bioinformaticsGirl

Does anyone know when we hear back from MIT HST? Since the HST and Stanford BMI interviews overlap, is anyone waiting to hear back from HST before accepting Stanford's invite? @AGradStudentHasNoName @Oddich55 @eagb

I wouldn't book the flight yourself if they didn't say so in the email. All of the schools I'm interviewing for either told me to book through their travel agency (Harvard BBS and UW Genome Sciences) or that they'd book it for me (Harvard SysBio). I'd assume BIG is similar!

Disclaimer: I've never interviewed for a PhD program before, but I would probably say a pant suit is overdressed. I generally follow a rule of thumb of dressing one step above what's normally expected for the job during interviews. In this case, I would wear a nice blouse and slacks/skirt with flats or boots. If you're interviewing in cold weather, try a wool peacoat in a neutral color for outerwear.

If you've never worn makeup in your life, I would probably just skip it. You want to feel comfortable during the interview, and in my experience, if you wear light makeup, most guys won't really notice the difference. If you want to make a bit more effort, I'd recommend tinted chapstick since it feels just like regular chapstick, but gives you some natural color.

From what I've heard (talking with my PI and other professors), LORs and research experience are the most important. If you have strong LORs despite low GPA and no publications, you still have a good shot. You're also applying to a variety of schools, so I definitely think you have a chance of getting at least a few interviews. Summer research fellowships also go a long way, so don't discount yourself yet! What I've learned this application season is that you never know exactly what the committees are looking for. They may need to balance the research interests of their incoming class, so if you have a strong synthetic bio background, it might work in your favor. Harvard Systems Biology interviews have already been sent out, but I believe most of your other schools haven't sent out invites, so there is still a chance!

The professor usually supports you for the rest of the program, so there's no need to worry about money! Merry Christmas everyone!

I received mine around 6:20pm, but I'm towards the top of the alphabet, so there's still hope! I'm surprised they're sending it so late in the day.

I got February 26th-28th too! Nervous about Harvard Sys Bio this week. Heard back from Harvard BBS and UW Genome Sciences. Still waiting back for Harvard Sys Bio, BIG; MIT HST, CSBi; Stanford BI; and UCSF iPQB. Praying for the best, and good luck to everyone