[2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

I just got this reply from one of the faculty members I interviewed with and want to work with:

Hi [me],

great talking to you. I think you would be a great addition to the program.

Best,
[PI]

Does this mean anything???

[2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

1 hour ago, BlackTea said:

congrats! Me too! I see in your signature you got Caltech geobiology acceptance, (congrats again!) when did you hear back and how did you hear back (from your POI or admin, email/phone)?

Thank you, and congratulations to you as well! I think I will see you during Harvard OEB/MIT Micro/Scripps interviews--seems like we have very similar interests! heard back yesterday from the grad options rep by phone.

[Stanford Knight Hennessy Scholarship]

So tomorrow at 12pm PST! Good luck everyone

[2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

5 hours ago, BlackTea said:

did anyone hear from MIT microbiology? 

Just got the invite!

[2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Got interview from UChicago's Microbiology (Biomedical Sciences) and UCSF's IPQB!

[2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results]

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 Liberal Arts College
Major(s): Biology and Mathematics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in Class: 1/~500
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 170
V: 160
W: 5.5

Research Experience: 

• 1.5 years of microbial evolution (computational) at school. Finalizing analyses right now
• 2 years of systems biology (computational) starting in summer 2017 but continued the research remotely. First-author publication under review
• 1.5 years of evolutionary theory research somewhere else, but also continued remotely. First-author publication in prep
• Summer experience (experimental + computational) in a super famous lab in microbial evolutionary genetics

LORs

Got to read one of mine--really good. People from a summer program admissions at Princeton told me that my other two recommendations were extremely strong. Also got another one from the famous lab I worked in.

SOP

Not sure--included a specific potential research topic (might be a good or a bad thing)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
- Multiple fellowships and awards (~12 school-wide awards in total) from school

- Summer fellowship
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
- TA for 100-, 200-, and 300-level biology and math courses

- Math tutor for college and high school students

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help

I don't think so

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...): 

From an under-represented country in science , other related minority status too, and strong connection with two top grad programs I am applying to

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Straight from undergrad (don't know if it's good or bad either)

Applying to Where:

Princeton EEB; Harvard, OEB; UChicago, Microbiology; MIT, Microbiology; MIT-WHOI Joint Program; Columbia, Biology; UCSD-Scripps; CSHL; Caltech, Geobiology; Stanford, Biology (could've applied to mid-tier programs, but most have VERY limited funding for international students sadly--I understand my chance is really slim and am quite freaking out right now).

[F19 Bioinformatics: am I aiming too high? (or, chance I get no interview?)]

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 Liberal Arts College
Major(s): Biology and Mathematics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in Class: 1/~500
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 170
V: 160
W: 5.5

Research Experience: 

• 1.5 years of microbial evolution (computational) at school. Finalizing analyses right now
• 2 years of systems biology (computational) starting in summer 2017 but continued the research remotely. First-author publication under review
• 1.5 years of evolutionary theory research somewhere else, but also continued remotely. First-author publication in prep
• Summer experience (experimental + computational) in a super famous lab in microbial evolutionary genetics

LORs

Got to read one of mine--really good. People from a summer program admissions at Princeton told me that my other two recommendations were extremely strong. Also got another one from the famous lab I worked in.

SOP

Not sure--included a specific potential research topic (might be a good or a bad thing)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
- Multiple fellowships and awards (~12 school-wide awards in total) from school

- Summer fellowship
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
- TA for 100-, 200-, and 300-level biology and math courses

- Math tutor for college and high school students

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help

I don't think so

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...): 

From an under-represented country in science , other related minority status too, and strong connection with two top grad programs I am applying to

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Straight from undergrad (don't know if it's good or bad either)

Applying to Where:

Princeton EEB; Harvard, OEB; UChicago, Microbiology; MIT, Microbiology; MIT-WHOI Joint Program; Columbia, Biology; UCSD-Scripps; CSHL; Caltech, Geobiology; Stanford, Biology (could've applied to mid-tier programs, but most have VERY limited funding for international students sadly--I understand my chance is really slim and am quite freaking out right now).