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DRMF

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Everything posted by DRMF

  1. I know nothing about how physics labs work... To me it seems completely reasonable to contact now and say that you came across more details on this other project listed and am now also very interested in that one, and ask if it's already been assigned to someone else. (In fact I was under the impression that for most lab-based sciences, everyone changes their thesis project like 5 times before actually settling with one, sometimes even third year into the PhD.)
  2. Thanks for the reply! To the second point, I just tried typing in "University of Chicago" again in the Submit Your Results page, and the third version (with capitalized Of) doesn't exist as a full name in that drop down menu, only as part of "University Of Chicago Divinity School" or "... Harris School". It does still exist as a full name in the drop down menu in the Deadlines List Google sheet. And it took an embarrassing amount of time for me to realize TGC means TheGradCafe. I thought it was some sort of play on the username TGCA, which was itself a play of TCGA, the cancer genome database...
  3. If it were me personally I'd go to Weill Cornell, because there are more labs there (well, in MSKCC, to be precise) working on things that I like, plus it has this whole connection with MSK and Rockefeller (plus I know friends there hehe). But this is me and I didn't get interviews at either of these anyway lol - in terms of the general feel of the faculty/student cohort, did you feel more at home during one interview than the other? If TA/mentorship opportunities are important to you, you should reach out to people (program director or current students) at Weill Cornell and ask about that. For programs without an undergrad population, they sometimes have upperclassmen TA courses for first year grad students, or have student clubs that focus on tutoring high school kids, sciences outreach etc.
  4. Factors (which may have been implicitly included in the ones you listed) Career development support (academia vs industry, recruitment event with potential employers, professional skill workshops, how many years of full support post-graduation?) International students/scholars support (cultural events, visa and tax workshops) Prestige (is this what you meant by ranking?) Whether there's an undergrad population, or TA/mentorship opportunities Lab rotation setup (only applicable to sciences; how many, for how long) A note about prestige: for an international student heading back to their home country after graduation, reputation of the institution can be a huge factor affecting employment opportunities, at least for the first job. This, of course, varies largely across fields and country pairs. Also for an international student, whether there's a required language (e.g. English) course could also be a huge annoyance. Some schools outsource these classes to for-profit organizations (who have an incentive to fail you so you need to retake it), and/or require you to come a few weeks early, possibly at your own expense.
  5. Also, I see at least 3 different versions of UChicago's name listed in the drop down menu: U of Chicago University of Chicago University Of Chicago Someone should probably clean up the list a bit...
  6. How should I choose the program for "Biological and Biomedical Sciences"? Can I add it as a choice in the "Programs" sheet? A lot of universities have these "BBS" umbrella programs, but I do not see it listed. I feel choosing either "Biological sciences" or "Biomedical sciences" is going to create confusion/inconvenience.
  7. If I had to guess I'd say research experience. I wrote about 3 separate projects in my SOP. At least 2 interviewers said something like "you seem to have a lot of research experience" at the beginning of their interviews, and one specifically mentioned single cell seq as "pretty advanced for an undergrad". However, when I got acceptance calls nothing specific was mentioned except things like "everyone was impressed". As for LORs, mine were likely helpful but not sure to what extent. I joined my undergrad lab when it was started, so my (very young) PI knows me extremely well and must have written a fantastic letter. The other 2 letters are probably on the scale of "pretty good" and "very generic", respectively. (I had some troubles with the third letter writer, and later an interviewer informed me that this particular letter was "very short"...) Someone in my lab is on the adcom of her program, and says mostly people just want to know that (1) you are truly interested in and knowledgeable about the field, (2) you know what research looks like and have what it takes (demonstrated by research experience and how you explain what you did/want to do), and (3) you are a normal human being (mostly assessed during interviews). For your last question: I knew that for programs rich enough to consider a fair amount of international students, I should be competitive enough to get in somewhere, though I've been pleasantly surprised with the offers I ended up with. My expectation was based on my college roommate's experience, who applied a year before me in a closely related field, and knowing her well gave me something to measure myself against.
  8. Does your current institution have a history of rejecting qualified candidates due to worries about yield? My college's bio PhD program has a thing of not liking our own undergrads (and someone told me the reason was they think we wouldn't come anyway even if admitted), but I hear it's quite rare. In general I agree with Novclouds that it shouldn't hurt, and in fact demonstrates how good you are.
  9. For grad school, "prestige" is probably more tied to the program/department than to the school name, and certainly quite separate from the undergrad. If I read the top publications or look at CVs of big-name people in your field X, and very often see a certain school, then the X department of that school would be "prestigious" in the field, in my opinion. That said, it sounds like you don't think the ivy league in question necessarily "lacks" good potential mentors for you, it's just up in the air and you'll decide about advisers later on (perhaps I'm misunderstanding here). If that's the case, you should contact potential advisers at the said Ivy and have a rough idea of your chances at actually working with someone you want to work with.
  10. I'm also trying to decide primarily between GSK and another program (not Cornell), and I'm attracted by GSK's course/rotation setup etc. but one thing I've been hearing is that you really shouldn't base your grad school decisions mainly on first year classes, TAships or rotations. Yes these are non-negligible factors, but should not be the primary determinant; at the end of the day it's all about your thesis. Are you going to GSK's revisit tomorrow? I think you can ask to speak with current students who are computational about how they made their decisions. Good luck with decisions and possibly see you tomorrow!
  11. Congratulations! I think this question may be better discussed in a separate post, where you can name the specific programs (I assume cancer bio?) and lay out your considerations.
  12. Do you have a more specific question? Like structure or phrasing or level of formality? I think it's general knowledge that you should spend at least half of your essay writing about past research experience (mine was probably 70-85%, depending on how long the school wants the essay to be). And then one last paragraph about "why this school" and who you potentially want to work with. I'm not 100% comfortable sharing my actual essay online, but if you want someone to read yours feel free to DM.
  13. Some schools that require only 1 essay even use these 2 terms interchangeably, so it's totally not stupid to ask. For schools asking for only 1 essay, I didn't really care about how they called it - If the website has specific instructions on what to include, follow those; otherwise I would just write the same thing anyway (mostly research, a bit of explanation of how I got to where I am / aspirations, etc; if they allow greater length I'd add a paragraph about soft skills). If a school requires 2 essays, it's likely one is more research-focused (SoP or research statement) and one is more personal (PS). WashU DBBS was an odd one though, they asked for 2 essays, but essay #2 is a "perseverance/resilience/leadership" essay. They specifically ask that you do not substitute it with your "usual" PS. So bottom line: general understanding is that SoP is more research, PS is more personal, but people will use them differently so just follow each school's instructions.
  14. I'm an international student, graduated from a US college June 2018 and am spending my gap year tach-ing in the same lab I've always worked in. I share a lot of your characteristics (bio+math double major, long time research experience to the same lab, generally good stats), except I applied during the gap year and my research experience so far hasn't involved anything computational. I applied to 14 programs (mostly immunology) with a good spread of reach-match-safety, and had 6 interview invites. Obviously, I probably don't know anything more about admissions than you do, so all this is based on personal experience and hearsay. - From reading about your research experience and goals, somehow I feel you're a little scattered, lacking direction/focus. Maybe it's just because you didn't elaborate in the post. Having done/planning to do both wet and dry lab is definitely cool, but you'd need to present it in a way that doesn't sound like you'll do a half-ass job of both. Are you looking to stay in plant biology at all? You said you want a PhD because you want to be in R&D - did you explain why in your essay? How much autonomy did you have in your past research projects, and did you explain them in the essay with a "big picture"? - Do you know how strong your other 2 rec letters might have been? Who wrote those? Consider switching out a letter writer if you think someone wasn't helpful. - Definitely more match/safety schools, if you didn't have enough of them this year. - My most significant research project was completed during my senior year, and I'm sure I would not have gotten in where I got in if I applied a year early. If you apply again, to some of the same schools, I think you should change your essay significantly to reflect the research experiences not included in the first round. - I'm in a very different field, so can't comment on specific school choices. When I talked to a faculty member (who has a lot of experience advising on bio grad school apps) he said that UTSW is a getting better on research very quickly in general, despite the lack of prestige compared to some other schools. And UVa was a hidden gem according to him. Not sure if they're strong in your particular discipline. - Generally, good PhD programs guarantee funding (full tuition + stipend) for international students. If they don't explicitly say, just email/call to ask. I researched about 30-40 schools before finalizing my list, and only 1 said they couldn't guarantee funding; some, if short on funding, will say that "we've been able to admit only very few international students". - If you had a solid quantitative background, it shouldn't be hard to look for a job. I'd talk to friends who were job-oriented from the beginning (you know, those who went to internships summer of their second year, went to networking events wearing suits) and see what they can suggest. Someone might know a certain company that's expanding in your area and hiring a lot of fresh graduates. You're probably right that you may not find a job that gives you the training you need - in order for a company to invest enough time/resources on you, they'd want you to work for more than 1 year. Are you at all interested in using all your 36 months of OPT for a job? - A lot of schools are dropping the GRE requirement, though it obviously doesn't hurt to do well. Some faculty members actually still care about these numbers (I had one interview where the faculty had my whole package printed out in front of him, and I could see underlines in my essay as well as circles around my GRE scores). If it really isn't your strength though, I wouldn't spend months preparing/keep retaking it. Sorry I don't know anything about master's or programs that are still open.. If you want any feedback on your current app package, feel free to DM me your essay/resume etc. Good luck!
  15. I applied to 14 programs in immunology/umbrella biology programs that include immunology. I am very happy to have gotten 6 interview invites, including 2 from my top 4 choices (yes from Harvard and GSK, no from Yale and Stanford). My top choices happened to be the earliest interviews and I already got offers from both, so I declined 2 interviews that had scheduling issues, and am just gonna chill through the remaining 2. About myself: I'm an international student from China who finished undergrad in the US and am currently lab-teching in my undergrad lab. My numbers are fine (GPA 3.75, GRE >90% for all 3 subjects). LORs are likely very good but not the absolute strongest (my PI is extremely young, so although it must have been a fantastic letter, it might not carry the most weight). Research experience - 3.5 years in the same lab, 1 small 2nd author pub, honors thesis. I started seriously writing my essays and such maybe early-mid November? I did consult people in my lab on how they structured their essays when they applied, but did not actually have people look over my draft. I did get people to proof-read my resume and crowd source fancier ways to say certain things haha. I think you're right that you need a few more matches/safeties in the next round, but also remember that things can be really unpredictable, even to people who are familiar with a particular program. When I was at GSK, 2 faculty members I interviewed with saw that I applied to Weill Cornell and were genuinely surprised that I didn't get an interview there (you probably know that Cornell and GSK share a lot of faculty and most people apply to both). It might have been because Cornell got more incoming immunology students last year than they expected - I think this is the kind of information that's good to keep track of, and deciding to apply last minute obviously didn't give you a chance to research such stuff. Regarding funding, I vetted my list such that all guarantee funding for international students, and all except one (Stanford) had good international student numbers. I also had a faculty member help me polish my school list (he's the director for my undergrad biology honors program and has many years of experience advising people about grad school). But in the 40 or so schools I considered, only 1 said they wouldn't guarantee funding for international students; I'd say for most schools, if they're short on private funding, they'd just outright take fewer international students rather than admit you and then tell you "actually, you gotta look for money yourself".
  16. Were the rejections mostly from reach schools/schools with less funding for international applicants? Do you have more matches/safeties that you haven't heard from? Some programs had late application deadlines, so it also makes sense for them to send interviews later than the others. If you really think it's not going to end up well this cycle, it might be worth looking into other options (biotech jobs, spring enrollment programs). Not that I'm any more experienced with any of it, but if you want more detailed feedback on your app materials or have specific questions, feel free to DM me. And I hope you always remember that a rejection is not a rejection of your person; it's just the negation of a proposed match between what a program wants at a particular time and the words and numbers they choose to see you through.
  17. The national deadline is April 15. I don't think any school has power to force you to decide earlier (unless it's about a scholarship, which I didn't look into). Usually program directors etc. sent out acceptance emails as soon as their admission decisions were finalized, in order to secure these admitted students. At that point the administrative stuff hasn't been fully processed so they may not be able to tell you much else. (In my head it's like a poor boy proposing to his love without knowing whether they'll be able to afford a house in the future but he still wants her to know he loves her asap; except in the case of grad schools the boy is pretty sure he will have money, just can't promise you yet.)
  18. I'm in vastly different fields so I can only offer some very general comments: - Will one of those general areas give you a more rigorous training/suitable angle to study your niche? (I'm primarily interested in tumor immunology, so I could go with immunology or cancer biology in terms of programs. I went with immunology and one faculty member I interviewed with specifically commented that he thinks it's smart; he thought that well-trained immunologists are better positioned to tackle questions in tumor immunology.) - Is it easier to switch from A to B than from B to A? Will one of your options give you some unique aspects/skills that are hard to access once you've been away for a few years? (My PI often says that it's easier to transition from quantitative "hard" sciences to a "soft" science.) - Which options give you more career choices, in case you lose interest/ability in working on this specific niche area? - For the faculty that you want to work with, what career path did they have? Did they start out somewhere different than what their current job title suggests? (Remotely related: my dad had an geography degree and now teaches economics and real estates appraisal within an "earth sciences" department. This is all in China, though.)
  19. I use something like what you wrote, plus "I will consider this offer most seriously." I also emailed that to all the individual faculty I interviewed with + "thank you for the interview and the positive words you must have put in." Don't know if this is appropriate but I feel comfortable sending these out, so that' what I did.
  20. I just got my GSK status in the email - check yours! (Not sure if they send all status updates at the same time or if they run a waitlist.)
  21. I also have heard nothing. I sent thank-you emails to all 3 interviewers and one replied with a generic "was nice talking to you, let me know if you have questions". In the past years it's been very late January, it seems. So within a week?
  22. 1. I don't think there's a quick and easy way. I googled "immunology phd admission stats/diversity/student profiles" for each school individually. Some simply don't publish this data. 2. I skipped almost all schools that emphasize things like "in the past we've been able to admit VERY FEW international students" upfront on the website. I also emailed one school that states "international applicants should be aware that depending on funding sources, we may not be able to admit international students in certain years", and their reply was "we cannot guarantee funding at this point", so I skipped that as well. 3. I think it's sensible to still apply if (a) application fees and such are not an issue for you and (b) you really think it's a good fit. Or if you have a connection there that raises your chances considerably. But otherwise I myself didn't apply to schools that seem to struggle with funding for international students.
  23. WUSTL (WashU) Immunology: 1/17-1/19; 2/14-2/16 Harvard Immunology: 1/17-1/20 Sloan Kettering: 1/8-1/10 NYU Sackler Immunology: 1/10-1/11 (I can't go and rescheduled to 1/31-2/1)
  24. If you check the "Results" section, a few programs have sent out interviews. The molecular sciences cluster sent out a batch of invites quite early on. Someone seems to have just got one for immunology (in the biomedical cluster) 2 days ago. My labmate got an invite for cancer bio (also biomedical cluster) last week.
  25. Are you asking about a specific school or program? In general there are plenty of international students who posted their interview invites in the Results section, both U and I categories (with or without a most current degree in the US). I have received 2 interview invites out of 14 programs applied (all immunology or umbrella programs containing immunology). Whether invites are sent separately for different applicant pools probably depends on the specific program.
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