blc073

As someone who went through last year what you all are going through now, and who just finished his first semester of grad school, I can assure you all that things will work out. The admissions process is exciting, frustrating, and scary, but it's an effective system that will put you all where you need to be to move your careers forward. I know this is hard advice to take, but just relax and enjoy the adventure. For many of you all, the difficult part will be choosing which graduate program fits your interests best. For some, there will be the difficult choice of deciding how to spend one more year before beginning graduate school. But rest assured, everyone will be on the appropriate path to their future goals.

I heard back from Tufts Sackler on January 5th, FYI. Honestly, your profile is a bit of a toss-up. Your numbers are fine, but you only mention two LoRs and your research is below what most people have. You applied broadly, so that's great, but it will take strong letters and an outstanding SOP to do some convincing. Overall, I'm guessing you will get one or two invites.

No, do not miss any questions on purpose. The GRE works by grouping. Let's say in math there are two sections. The first section will be a fair mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. It will be the same difficulty for everyone. However, there will be three groups for the second math section. Group A will be difficult, Group B will be medium, and Group C will be easy. How well you do in the first section will determine your group for the second section. This is where your question comes into play. Intuitively, it makes sense to want your second section to be easy, so you might try to miss questions on purpose. However, each group is confined to a range of scores. So, Group C might be 130 to 150, Group B might be 151 to 160, and Group A might be 161 to 170. Meaning, if you get every question right in Group B, you will still only get a 160 in math. But if you miss every question in Group A, you are still at a 161. Note, these numbers are not official. So, it is best to do the best you can in the first section so you will be placed in the highest group for the second section.

I've heard international applicants are usually interviewed via Skype. But I'm sure this depends heavily on the program.

To give the opposite opinion, there is something to be said about building a rapport with a professor. I contacted a professor early in the application cycle and he told me to let him know when I applied so he could talk to the admissions committee. If you contacted professors and they responded positively, then it can't hurt to remind them of your positive interaction now that it is closer to the admissions process. You have two basic outcomes: 1) They are too busy and they blow you off, 2) They remember you, they like you, and they go to bat for you. The most important part of an application is convincing someone in the committee to fight for you. If you know a professor who knows someone on the committee, you might be able to accomplish the application dream. In short, admissions committees want to throw out your application. If you can have someone in the room fighting to keep you in the running, your chances of being admitted increase significantly.

I would give them a call and explain the situation.

Well, you have to figure out a way to take your mind off the process. Otherwise, you're going to lose your mind. I'm actually being pretty serious. This is an important time to demonstrate to yourself that you can manage a work-life balance. Harvard BBS is a great program with a lot of pros. However, like any other program, there are also many cons. If you would like to know more about my experience, I would be happy to talk with you via PM.

I suggest you all just relax and avoid checking your email too often. Check it once a day or so and do something else to occupy yourselves. The true anxiety begins after you get invitations and you have to wait a month or more to interview.

Here's an email I sent to accept an interview invitation: "Hi Louise, I have received an invitation from the University of Minnesota to interview with the MICaB program, and I am incredibly excited for this opportunity. While I do plan to interview for this program, I am not yet sure which weekend will work the best for me. I will confirm a weekend before the posted deadline. Best, Name" And yeah, most places provide an online form.

I'm not completely sure, but it looks like Systems Biology will send out invitations late next week as well.

Harvard BBS will send out interview invitations on December 16th.

I received an invitation to interview at UMN-TC on 12/10/15 during the work day. I received an invitation to interview at UC-Denver on 12/21/15 during the work day. These programs typically have very small incoming classes each year, so if you get an interview, remember that you are fighting for one of five or so spots.

How does one mess up blocking a western? Just curious.

I briefly mentioned what they study as a way to connect it to my interests. I said something like, "From professor X, who studies selective autophagy in yeast, to professor Y, who studies autophagy in cancer, there a many faculty with whom I could work."

@VirologyPhDinTraining Hey friendo, you're coming off a bit arrogant. I would tone it down a bit before proceeding. We're here to help people, not make them sad.

I would stick with one area. When describing your research, look for a common theme, then propose professors of interest in that area. In my SOP, I described projects all relating to cellular metabolism and cancer, then I said that I wanted to study autophagy in graduate school. When I listed faculty of interest, I chose three PIs who study autophagy to some extent. I think this is a good idea whether it's completely true or not. I was lucky and ended up rotating with one of the PIs I listed studying autophagy.

If you don't get in, it will not be your GRE. Don't worry about that.

Your GRE score doesn't matter, I would be more worried about your 3.15 GPA. What's the story there?

If it tells you to describe all of your research, then obviously do that. However, I still believe the majority of the essay should focus on a single experience.

If it asks about research preparation, I still think describing one experience in incredible detail is better than describing several. One amazing experience is better than three good experiences.

Agreed. I would even argue that a research statement should be about a single experience, unless noted otherwise. When you apply to jobs or other research positions, you will be asked for a research statement in which you describe your best experience and how you would continue it (if you are applying for jobs, it will be your current research, but for this it can be your best experience). This is a beautiful opportunity to show them that you have the brains to be a scientist. Describe how you got into the project, what the project is, what the goals were, what you did specifically, any conceptual contributions, how you handled failure, results, and future directions. In the personal statement, you can add all the personal BS people like to talk about, but you can also discuss briefly other research experiences.

You definitely have solid research experience, so that will help you quite a bit. However, your GRE scores are too low. Research experience, strong LORs, and a high GPA can make up for some of that, but a 300 is just too low in my opinion. I would not feel comfortable applying with that number. I would retake the GRE and add two second-tier schools. You seem to like Boston, so maybe apply to BU? UMass might be an option as well.

I would consider large, umbrella programs, rather than small, field-specific programs. Umbrella programs admit more people, they cater to people with broad interests, and they are more forgiving of low GPAs/GREs. Also, are you willing to share your SOP? Seeing the angle you are taking might help determine where you went wrong last time.

My SOP had a general research theme, with about 75% of the paper discussing the work I did in the HMS lab and how that work related to my research goals. I wrote around three sentences about other HMS faculty and how their work related to my interests. I would ignore conjecture about red flags or what may or may not happen during your second year of grad school.

As a current BBS student, I cannot verify any of this. The summer before I applied, I worked in a lab at HMS. The majority of my personal statement discussed my work in that lab and my interests as they pertained to that lab (I did mention other labs of interest in my personal statement). The administration is very clear that it is okay to rotate in and join a lab in which you have worked before, the only caveat is that you will be required to complete three rotations instead of two.