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DRMF

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Everything posted by DRMF

  1. Some do, many don't. Within those that do send rejection emails, some send it at the time they send out interview invites, and some send it at the very end of the cycle in March/April.
  2. Dr. Google says https://science.gmu.edu/academics/departments-units/systems-biology/admissions https://graduateadmissions.wvu.edu/academics/graduate-programs/biology-d
  3. I have no additional knowledge on Rockefeller either, sorry. The way I understand their "Guide" is just that rotations are not required. I don't necessarily see that as saying "you should contact faculty members before applying" - usually application instructions are pretty clear; if they program actively wants you to contact potential advisors in advance, they would usually state that directly. It sounds like you already established contact with your POI - did he say anything like "happy to have you rotate in my lab if you are admitted"? Or did he discuss any open projects in the lab with you? It's true that a single faculty member rarely has the power to decide whether you'll get in, and what he was trying to say by stating that fact would depend on the tone/context. I think at this point it's the most helpful for you to start a separate thread just about Rockefeller so that others familiar with the program can give you more relevant help.
  4. Hi - my general impression (probably from personal anecdotes) of Rockefeller is pretty international-friendly, though I'm not sure if there are differences between their own phd vs the Tri-ins program. I couldn't find official data on their website, but here are two other websites with references: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rockefeller-university-195049# https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/rockefeller-university/student-life/international/
  5. Some programs may be more willing to offer reimbursement if they know it's helping their own future student rather than someone still uncommitted. There are plenty of reasons to visit in person after accepting the offer, they just might not apply to you - checking out school facilities and connecting with individual PIs, checking out rental options, also seeing schooling and employment options if you're bringing family, etc. I personally do not see most programs offering funding for visiting, unless it's stated somewhere in their recruitment agenda as an optional activity - or if they just really really want you specifically.
  6. Schools that I know are international friendly (in non-COVID times): UTSW, Sloan Kettering, Weill Cornell. Potentially also: WashU (Washington University in St. Louis) and UChicago. Harvard probably but I'm not sure about all bio programs. UCs are notorious for being low on international admits. The year I applied UC Berkeley's website had a bolded line stating there are *very few* spots for international students. My undergrad PI spent 6 years as a post doc at Stanford and said he never saw a single international Immunology student - I have not fact-checked that myself. Most school websites show international student %s somewhere. Below is the list I compiled for myself when I applied. Most numbers were for the specific program I applied to and not their entire biosciences. "OK" means >30% I think. Stanford low Harvard 34% MIT OK Yale 30% WUSTL 30% UCLA 20% Columbia OK UT SW OK Baylor College of Medicine 33% Sloan Kettering OK Weill Cornell 46% Einstein College of Medicine 30% NYU OK
  7. I don't know about biotech jobs. I think in academia UTSW is well-respected; people may debate about it being top 20, but I don't expect anyone to say it's an unknown or no-name school. I interviewed there and met multiple faculty members who did postdocs in or moved from other well-known places (the 2 examples I now explicitly remember were from UChicago and UCSF iirc). The school is less popular than it deserves science-wise, because people usually want to live on the coasts rather than in Texas. The specifics will depend on your specific area of study, and where (location-wise) you're hoping to get job offers from. I'd imagine UTSW is probably better recognized in Texas, but I could totally be wrong (in fact, I've been told that the further you are from Boston, the more impressive Harvard sounds lol). I don't really know if it'd be considered a near ivy, because I don't think people generally rank grad schools in "ivy" terms. At the end of the day, if you do an amazing PhD under an advisor well-known in their field, and graduate with two first-author publications in Nature, the school's overall prestige becomes essentially irrelevant; in fact, it's you who then bring prestige to the school. If, however, you do a somewhat average PhD, then people will have to judge you by thinking "well their publications aren't amazing, but hey they did graduate from X". You probably already know this, but having it spelled out to me did make my mind clearer when I was considering grad school choices myself. Anyway, congrats and enjoy your interviews!
  8. Probably needs a bit more context... does the program normally do rotations? Is this form of "early" admissions a part of the program's setup? Usually PIs reach out to tell you that they'd love to have you join, but that just means they want you to rotate and then hopefully stay. Most bio programs have a required number of rotations anyway.
  9. I'm in no way trying to take the joy of online shopping away from you, but just dropping in to say that when I did interviews (in person) I didn't wear any "business casual", and still to this day do not own a blazer lol. My go-to was knitted/sweater dresses in muted colors. I interviewed with 4 schools and was probably among the least dressed up for all of them. Ended up with offers from all 4 ?‍♀️
  10. I sent thank-you emails to all interviewers, usually the Mon/Tue after the interview weekend. Emailing the director wouldn't hurt either. Regardless, I'd say that the emails are just niceties and really wouldn't change your chances in most cases. Some admissions results come out super fast, so some of my emails actually ended up being sent after I got accepted lol
  11. I got that when I applied 2 years ago, also moved from Immuno to Cancer. I then got an interview from Cancer, which conflicted with other interviews I already committed to, and in the end didn't happen since I got into places I liked better. I mostly worked on tumor immunology at the time of application, so it could just be a general thing they do for tumor immunology-oriented applicants, if that applies to you.
  12. Essentially all US grad school offers have the same reply deadline from you (April 15th). There are exceptions, but generally that's the national deadline. https://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution
  13. What exactly is this money referring to? Not personally relevant, and I'm not familiar with post bacc programs, but I've just never heard anyone say having to pay a lot of money for them?
  14. A few potential factors, some are wild guesses: - location (people like California). - the fact that Stanford Bioscience allows you to choose 3 programs under the umbrella and use the same application for them, so nominally the number of apps per individual (e.g. Genetics) program probably looks much higher than that of a standalone program elsewhere. - great outreach/advertising. Anecdotally, out of the ~dozen outside speakers my program invited over and had lunch with us (while I was a first year), the Stanford person was the only one who specifically asked which of the first years also interviewed at Stanford and how they liked the experience/why they didn't go there. - funding: the actual amount of money is probably comparable to other top tier programs, but I remember someone on TGC telling me at Stanford the program itself provides funding throughout your PhD years, so the PI doesn't directly pay for you being in their lab. I can imagine that making students feel like they have more power and are less "at someone's mercy" financially? - international students: probably a mix of international reputation (again outreach/marketing) and actual ability to support international students with private funding. I feel like in China, Stanford, Harvard, MIT etc. are equally well respected, but perhaps it's different in some other countries with a large applicant pool.
  15. A couple schools have a checkbox on your phd application asking whether you'd like to be considered for their Master's program as well. I can't remember specifically which ones though. I don't think that tick would change your chances of admission either way.
  16. From my personal experience and anecdotal knowledge, I think it's pretty common for international students mostly due to lack of private funding at some less resourceful schools. Also like you said, some of it is just arbitrary. I applied to both GSK and Weill Cornell, which have almost overlapping faculty because they used to run a joint program, and yet I was only invited to interview at GSK. And then one of the GSK interviewers started telling me about the differences between the two programs and how to choose between them, so I had to semi-awkwardly interrupt him and say I didn't get an interview for Cornell. Then he was like, "...I was away for the admissions meeting at Cornell, so something must have gone wrong..." Well I don't think anything went "wrong", I'm sure they made other great choices; it just goes to show that even missing one particular person on a meeting could make a big difference for quite a few applicants.
  17. I'm from China and have been in the US for 6 years (college, gap year, now grad school). I've seen a similar thread on TGC and I actually posted a thread on my personal FB to get more responses from my American friends. It was quite a shocker to me how dating people of a different age group/life phase is frowned upon in the US. I personally see nothing wrong (meaning, neither morally wrong nor instinctively "creepy/gross") with socializing with or dating someone much younger/older, and tbh if I see a couple like that my first reaction would be "it's is so sweet and inspiring that they're working through their differences to be together". I also feel that Americans think of college kids as "kids" way more than what I'm used to; I pretty much see everyone in higher education as a proper adult. Any relationship can be abusive, and a significant gap in a number of things (maturity, experience with dating, socioeconomic status) could make it more prone to turning bad, but if you're someone who will watch out for these things and are not in it to take advantage or be taken advantage of, then I wouldn't let any of those things ruin a good relationship. If you like fencing and the fencing club takes anyone from undergrad to faculty, I don't see why you can't go to the end-of-the-year BBQ just because there might be undergrads there. I do agree with some others on this thread that you'd need to consider (1) if you might ever hold unfair influence over someone due to academic/professional roles, and (2) how others may look at you in general. It doesn't necessarily mean you need to change how you pursue relationships, but rather to understand how it impacts how others see you.
  18. I think your chance of NOT getting in anywhere is pretty low. If you'd be truly happy to go to any of the schools you have listed, I think you're fine. If you're looking for more "international-friendly" schools, I recommend UTSW and Sloan Kettering. Also what areas within Biology are you thinking of? BTW please check each program's funding info carefully. Even schools that normally would be able to take on international students may not be able to this cycle due to Covid. If anything is not clear I'd email program directors. (Back then I decided not to apply to Washington Immunology because their website said funding not guaranteed for international students, and their director replied to my email with not-the-greatest optimism.) In terms of your GPA, I'd try to reach out to either upperclassmen who applied last cycle, or professors at UCLA who are on adcoms themselves. Most people who are happy to give advice will be honest and constructive.
  19. I think you have a solid shot at the schools you listed; whether you're reaching too high depends on how important it is for you to go to grad school in 2021. Some people only apply to competitive programs because they simply wouldn't be willing to go anywhere else; maybe they have a good plan B and would rather apply again next cycle. If however you really want to get in *somewhere*, I'd personally add in some safer schools. One school that was recommended to me that'd be easier to get in (especially for an international student) but still great for a PhD was UTSW; my interview experience there was overall positive as well. I think any good school in meh locations or with other non-scientific drawbacks would be less competitive and thus potential "safeties". Rule of thumb is you only apply to schools where you have at least 3 people you'd happily work with. Also off of your list - I was at UChicago for college and am now at Harvard Immunology. Happy to answer any specific questions about these schools through DM. I don't work with mucosal immunology though so I may not be familiar with specific labs in that area, but happy to ask around.
  20. I mean, the standard duration of a Bachelor's is 3 years in the UK, I can't imagine universities there having a problem with 3.5 years... I feel finishing college early is seen as neutral to slightly positive in the US (as in, it took you less time to do the same amount of work, so you must be a studious and efficient student). The only downside is if you didn't take as many elective courses that would otherwise be relevant for the field you're trying to get into, or if you could have done a thesis research project but chose not to, etc.
  21. I'd say you should, though you don't have to use that letter for every school you apply to. (It's always good to have a 4th alternative rec letter anyway.) Some programs' app portals will explicitly state that at least 1 letter needs to be from faculty; some may not care at all. The tricky ones are those that actually strongly prefer a letter from a professor but doesn't make it clear - I recommend contacting each program's director to get a sense of what they want to see.
  22. (1) I'd say many of the programs I applied to required (at least 1 of the 3) rec letter writers to be university faculty that taught you. Their general website may not specify but the actual application portal usually would state such requirements, if there's any. You may want to start an application account for each target school to figure out this detail. (2) For your grad student friends - are their PIs nice/sympathetic people? Have you interacted with them in any academic/research capacity? If so, you could ask for the student/friend and their PI to "co-sign" the letter, which is not uncommon. Even if you're on good terms with a PI, often on a day-to-day basis someone else in the lab may know you better, so this co-signing thing is done to make sure the letter has both personal details and the authority of a university faculty member. Logistically that may mean you'll have to request a letter from the friend's advisor, and when they upload the letter on their end, they can choose to specify it was written by 2 people. (3) Does any co-author on your "couple of papers" happen to be any sort of faculty somewhere? Ask them. (4) Consider establishing a relationship with people at your target schools. Email program directors, POIs, go to (zoom) info sessions, ask for advice in somewhat informal settings. If you don't want to bring up specifics, just ask if there are hard requirements for who write the rec letters. (5) I imagine there are people who previously graduated from your MSc lab who may have known you professionally and who may be sympathetic. If any of them now hold faculty titles (even if adjunct or some less prestigious type of teaching positions) and don't fear repercussions from their old school/PI, they could potentially write you a letter as well. (6) Almost all applications have a specific section where you can explain special circumstances, and if you want to programs to know your story, that's where you'd put it. When you're considering how much to tell, remember that most applications ask something like "Have you ever been expelled, dismissed, suspended, placed on probation, or otherwise subject to disciplinary sanction by any school, college, or university?" so unless you plan to keep lying for years, omitting your entire MSc experience is unlikely to end well.
  23. I have no answers for most of your questions, though I can relay a few pieces of advice of what to do with a low GPA. I think from what I saw, people primarily say don't focus too much on your negatives - maybe a sentence in the SOP, but not a whole paragraph. Consider phrasing it as a jumping point and ending on a positive note, e.g. "although personal hardships in my X year made it difficult to ..., I ..." A few application portals I've seen have a designated section for you to explain things, and that could be a suitable place for a short paragraph explaining the situation. Now, if you don't already know, the key thing here is to have one of your rec letter writers explain this on your behalf in their letter; that way it's coming from someone credible, and you're not seen as making excuses. Obviously you shouldn't ask to read the actual letters, but you should ask at least one letter writer if they'd be willing to include it (for them it could be whatever length/form they deem appropriate). The fact that your overall GPA improved and you had a solid major GPA should be obvious, but you could also have them highlight that in the letter.
  24. I think this depends quite a bit on the rest of your profile. E.g. if there are shortcomings (esp in GPA) that could be made up by a good GRE score, it's probably worth it. It also depends on how much time/money/stress taking the GRE would mean to you, and how well you expect to do. Find a free practice test online and see? When a program no longer requires GRE it represents a general attitude that it's not important overall, but the specific adcom members who happen to read your application may still have different views. I assume you've worked in a lab in college, so you could consult your current PI and maybe course instructors as well, who themselves serve on adcoms. You can also email each program's director to try and get a better sense whether GRE is "encouraged but not required" vs "barely considered". One can imagine a school's whole Biosciences division making GRE optional, while the Comp Neuro program in particular still relies somewhat heavily on the GRE Quant score.
  25. Every single grad school app info session I went to, including ones tailored towards all STEM subjects and not just biology, emphasized first thing that rec letters have to be Faculty/PIs - no postdoc, no lecturer, no senior scientist (and oh my of course no students!). If you were working with a lab member, they can co-write and co-sign the letter with your PI; in reality, it sometimes means the lab member writes the entire letter, and the PI who doesn't know your name reads it over in 3 min and signs - but the official name of recommender absolutely has to be the PI, and the link for submitting the letter has to be sent to the PI's email.
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