laveritecestla

Hi! Not an applicant but was in your shoes two years ago, so just popping in to say that I'm happy to answer any questions about the process/my experiences!

Yep. My program spans two universities, so I'm a registered student at both, and both institutions have dedicated staff for graduate fellowships. I met with them early in the process and got feedback from them, as well as from other students in my program who received the GRFP in the past, my current advisor, my undergraduate advisor, and some faculty mentors (one of whom has been on the GRFP review panel in the past). I agree that it is an amazing resource to have, and it sucks that you didn't have that support when you applied.

The fellowship admin at my institution told us to put down 4.0/4.0 since we apparently have perfect GPAs until we get grades.

Also got it! Apparently the second time is the charm, which is good, since this was my last shot. Happy to post my materials as well (with some personal info redacted) + reviewer feedback once we get it if other people would like it for future years!

Also an alternate and wondering the same thing.

Just got the email that results are posted!

It is - you're still considered a GEM Fellow, but your institution pays for you directly.

Personally, I’d only advise working if you need the money, and I wouldn’t really recommend doing something in your field (I was a camp counselor) if you’re doing your PhD. You’ll be working basically nonstop for the next six years and this is the last summer you’ll really ever have off - enjoy it!

BU sends out their acceptances in waves over about a month.

@dontor Historically they send them all out on one day. ☹️

@dontor They do like three visit weekends! You should get another email with more details on which weekend you've been assigned. Congrats!

@extramaniac It's hard to say anything more specific than stellar grades from R1 institutions. Many of the people in my Ph.D. cohort were rejected from Stanford, so I'm guessing research fit is also a big part of it. I spent the summer before applying at Stanford working in Bioengineering and met with the chair of the admissions committee and was still rejected (probably because of my GPA), so who you know definitely isn't all of it.

Applied to the Predoctoral!

@dontor Can confirm, I'm a current Ph.D. student applying to fellowships (and hoping to assuage some of your fears) who applied last year. I got my rejection from Stanford on Feb 7 last year if that helps?

@mayu101 BU typically releases in waves from mid-Jan to mid-Feb, so it's hard to say.

@skyw Last year? January 18th, and the interview was the first weekend in March.

I'd wait until the end of next week to worry. A lot of the faculty are just now returning from the winter holidays, so the admissions committee probably hasn't had time to make final decisions.

Yeah, our interviews are longer/more technical than most programs, but if you get an interview offer it's because they think you'd be a good fit for the program, and that's half the challenge. Good luck and let me know if you have other questions!

@DKP I'm in the MEMP program and while we don't currently have any people from pure CS backgrounds in the program, we do have a couple from non-biology STEM fiends (physics), so I'd say your background isn't necessarily a problem as long as you can clearly explain your current interests (since it seems like your research background backs it up) and why they fit into HST.

@Athif M Stats look pretty competitive for the schools that you're applying to. Are you looking to swap some of the ones on the list out or add safe schools to the existing list and apply to more than 13? Some others could be WPI, Stevens Institute of Technology. Also, which MIT program? BioE and HST look for different things in admissions.

You don't have to contact the GEM reps for the schools you're applying to - the deadline for them to acknowledge that you applied in their system is like a month after the application submission deadline. I only contacted the rep for my school once I had accepted an offer because I didn't get an offer from a sponsor company, which is how I became a fellow through my institution. Selection for the full GEM fellowship (with the internship and 3+ years of funding) depends on the sponsor companies, who will reach out to you for interviews. People last year also applied to internship positions at companies they wanted to sponsor them and/or reached out to the diversity/GEM reps at those companies to get their foot in the door, which seemed to be a fairly successful approach. However, your institution can also agree to sponsor you as a GEM University Fellow, where you don't do the internship and the terms of your funding depend on what your institution wants to give you.

Submitted last night for engineering! Fingers crossed that the second time is the charm. Good luck to everyone who's submitting this week!

Seconding that having extensive research background is more important than having a background in your specific field. What I said I wanted to do when I applied last year didn't really relate to what my background was in, and I did fine! I also don't think that taking a gap year looks bad - usually, people come off as "more mature" and sure of what they want. And you're GPA will definitely offset the GRE scores.

Did all of this last year, so if anyone has questions about my experience applying, feel free to ask!

It didn't send me an email when I was able to sign the contract, so I'd check for updates. As for reaching out @cabbysaurus I emailed the GEM representative for my university and asked (this was before the emails recommending you for the Associate/University Fellow went out).