shorty06
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Posts posted by shorty06
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Hi shorty06, when you mention you "heard from a professor today", do you mean a professor contacted you to say you were admitted?
Yes, he told me he got word from the department of my acceptance. I'm guessing the department itself will be sending out notifications shortly.
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yeah, I'm waiting too. Anybody received word recently from them??
I was on their last interview weekend and heard from a professor today. Nothing from the department itself yet so maybe there's still time.
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Hey bme_bme,
I didn't apply to bioe programs b/c I am more interested in the "life" aspect of bme and therefore think that biomedical sciences programs will be a better fit for me in the future. I heard from most schools in late December, early January though.
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There are bound to be some negative situations like the ones people are outlining at all schools. Really the only way to know the whole story is to investigate for yourself the programs you are interested in, as you alone know what your level of scrutiny is. I think deciding not to apply to a program solely based on a few others' experiences is setting yourself up for a potentially huge loss.
I agree that there are negative situations at all schools. However, it's hard to consider a school when all people you talk to and respect in the field say negative things about a school. When there are so many great schools out there, I can't see myself experiencing a potentially huge loss by excluding just one. After all, learn from the experience of others, right?
That being said, I agree that people should investigate and get multiple sources of experience. By no means was I trying to imply that my word is gospel... just that reputation should not be the only consideration that goes into such a large decision. -
I've heard this, too. According to a grad student I worked with as an undergrad, some departments of Harvard have the attitude of "Harvard doesn't need you, but you need Harvard." This would definitely be something to investigate among current grad students.
Also, a postdoc friend there said that some of the older faculty can be kind of crusty. Not sure exactly what that means, maybe that they just sit on the laurels of their old research and don't innovate anymore?
This is one reason I didn't apply there. The lab tech in my lab's project got cut while she was a grad student there. Result: no PhD for no good reason. Also, (comparatively) very few faculty members have tenure there, so your mentor may not be there for the entire time that you will. Also, I've heard that the attitude towards women there in science is a bit hostile... still. The bottom line: It might be great for hyper-competitive people or if you get lucky, but I think happiness is worth more to me than reputation. Also, there are plenty of other great schools out there.
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Haha... I always get: "so do you still research flies?" I must say, it's more on target than saying "oh so and so studied X language," but sort of makes me want to bang my head against a wall nonetheless. the tool is not the subject of interest.
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That's basically what my PI said (who's been in the department for like 20 years). She said the very top programs (like... top 3-5) probably actually use it as part of the admissions process, but the vast majority are using it to show off their department. They (adcom) actually call it recruitment weekend. I'm sure it varies by field, but based on your name I'm guessing we're in the same field. She said she can only remember one person who interviewed at my school (U Washington) and didn't get in... 4.0 student from MIT w/ excellent research experience but couldn't make eye contact to save his life and completely and utterly lacked social skills.
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$075 one application (others free due to McNair)
Hooray McNair!
$75 GRE (fee reduction)
$0 GRE Prep class offered by McNair
$75 Application fee (other 10 schools granted fee waiver)
$140 additional score reports
$117 transcripts
$20 GRE study book
$15 GRE flashcards
$20 admissions essay book
$462
What I would have paid w/o McNair:
Probably wouldn't have taken the GRE prep class... but something to consider
$747 more in app fees
$1209
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I found a typo on my CV on a publication title (good God... you'd think I could get that right), but so far I've gotten two interviews and no rejections so I don't think it's that big of a deal. Granted, I submitted CVs in supplementary materials or whatever.
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Isn't there a fee reduction option? Half price? I qualified, but didn't feel like going through the process of filling out a form, sending in fin aid info, and essentially having to sign up through the mail instead of online.
But hell, I did well, so I don't really care now.
Half price is still $75. If I had the same financial situation as when I came into undergrad, this still would have been prohibitive. Also, the fee reduction voucher took 4 weeks to get, after which you could call and schedule your appointment. Because the test centers fill quickly, this requires a lot of careful planning. They seriously need to revamp their program for the underprivileged. I think in general, the GRE is helpful. I'm glad my performance from a large public university, which curves most classes to a 2.8, can be compared to, say, an Ivy League with massive grade inflation by another means than GPA. I will admit that it is probably a better measure of how you perform under stress than anything else, but isn't this still a good number for adcom's to keep in mind? You are a candidate for a stressful program after all.
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Hello all,
I am currently a Biosystems engineering senior at a Research 1 university and I am in the process of applying to graduate schools. I just wanted some advice on my chances of getting into a good Biomedical engineering program.
My current GPA is sitting around a 3.1, and it will be most likely around a 3.2 at my time of application. This is due to the fact that I was a pre-med student and I did not do so well in some of the medical school pre-req courses (o chem, etc.) With the exception of one failed engineering course that I am retaking, my low GPA is all due to the medical school pre-requisites I took. I have not taken the GRE yet (that is happening in mid-November) but I expect that I will get good scores. As far as research experience, I have worked in a research lab on campus for about a year, working with nanoparticles, lanthanide-based fluoroscopy techniques, and other biomedical imaging methods.
My main concern at the moment is that my low GPA may bar be from getting into a good program. Most programs state that the average applicant GPA is a 3.5, which is significantly higher than my application GPA will be. I expect good GRE scores, great recommendation letters, etc. but I wanted to know if anyone had any insight into my chances of getting into good BME programs.
Currently the list of schools I want to apply to are:
University of Virginia
University of Michigan
Boston University
UCSD
UCSF
Case Western
I am toying with the idea of applying to MIT, Johns Hopkins, and some other top programs but as I stated before, my GPA concerns are putting me off from applying there.
If anyone has any advice it would be extremely helpful! Thanks!
I'm a bioengineering major at U of Washington and definitely understand how annoying pre-med classes are. Unfortunately, almost everyone applying to big name schools coming from a bioe background has also had to take those classes. That being said, GPA is only one factor in an application. Research experience is critical in the field, so if you can demonstrate a strong background, you shouldn't self-select out. I've also heard that when screening applicants, some top programs set a lower limit to EITHER GRE scores or GPA for consideration. Hope that helps!
MIT Biology
in Biology
Posted
Hey theapplicant, thanks and I heard the official word from the department on Tuesday. Best of luck!