Otinogonnyo

As much as I'd like to tell you to come join me at MIT, it seems from what you're writing that you have already decided that Stanford is a better fit for you. Once you get to a certain point, it doesn't really matter where you go, only that you put out good work. If you feel that the faculty choices, mentoring style, and overall focus of Stanford over MIT, then you should go there. Also keep in mind that people like Bob Weinberg are no longer taking students. 
Since I didn't apply to Stanford and am not too familiar with the program, I can only give my perspective about MIT. From my point of view though, once you get to the level of MIT, Stanford, UCSF, Harvard, etc., you don't really have to worry about prestige. 

Just received unofficial acceptance from Princeton MolBio, which makes me think that the official notice is coming out soon! That's officially a wrap for me on hearing back from programs. Good luck to those still waiting to hear back!

US rankings may be a starting point!It can be fairly misleading and it may be true that the Person who is a big name in the field is PI in a smaller university! The other ranking metrics too give a fair insight! To better answer your question, either of these schools are not Ivy-League or Stanford, UC(B and SF),MIT or Hopkins. Probably closer in stature to Duke, UMich, UCSD in biomedical research.
I am sure whether you choose North or South, both the 'West' are pretty solid schools and will make you a competitive applicant,basically you will not loose anything by choosing either of them!! I suppose it will boil down to Chicago vs Dallas or hot vs cold weather finally!

Very happy to say that I've officially committed to MIT! Congrats to those who are in the same position, and good luck to those still waiting. I'm still waiting on a few fellowship decisions so the season isn't completely over for me, but it is a relief to know where I'll be for the foreseeable future. I hope everyone can experience this feeling!

Accepted to Duke DSCB!

Accepted to Yale BBS (MCGD)!

Just got a call from UC Berkeley MCB today!!!! SO happy and relieved! Interviewed at UCSD, UWisconsin, UMichigan, and UCBerkeley and got into all four! Time to make some decisions, but for now I'm SO HAPPY!!!

Boston University just sent out admissions decisions via email (CM, not PiBS).

Got a mixed bag of results today. Got official acceptance in Harvard BBS today!
But also got a rejection from UCSF DSCB. I did not really enjoy the prospect of living in SF while there, so I guess it worked out...

Accepted to WashU's DBBS Molecular Genetics and Genomics program!!

Officially committed to the University of Michigan PIBS for Neuroscience!!! This is my dream program and I'm beyond excited to attend. Good luck to everyone else in the decision making process! It's so awesome to see people committing to so many amazing places already 

Officially committed to University of Notre Dame Biology Ph.D. Program this fall! Looking forward to opening a new chapter in my life! Good luck everyone on your interviews around the country! Go Irish!

Just got my acceptance to Tufts! Will most likely be attending

Hi! I'm another Chinese out there. I didn't apply to Tufts or look up statistics on post-interview acceptance rate of international students, but I guess it wouldn't make sense for them to fly you in if you are "automatically out" due to funding reasons. From what I learned we international students are less likely to bring money to the program since we aren't eligible to apply for most NIH grants, which means the program has to be prepared to pay you out of their own pocket and therefore admission could be more selective. But, without meaning to get your hopes up, I don't think it rules you out from being considered for acceptance as long as they didn't explicitly state that they wouldn't accept international students for the incoming class, especially post-interivew. 
I also saw your previous post. Just get prepared to answer why you want to do a PhD (maybe why do it in the US in your case) and to explain your research clearly. Sometimes they want to know how you are prepared to face/how you faced challenges in your academic life, and answers with an example of how you overcame a difficult time in life or a hobbit you believe would relieve your stress (classical music/reading/having cats) would usually do. My American PI once told me that it's important to project yourself as confident and passionate about research during interviews, which I found myself coming from a Chinese background taking some time to adjust to. I can't think of any topics to avoid (maybe don't get too politicized?) as long as your conversation stays around research and the academic life. I don't really know what sort of person gets rejected after an interview as most people I know from interviews are accepted. However, I did know one guy who was rejected by two programs where he didn't write post-interview thank you notes to his interviewers. So maybe do try and remember writing thank you notes...?

My first acceptance to Northwestern IBiS!!! What a relief to have an official offer on the table 

Cincinnati MDB acceptance!  I guess the committee met on Friday after interviews were over and made their decisions pretty quickly.  It looks like my season is wrapped up

Got an acceptance from UTSW GSBS today! That was my only interview this season!Relieved!
Thank you so much guys/gals here for the information/support and insights!!

Accepted at University of Vermont NGP!!! That's a wrap, folks!!! Can't thank you guys enough for the support of this forum as I spent the past several months freaking out. 
Looking forward to making my decision 

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

Got an acceptance from UTSW GSBS today! That was my only interview this season!Relieved!
Thank you so much guys/gals here for the information/support and insights!!

Got an acceptance from UTSW GSBS today! That was my only interview this season!Relieved!
Thank you so much guys/gals here for the information/support and insights!!

Got an acceptance from UTSW GSBS today! That was my only interview this season!Relieved!
Thank you so much guys/gals here for the information/support and insights!!

Got an acceptance from UTSW GSBS today! That was my only interview this season!Relieved!
Thank you so much guys/gals here for the information/support and insights!!

Got an acceptance from UTSW GSBS today! That was my only interview this season!Relieved!
Thank you so much guys/gals here for the information/support and insights!!

Forgot to post this earlier, but I got an acceptance to Pitt's IBGP! I interviewed the first weekend.