[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

I have had some interviews where I sat down and the entire time the professor grilled me on my research interests, future goals, and previous research. On the other hand, I've had interviewers that never even mentioned education, and just chatted with me about baseball and line dancing. (Seriously). 

The point of the interview is to give the school a chance to sit you down and see what you're like as a person. If you're there, they obviously like you on paper and they are interested- but do they like you as a person? You could be a genius, but a jerk. Likewise you can have a rough application, but be a hard-working, charming individual.

Honestly, the interview depends on who you get- it's totally up to chance. You can believe your interview went poorly and end up acing it, or vice versa. The best you can do (in my opinion) is to smile, answer honestly, and try your best. If they like you, they like you. If not, then that's their problem  

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

On 1/30/2017 at 3:34 PM, nile red said:

Hey is anybody interviewing at Emory this weekend?

I'm interviewing for Emory BCDB on the 2/23-2/25... don't know if its the same interview group

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

3 hours ago, Pepperoni said:

Wisconsin Madison interview down, emory and washu to go. All cancer bio except WashU.

I'm going to Emory too! See you there  

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

2 minutes ago, Deebageeba said:

@fitzgradschool @furiusfrutecake

Hey guys. My interview weekend is next weekend. I heard back from UCLA Molecular Biology IDP at the end of December.

On their website, they state that they have interviews in Jan, Feb, and March. Is it possible they'll extend more offers for interviews or do you think they've already emailed everyone?

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

50 minutes ago, Nomad1111 said:

Has anyone received a rejection from Rockefeller/know if they're done sending interview invites? From previous years, it looks like interviews came out all at once around this time of year, and then the next day rejections came out. But I haven't seen any rejections on the results page and only 4 interviews? 

I'm holding out on scheduling another interview until I know about Rockefeller!

They just sent the rejection emails I think, I got one 

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

16 minutes ago, furiusfrutecake said:

Has anyone heard from UCLA Bioscience - Molecular Biology IDP/ UC San Diego Biological Sciences?

I haven't heard from UCLA yet... doesn't seem like anyone has I dont think

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Has anyone heard from Carnegie Mellon biology? 

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 minute ago, geneticginger said:

Did you apply to the Emory GMB program?

Sorry, BCDB program! (Biochem, cell, dev. bio)

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Just got an email from Emory graduate coordinator... She told me I was the #1 spot on their waitlist. I assume this means for an interview spot? What does this mean for me?

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 hour ago, chanoschanos said:

You can email the program coordinator. I was also feeling the same thing when I don't receive any emails from schools. But when I emailed the program coordinators, some of them are still evaluating my application and will let me know the result. So there is still hope! :-)

Good to know  was freaking out when people said they'd heard from Rockefeller and I'm still waiting

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

In general, if people start getting emails for interviews from schools that you've applied to and you haven't received an email yet, is that an ultimately doomed school? Or do they send out emails in waves?

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

6 minutes ago, dragonzz said:

Not hear from Rockefeller, so sad

Me neither... is that good or bad?

[2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Undergrad Institution: State School, Big 10
Major(s): Molecular Biology
Minor(s): Microbiology
GPA in Major: 3.30 
Overall GPA: 3.33 (really crappy freshman year...)
Position in Class: No idea
Type of Student: Domestic Female
GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 159 (73%)
V: 154 (64%)
W: 4.0 (59%) >> (has been 4.5 on a previous test ~ (82%)) 
B: Not taking


Research Experience: Two summers of research at an industrial lab- helped to create a successful product selling on the market now involving isolating plant DNA

Two years of experience (including summers) at a competitive university lab with a prestigious PI, studying mutations in picornaviruses including the poliovirus and EV71. Possibility of a name on a paper. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans list both semesters during junior year (3.8 and 3.7 GPA for fall and spring semester respectively)

Special Bonus Points: My PI is very well known in the field of Virology and the Family Chair of my college at the University, next door neighbor writing a recommendation has several good connections at esteemed universities like Harvard and Cornell. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Going to have about 5 letters of recommendation

Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley
Harvard
Rockefeller
CalTech
Princeton
Scripps
WashU. St. Louis
UChicago
UCSD
UCLA
U Mich Ann Arbor
Cornell (Weill)
UNC Chapel Hill
Vanderbilt
Emory
UC Irvine
Carnegie Mellon
UVA
NYU

Im very aware that I'm not very good at standardized testing but I'm hoping my research experience, my vast improvement in GPA since freshman year, and glowing recommendations will make me a desirable candidate.