myhairtiebroke

It's way earlier in the thread. Here's a direct link:

Accepted into UW-Madison's MDTP (top choice!) I did ask about the political+funding situation during my interview. The program (microbio department in general) is well insulated from funding cuts (they even increased the stipend this year), and professors that would have left have mostly done so by now - but it doesn't hurt to ask the ones you are particularly interested in. This is not the case for every department, so if Madison is on your radar then be sure to ask - the information was practically volunteered by a few people.

Thanks @charmquarkz and @SysEvo. It's the interview schedule, so I'll wait.

I travel tomorrow and start interviews on Friday, but I still haven't received an itinerary. I already emailed an administrator, but they haven't replied. Should I be worried, or be more patient?

I'm waiting too. There is already a submission on the results page from today, saying that it was an email invitation. Hopefully they're still sending out invites.

Lol, I'm holding onto the same though tbh. However, the past couple years seem to only have these unofficial phone invitations. Additionally, Berkeley's microbio interview dates are Jan 19-22 (from the application) - which seems fairly short notice for a Jan 3 official invitation. I'm inclined to think the phone calls are for the sake of logistics and planning. But what do I know. We won't know for sure until early Jan. @Epigenetics I applied to Microbiology, but I'm sure what you said applies.

Berkeley, and Cornell. I haven't heard from Berkeley, and there's a couple entries on the results search so I'm guessing I didn't get it. I did get an invite from Madison, so I'll still visit. Is there an elegant way to ask about the financial situation? On an individual level, I doubt the program or a professor will take on more students than they can fund, but I am worried about the education quality declining if professors are leaving.

Really? Madison is my top choice right now (Microbiology) so that's disheartening to hear.

No harm in asking. I'm sure they have experience with situations like yours.

Did you mention this sentiment in your SOPs? Because that seems like a boner killer for adcoms. Additionally, expecting your program/lab to generate, or already have, data for you is an incredibly entitled mindset.

It still feels early in the application season, so I wouldn't be too down yet. However, I completely understand your feelings - this is my third time trying! I don't know what you're situation is, but if you qualify (graduated undergrad in the last two years), I would definitely look into postbac positions at the NIH. Or anywhere, but I went through the NIH fellowship and recommend it if you don't get in, or don't feel ready for grad school.

How long after receiving an invite can we wait before replying? Historically, I'm expecting two of my programs to conflict, so I'm trying to wait and hear back from both before scheduling with the one I've already heard from.

No, that wasn't me. I think that was an east coaster.

I received an email from them last night, around 8PM PST. The interview dates are Jan 26-28 or Feb 16-18. Idk if they're still sending out, but good luck!

What's the dress code for interviews? I've been told "not a tshirt and not jeans" by most people in real life and I see similar advice online. I'm still worried, because "not jeans" is quite a range - though I'm assuming a suit and/or tie is unnecessary. Sneakers? Chinos? Any collared shirt (assuming it doesn't have a guady print or distracting color)? For guys that have already gone through interviews, what did you wear? Or, if you're not a guy, what did you observe the male interviewees wearing?

It's a 4.0 scale. I don't know why it's 0 either, but 0 is what's listed on my transcript.

I took one course at the NIH while I was there as a postbac. I plan on entering it into my applications, along with the unofficial transcript. However, it was only one course so my GPA is "0." This won't reflect negatively, right? I feel like admissions committees will understand the situation when they see the transcript (I got an A), and that I was only enrolled for 3 months. However, I'm worried because I've heard programs may automatically reject applications below a certain GPA or GRE threshold, so my application may not even be looked at. Is there any truth to that?

Is it inappropriate to ask people here to review my old SOP? I can send it in a PM. I applied last year, and was told (by LOR writers, and program advisors) that it was good but maybe there's something we're missing. I have started over, but my formula feels almost identical (brief intro, talk about research experience, mention program specifics), and I don't want to make the same mistakes that may have led to rejection. Edit: Nevermind, I found the appropriate forum.

Thank you everybody for the feedback. I will not mention it. If I get interviews, and if I get asked, I will talk about it then.

Could I just leave at "I am currently taking time off from research before graduate school" in the SOP, and expand if I need to in interview? I didn't think taking personal time would be seen as bad.

I'm currently unemployed, and it's likely that I will still be unemployed by the time applications are due. How do I gracefully address this? I know people often take a gap year before going onto graduate school, so is it even worth mentioning? I feel like one short sentence towards the end would be best. So far, I have something like: "I am currently taking time off from the rigor of academic research, and relaxing before taking on the demands of graduate school."

Just after I read this, one of the PI's I was waiting on a reply from got back to me - they had been traveling! lol Thank you for all your help. I think I'll have to reevaluate how important having a particular research topic is to me, or how much I'm willing to stray from it for grad school.

I see. Is it worth emailing them again after a week if I haven't heard back? I'm worried about annoying them and seeming eager - even though I am. Hopefully I don't seem presumptuous when asking about their research, lol. I certainly don't try to frame it like that. Is 10ish faculty really the goal for applying to a program? I've been happy with finding 3-5, so am I being too specific?

I've been emailing professors for 1.5ish weeks now, but very slowly, lol. So far, only four. Two were the ones I spoke on the phone/Skyped with last year, but I'm still waiting for responses. One suggested which programs I should I apply to in order to rotate through her lab and said we would talk if I got an interview, and the last professor asked me to email them again in October when they are less busy. The latter two responded within the day I emailed them. What do you mean by "If it's been over a week, it's not a lost cause but it doesn't look good for affecting your application"? I understand that emailing won't help with actual admissions. I think every program I have applied to does rotations as well so professors wouldn't be able to have a say in admissions. I email to check if professors I am interested in are even considering taking on new students, and to get a better feel for their research - mostly current research and potential future projects. Lastly, thanks for the school suggestions! I will check them out.

Ok, will do. Now that you mentioned it, my undergrad PI's 2015 LOR was likely identical to the 2013 one (he submitted them within minutes.) I'll talk to and update them on new stuff that I did. My NIH LORs were fairly involved. They sat down with me and talked about my goals with grad school, and before leaving the NIH they also mentioned they were open to more discussion to ensure I could get in somewhere this cycle, so I feel good on that end. And I will definitely expand on the programs I'm applying to. It was variable. Last year, most replies boiled down to "good luck, and we can talk if you get invited for an interview," so they likely weren't too interested. I spoke to one over the phone, and another over Skype who were very helpful and seemed interested. I've emailed both of them this year, but I'm waiting to hear back. It's been over week, so I might bug them again next week or wait for October - I think I emailed them as the semester started so they're probably swamped. I've only just started reaching out to professors this year, but the one reply I got so far was essentially "good luck, and we can talk if you get invited for an interview."