosing this place for the next few years of your life- make sure you can at least tolerate it. 3) I wouldn't go off rankings. A lot of times, they don't really mean much. From what I'm told, where you got the degree (to a certain extent, of course) doesn't matter - its what you did while you were there. Do any of your schools have stand out internship/experience/etc programs? My last bit of advice - trust your gut. I know it sounds stupid, but when I chose my undergrad, one just felt "right"- even though it wasn't as high of a ranking. And I've had experiences here I would not have been able to have elsewhere. Hope this helps! Good luck!

RPI has a really great reputation for engineering and the sciences, especially in the Northeast. My boyfriend is from Troy originally. Although it isnt the most ideal location, there is safe housing (you just have to be smart). They just built beautiful new College Suite buildings, one specifically designed for graduate students. You could also look into other suburban areas (East Greenbush, Averill Park, etc) which are more rural and would require a 10-15 minute drive into campus each day. A lot of my friends went to RPI for their undergrad. Apparently the school is much more focused on graduate students (which would work out well for you). I know the alumni network is very impressive, especially if you plan on settling somewhere in the Northeast. I'm going to bug my boyfriend to finally get on GradCafe since he knows a ton more than I do. But if you love the research I would definitely recommend taking a look at it!