immuno91

I mean, I would disagree with the idea that emailing PIs is particularly important. Sure, you can get good information from it, but I don't necessarily think it would be super helpful. I was initially concerned about this and discussed the topic with both of my current PIs and both advised not to send emails to people I was interested in. That said, I don't think it could hurt (unless one is terribly uninformed about the work the PI's work) - I just wouldn't think it to be extremely helpful. Note: I did not send emails to any PIs.

Having done research at Harvard for a few years, I would say a few things. First, there is collaboration, but it can be very cliquey. There are groups of PIs that work together and that's how it is. Regarding the graduate students that I know (most in BBS, n = ~20), what I would say is that there are grad students that are here to do the best that they can and be competitive within the program. Those are the grad students making it out in 5-5.5 years. There are grad students that are more relaxed and not focused on competing. Those are the ones that are on the 6.5-7 year track. There's a lot of opportunity, but you're expected to really work for it and want to compete, play the game, whatever word choice you use (and that's true whether you're a tech, grad student, or postdoc). That said, regarding your specific concerns: I've never heard of someone's work getting sabotaged. And there may be competition between labs (just look at the competition between cancer research at MGH and cancer research at DFCI). But within your lab, I think the only competition that you may face is for your PIs time, and you'll probably find that anywhere.

One of the faculty members from the program I will likely be attending said having your first choice early and then going on more interviews isn't the worst thing. In fact, they recommended it as a way to meet other leaders in the field that you plan on entering.

Well, this is awkward.

95% certain it's b.s. Especially given that Stanford has been adamant about only interviewing people during their single interview weekend.

To be honest, stats aren't that important. Stats are the bar that you have to clear, but as long as you meet the minimum you're good. It's mostly about your letters of recommendation (I think it's near universally agreed upon that this is the most important part of your application), your research experience, and your statement of purpose. I say this as someone with multiple offers from top tier programs and a 3.5 GPA. The one place where you may not meet the bar is GRE - but you've noted that. Additionally, as someone with a more average GPA, there may be some benefit to looking into more specific programs - as they tend to be more self-selecting and flexible with statistics than umbrella programs (the difference between something like Harvard BBS and Harvard Immunology/Virology/Systems Biology/Chem Bio is worth noting here). On the topic of letters, I would caution against having a post doc write (and sign) one. There's a world of difference between having a tenure-track/tenured academic writing a letter and a post doc writing a letter. And at the top tier programs, you're going to disadvantage yourself if the letter is from someone in academic science that doesn't have the work "professor" in their title. Re: UCSF, if you're interested in virology/immunology/cancer biology, then BMS is the program for you. Other programs you may want to consider are Emory (IMP/MMG), Duke (MGM or maybe Immunology), UW (Microbiology, Immunology, or maybe Pathobiology if you want the public health connection). If you want to consider reaches, UPenn (CAMB) is pretty strong in virology and UPenn (Immuno) is great. Harvard Virology or Harvard Immunology may be worth a shot as well (both have significant overlap with cancer biology if you're interested in that). EDIT: And Pitt. Look at Pitt. If you want to study virology, Pitt is pretty great and rumor has it that Terry Dermody, one of the amazing virologists at Vanderbilt, is heading to Pitt.

I think if you were to contact them and say that you wanted to spend a little extra time in the city it might actually look good because it shows how interested you are in moving to Boston.

Out of curiosity, has anyone here been in a position where, of the four faculty interviewers you've been assigned, none of them are people you've requested and only one of them is even remotely involved in research in your field of interest (even then it's a stretch - bacteria and inflammation is their field and my field of interest is virology)? I'm not really sure how to go about preparing for this. However, I'm also concerned that I'm going to get a very negative impression of the program because I won't be meeting with anyone whose research interests me. Has anyone that has gone through the process had to deal with this and, if so, how did you handle it? Or is this a situation where you just have to grin and bear it?

Another possibility is that faculty members that you indicated you wanted to meet with may not be available during the first weekend you selected, but they will be around the later date - in which case it would probably be to your advantage to choose the other option

The email was just catching up, reminding people to make sure that they booked their flights and letting everyone know that faculty lists and an interview schedule would be sent on Monday. I'm sure someone will be on hand to let everyone know what's going on then.

And just like that she emails!

On another note, does anyone that is interviewing at Vanderbilt know if we're supposed to confirm travel details with them? Some programs with interview dates in February have been on me about booking flights and forwarding the information to them, but Vanderbilt hasn't and that's coming up next week.

For those waiting for Harvard BPH, I spoke with the coordinator today. Invitations are likely going out before the holiday (early next week), but potentially won't be out until mid-January. I was also told that the interview is scheduled for February 8-9.

Did you get the confirming email yet? I got the phone call but haven't got the email confirming it and was planning on calling DMS tomorrow.

I'm not sure about PiN specifically, but I know Harvard Virology (which is DMS) called people on Friday to extend interview invites and said an email was forthcoming. So it's not entirely inconceivable that other smaller (non BBS) DMS programs are sending out some invites. But I can't comment on the validity of the PiN claim.