blc073

I thought that was just a hip new phrase. I was prepared to roll with it. 

I do not advise drinking out of sadness. 

Got it from Harvard BBS!!! Can't believe it!
My last name starts with Y, so I think you are right, they could be going alphabetic.
 

Congratulations! I'm looking forward to meeting you all. I will be helping with the interview weekends and hosting interviewees each weekend, so I can tell you all that it's going to be a great time! 

Harvard Extension School, but it's close enough. They gave me an email address. 

Wait, you go to Harvard? 

Congratulations! I'm looking forward to meeting you all. I will be helping with the interview weekends and hosting interviewees each weekend, so I can tell you all that it's going to be a great time! 

I agree with @Bioenchilada. 
Operate as if Penn is your only option, then figure things out with other programs later. If you get an interview from Weill Cornell, tell them that you have an interview already scheduled for that weekend. As I said before (take note, @Bioenchilada), "This process is about you. They judged you, now you get to judge them. Any program that will not work with your schedule is not worth your time. Full stop."

You get to choose the weekend for BBS. 

I'm not trying to get into an argument here, but I would be skeptical of any scientist who only publishes in Science, Nature, and Cell. Some of the greatest discoveries were published in lower impact journals. This is mainly because Science, Nature, and Cell are often resistant to paradigm-shifting publications. 
In addition, I would be worried about joining a lab with a PI who has only published seven times. What are the odds that you will be a first author on one of her publications? 

I mean, sometimes taking that long on your degree will put you on track for a better, and sometimes even shorter, postdoc. The extra time will give time to grow as a scientist and expand your network. In fact, I've heard that short PhD's tend to lead to much longer postdocs lol

It just came off a bit arrogant, that's all. 

It just came off a bit arrogant, that's all. 

Do what the initial email says and you will be fine. Scheduling interviews is a slow process. Right now, you should only worry about taking care of things on your end. If the email says to fill out a survey by a certain date, follow that and it will work out. 
If you received an interview invitation, they want you. They want you so much that they are willing to pay for flights, pay for a hotel, and provide meals. They are not going to rescind your invitation because of an email miscommunication. 
You are in a great position. Pop the champagne! 

It just came off a bit arrogant, that's all. 

I guess I'm just not following why this post was necessary. 

I don't think messaging Katy to send you a rejection as a wise move. I am not sure if invites are sent out by batches. As you can see from this thread, there was a couple hour delay with regards to when people got invites. Just be patient  
Also, a rejection is not the end of the world. 

I guess I'm just not following why this post was necessary. 

They are not going to look at your CV. If they do, it will be a five second glance. 
Furthermore, a two week research project that you can discuss in detail and demonstrate how it affected you as a scientist is better than a three year project in which you washed dishes. Your SOP will convey your research better than dates on a CV. 

Do what the initial email says and you will be fine. Scheduling interviews is a slow process. Right now, you should only worry about taking care of things on your end. If the email says to fill out a survey by a certain date, follow that and it will work out. 
If you received an interview invitation, they want you. They want you so much that they are willing to pay for flights, pay for a hotel, and provide meals. They are not going to rescind your invitation because of an email miscommunication. 
You are in a great position. Pop the champagne! 

Yes, Harvard BBS has access to many faculty, including faculty in virology. The rule for BBS students is that you can work with anyone in the HILS Directory. I looked up some virology faculty and searched them in the HILS Directory. Three of the four I searched are affiliated with BBS. 
I also looked through the virology coursework. Every course I looked at (Introduction to Virology, Virology, Advanced Topics in Virology, Viruses of Bacteria, etc.) is open to BBS students. 
BBS is great because you can work with hundreds of different faculty and you can take courses in any field. BBS has just two required courses, so every other credit can be dedicated to whatever you want. The downside of doing BBS instead of virology is that you might not be invited to all of the virology-specific events. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.