ruckaround

The invites are flying! Congrats to everyone who has an interview already!

Hot damn!

I got the same email! Thank goodness for the smallest of steps towards good news.

Holy shit, congrats!

I agree! From reading last year's thread it seems they (UW-MCB) sent out the majority of interview invites on the 15th/16th, along with a number of flat out rejections. Which seems like better than waiting months to find out, at least from my current perspective.

Washington in Seattle!

Quick note: Coordinator at UW MCB informed me that the committee will begin evaluating applications at 8am tomorrow morning. Wow.

That's actually nuts. Also I've been in contact with a couple coordinators and they've all said something akin to "it's no big deal, we understand, it's not ideal but not a problem so long as it comes before the committees start to meet" On that note, anyone else a winter sports fan? I'm looking forward to finally (east coast life) doing some skiing! I'm sure it will help to pass the time.

I feel you! First I was worrying about the GRE, then switched to worrying about my MIA letter writer. I've come to terms with that (and that it hopefully won't really have an impact assuming he sends it tomorrow or otherwise asap). But I spent all day/night obsessively checking my email and am not looking forward to emailing the programs tomorrow. Oh well. Hopefully in a couple months we'll all look back and laugh about how stressed we were.

My GRE's won't get to them until tomorrow(I hope, side note: FUCK ETS) so I sent a quick email. They basically replied with "no biggie" we'll work off the unofficial until it gets here.

lol This is seriously how I feel. C'mon buddy, you said you'd be delighted. You've got 3.5 hours, lets make it happen. Haha. That I've applied to? I saw interviews for UW MCB, UPenn CAMB, and UC Berkeley all in the late teen dates.

For what it's worth (and for posterity/future applicants) if your university/registrar/whoever is capable of sending certified eTranscripts, I'm pretty sure Biosciences will accept that. In other news, I'm tweaking about a letter writer who hasn't submitted yet, and currently on page 40/106 reading through last year's thread. People start getting interviews for some of my programs mid december.... AHHHHH!

Yes, totally my bad. I'll go back and edit it, I got a 156. My PI went to one of those prestigious schools and is a big believer in the value of it, he encouraged me to apply to schools of this caliber, and I don't think there are any huge flaws in his reasoning. (Although ask me again if I go 0/9 come spring.) Go big or go home.. exactly, hahaha. However, as someone who currently holds one of those paid lab positions.. it's not so bad! I'm basically a grad student, except I have no classes, don't have to TA, don't have pressure related to graduating, etc. I also get paid more than they do. While it is a year you spend delaying your thesis research, it's certainly a valuable use of time. If I don't get in anywhere this time around, I'll be spending another year as a tech. Having that option on the back burner, and seeing it as a positive outcome has done a lot to reduce my stress during the application process. :) Simple answer: I didn't think they'd be good letters. I think they'd effectively be a "DWIL", which feels more damning. My ugrad. adviser is one of the first people who encouraged me to aim for graduate school, he wrote a letter for my current position, and I think he can speak to more than just my performance in class. Similar story with the other professor. Obviously, this is a weak spot in my application, and I'd rather have three glowing letters from HHMI faculty who all say I'm as talented as their best graduate student... but sometimes you have to work with what you've got. I would be curious regarding other people's thoughts on this, though. Better to go with a ho-hum research-based letter, or a shining academic-based one?

Undergrad Institution: Medium-ish Public University, USNWR puts us at ~50s for biological sciences Major(s): Neuroscience by way of psychology Minor(s): N/A GPA in Major: 3.99 Overall GPA: 3.99 Position in Class: Graduated summa cum laude Type of Student: Domestic, male, white GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 165/64% (oooof) V: 163/92% W: 5.0/93% B: N/A Research Experience: Two years spread across two unrelated labs during my undergraduate. Good exposure and set me on my current path, but not much to show for it. 1.5 years since graduation full-time tech in cell biology lab. Middle author pub, independent project, lots of skills. I'm very passionate about the work I do now. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Academic awards within university, nothing of particular note. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: One semester as a TA? Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Er... Special Bonus Points: ....sigh Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I expect my current PI's letter to be glowing, although he is relatively young, he is very well connected within my field of interest. My other two letters should be positive, but not directly related to my work. One from my undergraduate adviser (took an upper level course with), and one from a professor I took an honors course with. Applying to Where: Cell & Molecular bio focused programs where applicable: MIT UC Berkeley UCSF Univ. of Washington Stanford UPenn Brown John Hopkins WashU Univ. of Michigan --- I just submitted my apps, which is such a relief! I joined the party a little late, starting my apps and studying for the GRE in late September while also working full time. My quant score is a direct result of that, and I have no doubt I could bring it up to at least ~80% with adequate time to prepare. I know I'm aiming high here, but I'd rather not get in anywhere, stay tech-ing for another year and get in, then settle for somewhere that's not a great fit. Curious, of course, to hear anyone's thoughts. Solidarity to those still working on their stuff, and congrats to those who are done! ...now if only my letter writer would submit his stuff! 1