factanonverba

My two cents about living in NYC - yes, it's gonna be completely different from California. But you are young, if you want to experience something different, grad school is not a bad time to do it! It would be hard to live in NYC at any other stage of one's career, but if the grad school gives you a good community, subsidized housing, etc. then I think it's a pretty good deal.

Hi guys, For those of you who have attended community colleges in the past, do you still list them on your academic CVs? In theory, if you have a bachelors and are in a PhD program, the CC degree doesn't really mean much anymore right? Do you think it is necessary to list all colleges one has attended? (Or do you think it is dishonest not to?)

I agree with @hurryskurry. Ultimately it's what you achieve in grad school that matters. And this will be heavily influenced by your PI, your cohort, and how happy you are in general. Also, GSK has a very strong name in academia especially in cancer bio, but I'm sure you already know that!

Thanks @jasbee, @siliconchins, and @StemCellFan for your input! I definitely clicked with the Stanford faculty better, although I really liked the grad students at MIT. (Not that I didn't like the Stanford students though!) This really helped! I think I am going to go with Stanford!

Hi guys, help me decide? I got accepted to both MIT biology and Stanford Biosciences (Cancer Biology), and I am so torn between these two. Below are my criteria so far, but I would like to get more input on this: 1. Program structure: MIT has a rigid program structure, I would take classes in fundamental areas of biology, have two semesters of TA-ing, three 1-month rotations, etc. Stanford is a bit more flexible as there is no TA requirement, there are some classes in cancer biology but there are other electives. Overall, I like the Stanford structure a bit more. 2. Classes: as mentioned above. I like the MIT classes because they seem to cover a broader spectrum of disciplines and I like that. Although the Stanford ones are not bad, they are just more focused on cancer bio. 3. Faculty choices: MIT has only ~50 faculty in the department, while Stanford has ~60 affiliated with cancer bio and hundreds more in the broader Biosciences program. I could work with any of the hundreds within Biosciences. I also made some really good faculty connections at Stanford and they already guaranteed rotation spots for me. Some of them even gave me their cell phone numbers so I can call them directly. 4. Research: Both places are doing amazing research! MIT has a lot of legendary PIs (Tyler Jacks, David Sabatini, Philip Sharp, Bob Weinberg, etc.) but they may or may not be suitable thesis advisors for someone like me who is an early career scientist and initially needs guidance. Stanford has more of a spectrum of senior, mid-career and young PIs so that might be a good thing for me? 5. Location: Boston/Cambridge is awesome! A lot of research/biotech/museums/music/arts etc. If I live outside the cities I can probably even get a one-bedroom at a reasonable price range. In comparison, Palo Alto seems pretty boring, and SUPER expensive to live in (impossible to live off-campus). 6. Weather: Palo Alto for the win! Mild winters, a lot of sunny days, not humid in the summer like in Boston. 7. Prestige: Are they comparable? Some people seem to think that MIT trains a lot of big thinkers in the field. What else am I missing?

You will be fine! Adrenaline is your friend

I think it's still definitely worth doing a practice interview with someone at your career center. Most career centers can conduct mock interviews for different situations, and it's likely that they have done them for prospective grad students in the past so they should know all the conventional interview questions and should be able to provide general tips. Not exactly the same, but I have done mock interviews in the past in preparation for research technician positions at my career center and they were quite helpful. Also, I think if you are passionate about your research, you should probably just let the conversation flow naturally! I don't think you can really come off as too enthusiastic as long as you don't sound crazy haha. I also tend to get carried away when I talk about my research and I have only had positive feedback from faculty interviewers so far. Just my experience though.

These are cool insights! Would you guys say it is a good idea to carry a notebook with you and jot notes during interviews? I carry it everywhere with me and write useful ideas down, but not sure how that would come off in grad school interviews.

FYI, I applied to Stanford Biosciences Cancer Biology, and I got an invite just yesterday afternoon (4:30pm Pacific time), so it is likely that they just started sending out invites. It could be coming soon!

What is the source of these numbers? That actually doesn't sound bad. Ratio-wise it's quite similar to what I have heard about several other programs such as Harvard BBS, which I've heard accepts 80-90% of students post interviews with a matriculation rate much lower than that (although I don't remember the exact figures).

Good to know! Thanks BiomedicalPHD.

Just got an invite from Stanford Biosciences! Actual interview period is March 1 morning to March 3 evening.

Also would like to know.

I should clarify - I have been invited to their open house, so I'm more curious about their post-interview acceptance rather than general selectivity.

Hi all, There are quite a few threads already about post-interview acceptance rates at other programs, but I for some reason cannot find much info about MIT Biology. How selective is the program post interviews? Also, does anyone happen to know how many people they typically invite to interviews (or to each of the three open house dates)?

Your point about industry vs academia is interesting. I definitely want to pursue an academic career - I'll need to look at the stats again tonight. Thanks for bringing that up!

Yes, I am applying to the Stanford biosciences program (cancer biology); My UNC interview is on Feb 22-24, so I picked the March interview for TSRI (CA). So if I want to keep Scripps, I will need to move it to the Feb date and cancel my UNC interview.

I have not contacted Stanford yet, but they say clearly on their website that offers are coming in mid-Jan so I don't want to bother them about this... This is there only interview weekend unfortunately, and the other UNC dates all conflict with my other interviews. The thing is, I have 8 interviews already, so I am not worried about having backups. Scripps is not really a backup though - they have a prestigious program and so does UNC, I guess. There is exciting research at both institutions, though it's hard to assess fit before even visiting them. I am hoping that you guys, and people who are particularly familiar with my research field of interest, could potentially provide opinions about their strengths and prestige, weaknesses, etc... I got the Scripps interview before the holidays, and I responded yes last week. Deadline for airticket confirmation is Jan 12.

Hi all, I would like to get some input from you guys. Basically I am invited to interview at both UNC BBSP and Scripps, and Scripps asked that I purchase my air ticket by the end of this week. However, I have yet to hear back from Stanford, whose interview period falls on the same dates as my tentative Scripps interview. Although I don't know if I will get an interview offer from Stanford at all, I don't want to give it up by purchasing my Scripps air ticket now. So I have three options: 1. Cancel UNC interview, move Scripps to the UNC date, wait for Stanford. 2. Keep UNC interview, cancel Scripps interview, wait for Stanford. 3. Keep both UNC and Scripps interviews and confirm air tickets. (Probably have to pay for the Scripps ticket if I get an offer from Stanford later.) I am personally in favor of #1 or #2. So my question is, which interview do you think is worth keeping, UNC or Scripps? I am interested in molecular biology and would like to do research on the molecular mechanisms/gene regulation/signaling/metabolism involved in tumorigenesis and metastasis. These both seem to be strong programs, Scripps has quite a strong focus on structural biology, which I am not particularly interested in. I will also go over all their respective faculty research in more detail, but would like to hear what you guys think. Thank you!!

I heard back from Yale BBS MCGD before the holidays. I currently live in the US though.

Any suggestions on men's headwear in cold weathers? Many people suggest wearing a hat, but I am not so sure about wearing a beanie while I'm in a dress coat/suit. What types of hats would you suggest?

What are you guys' thoughts on canceling an interview 3 weeks after accepting the invitation? The school was one of my safeties but was the first one to give me an interview offer, and now I have way too many interviews. The school purchased a non-refundable ticket for me, which I presume I will have to pay for if I cancel the trip? There is no information on this, but I don't want to ask them directly right now because then they will know they are low on my list...

Hi all, For those of you who have received/accepted interview invitations and are preparing, are you guys planning on reaching out to PIs prior to your interviews?

What are people's thoughts on #9? I bought a full suit AND a blazer just in case, but I don't want to look like a fool by dressing either too formally or too casually. Some schools ask specifically to dress business casual, in which case I am going to go for the blazer. For the rest, are you guys going to be wearing suits? I have a few work colleagues who are currently interviewing for MDPhD programs and they wear full suits for the most part.

My UNC interview is on Feb 22-24.