BostonBio153

Sure! Here it is: Undergrad Institution: Top 10 liberal arts school Major(s): Molecular Biology & Biochemistry (just one major, but it sounds like two) Minor(s): Film and Media Culture Studies GPA in Major: 3.69 Overall GPA: 3.71 Position in Class: Unknown Type of Student: Domestic white male GRE Scores (revised version): Q: 165 (91%) V: 166 (96%) W: 6.0 (99%) B: didn't take Research Experience: -2 summers + 4 semesters of independent research for undergrad. Presented at national and international conferences. First-author paper in medium-impact factor journal and high honors thesis from undergrad. -1.5 years (so far) research as a tech at major cancer research institute. 2 publications from this experience, one second-author review in high-impact journal and one fourth-author in high-impact journal. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: -High honors thesis -Award for outstanding research at international conference -Senior research award at college -Deans list Pertinent Activities or Jobs: -TA'd Intro Bio class for 2 semesters Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not that I can think of! Some volunteer work but nothing too extensive. Also, I've been very lucky to be in a tech position where I'm involved in designing experiments, helping write papers and fellowships. Not just typical tech stuff. I feel like that's helped a lot in terms of learning new techniques and how to do research well. Special Bonus Points: No special connections or famous recommenders. I think that my 3 strong references definitely helped my application a lot though. Applying where: See signature

Hmm... just got a rejection email from Columbia a few hours after an acceptance email. Not sure what's going on!?!

Acceptances from Johns Hopkins and Columbia! Nice afternoon surprises!

I wouldn't worry too much about it. At the interviews I've gone to, there were a few people under 21 and it didn't seem to be a problem. I agree with others in that you should contact the person organizing the weekend and let them know. Usually they have activities where you wouldn't need an ID to get in. Also, I doubt that the grad students, fellow applicants, or professors will care at all if you drink/are underage. And if they make jokes and laugh behind your back (which is very unlikely), then that's not a school you'd want to be at anyway! The bottom line is that your interactions with the current grad students in the program has virtually zero influence whatsoever on your application. The only part of the interview weekend that has any bearing on the school's decision to admit you is your interviews with faculty. I know plenty of graduate students who didn't go out to bars during interview weekends and got admitted to programs.

Hey guys, I found a great blog post about what to ask biomed grad students during interview weekends. It's super useful, and definitely worth a read! http://benjvincent.blogspot.com/2014/01/what-to-ask-biomedical-graduate.html

I wouldn't worry about it! It was in response to an email I sent to them about reimbursement...

Just got an email from Sloan-Kettering. Apparently all acceptances will be sent out sometime next week. Good luck everyone!

I believe that since BBS is the umbrella program, the admission rates for interviewees are slightly higher than other programs. That being said, I've heard that the BBS rate is around 80%

Not exactly sure, but usual a pre-interview consists of some sort of list of questions about yourself that the school wants to know before the interview actually happens (maybe something asking about what your general interests are, career goals, or something you might not have mentioned in your personal statement). What was the context of them asking?

This is a great idea! I did this during my interviews and it really helped a lot when I was preparing. Not only do the pictures bring a face to each name, but it really helped calm my nerves before meeting each PI!

If I've learned anything this interview season, it's that... you don't need to read papers by people you're going to interview with. Just be able to ask smart questions. For interviews I wasn't sure how much background knowledge I had to have for the PIs I'd be talking with. For most of them, I was interested in their research anyways, so I didn't mind reading up on them (on the programs website, and maybe briefly skim a few abstracts of theirs). But 99% of the time, your interviewers are going to be telling you (quite enthusiastically) about their current projects, and you'll need to quickly think of smart questions to ask them. If you can't come up with immediate questions, I've found that it's best to reiterate what they said to you in a different way, as if you're clarifying a point. Good luck at interviews everyone!

Hey everyone, quick question about interviews... Are you guys sending thank you notes to your interviewers, or do you think an email saying thanks will do? Since the interviews aren't that long and are pretty informal, I would imagine that an email would be fine.

I received an email invite from them on 12/20, and I'm attending their first interview weekend this week, from Thursday (1/16) to Sunday (1/19). In the email, they didn't mention anything about an alternate weekend, but I assume they have more than one.

FYI for MIT Biology invites.... the response form is due this coming Tuesday, 1/14. So I would imagine that they might still be sending out invites over the weekend, but no later than 1/14. Good luck everyone!

So far... I'm probably going to decline 5 and go to 6, and none of them overlap.

Me too! Congrats

Haha thanks, I'll let you know Good luck!

Nothing yet... I doubt they've all been sent out, since there's only one post so far.

They said you can use either. And thanks for the link! I'm still not sure about whether an objective is necessary. I know that for jobs it usually is, but I'm not sure about grad school, specifically masters of ed programs...

Hi everyone! This is a re-post of a question that I asked in the general admissions forum, but another user suggested that I post it here, since it's a question specific to Education resumes. My girlfriend is applying to Masters Programs in Education and is trying to figure out whether she should include an objective (or "Professional Objective") at the start of her resume. From what I've read online, it seems like it's optional, but I was hoping that somewhere with knowledge/experience in Masters of Ed programs might have some advice! Thanks!

Hi everyone! My girlfriend is applying to Masters Programs in Education and is trying to figure out whether she should include an objective (or "Professional Objective") at the start of her resume. From what I've read online, it seems like it's optional, but I was hoping that somewhere with knowledge/experience in Masters of Ed programs might have some advice! Thanks

Brown's Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry (MCB) program is due January 6th. Link: http://www.brown.edu/academics/biology/molecular-cell-biochemistry/graduate/program-information/how-apply

That'd be great! I'd love to talk with someone in the program... Thanks!

Hey everyone, Does anyone have any opinions on what the best programs are for cancer biology? I'm trying to decide which schools to interview at. Specifically, I'm debating between the Princeton MolBio program, UPENN CAMB, and Yale BBS. If possible, I'd like to only interview at one of them, but I'm not sure which one to choose. I know that UPENN CAMB has a program in Cancer Biology, but I'm not sure how much Princeton MolBio focuses on translational cancer research. Any opinions?

Probably not... I'm trying to decide now which ones I want to go to. I'm interested in cancer biology programs, so I'm trying to figure out which schools would be best for that before I accept/decline interview offers...