Ekreagan

I didn't apply to all of those same programs, but this is what I can tell you: I applied for the Microbiology and Immunology program at Columbia (same department, different program as Pharmacology and Molecular Signalling). I was given an interview invitation via email on Dec 12 (the deadline was Dec 3). Their interview is Feb 12-14, so there's still some time before that one. I applied for the Biomedical Sciences program at Boston University (also under the Graduate Medical Sciences label, but a different program). The deadline was Dec 1 and I got an interview offer via email on Dec 18. Their interview is Jan 23. Finally, I also applied at Stony Brook for their Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology program. That deadline was Jan 15 and I got an interview invitation via email on Jan 16. Their interview is on Jan 26. I'm not sure if any of these help you. I'm not sure about the Stony Brook one, given that I'm pretty sure we're both talking about the same program and their interview is in a week, but maybe the Columbia and BU programs are still notifying people about interviews. I've noticed, through browsing GC, that there are usually multiple waves of notification; not every applicant gets notified about interview offers on the same day. Personally, I definitely with you on the anxiety train. I applied to 9 programs and I've only heard from 5 of them. The other 4 have been totally silent.

Yale appears to have a pretty comprehensive umbrella program figured out. Many of the other schools that are more well known in my fields of interest don't seem to have any umbrella-type options, unfortunately. Is there a list of that sort of thing somewhere online? I don't, but you're right: that sounds like a really good idea. When I went to the American Chemical Society national convention last year, I was able to make some connections with leading researchers in tuberculosis treatment. They gave me a few individuals that I could look into working with, but many of them are at institutions that are located far from the northeast. Still, though, attending that conference definitely gave me more perspective on the issue and gave me some names to look out for. I'll definitely look into doing this more in the future! This has been pretty helpful. I definitely didn't know that many of those schools were so significant within my field. Thanks!

I appreciate your advice. I suppose I'll have to do a lot more research into what each program involves. I've only just recently started putting serious hours into selecting programs and the process is so completely different from finding an undergrad that my progress has been abysmally slow thus far. Choosing academia or industry has been a sticking point for me so far. From what I've heard, going into industry means that any research I do that looks promising is far more likely to be picked up and put into some sort of development pipeline, i.e. pharmaceutical discoveries are more likely to result in a drug that will actually help people. If I stay in academia, though, I'll have more freedom to choose a topic that I feel passionate about, rather than being placed on a project to develop a better medicine for heartburn or something (keeping in mind that I'm primarily interested in immunological and infectious diseases) if I'm in industry. I don't know many people in the field either way, though, so it's hard to figure out if those claims are accurate. I chose those schools based on a combination of my own interest in the programs they offer and on the word of my primary research adviser for undergrad, who has told me that I stand a fair shot of getting into them. I'd prefer to stay in the northeast, (though I recognize that California has a number of excellent schools, plus a number of pharma companies have significant operations there if I choose to enter industry) and I have some friends in the grad programs at a number of these schools who have said that their molecular biology/biochemistry programs are well-suited to me. I do recognize that my list could definitely come across as prestige seeking, but at the same time it's sort of hard to know about universities with good programs that just aren't as prestigious by virtue of the fact that they're not widely known.

Yeah, I sort of got that impression as I looked through previous posts from this year and others. I did my best to see which schools allow multiple applications: Harvard allows three total per person ever, but within certain departments you can only apply to one program. Yale allows a max of one total, MIT didn't appear to have any restrictions, Stanford allows 3, Columbia allows one, and Johns Hopkins seemed to have no maximum. The biggest problem I've found with narrowing down my search is that I have some specific diseases in mind that I'd like to research, but depending on how you classify different fields I could be well-suited to join a virology, immunology, pharmacology, pathology, biochemistry, microbiology, epidemiology, or infectious diseases program. Hence the overabundance of different applications. That's good advice. I tried looking for information on average GRE scores and GPAs prior to coming to this forum but wasn't able to find any. I mistakenly assumed that they were simply not available anywhere. I'll be sure to look through them now that I know they exist. At this juncture, I'd rather have too many interviews on a given weekend than limit myself to only one application and miss out on a chance to join a similar department. I'm not dead set on one particular, specific topic. I want to do research on either immunological or infectious diseases and their treatments. Whether that means approaching from a pharmacological standpoint or a microbiological one, I'm not too particular at this point. Apparently that level of flexibility is more of a hindrance than it is a bonus. I'm extremely interested in research. It's been my main motivation all through the second half of high school and all of my undergrad education. I'm concerned that applying to a larger number of research programs sends the opposite message of what I actually intend. I appreciate your feedback. I'm the only person in my field at my university looking at graduate school, so at the moment I have very little support from my peers. It's really nice to get some perspective from others.

Undergrad Institution: Liberal Arts school, fairly well known in the region but mostly for its Business and Communications schools. Not very well known for sciences. Major(s): Biochemistry and Physics Minor(s): Math GPA in Major: 3.70 and 3.63 Overall GPA: 3.70 Position in Class: Honestly, I'm not sure. Probably in the top 25%? Type of Student: Domestic female GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 162/83% V:164/93% W:3.5/38% Research Experience: Two years at university, in Biochemistry and Inorganic/Educational Chemistry. American Chemical Society IREU Scholar for 2014, conducted Biochem/Organic research in Scotland for 10 weeks. Publication forthcoming (hopefully). Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Excellence in General and Inorganic Chemistry from undergrad institution, ACS IREU 2014 Scholar (see above), Deans List all semesters (so far) Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics tutor for University Tutorial Program, freelance Physics, Chemistry, Math, and SAT tutor. Special Bonus Points: Female, come from very unusual pre-college educational background. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Hoping to Apply: Harvard - Division of Medical Sciences - Virology Harvard - Biological Sciences in Public Health - Immunology and Infectious Disease Yale - Biological and Biomedical Sciences - Pharmacology, Immunobiology, or Pathology MIT - Chemistry MIT - Microbiology MIT - Biology Stanford - Biosciences - Biochemistry, Immunology, and Genetics programs UC Berkeley - Infectious Disease and Immunity University of Pennsylvania - Chemistry Columbia University - Biomedical - Pharmacology and Molecular Signaling Johns Hopkins - School of Medicine - Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences Johns Hopkins - School of Medicine - Immunology Johns Hopkins - Bloomberg School of Public Health - Infectious Disease Epidemiology Johns Hopkins - Bloomberg School of Public Health - Global Disease Epidemiology and Control Johns Hopkins - School of Medicine - Pathobiology