CancerBiology

Hey guys I have a problem! I got an NYU Sackler interview today (yay!) but it is on the same weekend as UMich. NYU makes it very clear that they don't have alternate dates for their interview weekend on the email ''At this time, we are unable to provide an alternate date if you are unable to attend this interview weekend. This is the only interview date we can offer you, please respond at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your interest in Sackler Institute. We look forward to meeting you!'' I know UMich has 2 interview weekends. Should I try to reach out to them and ask if they could change my interview to the first weekend? (I have it scheduled for the 2nd weekend). I don't know how to address the email though. I don't want them to think that I am not interested in UMich, because I really am. Any suggestions? Thank you so much!

Are we supposed to hear back from Stanford Biomedical Sciences this week? Has anybody else applied to Cancer bio? In such case, have you heard back? I saw from other years that some interviews were sent out today!

How do you know you've been waitlisted from Harvard BBS btw?

Did you get the email today? I see that you have an interview for Stanford Biosciences! Congrats! That is amazing

I am still waiting on the cancer biology program. It is a dream school and I contacted a PI beforehand, but don't have high hopes because I am international.

Well I ordered my GPA conversion from WES, and when I saw how it did not do justice, I just thought about ways that I could demonstrate and make them understand that I was still a very good student. It got me some interviews so I guess it worked. Especially since I went to Pharmacy school and that is harder than just an undergrad! Being international hurts your applications a LOT, and it really is frustrating. But you have an interview so you're good! Best of luck with that one!

Congrats! From which school?

Are you international as well? Just sent you a DM! Also, in my case, my GPA converted to the American GPA system does NOT do justice. That is why I put an official letter from my school stating that I was in the higher range of the class.

Hey! I was just going through all the messages and read this. This is not true at all! I got interviews a top programs such as UMich, Columbia and Duke AND I am international (which makes it 100x harder). My GPA is 3.3 but it is from Pharmacy school, so that helps I guess. My GRE is okay but not amazing, around the 75th percentile. It is my first time applying. THERE. IS. HOPE.

Is it safe to assume that we have been rejected from all schools that we have not heard back from already?

I reached out to them to know the status of my application and the response was: Good afternoon, Pharmacology has sent out all of our primary invitations. You are currently on our waiting list. If the status of your application changes in the upcoming weeks, we will provide you with an update.

They usually take this into account and invite more people than what they are planning to accept. That's why usually when you get invited to an interview you have around 50% changes of being admitted. Or if this is not the case then they waitlist you for interview. I might be wrong, though! I am international as well so I don't fully know how it works!

I knew that Harvard BBS interview invites were sent out on December 19th (if I remember correctly). I did not get an invitation, so I contacted admissions and they told me that all the interviews had been sent. My 3 rejections are unofficial because I reached out to admissions via email.

Do you guys know the odds of getting off a waitlist for an interview? I am an international applicant!

If anyone cannot/doesn't wanna go to Weill Cornell Pharmacology interview weekend please say so! I am on the waitlist and it is one of my top choices! They just sent me an update today mentioning that there has been no changes on my status. Thank you very much!

Any internationals invited to Yale BBS MMPP for an interview? I was just notified that I was not invited for an interview. Yale was my dream school so I am pretty disappointed. As an international I applied to 13 schools (all biomedical sciences or pharmacology, cancer bio when possible), and I have only heard back from 3 school for interviews. I am a little nervous and would like to have more options because as an international it is really hard to get accepted. UMich, Duke, Columbia (interviews) Weill Cornell (waitlisted for interview) Yale, Harvard, WashU, JHU (rejected) NYU Sackler, Stanford, Northwestern DGP, MIT, UPenn, UChicago (pending) Has any international applicant heard back from the schools that I have pending? Thank you very much.

Hello everyone! I am new in this Forum so I don't exactly know how it works... But anyway, I am going to explain my situation and see if I can get any help (which I would really appreciate). I am planning to apply to my PhD this fall as an international student. I am from Europe and I did my bachelor there. It is my first time ever applying to an American university, so any advice would be helpful. - Bachelor/Masters in Pharmacy (I put Masters because it takes 5 years, it is considered Bachelor+Master in Europe, and I have a paper that gives it the academic equivalence to Doctor of Pharmacy in the US, if that works). My GPA is 7.1/10. I know. Everyone is going to think that is really low, but in Europe and in pharmacy school, nobody has a GPA of 9/10, for example. So mine is pretty good at my university. I also have honors in my final thesis (cancer-related) and it is considered the best thesis of my promotion. - Research experience: one semester as an undergrad (around 25 h per week), 6 month as an exchange student in America (no classes, just research), currently doing research in one of the Top20 Universities in the U.S. (not an Ivy, but ranked better than most of them). By the time I apply my experience in this last university will be of 1 year but by the time I start my PhD it would be of 2 years. - Other experience: 1 year as a retail pharmacist, 6 month internship as a clinical pharmacist in a Hospital in Europe. - Publications: 3 posters (2 Top European conferences and 1 at the university that I am working in right now) but no PubMed publications... - Speaker at one conference. - Lots of volunteering in Heathcare. I also just got a 6-month fellowship (cancer-related) from a really prestigious foundation, only 27 people in the U.S got it and it was one per institution. TOEFL: I took it a while ago and I got a 104, the minimum required is 100 in most Ivys, maybe I will retake it if I have time. GRE: Haven't taken it yet but I am currently studying for it, I am planning to take it in one month. GRE Biology: is it worth taking it? I wanted to apply to Ivy leagues and high-ranked universities for my PhD in Cancer Biology, but I also want to be realistic and know honest opinions as if I stand any chance to get in. Thank you!