bicsy

One of my prospective schools just called me and I missed their call BUT THEY DIDN'T LEAVE A MSSG NOOOOO

To OP: Once you've submitted your SOPs and other statements, FORGET ABOUT THEM. A minor typo will make you worry more than the adcoms will even care. I reread my SOP and CV for the first application I submitted, and found small mistakes in both, causing me to freak out a little inside. I still got contacted this week for an interview with that program. @highborn, it's probably better that you didn't put the "thank you" line in. It's their job to read those essays, and using even just one line to thank them seems like wasted space to me.

@TakeruK, thank you for your response and insight! That is very helpful information, and it makes me feel better about asking for the accommodation. @iphi, thank you as well. I was planning on telling them that I want to spend an extra day to explore/get a feel for the area, and leaving it at that. The real reason I want to visit those relatives is actually to give me a tour of the surrounding area, which I wouldn't get with the regular recruitment weekend. I didn't apply to any programs within a 100+ mile radius of that one, so I definitely won't be visiting anywhere else.

They did say 2/3 of those contacted will be invited for an interview. I just think that if I wait to tell them about the conflict, they will wonder why I strung them along even when I knew the exact date the whole time.

Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Feb. 25-26 @emk9312

Guys I got an email from Emory for a Skype chat (some sort of pre-interview procedure), but they said their recruitment visit date is on the same weekend as an interview to which I already committed. Do I tell them now that I already have an interview that weekend, and ask if I can visit on another weekend? I'm still very much interested in the program so I'd hate to decline an interview outright.

Hey all, I have an interview for an umbrella biological sciences program in late January. I'm scheduled to be there for 3 days, and the flight has not been booked yet. I have relatives near the school with whom I'd like to spend the day following my interview. Would it be wise to ask the travel coordinator at this school if I can depart a day later than normal? I would think that this would be fine as long as the flight is the same price, and I'll be covering my own lodging and food for that extra day. I just don't want to annoy anyone at the program by asking for special accommodations.

I love that the posts here have been [mostly] helpful and positive, but seeing discouraging and argumentative comments is disheartening for anyone looking at this thread. Most of us come here to relieve the anxiety of application season, not to propagate it. Remember that behind every username is a real person! The internet makes it easy to forget this.

I'm hoping to hear from Harvard as well, but I applied to MCO. Definitely a reach but my interview at WUSTL gives me hope that MCO will like me. Has anyone on here heard anything from MCO?

@jayelko NICE!!!

Thanks! I submitted November 27th.

Thanks! Definitely relieves the paranoia about not getting in anywhere

I just got an interview for UNC-CH BBSP! yay

Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology. And wow, your interview is so early! I'll be there Feb. 25-27

Earlier in this application season, I had an excel sheet with all the requirements, deadlines, etc for my programs. Now that interviews are coming out, I added a column with all the interview dates that I know of. Most are posted on their websites. For those that aren't posted online, I used the dates given by some people on here (which may or may not be the same date I receive). For the rest, there's not much I can do but wait for more information. Having at least a few dates written down will help a lot when it comes to choosing between 2 dates for some programs (provided I get interviews at those).

Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Bio!

Thank you! Based on your previous posts, it looks like your stats are very similar to mine, in many aspects (GPA, GRE, amount of research completed, my undergrad bio program is not highly ranked). Plus I didn't even take the subject GRE, and you got a great score. What I'm trying to say is, don't stress! you got this! It's still so early.

Ahhhhhh I got an interview invite to WUSTL DBBS!!! My program contact called earlier today to confirm! I'm so damn happy, I don't know what to do with myself. What they did to you on the show was messed up, man. Hope you're doing better now.

ETS says that it takes ~5 business days; that's exactly how long mine took to send. Keep in mind that it also takes time for programs to connect the scores to your application. I don't know how it works for political science, but many biology and other science programs will review your application without official scores, as long as you listed your scores in your application and the official scores are received within a reasonable amount of time after the deadline.

Thanks. I can't help but sweat it Fortunately I haven't seen any results posted for my specific programs, but when I do I'll need to find a distraction from refreshing my email every 10 seconds. Either way, it's really exciting seeing everyone's results on here! I was just thinking, it's crazy to know that we'll probably end up presenting to/citing/collaborating with each other &ct. over the course of our careers.

man child

I'm in a similar position. My partner and I are both in our final year of undergrad, and I applied to PhD programs all over the country. We're hoping she can find a job and begin building her career in the city I end up for grad school. We're lucky in that neither of us are professionally tied down to our current location, but as you say there's a ton of uncertainty. Not knowing where we'll end up for the next 5+ years is nerve wracking, and it's impossible to do any concrete planning until I get an idea of where I'll be admitted. Plus I'm feeling kinda guilty that my partner's life/career plans rest on my final decision of which school to attend. Sorry I can't offer much useful advice, but hopefully it's comforting to know that others are dealing with similar situations. Also, no matter where you end up, keep in mind that you will have a whole new city/state to explore as a couple. For me, that's one of the most exciting things about this process (besides the opportunity to do really cool research)!

Found out that my current PI thinks I'll get into all my programs... that was a nice confidence booster but now I'll be even more let down if I don't get in anywhere D:

Ha, my scores were sent just a couple weeks ago. I should be more patient, but it's so difficult! Edit: In other news, I just got an email from Berkeley MCB saying my application has been sent to the committee for review, and that they will send interview invites between Jan 4-8.

Ah, thanks. I emailed them earlier this week but haven't gotten a response. They're probably inundated with initial reviews for application completeness, so I'll give it till next week before I bother them again.