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immuno555

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Posts posted by immuno555

  1. Is it normal/a good idea to send thank you emails (very brief) to the individuals who interviewed you? I just did that and now am afraid I shouldn't have done it?

    Not odd at all. Often this is normal business etiquette, like if you had just had a professional interview. I even e-mailed those I interviewed with at the institution I decided on to tell them I was so excited to join their research community. It should only go in the positive direction if written professionally. 

  2. Undergrad Institution: The Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Biology

    GPA in Major: 2.8

    Masters GPA: 3.9 (JHU Biotechnology Program with Thesis)

    GRE Quant: 160

    GRE Verbal: 158

    GRE Analytical Writing: 4.5

    I've been in the immunogenetics field since June 2009. I've got 5 years of clinical lab experience and 4 years of research with a thesis (masters was part time for 2 years while working 40+ hours a week and taking call) . Additionally my thesis research has been presented at 3 national meetings ( American Heart Association, American Society for Histocompatability and Immunogenetics and Immunocor- Directors meeting) I lost some focus during undergrad but obviously have shown how serious I am about my academics now considering my performance in my masters program. I'm pretty sure my strong suite was my research background as well as focus on future goals. I was told by some I had a great SOP and interview well. Best of luck !

  3. The school I've decided to attend was never on my "to apply to " list. My mother's company is headquartered in Nashville and she convinced me to apply since she was up for a corporate promotion. I've always been an east coast girl. Always will be, but Vanderbilt IGP is amazing. And due to her, I will be attending vanderbilt IGP. Sooooooo excited. It's almost like the universe said so. ....by the way, my mom declined the position before I accepted. I think my mom was my universal sign.

  4. I'd recommend looking in the area of Fells Point, Mt. Vernon or Canton. A lot of times the city can be difficult to live in without roommates due to cost and security... I'd recommend living with someone in a small building. You also might want to look where the Circulator routes are as well as the JHMI shuttle. I went to JHU for undergrad and have lived in bmore for 8 years so if you have any questions let me know. I'd hate to admit it, but you may also want to google the crime map to see where break-ins/ robberies etc happen often.http://data.baltimoresun.com/bing-maps/homicides/

     

    I accepted an offer from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the interview gave me at least two days to look around the city... but other than that, I don't know much about it. Looking up info on the internet is difficult because it doesn't give you the true feel of the city. I really liked it while I was there, but I don't know enough about the neighborhoods or where I should be looking to live. 

     

    In general, there are places that offer utilities included with the rent payments which are nice... but could I save money finding a cheaper place and paying utilities myself? Anyone have some advice?

  5. I interviewed and was accepted to Hershey. Speaking to some of my friends already in grad school, she advised against attending. Her words were "it would be a waste of your time." I think her opinion is based on rank, exposure and the quality of applicant pool. I thought everyone was welcoming and it seemed like a great program with all the amenities of being a Penn State student. It was my backup school and I have declined, but if it were my only choice, I think I would be in a tough place to decline and reapply next year.

  6. I'm heading out of Baltimore to Miami. American Airlines is delusional thinking Id be leaving, that's if I can even get to the airport. My flight is 11pm BWI . I took precautions and contacted the program admin (today) who I have been in contact with and let him know of possible complications and essentially I may not make it. He said they would make every effort to get me there another weekend, or even schedule another weekend that is off the interview schedule. ( downside to not making it there this weekend is all the awesome people I wanted to meet !)..... Good luck all this week

  7. Anyone interviewing/interviewed at UCLA Access/BSP already? In the itinerary it lists a set of interviews (4), for me 3/4 of these are people who I didn't express interest in my application.  However, I'm assuming from the fact that there are only 4 interviews listed on the schedule that these are people I am personally scheduled to interview with.  Has anyone else had a similar experience?

    I agree with MackF, it's really about you being able to talk about YOU! Use your intelligence to connect with them. Ask a question to sound like you care. But at this point can't forget it's not 100% and there is a little bit of selling you need to do.

    My hardest interview question was " you know we only accept 2 out of every 3 we interview, so why should I advocate the committee for you ?" ....let me tell you it's a tough question to be out on the spot, luckily I have an answer- because I care enough. Do you have enough to convince someone that you do ?

    But be prepared for these crazy ones! You need to answer right now questions.

  8. I felt that even when the interviewer was just spouting off about their work, it was important to ask analytical questions. By doing so you are able to prove to them that your mind works at the capacity of work at their academic level. I had an interviewer say, "wow that's a really great question, I have no idea. I think I'm going to look into that. " I felt phenomenal. I think it's key not to let them get carried away. Interrupt them. Do it! But in an informative additive way. It certainly got me this far... Also when talking about your own work, don't forget to talk about when your experiments DIDN'T work. This is key in bioscience grad school. By the time we all have PhD's we will know 250+ ways how not to prove something. Gluck all !

  9. I went to an interview this past weekend and two of the girls who interviewed with me are currently at Vandy - one for for undergrad and one for MS. We were talking about schools and they just went into this discussion of aggressive budget cuts and I was like, ok, good to know I guess...then I looked it up and it turns out that last year they had a goal to cut $250 million, or 1,000 jobs.

     

    http://www.thelayoff.com/vanderbilt

     

    Curious what kind of vibe you guys get at your IGP interviews since IGP is part of the school of medicine...

     

    I did talk to a current IGP student about the budget cuts. They started with janitorial staff and some support staff in departments. I asked him if he has any problems with "paper pushing" sorts of things and he said no. I highly doubt this is the only place that has had cuts in the last few years. But I guess you never know till you are there.

     

    As for the interview vibe, almost every person I interviewed with had funding, was in the process of receiving funding or was applying for more funding.....So if funding is a concern, I think Vanderbilt is currently the 9th highest recipient of NIH funding.

     

    They certainly didn't skimp on the interview weekend (private hotel room, wine and dined Friday night catered by one of Nashville's best restaurants and brunch Saturday, along with the normal full catered lunches). They even paid for my SO to be there (minus his travel expenses).

  10. I believe they interview through all of March, I think. 

    Congrats!!!! Do you know if Vanderbilt is having any other interview weekends? Thanks:-)

     

     

    I just got a Vanderbilt IGP interview offer yesterday and had the choice of 2 weekends -- March 14th or March 28th. I'm pretty positive there are earlier dates as well.

  11. I just did this last week and it worked WONDERS! 

     

    If I've learned anything this interview season, it's that...I am absolutely terrible with names.

     

     

    At my first interview, I had a lot of trouble matching names/faces, even of people I'd spoken to, and I suddenly couldn't remember what any of them worked on!  For my second, I'm going to print off a page of faculty photos matched with a quick description of what they do.  If you have as much trouble with this names things as I do, you might want to try this!

  12. If I've learned anything this interview season, it's that...umbrella programs are more open to non-traditional student applicants and those that have shown progress during "time off".

     

    I've been out of undergrad for 5 years (making me slightly older than the average applicant I think) and have "uped" my CV tremendously over that timeframe including: national presentations, a master's degree with an outstanding GPA, master's thesis, a small book chapter, training on many different experimental platforms, great relationships with my LORs and clinical lab work. I would never have even been looked at a second time if I applied out of undergrad with no research experience and a poor GPA. Showing I was serious about my "time off" I think helped, however if you take time off and don't show improvement this could be looked upon less favorably.

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