Appsitude

It is very common in biology/biomedical sciences to be asked where else you are applying to. There are a couple reasons for this: 1) As others have said, if you are deciding between similarly ranked schools (and the school you are applying to knows this), you may be offered a fellowship to make the deal more sweet. 2) Institutional research and rankings take this information into account. 3) I had graduate students and professors genuinely curious about where I was applying as they had either gone through similar decisions or knew people at those institutions. In general, don't worry if you get asked this. Just be sure to not gush about another university you applied to while at a different interview

@Iaminator - You should have no problems with the application process with your stats and experience. Don't worry about the lack of publications or unrelated research experience. I had zero publications + evolutionary biology experience and got into all of my choices for cancer biology. As long as you can talk about your research and what you have learned from it (broadly), you should be good to go. @Dubblebubble - You are also a very competitive applicant. Really highlight your grants and your presentations -- these will boost your application more than anything else. A 3.7 GPA will at least meet the baselines at all of your institutions too. You may not be 9/9 on interviews and acceptances, but I would be surprised if you go less than 4 acceptances this cycle.

Agreed. Luckily, GRE is lower on the list of things important to an adcom.

Neuronsbeyondneurons2: I think I would apply to some "reach" programs too -- you have a really good background in research, good grades, a passable GRE, and a masters. I would not be surprised one bit if you were considered at top programs in neuroscience (like Columbia, UCSF, etc.) with your background. Dagmarak - Finish strong + get good letters and you shouldn't have a problem. Having two publications + research experience at Harvard + personal problems that you have overcome should overshadow a low GPA for a couple years. I would apply to PhD programs and see what happens. Worst case scenario is you take a year off and do a post-bacc/tech and apply the next year. Amethyst - Writing scores won't hurt you unless it is under a 4.0 (and even then, if you have high verbal/publication/writing intensive classes it may not even matter). That is one of the last things that will go into a decision especially if you have a boat load of research experience + good letters.

Honestly, as long as you aren't constantly bothering them, most POIs do not mind receiving emails from prospective students. More than likely the POI you emailed is just busy, doesn't talk to students until after they are admitted, or did not have much to say to you for some other reason. I wouldn't read in to it at all. Emailing POIs is never a bad thing in my opinion.

I would only send it if you are above 80-percentile. Anything below will only hurt you. If you have a strong background in biology, I may be hesitant sending it then. Even for programs that strongly recommend it (such as my program), I don't believe I know anyone who took it and submitted their results.

Just some advice from someone who went through the process last year: 1. Don't ever count yourself out from a particular school based on GPA, GRE scores, research experience, etc. I know plenty of people who were accepted at top programs with GPAs lower than 3.5 and plenty of people who were denied from programs with a perfect GPA. 2. Make sure you have three strong recommendation letters! Letters are by far the most important part of your application. Not all three letters have to be from previous research mentors (I went with 2 research mentors + a professor I was close with); however all three should be from professors who know you personally, know your motivations for attending graduate school, and can provide their own reasons as to why you would succeed in a graduate program. 3. Don't freak out over interviews! Interview weekends are by far the most fun you'll have throughout the entire process. Seriously, enjoy these weekends and use them to learn about the program and whether you fit in both personally and research-wise. It's very tempting to over-prepare and focus so much on nailing the interview that you act unnatural/not like yourself. If you are offered an interview at a school, that school already views you as someone who could succeed in graduate school, they just want to ensure that their program is the best fit for you (and vice versa). Feel free to ask me any questions about the whole process! Have fun!

I wouldn't worry too much about age! I am a younger applicant as well (just turned 21 before right before interviews) and, although I was the youngest applicant at most of my interviews, I didn't have any problems getting into great programs! One thing to know before going in is just about every professor will ask you about going into a PhD at such a young age...so make sure to have a good answer for that going in. I honestly don't think you will have a problem getting into a top program so I wouldn't worry too much -- good luck!

It came down to a few things: 1) I felt like I connected better to future PIs at UCSF compared to Harvard. Faculty at both schools do amazing research, but the researchers I met with at UCSF genuinely seemed like they care about their grad students and want them to succeed. I didn't get this as much from Harvard. 2) In general, I liked the BMS students a LOT more than the BBS students -- might have been just me though! 3) People just seemed happier at UCSF compared to Harvard. That definitely factored into how I remembered each school after I left. Are you leaning to one school over the other right now? For me it ended up coming down to UCSF, MIT, and Harvard and I'm stoked to be in San Fran next year! Yeah, I liked the professors I talked to at Yale, but didn't really get along with the current graduate students. Also didn't like New Haven at all. Housing in San Francisco actually doesn't worry me too much...the way I see it is a lot of graduate students are currently doing it without being completely miserable so we should be able to too

I chose UCSF over Yale BBS, but it's up to how you felt at your interviews!

Yale MCGD acceptances getting sent out gradually today. Good luck everyone!

Attending UCSF next year. West coast all the way.