[2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

I know this is a little late, but here we go...

I applied to an overall of 14 graduate programs, all mostly immunology since I come from a strong immunology background from UC Irvine. I only received two interview invitations which were from UTMB BMB, and UC Davis Immunology. I was accepted to UTMB, and waitlisted at UC Davis post-interview. My obvious choice was to go to UC Davis since their program was a much better fit when compared to that of UTMB. Furthermore, I also wanted to attend UC Davis because one of my friends who was working in my undergraduate lab was a first-year in that program (and coincidentally she was also my student host at the Davis interview!). I actually didn't receive the acceptance from UCD until the day before the April 15 deadline, and by then I had already taken the offer from UTMB. Luckily, I was able to rescind my acceptance from UTMB without any hard feelings (I hope somebody else was able to receive my offer though!).

To be honest, I'm quite amazed at how I was able to make it into a rather selective program at UCD; I don't have the greatest of stats (3.096 GPA for example), but knowing that I was able to compete with people from UCSD, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSF was a nice morale booster. I'm sure a lot of those people I met at the interviews have chosen to attend a program they feel is better suited for them, and they really deserve it. While it wasn't your top choice, it was definitely up there on my list. Good luck to you guys - I'm sure you'll be happy and will succeed in the program you are ending up at!

Please dont act like you are amazing. You didnt "compete" with anyone you were at bottom of the barrel. I hope you can survive the first quarter.

[What are you doing before grad school?]

lab at NASA

[My musical reflection on the scientific funding crisis!]

Wow how about trying to be a good PhD student instead of wasting time? You are not good at singing anyway.

[What is your guilty pleasure?]

I never feel guilty. The world should feel guilty for being in my grace.

[Opposite gender roommate]

I sleep with all my roommates, male and female so it doesn't matter.

[Summer Plan]

Of course a person like you who got rejected and waitlisted from 3rd tier schools are more knowledgable than me. LMAO

[Summer Plan]

I'm going to disagree with this, if only marginally. My letters of rec were from a course professor in biology, a professor that I had taken 4 classes with in economics (my minor), and one from my research advisor. I don't think you need to have done research in 2 separate labs to be competitive. Perhaps for the very top programs, but generally speaking I don't think so. Of course more research experience is always better, but you should do the research that you feel you will enjoy the most.

As if I care what you think I got into harvard, yale, stanford .etc. so save it.

[Terrible grades after accepting phd offer]

I was a straight A student until last quarter with all the interviews I ended up with 2 B's. It is whatever. Just don't fail.

[Summer Plan]

research at a different place. You need at least 2 letters from professors you worked with to be competitive. Chances are you will not get a paper from the summer. Of course you can work with your PI the whole year next year and get something out of it.

[One Day Left, Would You Please Critique My SOP?]

Less "these things inspire me to do science..." and more "I actively did research, join groups, .etc." They don't care if you are inspired by nature when you are a kid or Craig Venter rekindle your love for science. What did you actually do?

[2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Just got my UNH rejection. Funny how you can get rejected from the lowest ranked school you apply to and get into better places.

Funny how I got accepted to the schools you are rejected from.

[Is it worth even beginning to try?]

You sound like a great candidate! Definitely apply to the top schools. 

[Should you go at all?]

stop the BS. "Science is greed" Don't make me laugh. What hypocrites you people are saying humanities = science & engineering when you can't survive without your iPhone and other technologies. I can survive without knowing about some useless passages from Hamlet and what techniques Matisse used for his paintings. You can downvote all you want but deep down inside you know you are not good at anything else so you have to justify for your useless job/career.

[Should you go at all?]

My cohort next year will be 5 students total. 

 

I'm just always disappointed that all discussions of the problems of academia and degrading value of the degree end up in STEM folks declaring the humanities useless and the problem. It's frustrating -- it pretends as if there is no interdisciplinarity between STEM and the humanities/arts. It acts as if there is no benefits or values to these subjects, nothing that could be useful, and, even in STEM, that's simply not true. I don't think that you can honestly run a world with only one discipline. 

 

I'm tired of such value calls from people I would otherwise hope would work for the greater whole rather than just themselves. 

 

Humanities people are useless. You don't contribute anything to the world except your stupid opinions. LMAO art history? what is that useful for? exactly

[Came for a masters, but supervisor is expecting me to continue as a PhD...]

Good luck asking him for a letter of rec.

[Weight of Goldwater Scholarship in Admissions]

It doesn't.... If you apply to top 10 schools there are ton of people with 4.0 gpa and perfect gre and multiple research experiences with publications and countless awards and they still get rejected. Look for research fit rather than name plz and you will be happier. (and yes i got into harvard and yale this cycle)

[Ivy vs Non-Ivy PhD]

If it is not the big 3: Harvard, Yale, Princeton(stretching it a lot here because their grad programs are inferior to H and Y) then don't even think about Ivy prestige because I never knew Brown, Cornell, UPenn, Columbia are Ivy until some months ago.

[2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

with their stipend do you really need a fellowship?

[UC Berkeley MCB vs. Harvard BBS]

Harvard BBS I heard is too big and impersonal. Also Harvard's faculty compete with each other for tenure spot and the stress trickles down to grad students. Honestly UCB is the same way... Both places are full of cutthroat self-starters if you enjoy that type of environment go for it! UCSF BMS/Tetrad/iPQB and Yale BBS programs have nicer faculty and graduate students who care more about you from my experience.

 

You can trust me on the Harvard's assessment because my PI got his PhD from Harvard and in his words "It was good for my career but I wasn't happy there." He did the PhD in the smaller Harvard MCO program which was suppose to be more personal so you know how worse it is for BBS.

[The "Rejected Across-the-Board" Club]

wtf is this. If you are not accepted it is because you are not as good as other people (even though you think your stats are "excellent"). Why do you have to spin your rejection around and say the adcom makes mistakes? This is not communist Russia. Only the best students should be admitted to graduate programs.

[The "Rejected Across-the-Board" Club]

So by your logic I should feel blessed with a third rated surgeon who failed anatomy but got into medical school because it is a "game". Also obviously I want a loser "psychologist" who "game" into grad school and somehow become licensed and I am suppose to trust that person with my mental health. Right.....

[The "Rejected Across-the-Board" Club]

if you get rejected by that many places maybe you are not a very good student and would make a terrible psychologist. Please consider another career.

[How early did you start the application process?]

Iike a year ago in 2012.....

[Problems with the advisor because i am a MA student?]

PhD students are more important. Get over it please.

[What more should an International Student do??]

You got into top 5 Ivy and you complain? Maybe aim for lower schools next year.....