Bioenchilada

Haven’t posted on GradCafe for a little while now, but congrats to everyone about to start their PhD journey! It’s definitely an exciting time, even though it may feel different because of COVID. I’m currently a 5th year PhD CAMB-Cancer Biology student at the University of Pennsylvania, so I’ve been in grad school for a little bit. If you guys have any questions about grad school, funding, grad life (etc..), let me know and I can share some of my old man wisdom^^

I think you have a very good profile, but I can’t really comment on how it’ll compare to other competitive international applicants because I’m a domestic student. Although I know it is more difficult to get into some programs if you are not domestic, if you are applying to schools like Penn, UChicago, Cornell, and Columbia, might as well apply to the schools you refer to as “top”. In reality, all of these schools are top schools and getting into Harvard, Stanford, and MIT might be just as difficult as getting into some of the programs you are applying to.

I don't think anyone would be offered your interviews if you declined them at this point, especially since they already arranged for your travel and your hotel. If I were you, I would try to attend the interviews still. You never know if you'll like another school more than your dream school

I don't think MIT's yield is insanely high (i.e 90s) given that people that are accepted in top programs get admitted to quite a few as well. Assuming that the yield is 70% and the incoming class is 50 students, that would still mean that ~70+% of students are admitted if ~100 are interviewed . Also, you have to keep in mind that the strength of the cohort also dictates how many people get in. At some schools that I interviewed at, including Penn, they mentioned that they have the ability to accept all the interviewees, but that it is unlikely that this would be the case.

Having a medical a degree and having worked as a post-doc, do you really need a PhD? Not sure how it is for international applicants, but people that already have a medical degree have a harder time getting in because they cannot be placed on pre-doctoral grants, so funding is more complex.

When I applied to UChicago’s Cancer Biology program, the invites were sent out around Dec. 20th, but these dates are typically not solid.

As far as I know, CAMB typically sends their invites close together, if not on the same day. However, there seems to be evidence from previous years where people got invited later. This might vary per division though.

The first weekend is from Jan18th-20th. We have three weekends. PS: Just clarifying that I’m not an applicant, I’m a grad student here.

I just received an email about volunteering for the UPenn CAMB interview weekend, so that might mean that they’re going to be sending invites pretty soon. Good luck to those that applied!

I don’t think that when you interview has a major impact on your chances, or at least it didn’t really matter at the schools I applied to, nor the one I currently go to lol

For those applying to UPenn CAMB, the admission committee meets on Friday.

Why are you only applying to top schools? Could you retake the GRE? Though schools don’t tend to use cutoffs, guidelines have been posted by some top schools that I consider useful. They state that a combined score below a 310 is generally a red flag, and that scores in each section should be above the 50th percentile. Also, having a medical degree might mean that you might have to pay for your PhD since you cant be funded by training grants.

I was not in great terms with one of my PIs back in undergrad and didn't ask them for a letter. I still wrote about the research that I did in their lab in my SOP. It won't be a thing unless you make it a thing, or unless you worked with them for a very long time and didn't get a letter. Even so, as long as you have great LORs, I doubt the adcom will care.

Your numbers are good and the amount of research experience is okay, though a bit on the lower side for the schools you’re applying to. I don’t think your chances of getting in are particularly low. However, you should be aware that getting in as an international student is more competitive, so domestic applicants are not best suited to gauge your chances. I feel like a strong SOP that is well tailored to the schools you are applying to and good rec letters will boost your chances Some questions: Why are you applying to those schools in particular? Do you have at least 5 people you are interested in in each? Who will write you third letter? For cancer biology, programs affiliated with medical schools might be your best bet.

I can take a look at your SOP. Though I don’t go to Harvard, I did an internship there and have a few friends that are currently students in their BBS program.