hihello742

Hey @LadyScientist and @pep mocha,
In terms of West Coast interviews I'm on the same boat as you guys. My perspective is this:
- Some professors/programs will offer interview invite hella early, but only if you got lucky and they happen to LOVE your application (but it doesn't mean you're not a competitive applicant). IMO, those who have received interview invites are not only based on their competitive application, but also on having the right person reading your application, and them really liking the fit. However, I highly doubt you are out of the game yet.
- Example: My UC Davis Immunology application was submitted last Thursday, and I was offered an interview invite today/Monday. That is before the program has had the "Meeting" to review the main batch of applicants. My guess is that someone felt like I was a good fit. Many others here have received UC Berkeley MCB professor phone calls, and I believe their situation could fall into the same trend of them being a really great fit for a specific program/lab.
- However, I am also waiting on UCSF, UCLA, and UCSD.
-If you think of it like Dating Dynamics, if you meet someone and totally click after 5 minutes, then you DEFINITELY will get a 2nd date. It's not your stats, not your "hard criteria" lol, but just about that perfect fit. However, other times you will meet great people who look amazing on paper, but maybe you hold off a few days before calling them, because you are not feeling that instant "chemistry." However, it does not mean life-long love cannot blossom in the future. Same goes for graduate school interviews and acceptances. 
Keep it strong and breathe. Best of luck to Everyone!
 

Hey @LadyScientist and @pep mocha,
In terms of West Coast interviews I'm on the same boat as you guys. My perspective is this:
- Some professors/programs will offer interview invite hella early, but only if you got lucky and they happen to LOVE your application (but it doesn't mean you're not a competitive applicant). IMO, those who have received interview invites are not only based on their competitive application, but also on having the right person reading your application, and them really liking the fit. However, I highly doubt you are out of the game yet.
- Example: My UC Davis Immunology application was submitted last Thursday, and I was offered an interview invite today/Monday. That is before the program has had the "Meeting" to review the main batch of applicants. My guess is that someone felt like I was a good fit. Many others here have received UC Berkeley MCB professor phone calls, and I believe their situation could fall into the same trend of them being a really great fit for a specific program/lab.
- However, I am also waiting on UCSF, UCLA, and UCSD.
-If you think of it like Dating Dynamics, if you meet someone and totally click after 5 minutes, then you DEFINITELY will get a 2nd date. It's not your stats, not your "hard criteria" lol, but just about that perfect fit. However, other times you will meet great people who look amazing on paper, but maybe you hold off a few days before calling them, because you are not feeling that instant "chemistry." However, it does not mean life-long love cannot blossom in the future. Same goes for graduate school interviews and acceptances. 
Keep it strong and breathe. Best of luck to Everyone!
 

I got a call on Friday night!

The official e-mails are going out 1/3 according to this professor, but I think they do this professor call thing as a pretty uniform notification method.

Regarding Berkeley MCB: I got an email today from an AdCom member inviting me to the interview weekends, saying that " Our recruitment visits are February 12-14 and February 26-28, 2017.  Reservations will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis.  You will be receiving an e-mail from Sarah Hamilton, a staff member in our Graduate Affairs Office on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 with all the details/information about signing up for a recruitment visit. "

The original post was about UCSD BMS, which I think the person was hoping would send out January invites. I'm talking about that, UCSF Tetrad, and Sinai. But apparently TETRAD may go out in batches. 

I also applied to UCSF Tetrad, and it seems like they're doing the same thing as last year where they send them out in waves. There were people hearing from the program as late as mid-January for interviews last year, so I wouldn't be too worried if you haven't heard anything yet. I also highly doubt that only one or two people on this forum got interviews at such a popular program  Congrats to those who did, though! I'm hoping at least a few of us will be joining you!

I'm in a similar situation as well, but in computational biology. I'm hoping that it is a plus. I don't know why it wouldn't be. More experience, diversity of experience. More mature meaning you are more deliberate and know what you want out of life and why you are getting a PhD.
At least in CS (and I think this also applies to computational biology) there is great respect in academia for the work being done in industry and vice versa (tho some in industry think industry is better/more advanced).
Maybe regular biology is a bit more rigid on this subject.
I am 31 if you consider that "Old" old lol.
I think one of the reasons we don't see as many people with this type of background is that it is very hard to get a job in industry in which you are actually doing research and not just some tech work with just a bachelor's degree. You are competing with a TON of PhD's out there for those jobs.

Just received Harvard BBS interview!!!! 

Just received a Harvard BBS interview! This is my top choice program and I think I'm going to faint. 

Hey! Fellow "old person" here ;). I've been in the biotech industry to four years, and I'm not worried about it. My co-worker applied last cycle and got into all top-tier schools. He said that POIs were really intrigued by his work and impressed with the technology that we know how to use. The one caveat is that you have to really have to convince them that you want to return to academia, which it sounds like you did in your SOP. I personally wrote about how I want to eventually do translational research, utilizing some of the skills I've learned while in the industry. I think you'll be fine. Remember, having full-time research experience puts you light-years ahead of everyone else, because you've shown you can function full-time in a lab over a long period of time. Some people on this forum may scoff at that, but I don't really think there is harm in industry work, providing it is lab/science based. The research experience far outweighs any potential negative perception.
Yay for non-traditional applications - rooting for you!!  
Edit: just saw your stats. You are gonna rock it! 

OMG just got an invite from Harvard BBS! BEST DAY EVER!

BIG CONGRATS to everyone who has gotten interviews - you guys are rock stars! 
 
And to the rest of us:

We got this, yo! 

I got a call from Davis BMCDB last week, he said they would send emails "shortly" but it has been a week now...I was in the middle of a frantic shift at work and initially picked up because I thought it was my mom, so my recollection is not as precise as I want it to be