ayushd718

I did, it was at the end of January.

I had the interview a while ago. I don't think that has anything to do with how it appears I suppose lol.

Both! "decided" first, followed by "ESOP requested"

Congrats on both your offers! I was interviewed a little over a month ago, and on the application website it says "ESOP requested" next to the status which says "decided." Not completely sure if that just means I requested the ESOP, or if the department has nominated me. I don't think an interview is absolutely required to be nominated by the department though. Unfortunately I'm not from Europe so I can't help you with the last question. All I'm aware of is that the cost of living in Zurich will be higher than anywhere else haha.

Just got the decision from the Biology department! Found out I got accepted. Feeling so relieved.

Has anyone gotten any response from the biology department? I interviewed for the ESOP scholarship over a month ago and have still not been notified about admission.

I don't mind at all! I did my bachelor's in Pharmaceutical Science at a small unknown college in the US. GPA was 3.7/4.0. Graduated in 2019 and I've been working as a research assistant at the same lab where I did my bachelor's thesis (this lab is affiliated with a bigger university than the college I graduated from). Got a second author preprint out on bioRxiv shortly after submitting my application, but one of my references mentioned it in their recommendation letter which was submitted later. I also listed a first author manuscript in preparation on my CV for a project that's close to completion, along with a second author poster presentation. I also participated in the iGEM competition during my undergrad and our team ended up winning a medal.

That was me! The interview was generally what you'd expect. Questions about why I wanted to attend the program, my general educational background, then jumping right into the proposal. Qestions about the proposal were about planning around any challenges you may foresee and making sure you properly understand the experimental setup along with any theory associated with your proposal. I was also informed at the end of the interview that the biology admissions committee will be meeting this week to make final decisions on admissions, then ESOP and ETH-D decisions will be made early in March. Best of luck to everyone who has applied!