Cervello

I'm nursing a 102 degree fever that refuses to go down and coming to terms with the idea that it probably isn't a good idea to drive tonight to my interview...
And suddenly I get an email that I got into Harvard BBS!!!!!! 
Happy, feverish mess = me. 

I received my first acceptance to Northwestern's NUIN Program yesterday. So excited, and very relieved!

Received my first acceptance yesterday! It's been a long journey to get to this point. Wishing the rest of you guys luck!

I just got an interview invitation from USC NGP! This is my first invitation. I honestly was expecting to have zero interviews at this point. I would like to thank everyone on this forum who helped me remain positive!
Edit: feels weird and way too early to be thanking people but that's how excited I am!

Keep the hope! I had given up, so it came as a major surprise  They called me, so it would make sense that it takes time to work through all of the applicants that they're inviting.
At the beginning of the cycle, I was going to apply to PiN, but I'm an international applicant and my understanding from previous applicants was that PiN takes fewer internationals than BBS. BBS has sooo many labs under their umbrella, including many neuro labs that I was keen on, so I knew I'd be a a happy BBS student!
I'm an international, but I'm currently in the US doing research so my case might be different than yours. It might be that domestic/locally-residing applicants are contacted at a different time since, as you said, the interviewing process is different  

Congrats! I was thinking they were done. You've given me some hope that I might yet hear from them. So far, I've gotten 6/9 interviews, but MIT is my top choice. 
I noticed that you've applied to both neuro and bioscience programs, like harvard's BBS. In retrospect, I wish I done the same since some of the labs at Harvard that I wanted are neuro labs but also available to BBS applicants. Given that this was such a competitive year for PiN, applying to BBS was probably a good way of getting a foot in the door even if it means not being a member of PiN.

Rejection is tough. Remember that this is a somewhat random process. Perhaps they have bad metrics. Perhaps other people have personal relationships that help them get in. Perhaps they are looking for people in a different subfield than you are in. You got into some great programs. Try to be happy with that. I missed one of my top choices but just got invites at 2 super programs so I am happy. But it takes some time. You have the right to grieve as well. Sorry.

But.....good news from talking to MIT. They are still sending out invites for BCS till the end of next week  

Here's hoping that we all hear good news from MIT!

In the last month, I visited a bunch of cold places to give talks (not grad school interviews, but places I'm applying to postdocs). I layered my clothes to keep warm. For my bottom half, I wore long underwear + something like chinos. That seemed to be warm enough for me. For my upper half, I wore a undershirt, a dress shirt (no tie) plus a sweater that I could take on/off as needed. When I was outside, I also had a dressy jacket that had the look of a suit jacket but is thicker/warmer/meant to be an actual jacket. It's similar to a peacoat but isn't that. I don't know the name of this clothing item (maybe it's a sports jacket? lol). I also had a black toque to keep my head warm. For some places, a scarf as well. 
I'm currently living in California, so I don't really have a lot of dressy warm clothes. What I wore would be good for something like 15-20 minutes outside in cold weather---any more than that and I started to get pretty uncomfortable (unless I was also walking fast to stay warm!). Fortunately, for these types of visits, you spend very little time outside! Usually, the only significant time outside is during travel, e.g. getting from airport to the school or hotel room, and for these cases, sometimes paying** for a taxi or Uber could be worth it (especially if you would have to buy a lot of extra clothes otherwise). [** in my case, the fare was covered either by the school I was visiting or my grant, and your interviewing school may be covering these expenses anyways; but if they don't, it might be worth it!]

I don't think MIT has finished sending out applications yet. I worked in BCS for a summer and emailed my PI last week, from what she knows they're sending invites until January like usual. But she isn't as involved with admissions this year, so take that with a grain of salt...

I'm waiting for Columbia, too, as well as MIT. Not sure if MIT is done sending out emails. They seem to be handling this cycle differently from previous, maybe because like Harvard they received a record number of applicants. In years past, they sent out emails over several days. Not sure if that will change this year. 

Most MIT BCS updates on the results page don't show when searching "neuroscience." Try "BCS" and you'll find a few more.

Sooooo I just called them and they said they're still sending out invites "today, later today, early next week" 
Edit: I feel like I have been calling programs more than most people do. Hope this isn't a bad thing :/

Just thought I'd share this haiku:
Oh Columbia,
My anxiety abounds!
Please email me now.

I want to reiterate how important post-graduate research is in this process. There really is no comparison between undergraduate and post-graduate research. If you applied while you're still in undergrad, don't assume they hate you, just take some time to do this full-time. It'll beef up your application massively.

Called NYU CNS (so idk about Sackler) and they said they just had their committee meeting earlier this week and will be sending out invitations in the next few days? Having said this, I thought I had already seen people get invites but maybe I'm confused. I'm pretty sure I have seen people hearing back from NYU Sackler.
As for Columbia, I don't know for sure when invites are coming, but folks have said some time this week is likely based on previous years (earlier in this thread)? 
(Also I feel you... so so so anxious......)

Augh, solidarity-- thanks for the responses and good luck!!

^ that's seems likely. Got a JHU email today but for those who didn't, more emails may come later if last year is any indication. I know it's tough to wait. I think I've been rejected from one of my top choices because I haven't gotten an email and it seems likely that they were sent all in one day. Chins up.

Just checked last year's results. They were sent on dec 22 and jan 7. Not sure what the lag time implies.

Waiting for Columbia as well. Best of luck to all waiting to hear from them.

Portland is a great town. Amazing bookstore, decent coffee, lots of microbreweries. Good hiking not far from town. Easy to get to Seattle and nat'l parks. Notwithstanding the recent unusual snow storm, fairly temperate weather. I vacationed there mainly to hike and drove up to Seattle through the national parks. Loved it.

Portland is a great town. Amazing bookstore, decent coffee, lots of microbreweries. Good hiking not far from town. Easy to get to Seattle and nat'l parks. Notwithstanding the recent unusual snow storm, fairly temperate weather. I vacationed there mainly to hike and drove up to Seattle through the national parks. Loved it.

Guys can we all please chill. There are many stereotypes going around on this thread, both about Harvard and about Baltimore. People are apt to be offended by such generalizations, and they have also been used in positive ways as well as negative ones. Wishing you all the best with your waiting games, let's just support each other to get into the best program for each of us!

Hey, I was born and raised in Baltimore. It seems that many here have been deluded by misrepresentations of Baltimore (ie. The Wire, Serial, news). I will just say this, if you write off Hopkins because of Baltimore it is absolutely your loss. Baltimore is vibrant, young, and diverse. It has one of the fastest growing populations of people ages 25-30. It is actually an art hub so almost every day there are various events/festivals to explore. Between the UMD schools, Hopkins, and Maryland School for the Arts there is a lively student community. Baltimore has a beautiful setting on the water and because it was one of the first U.S cities it has beautiful, historical architecture. If you are a sports fan then Baltimore is a great place to be with the Orioles at Camden Yards and the Ravens. Baltimore is a condensed city made up of eclectic neighborhoods so not only it is very accessible, you will never run out of things to do/new places to explore.
Baltimore has a truly diverse population and an incredible sentiment of social justice and activism. Lastly, Baltimore is just 45 minutes from DC, an hour from beaches on the Atlantic coast, an hour to Philadelphia, less than an hour to the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains (ie. tons of stunning natural scenery and parks), and 3-4 hours from New York. I could go on and on about what an amazing place Baltimore is. 
I know people are concerned with crime, but in all of my years living in a working class neighborhood my roommates and I were never victims of crime. Honestly, the people most afflicted by crime in Baltimore are the poor and those marginalized/oppressed by our society...so please check your privilege before you start to complain about crime. 
I am not attending Hopkins as I decided it was time to try out a new state, but the research environment is really phenomenal. And keep in mind that you have access to the NIH (especially the NCI, infectious diseases, and aging institutes), Kennedy Krieger, and UMD. I am not saying Hopkins is better than any other program, but it's a damn shame to see so many people write it off without any precedent/actual experience to go off.