Gina

It varies depending on the faculty. Some of them just talk about their research the whole time and in that case the conversation is really easy, and you can just ask questions here and there and make comments on what you think. Some of them will ask you scientific questions. I for example was asked what I thought about some microarray results by one of the faculty. I do hear that some professors just ask more questions and make the interview more difficult. As with anything, it depends on who you're meeting with. Chances are that most of your individual faculty meetings will go just fine though, and they all have a say on your acceptance so it's not something to agonize over. As for acceptance rates, they do make it sound like most people who interview get accepted and I think this is true. Just be polite and curious about people's work and I'm sure you'll do fine.

Hey all. I was a BMS applicant last year, currently attending MSU (though I just switched into the Plant Bio program from the BMS Genetics program). They told me casual clothes was fine, but I would encourage you to wear NICE casual clothes. For me, that was khaki pants, a decent shirt, and a semi-casual blazer. I wore boots because there was a snowstorm. They won't judge you on that. You really shouldn't wear anything like dirty sneakers to any interview no matter what they tell you the dress code is... dress to impress! But do be comfortable. I interviewed during one of the plant science fellowship weekends, so I did not do a BMS presentation. You can ask me anything else you are wondering about though. Good luck!

Good luck with the job applications. I was in a secondary education biology program during college, and ended up dropping the teaching component and just finishing with a plain biology degree when I figured out that I am not very good at teaching high school kids and creating lesson plans. I was doing my teaching component at an inner city school and I just don't have what it takes to get those kids motivated and working. So, I decided to try research! My MS degree was therefore very helpful for getting me extra experience and landing me a decent job... and I am now starting my PhD in the fall. Yes, the MS is a cash cow in many cases, but in some cases they are partially or fully funded, and it is a necessary stepping stone when you have almost no research experience as I did during my undergrad due to switching around my major/career choices. I also was able to teach an undergrad laboratory course during my MS, too, which was really fun, rewarding, and gave me extra money. It was also WAY easier than teaching high school students. Truly. No one appreciates elementary and high school teachers enough for what they do. It is a very challenging career, for those of us that take our careers seriously and want to do the best for people around us. Just try to think of a general research focus for your MS as you apply so that you can write a good statement of purpose.

I don't think it's weird at all. I would just write your questions on paper though. If you are looking at your phone they might think you're texting or something... even though you're obviously not. I don't think it's bad to look prepared!

If you have any research posters I would print those out (in a small version of course) and bring them with you. Profs like that I brought mine, and it gave them something to look at which makes explaining your past work much easier.

If you're ready I'd just go straight into a PhD. Like aryelh I had to do a master's to get more research experience. Otherwise, if you're applying to schools in the US, you really don't need a master's degree.

I wouldn't worry yet, I also interviewed on the 7th-8th and haven't heard back officially, but I've had a lot of email exchanges with several people there and the outcome looks favorable. They just told me "now is the slow part," which I'm not sure what that means, but I think they need to look at their last few interview weekends and decide who gets what fellowship and award and etc.

I was rejected post interview at ASU, I think because I wasn't a good fit for the program. I went in thinking that it was rotation based, but they highly discourage rotations and one professor said I actually can't rotate at all and a lab has to admit me. Funding there is not very stable either and I expressed some concerns about this. Apparently it's not uncommon to have students going with no salary or health insurance in the summer if they can't TA. I work a full time job now so I would have a hard time bringing my quality of life down to the point of having no health insurance for months at a time. So yep, I definitely can see how people get rejected post interview! You can come across as being surprised and unfocused about aspects of the program, like me, and that comes across badly in a program where they expect you to have chosen a particular topic of interest that's very narrow. Or, maybe I said I enjoyed Michigan State too much!

Nice! Wish that would happen to me.

I fully expect a rejection too. Didn't check my mail yesterday but it's probably in there. Oh well.

HA! Congrats mysinia! Anyone heard from ASU MCB? I'm losing hope.

They told me the first weekend is full and they are still looking through apps for the second weekend of interviews... I'm expecting to be rejected at this point. Ha ha.

Awesome!! Congratulations!

I am making a conscious effort to avoid booze.... a little bit of booze renders me incapable of processing my thoughts and what's being said to me!

Happy Thursday! Hopefully the admissions committees will be feeling good and send some invites out...