Jump to content

katpillow

Members
  • Posts

    121
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by katpillow

  1. I've never had to make a school choice before. I only had one app in undergrad, and only got into one MS program last time I was applying. I more or less closed the door on one of my three options (on purpose). Now I'm looking at two, and both represent fairly different directions (engineering vs biological sciences). At this point I'm just going to write out all the pros/cons of each, maybe make some Venn diagrams, do a little dance, and hope that I have clearer vision of what I want. I really like my two choices, so at least that is a good problem to have.
  2. They've sent out some acceptances, but I know for a fact that they haven't sent them all out at once. Not very helpful, but hopefully you hear something good!
  3. That’s great! Clearly the reception was positive
  4. I don't know about @ChallengerSwimmer23, but I got an email invite from them earlier today for interviewing March 8-10. I haven't been able to catch any admissions stats or anything, so I'm not too keen on how many applicants attend or get admitted. There's three weekends, and I'm imagining anywhere between 15-30 students per weekend, but honestly who knows. I suppose I'll see when I'm there. Congrats on the invite, btw. I'm guessing we might be attending the same interview dates? As per which branches of the program I'm interested in, I had put: 1. immunology, 2. therapeutics, and 3. cancer biology
  5. From what I've been able to find out from the department office, your batch of invites was likely the last one. Congrats on the invite!
  6. Nice set of programs! It doesn't hurt to consider a few more apps if it's not too much of a cost burden. I can't remember if Northwestern's MS app period is past or not yet. I can personally recommend it- it's been good to me, and although I haven't taken advantage of them, there are several extra certificate programs (in areas like biotech or business) that you can complete while you do your coursework, at no extra cost (but it IS expensive to attend, overall). It stinks that a lot of MS decisions don't necessarily come out until later on, compared with PhD responses. Though I think I knew by late February about NU. Don't get too nervous, I think you have a good profile, and applying for MS programs with your numbers will result in some successes on your list. Good luck!!
  7. I got an interview email from them yesterday. Several of my cohort have not yet gotten responses from them though, so there's a chance they are sending emails out on more than one day. I can ask someone in the office if they know anything about the status of this when I'm there tomorrow. Hopefully there are more to come!
  8. Hello, friend. My take: 1) There is always the first thing people will often suggest: either maintain currently good grade trends, or finish strong and display a trajectory of improvement and good performance in the last semesters. It starts with the one you're currently in, obviously. Other things you can do would be to get additional experience dabbling in research projects, or asking professors to nominate you for academic awards at your university, etc. It sounds goofy to nominate oneself, but sometimes a lot of people with those nominations are those who express interest to their professors for eligibility in them, etc. It never hurts to try. Try to cement good relationships with your future rec writers, and be strategic about who they might be (i.e. if you're on good terms with a full professor who is well established and has reputation) 2) My answer for this ties to your #3 question a bit. For one, I don't think the MD is necessary. If anything, the MD should be combined with a more business oriented degree if you were thinking of going into the medical/scientific management consultant world, but even then, I'd personally be against the MD. It's an expensive and time consuming way to go about improving a career path in ways that could ultimately be marginal. There are many examples of successful people with the dual MD-MS, but it's a fair about of sacrifice and still a gamble that the job ends up being worth the effort (and cost!). That being said, looking for programs that might offer a dual MS-MBA or something similar might be more logical. Even then, you may only need the MS, and if it makes sense down the road, you can snag the MBA. You might even be able to put yourself into a position where the MBA is paid for by an employer, which is ideal. Unfortunately and fortunately, there's no right or wrong way to go about these things. There are plenty of examples of people who have gone different routes on these things, so I suggest trying to find some of them (linkedin, through school job fairs, speaking to potential employers, etc) 4) One of my best friends did this after undergrad, before he went on to do a biotech MS at Northwestern. He said it was one of the best decisions he ever made. At the time, he had been toying with dental school, but wasn't really sure if it was really what he wanted. He got a retail job and just roughed it for a year, and during that time he realized that he'd rather pursue a science oriented career related to (but not necessarily in) research. It helped him orient around what he's passionate about, and get a little more taste of real life, so to speak. Now he's working his way into project management after having worked in pharma research for 3 years or so. I personally got a job after I graduated with my BS, worked for a few years, and then solidified my feelings on what I wanted and needed to do to pursue the future I was most interested in. Since then, I've gone on to get my MS, and will (hopefully) soon be in the process of getting my PhD. Even during the course of this, my thoughts have continued to evolve. Don't think that any decisions are truly rigid. There will always be a chance to modify your path in life, and education is just one of the many different ways to go about it. There are many people that jump straight into grad school, and they have great careers from there on. Just keep thinking and exploring your feelings on this, and answers will come. If you're not positive about grad school, try not to jump into it. Being resolute and focused goes a long way. I hope this helped somehow!
  9. At least UCSF/Berkeley is up front about the rejections. Drives me nuts when programs just send out interviews and then wait to deal with rejects.
  10. Sorry I didn't see this before! I am at the tail end of my MS in BME at Northwestern now. Perhaps it might help give you some peace of mind to know what I applied to schools with: Undergrad GPA: 2.40, GRE: 159V, 161Q, 4.0. At the time I only had a co-author paper out there, with a poster and two patents. I had 3 years of industry research under my belt as well (which was my counter for my terrible GPA). Compared with what you've got, I think you'll have a good chance at acceptance a lot of places. Programs tend not to be nearly as hardline on master's applicants, so don't worry too much about not having a non-engineering BS. Some programs might ask you to take an extra math class or something, but usually they're like "well you're giving us money, so we don't care what you do, go for it!" May I ask which programs you applied to?
  11. Who knows. In the history of the results there isn't a ton of variation on timing though...
  12. Northwestern BME is 2/8-2/9, at least that's what they told us (I'm in the programs student organization) This looks like it should be a week where many of the invites are sent out, if prior years' data is a good indicator. Good luck to everyone!
  13. I love this attitude. I agree completely. Set a high bar for yourself, be specific in your interests, and pursue the things you're passionate about. I feel like a lot of people who take a shot at a PhD are generally doing it for the love of it, in some way or another. Plenty do it just because they're smart and it just seems like a logical step, too... I admit that I'm aiming for the degree because of the benefits it'll give me in my research career, but only made the decision to shoot for it after working in the industry for a few years, and determined that I needed it to do the things I'm passionate about. Getting to do research that I think is awesome and neat on the way? That's a bonus.
  14. This is largely true. There are invites that happen outside of the main dates for programs, but they aren't common. When things heat up, just keep your fingers crossed and don't say it's over til you have a final response from programs. Some are annoying and bad with communicating rejections, but most are decent about it.
  15. Preach. All of my peers in my master's program were all 22-23 when we started, and my nickname became Dad. I hated it in the beginning, but realized that all the life experience/knowledge I got after undergrad is worth the title. I often worry about ending up in a situation where having kids might become an impossibility, but the more time goes on, the more at peace I become with kids vs no kids. Be proud of where you are so far, and lean on your boyfriend. It is truly rare that a PhD is an easy road to pave, especially for subjects like history. There is a lot of blood and sweat that goes into it, and it is in many ways a work of passion. If you're passionate, don't let life's hindrances stop you. Just because it seems like it might be hard to pull certain things off from your current perspective, remember that there exists another perspective where you are knee-deep in the decision to move forward with it, and more often than not you find a way to make it work and are happy you did it in the end. There will be unhappiness, too. There will always be trade-offs. 10/10 recommend that Wrigley visit. Tickets can be pricey, but there are some decent deals among tix that aren't obviously great (but are), such as the upper deck's first 10 rows or so behind home plate and the dugouts. I grew up outside of Chicago, so it's been a dream to actually live here for a while. I predict that my time here is finally coming to an end, though. Who knows what'll happen.
  16. As a former MatSci at a higher ranked institution, I can lend my opinion on the rankings at least. Don't use them as too strong of a guide for grad school. The departments can vary wildly depending on what type of matsci you want to embroil yourself in. For example, Northwestern, despite being #7 in QS and #2 in US News, is a terrible place to learn biomaterials or conduct related research. They are exceptional in many other categories like metallurgy. You should try and find out which programs better fit your interests within the general rankings. At the end of the day, grad school pedigree is nice, but if you're looking for a PhD... I'd worry more about fit than program rank. If a master's, then try to find the best $$ deal within the top 20-25 schools. MSE US News rankings here
  17. Too old for a dream? Never in a million years, even. You may be older than me (I have no idea), but if the dream is something you long for, don't let anything stop you. For my programs, I'm on the older end of the applicant pool, and for a while it really bothered me, deep down. I'm not actually old, it just feels like I am because the average age of the incoming class for my programs tends to float around 23-24 at most. I'll be hitting 30 when I (hopefully) start this fall, and though it still has an impact on certain aspects of my adult life (cough cough, income, social pool, etc), I have learned to not give a damn and just roll with it. I currently room with two history PhD students, they're a cool crowd. I hope that it all works out for you!!! Minneapolis is a pretty cool city, though.
  18. I know some people who are current students in this program. I think the notifications for interviews don't typically show up for a few more weeks. I'm not seeing anything yet on this year's results, so at the very least it doesn't look like other people have heard yet. Feel free to ask me any general questions about Northwestern or the surrounding area. I hope you get the interview and that it goes well! Good luck!
  19. I hear you. I tried hard for PhD 2 years ago when still had my undergrad GPA skeletons in the closet, but had been published. It ended up failing, but I got counteroffered to do my MS somewhere and I took the opportunity to get a shiny new GPA. Now I'm applying for PhD again, and hoping that the undergrad stuff doesn't continue to cause problems. But hey, we're trying, and I think based on your story, you should have some opportunities come your way. The stress is just getting started for me, but I know that within a months time I will probably have answers, at least. Right now I'm more on the 'well it is whatever it is at this point' level, and slowly ramping up to flashing red lights panic mode. I'll just keep doing lab work to distract myself...
  20. PickleRick, it's probably late for it now, but I'd say you're a competitive candidate for many programs. Your MS GPA definitely tells a fresh new story and proves you can tackle grad level coursework (which is what they want to know). I don't know how much they'll weigh your school on that, though. The thing that they'll really like is the first author paper (and the others are nice too). Knowing that, I think you're a strong candidate, but what do I know? It's hard to predict how they'll react to certain things. Your UG GPA doesn't even touch the horror of mine, so I think you'll be just fine. Hopefully you hear back from several of the schools you're interested in in the next few weeks. Good luck! Hopefully we'll run into each other at UMich, MIT, or Berk/UCSF interviews.
  21. Am I late to the party? Does it matter? Didn't think so. Grad school apps round 2, because research is love, research is life. Undergrad Institution: Johnny Hopkins Major(s): Materials Science & Engineering Concentration: biomaterials GPA in Major: 2.9/4.00 Overall GPA: 2.4/4.00 (trust me, there were some "good" non-school related reasons) Graduate Institution: The greatest Evanston has to offer Major(s): Biomedical Engineering, MS w thesis Overall GPA: 3.67/4.00 (there we go, that's a bit more what I expected) Demographics/Background: stereotypical looking tall midwestern pale white guy (I can assure you I am not diverse), but first gen college in the fam. Somehow despite being one of 60 first-cousins (not joking), I am the only one who chose a medical or science career or any resembling either of those things. Vintage 2015 GRE Scores: Q: 161 (78%) V: 159 (83%) W: 4.0 (60%) The GRE is a load of shiitake, why do we all have to waste our money on this nonsense LOR: Got 3-4, depending on the app. 1 from a full prof with gusto, 3 from profs who are trying to make it in the asst prof world, but all are each ballers in their own right. 2 of the asst profs are either current or former PIs Research Experience: 1.5 years at undergrad: polymer nanoparticle fabrication, characterization, etc etc 3 years, full time, pharmaceutical R&D (god I miss making money): smattering of DARPA funded antibiotics drug-resistant baccy work, a dabble in cancer immunotherapy, and a touch of autoimmune gene regulation (2 of my shared custody babies currently in phase 1, with a third joining the party next year. PLEASE let my company shares be worth something) 1 year at North by Northwestern: tissue engineering research, mostly working on scaffolds for a fun organ that I'll probably need to replace someday due to all of the downed wine and sipped scotch Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 first author paper from my antibiotics work 1 co-author paper from immunoengineering shenanigans 2 posters relating to cancer immunotherapies 2 patents, one for antib's and the other for immuno drugs Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Got 'most creative' at my friend's holiday party the other night. I made a gingerbread lighthouse. Prize was a jar of this exfoliating paste that you're supposed to rub all over your body when you shower, apparently. It looks like wet brown sugar. Not convinced that it isn't brown sugar. Fellowships/Funding: Perhaps the NSF GRFP lottery will bless me, but I'm not counting on it Wrote the aims and science for what looks to be a successful R21 for my current lab... which won't exist at NU after this year cos the prof has to leave, but at least that's something nice for someone else out there, hopefully, if the lab still exists... at least I got practice Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Got gig as academic chair for our BME grad student organization (lol), former social chair (way more fun) Had that industry job (did I mention how I miss having income?) Sold wine for a few months immediately out of undergrad. One of the most valuable life experiences to date. Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: I went to India a few weeks ago and managed to gain 10 pounds in rice weight. Was worth it. I can't tell if I'm actually an awardee for it yet or not, but I got a vague email that wasn't wholly committal for the NREIP this summer, but I sent them back the email saying I was on board for the dates soooooo I DON'T KNOW WE'LL JUST SEE Research Interests: Laundry list. Too much dabbling has occurred. Immunotherapy and Immune Cell Signal Modulation, Nanoparticle-Mediated Drug Delivery, Cancer Therapy, Nanomaterials for Biological Research and Therapeutics, and Gene Modification, Immune Tolerance, Regenerative Medicine, Drug-Resistance Mechanisms, Transplantation, Tissue Scaffolds and Engineering, Organ Tissue Regeneration Institutions/Programs: Northwestern, BME (gotta try to transfer in for that PhD! ...just gotta find a new lab... can't be that hard? right? RIGHT?) U Chicago, Molecular Engineering U Michigan, BME U Pittsburgh, bioengineering UCSF/Berkeley joint bioengineering U Washington, bioengineering MIT, biological engineering UVA, biomedical engineering Rice, bioengineering Harvard, BBS (not engineering here, expecting rejection 12/22) UTH/MD Anderson, bio sciences (also not eng) Comments: I have an abysmal undergrad GPA, so my applications make a point to address it and the differences between now and then. I hope that they can look at it all in a positive net gain sort of way, and be satisfied with the graduate GPA, but who knows... I put some toughies on my app list. I have an unofficial at one of my listed apps already, but until I see an actual invite or something like that, I'll believe it when I see it. Commentary, insights, coffee talk, wine talk, all input/questions welcome
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use