Kaede

Just called MIT Biology and they confirmed that not all of the interview offers have been sent out.

Hi everyone,
I just heard some information that surprised me today that I wanted to share (as it's quite different than previous post-interview acceptance rates that I had heard for Harvard BBS). There are ~70 people attending the first (January) interview weekend, and ~50 people attending the second (Feb) interview weekend. They're also still expecting to hear back from a few more people who haven't yet signed up.
They are looking to fill 65-70 spots for this cycle. 
I was quite surprised, because I'd heard for Harvard BBS that if you get an interview, you're pretty much good (~90% post-interview acceptance rate), but these numbers don't indicate that.
Just wanted to share this info, as I know people are often talking about acceptance rates!
 
EDIT
I should have added that I was told that, yes, more offers go out than the 65-70 spots that they're looking to fill (makes sense, as we know students will choose other programs for various reasons). But absolutely not to the tune of 80-90% of interviewees receiving an offer of admission.

Hi,
First thank you, everyone who replied. Your comments were helpful and allowed me to gain some outside perspective on my situation. Also, because I wasn't clear, I am a female. Just wanted to clarify because some of the pronouns got a little confusing while reading the longer replies. 
Anyway, I have joined another lab for the spring semester and the plan is to leave with a non-thesis masters in May. I have not officially switched to the masters program yet, as my new advisor said they wanted to give it 5-6 weeks and reevaluate. New advisor and I work well together and communicate amazingly well. It really is light and day compared with Old Lab and Old Advisor. I am still upset and coming to terms with how things turned out, but at least it was an enlightening experience and I know what to look for once I apply to phd programs elsewhere. 

Of course, I'm still hoping in the back of my mind that I somehow win the NSF GRFP and can, therefore, talk a lab into accepting me for a phd. (There are a few here that I was interested in as a first year but they didn't have funding back then). 

I got it a few minutes before I posted so they may just be sending it out. Good luck!
Thank you! My invite was from the Biology home area.

Thanks for finding that out. Now to wait for Stanford Bio... x_x

While I hope MIT is not finished yet, I doubt I'll be getting an interview... I was too exhausted to properly change my SoP to fit their "proposal for graduate studies" prompt.

Thanks for the input everyone! I think these are really important discussions to have. I primarily picked the skirt because I feel like it would help with the cold, blizzard-like weather, but I'll keep you all posted on if anything comes up with regards to the skirt.
If one thing is true, it's that I am not about to let some crusty, judgmental guys keep me from looking my best on such an important day! ?? ??

Thanks for the input everyone! I think these are really important discussions to have. I primarily picked the skirt because I feel like it would help with the cold, blizzard-like weather, but I'll keep you all posted on if anything comes up with regards to the skirt.
If one thing is true, it's that I am not about to let some crusty, judgmental guys keep me from looking my best on such an important day! ?? ??

I'm not going to be wearing any. I think it should be fine to be yourself as long as it's not overdone.

I mean there are a lot of mitigating factors. Your PI doesn't really decide when you graduate, your DAC does, but some professors are more willing to get you through faster than others. Also to a certain extent it depends on how much you actually did and how high-quality and rigorous the work is. But my experience with people in several different Harvard programs is once you have one or two first author papers accepted that's when you're able to graduate if you want. 
My point was not that it is literally impossible to have four papers in four years. I'm actually a bad person to talk to about this, since I have four papers (submitted or in preparation) that I'm (co-)first author on from the past 18 months. However, I'm in a fortunate position since I didn't have to collect any of the data like I would've had to for a PhD, so it would've taken a lot longer to do those other steps. Fields also vary on this to be sure, but PhD students tend to take a while to get their sea legs, and review is a bitch, so there are common mitigating factors.
So there are of course mitigating factors, but the likely combination is some version of either (a) you graduate in 3-4 years when the first couple papers are accepted or (b) you graduate whenever you get the first one accepted after however many years that is. Outliers exist, my point was that it's not common or really expected.

JUST GOT AN INVITE FROM HARVARD MCO!!!
One of my top choices

JUST GOT AN INVITE FROM HARVARD MCO!!!
One of my top choices

Yes... I'm very surprised about that part.

Let's steer away from the Kardashian-level drama. ??
Does anyone know when Harvard MCO releases interview offers/when the committee meets?

Let's steer away from the Kardashian-level drama. ??
Does anyone know when Harvard MCO releases interview offers/when the committee meets?

Let's steer away from the Kardashian-level drama. ??
Does anyone know when Harvard MCO releases interview offers/when the committee meets?

I love being in BBS. It was my top choice, and the interview weekend confirmed every expectation. We have a cohort of 75, so it is not hard to find a group of friends. 
The coursework is amazing. We are required to take 32 credits of courses: eight credits are required (BBS 230 and BBS 330), 24 credits are for electives. I can take courses through any science department at Harvard, MIT, Brown, and Tufts. The lecturers are all leaders in their fields: I've had lectures from George Daley, Phil Sharp, Bob Horvitz, David Altshuler, George Church, etc. Contrary to popular belief, the teaching here is amazing. 
Everyone in BBS is fully funded throughout their PhD. There is no question about funding. Everyone gets the same funding regardless of how long they have been here. In addition, the stipend for Harvard BBS is around $5k higher than the stipend at other Boston universities. 
The lab work here is outstanding. There are over 800 labs in which BBS students can work. I can work in the Harvard Quad, Beth Israel, MGH, Boston Children's, Brigham, Broad, Wyss, DFCI, Harvard College, etc. The lab work itself is what you make it. I've completed two rotations and I am currently in my third. My first was in yeast genetics. I told the PI that I was interested in autophagy, so I was put on a project looking at selective autophagy. The PI was always available to chat, but he really just left me alone with a grad student and we went to work. I set my schedule and got good work done. My second rotation was in cancer biology. I told the PI I wanted to look at metabolism in cancer, so I got put on my own independent project looking at the role of a specific pathway in breast cancer. Again, the PI could meet whenever, but I was independent with the guidance of a graduate student. My third rotation is at MGH working on the human genetics of neuropsychiatric disorders. My PI does several things, but I told him my interests and now I am on a project doing exactly what I said I wanted to do. In short, research here is incredibly independent with enough guidance to learn what you need to learn. Many PIs want to train graduate students, not use them for free labor. I feel like I am in an environment to learn how to be a scientist.
Many BBS graduate students do great things. I know one who is the senior scientific advisor at the White House. Another is in Bob Weinberg's lab. My PI is a Harvard graduate. I'm also on the executive board for the Harvard Biotechnology Club, and many of the speakers we bring in are BBS graduates. 
There are a lot of student clubs. I am always being invited to free events with free alcohol and food that are put on by other students. Student life here is great. Boston and Cambridge are also amazing cities with a lot of culture. 
But anyway, it doesn't sound like Harvard BBS is right for you, so good luck at Hopkins! 

Red flag - lol - go focus on some research please.

Stanford is first week of Jan 
Harvard should be later this week or early next week. 

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! 

Oh ok, I understand now. The NSF does not tie you down to your proposal topic, so I don't see why you couldn't do that as long as you write it as though you intend to pursue that project.

Hi everyone! I need advice from people who aren't my professors.
I'm a rather accomplished bio undergrad and am about to enter my final year. Thus far, I have had two summer research experiences, a few presentation awards, and a Goldwater scholarship. I say all this not to brag, but because I feel like I'm not ready yet.
I still have no idea exactly which field I'd like to pursue (Genetics? Cell Bio? Neuroscience? Physiology? Bioinformatics???) and tend to not do well on standardized tests (I'm scoring low on GRE quant).I started looking into graduate programs and felt overwhelmed by the options and trying to find professors whose research I liked, who could also be good mentors, and have funding on top of that. This is overwhelming and it is making starting the process very difficult.
I'm leaning toward doing a year long research-focused postbac program, but am having a few problems:
My professors have highly advised me against taking a year off and suggest I just start applying now They also suggest that if I really want a postbac, I apply to postbac and grad school programs at the same time I feel like most postbac programs won't take me because of my accomplishments since I am rather competitive, even though I desperately feel like I need some time off to focus on applications I'm really not sure what to do. I know I am in a great position academically, but personally, I feel that things are moving too quickly. Would appreciate any advice at this point since I am at a loss for how to continue.
 

I normally get double time on my exams for a documented disability. I have heard that if you take the GRE with accommodations, that that is noted on the scores sent to the schools. Would that put me at a disadvantage? Would it be better to get a lower score and not have schools know I took extra time, or is the higher score worth it? (I am applying to bio programs)

The law says that your disability cannot count against you. So any school that did count a disability against you would be in violation of the law. I am surprised that ETS could be legally permitted to state in the score report that accommodations were provided to you. I think you should check this with ETS. stassd@ets.org. It could be one of those urban legends. 

This bothered me so I went to check.  https://www.ets.org/disabilities/test_takers/faq/
"I heard that ETS is no longer flagging test scores that are reported to score recipients. Is this true?
ETS has discontinued flagging almost all scores for tests that are taken with accommodations. For example, if a test taker receives additional time or extra breaks, the score will no longer be flagged in the report. In rare instances, ETS will flag the score report as a "nonstandard administration" only if the test is significantly altered."