CaliforniaRunnerKid

Hey, so just before I begin, I’m in a PhD program and am very happy and fully intend to see it thru, but something I was thinking about recently was how most PhD programs, if you drop out any time after passing quals, will award a masters degree for time served. Whenever I hear people talk about it, it seems like they talk about the people it happens to with disgrace and like they feel bad for them. And obviously, if you want a PhD, it would suck. But what about the people who don’t want PhD’s? If someone only wanted to get a masters before going into industry or something, why wouldn’t they just apply to PhD programs, do 1-2 years of funded work while collecting a stipend, then promptly drop out after passing qualifying exams? Obviously, it’s a bit unethical as the university invests into you for the first years with the expectation that you will work for them for several more years. But when has ethics stopped people before? Especially when the incentive to do this is so high compared to a regular masters; you get the same degree without paying tuition and the university even pays you during it. Why is there not an epidemic of PhD students dropping out at masters?

Just got accepted to my top choice: Yale University BBS (MMPP)!!!!!

Supposedly Yale is very low across the board.

I have interviews at Columbia and NYU. Still waiting on Cal. Didn't apply to the others

Beware that isn't always the case. I interviewed with them last monday/tuesday and got none of the people from my list. Instead I had the program director and two people doing research fully unrelated to my field (One did liver disease, the other cancer; I study neurodegenerative diseases) Just be super flexible. They obviously didn't expect me to be an expert in their field. They just asked about the methodology and thought process behind why and how you did your research. It more felt like they were testing how I thought compared to other interviews I've had with people within my field who more strongly test what I know.

Pathology, sorry for any confusion.

No insight on Harvard, but I got an interview for Columbia a week ago.

Interesting, thank you. Would love to get more data points if anyone knows.

I have from NYU Sackler. I think I heard on Monday of this week. Could've been Tuesday, though. Can't remember.

Does anyone have any idea on what percent of phd applicants get interviews? I've found a number of resources on how many interviewees get acceptances, but I haven't seen anything talking about what percent of applicants a typical program will give interviews to. Also, if you don't get an interview, can you more or less write that off as a rejection or do people get accepted to bio/biomed phds without interviews? Thanks!

Applying for F2018. Please be VERY honest with me in whether I stand a chance at these schools or if I should lower my expectations. Undergrad Institution: NYU College of Arts and ScienceMajor(s): BiochemistryGPA in Major: 3.60 Overall GPA: 3.66Position in Class: Top 10-15%Type of Student: Domestic, Male, Whiter than Wonder BreadGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 163 (84%)V: 162 (91%)W: 5.0 (93%)Research Experience: Over 2 years in a lab at NYU School of Medicine that works on drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. 1 Publication as 3rd author of 10 published in Scientific Reports. Summer internship at a biotech firm where I worked on antibody-drug conjugates for cancer therapeutics. 3 poster presentations at minor conferences and one industry presentation for ~200 people, after I won an industry award.Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 3 years deans list, NCAA Academic All American, Presidential Honors Scholar, Intellectual Property Contributor Award (Award from the company I worked for for developing a method for antibody expression and purification which had higher yield and purity than what they were previously using.) Senior Honors Thesis in BiochemistryPertinent Activities or Jobs: 4 year NCAA varsity athlete in track and cross country, Over 1500 hours of community serviceAny Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: NCAA cross country conference champion?Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...) One LoR writer, the PI of the lab I have worked at for 2 years at Langone, is 'famous' in the world of neurodegenerative diseases and pharmacology (~400 publications and 19 patents) Another LoR writer is an alumni of both Icahn School of Medicine and RockefellerAny Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:Applying to Where: School Program UC Berkeley Molecular and Cellular Biology - Molecular Mechanisms of Disease UCSF Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics - Molecular Pharmacology NYU Langone Mechanisms of Disease - Molecular Pharmacology Columbia Molecular Basis of Health and Disease - Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine Johns Hopkins Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences Weill Cornell Pharmacology Icahn Biomedical Sciences - Biophysics and Systems Pharmacology Rockefeller Mechanisms of Human Disease Yale Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology Brown Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology UCSD Biomedical Sciences - Molecular Pharmacology UWashington Pathology - Molecular Medicine and Mechanisms of Disease Harvard Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Hey, I'm a rising 4th year biochem major at NYU and would like to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry.molecular biology with an emphasis on medical research. The issue is I'm really not sure what range of schools I'm competitive in because no one seems to have stats on it. Could someone tell me based on my stats what range of schools I'd be competitive for admission to? I have a 3.7 GPA, 3 years of research experience in both academic and industrial labs, one publication (3rd author), one invention, 4 years of NCAA XC/track, will be on dean's list all 4 years, and about 1K hours community service. I take the GRE on the 9th of august and the chemistry GRE on the 15th of sept. My research experience has been at NYU School of Medicine, making and testing potential treatment options for Alzheimer's disease, and at a biotech company in the bay area engineering promoter sequences for optimised protein expression. Please let me know around what type of school I should be looking at to be competitive. Thanks!