pot8o

I'm interviewing in the Chemical and Systems Biology home program, and they sent an email that the list of interviewers/final schedules will be posted on March 2nd, due to last minute changes which often happen.

I called and talked to the same lady and asked if she could look up my file. She told me I was not on the interview list. I assume I was rejected.

MIT Biology seems to be trickling in. *breathes heavily*

Yes, Its an automated email they send to everyone under biosciences. I got another one today (third one I think), even after all my criteria are checked off as complete and I have already received an interview a month ago.

Just called up Caltech. They said I would not be getting an interview invite. Poop My fingers are now crossed for MIT, and UCSF tetrad.

Congrats on the interview man! Out of curiosity did you get the invite before the winter break or in January?

Really? That's interesting.... Where did you get this information? I was under the impression that they always interview candidates they selected. I'm curious because I'm still waiting to hear from Caltech. I wouldn't mind waiting if I directly get accepted haha

I would call. Calling often results in admins looking you up and giving you an answer on the spot if they have made a decision or let you know when the committee will have decisions out; something which rarely happens on email since they are reluctant to give you anything on writing till official decisions come out. Just say "I was wondering what the status of my application was".

Not at all. It's a bit excessive and stressful to drive over an 1hr to and back from the campus for an interview so asking for a hotel is a very reasonable request imo.

Congrats on the Harvard interview! If you've already been offered the interview, I don't think there's much point to add fall grades at this point unless you want to. I went ahead and added mine because I'm still hoping they will offer me an interview come January. But imo an A- is really good, and I doubt it would hurt your application at all, even at a school like Harvard. They just want to make sure you aren't failing classes

Congrats on the interview! UIUC is a hidden gem imo. Great to see someone else on the forum other than myself also apply to that school

I'm surprised no one's heard back from UCSF tetrad yet on the forum. I only see a handful on the survey. Either they're taking their sweet time, or they are being more selective than Harvard BBS for the first cut.

This, because you already made commitments to school A's interview date, and as mentioned above, it would be rude to expect them to change it for you. It seems like some people have received interviews for U Chicago Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics already. However, I wouldn't fret because a large bulk of admissions always come out in January. Columbia Systems Biology appears to have not sent out anything yet (don't quote me on this) Feel free to refer to this page for the latest admissions updates: http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

Thanks a bunch for sharing this awesome resource. This will be super helpful when it come time to prepare for interviews!

Thanks for the update and congrats on the Tetrad invite! I am assuming that it's as you say and that they are likely behind schedule due to the overwhelming number of applicants. So I won't be surprised if ppl start getting emails over Saturday (which is actually common for many schools such as UCSD and UCLA).

Congrats. I'll see you at the interview! Also Congrats to all the Harvard BBS interview recipients!

Just got an email from one of the Professors handling admissions. Interview is from March 2-5 incase anyone was wondering.

Holy Shitake mushrooms!!! Interview for Stanford Chemical and Systems Biology!!!!! I can't feel my legs.

Congrats guys! That's a top tier program too. I'm here biting my nails over when Tetrad will be coming out

For admissions logistics, I think it's best to not bug PIs and contact admissions secretaries, which are usually listed on the website for each specific program. However for emailing PI's ahead of time saying you are interested in their work is a different story. Despite what many people say, I don't think this can hurt. The worse case scenario they just don't reply to your email. However, I think this is only advisable if the POI knows your current research advisor or is intimately familiar your work in your lab. For example if they consistently cite work from your PI, it's a strong possibility they know the name, in which case I'd say it's an advantage during admissions and even after when trying to match with a lab.

I think it's just for MIT neuro. I also applied to MIT bio and have not heard anything since the confirmation.

Just got an email over the weekend for my first interview invite from UCLA MBIP! Needless to say I'm stoked! Hope my luck holds for Penn CAMB and UCSF Tetrad this upcoming week.

In the exact same boat. I applied to 6 super reach schools and 2 kinda decent backups. I kind of just told myself go big or go home. I guess that's just me though xD. My backup is just sticking around my undergrad institution and working as a paid lab assistant, although I'd rather the next year of my life not pan out that way...But yea, if you're in doubt talk to faculty at your current institution and see if they have any paid lab positions . Wether or not you have to resort to them is a completely different story. Also I think only some schools start letting ppl know in December. I believe most wait till January as Azia mentioned above

Finally just submitted my last of my apps. Good luck to everyone applying this season!

Pretty much from what I hear, GRE subjects are more for ppl that are applying from less reputable or lesser know undergrad institutions. It gives the admissions committee a litmus to see if your curriculum was up to par with with what they expect a college graduate to have in their field. Another reason is to counter a bad general GRE score, or a poor GPA to some degree.