StemCells4Lyfe
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Posts
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Posts posted by StemCells4Lyfe
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4 minutes ago, sciencegal8 said:
I was thinking about the same thing!! The school will probably have a different attitude compared to the city. I'd recommend reaching out to current students or people you know in the area and asking about how it is there since they're living through that experience now.
Makes sense. I also have a trip planned to visit both cities to look at apartments and see the area (planned before learning about the change in mask requirements), so I'll get a feel for it myself first-hand pretty soon. But I'm still so angry and frustrated about the whole situation.
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This is more of a rant post for my fellow applicants looking to start school in Texas, but I was super excited with my acceptances and the prospect of starting school in a not only a new city, but a new part of the country. But with the mask mandate being lifted now I just feel scared, unsafe, doubting whether I should go to school in such an area, and honestly... just robbed of what should have been a positive experience?
I'm sure the schools will still take the pandemic seriously, but who knows not only how the city will handle it but also the residents as well. Idk, am I alone in my frustrations and worries?
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24 minutes ago, hpwils said:
I received an interview for Thomas Jefferson on 1/5/21. I am interviewing on 1/27 and 1/28.
Did you get the option to choose either your date or even the PI's you're interviewing with?
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26 minutes ago, Sky_china said:
I asked for rescuduling and they give me an althernative date but I haven't heard them since
? Welp
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Did anyone interviewing at TJU get to either a) Choose their interview dates or even b) choose who they are interviewing with? I wasn't, and I'm not even interviewing with people in my field of interest, which is frustrating...
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3 hours ago, Quiteña said:
Does anyone know what kind of applicants Rockefeller is looking for? I saw on the results page that some seemingly strong applicants (in terms of years of research, publications, etc) got rejected. I got an interview, but I'm nervous because I would think that my experiences are not as extensive as some post-grads with many publications, and I'm not sure what to emphasize about myself on the day of.
I'm not too familiar with Rockefeller as I didn't apply, but as a general rule of thumb I wouldn't compare yourself to other applicants, especially if you already were offered an interview. They saw something in you that they liked and thought would be a great addition to their program/university.
Good stats help, but they aren't everything, and you don't have a full picture of their whole application. They could have had a weak SOP/LORs, or their past research wasn't a good fit, or they couldn't properly communicate themselves as a strong applicant on paper, or there was some je ne sais quoi about you/your application that made the admissions feel like you would be a better fit.
Be confident going into your interview, because they already liked you enough to want to talk to you out of thousands of applicants. They'll probably ask you to elaborate more about your research. Emphasis why you're interested in the program and earning a PhD. Just take a deep breathe and be you, because that's who they were interested in in the first place.- Quiteña and prospective_molbio
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1 hour ago, ssrour98 said:
Congratulations!! My interview is later this week, any advice? Their interview schedule is pretty long compared to other interviews I have had, what did you do to stay engaged in the hours and hours of informational sessions? Anything to avoid doing or saying (specific to them)?
Thanks! Congrats to you too! And yeah, it was QUITE long compared to other places, but I did feel like the longer first day helped me get a LOT more info on the program that you can't get from just reading the website, so now I'm worried about future interviews and whether I'll get as good of a sense of the program and life at those universities LOL. Can't win I guess.
My biggest piece of advice is getting a GOOD night's rest before each day and after, and getting a back rest for your chair. I used a hot water bottle as a make-shift one. The first day was a lot, but I did get a bit more information about the program so it easier to stay attentive. The second day was definitely rougher.
The interviews themselves were quite straightforward (explain x project you did or explain a project you did that you were most excited about, do you have any questions for me), so I wouldn't sweat that too much. But after 5 of them and then extra activities, it was quite tiring. Definitely use your whole breaks to step away from your computer and stretch, eat during the lunch time they give you, with snacks towards the end. I also stayed off of screens during my breaks to give my eyes a rest.
Can't really think of anything to avoid saying, but keep your camera on during the sessions even if you are tired. It's really easy to notice who has theirs off. Take advantage of the current-student break out groups to ask ANYTHING you have questions about, because the students are quite candid. Also, if there are PI's your interested in that you weren't given an interview with that show up during the poster sessions and break-out groups, take the opportunity to talk to them. It'll really help you get a better sense of the program, what they are like "in-person", and how well you can picture yourself at UTSW. -
1 hour ago, prospective_molbio said:
Does anyone know what the faculty/current student social events during interview weekends will be like? I'm kind of nervous about those, I don't really know what to expect.
Only 1 out 4 of the places I have interviews with had actual social events, but it was super laid back. There was a break out both days with student hosts that we had been assigned to. The first one was just to ask questions with current students (what's life like in x city, how was the transition, do I need a car, etc) and the second was to destress after our actual interviews and go over any questions or issues we had with what had just transpired. After that, we had the opportunity to join a Zoom break-out groups to play either Codenames or a Pictionary-like game, where more faculty jumped in and out of so we could "meet" more people than who we had interviewed with. Definitely meant to be a relaxing time, and not something you have to really prepare for. I will note, though, that after being on Zoom interviews for 5 hours, it was quite tiring to continue on with the social events and seem just as enthusiastic. But that was a 9-hour Zoom day for me. Hopefully yours will be more spread out.
- helpert, ssrour98 and prospective_molbio
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On 1/15/2021 at 8:45 PM, MicroPhD2021 said:
Hello, is there anyone who got an interview from the UTSW BBS?
I did. My interview was Friday
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2 hours ago, stem_ness said:
Anyone know how soon after interviews programs send out acceptance/denials? I'm sure it's quite variable but just curious what people think/know
The two places I interviewed with so far say they meet the week after. So my interviews were on a Friday, and the team meets the following Tuesday to make a decision.
- MyStomachHurts, stem_ness and dejosco
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22 hours ago, stem_ness said:
Does anyone know program acceptance rates post interview? Is it similar across programs? How about the top programs?
It really varies from school to school rather than it being similar in a certain field/program. I originally thought unless you're super arrogant/rude/clearly don't know your science, then you're essentially in. But apparently some schools only accept 30-40% post interview.
Like @helpert said, some programs disclose that info, but I've found that to be super rare. For the others, I'd take a look at past years results on here for people posting rejections after being interviewed. If it's a bloodbath, I'd say it's safe to assume they are very selective when they interview. -
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21 minutes ago, Sky_china said:
Quantitative Sciences do you mind sharing their interview dates?
I'm not sure what the dates are unfortunately, because I wasn't given an option to choose. But I applied to the Regenerative Medicine track
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Just now, Sky_china said:
not sure if its track specific... Thought I had a good chance there
They could still be sending them out! I got my offer yesterday, but I think people were getting them on Friday.
What track did you apply to, if you don't mind sharing? -
1 hour ago, prospective_molbio said:
Are you guys planning to have some powerpoint slides / figures to show during your interviews? I am not sure if I should. I've received conflicting advice.... some people told me that interviews are suposed to be like conversations, so it is not advised to have any slides or anything whereas others say it will be helpful to get your points across.
I am leaning towards not having any, but idk if that may make me look unprepared/less prepared than other people getting interviewed if they do have them.
I had my first interview last week, and personally found that the 30 mins goes SO fast that using visual aids gets in the way and is a little cumbersome.
Per interviewer, about 2-3 mins was devoted to talking about a specific project I did. Using figures/slides would take too much time and wouldn't add much to my explanations. -
On 1/8/2021 at 8:01 PM, Sky_china said:
Is there anyone here got Thomas Jefferson Interview ?
I got one! It was a pretty generic email (they didn't even include my name). They assigned me a date too, so I'm not sure how many interview weekends there will be
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On 1/9/2021 at 11:22 AM, DVM1991 said:
Has anyone heard back from the DSRB track specifically within the UPenn CAMB program? Thanks!
2 hours ago, TiredandBroke said:I applied to this too but haven't heard anything, positive or negative. Im unsure if anyones posted results since they just post CAMB instead of the specific track but I honestly don't know if the track makes a difference.
Me neither
I even saw a post on Reddit with someone asking if people had heard back from DSRB with everyone replying with a resounding no (but then again, it was 2 or 3 responses only).
But at the same time, as a Domestic student, I feel that if the Umbrella program sent out invitations, that would all be at once? DSRB could be super small and only accept like 1 or 2 students so it might be hard to find someone who got an interview?
Idk, my philosophy at this point is keep my expectations low so if it ends up being a rejection, it won't hurt as much ? -
Anyone else low-key panicking about their interviews? My first one is on the 7/8th, so right after the holiday break.
I'm currently looking over notes from research I did as a freshman in undergrad and my memory is so hazy ? Does anyone know how in detail I need to know this science? (Like if I ran BCA assay, I need to remember that it measure the protein concentration because the peptide bonds in the protein reduce cupric ions, etc)
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2 hours ago, devcby said:
Thank you! The email said they received over 1,000 applicants this cycle... so it may just take time to get out to everyone. I am not an international applicant and did not have to submit a secondary application. I remember seeing someone post something that international applicants won't be contacted until mid jan? I may be wrong tho.
I noticed you got an interview from Stanford! That's amazing, but also I thought they didn't send out invites until mid January??
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2 hours ago, devcby said:
Thank you! The email said they received over 1,000 applicants this cycle... so it may just take time to get out to everyone. I am not an international applicant and did not have to submit a secondary application. I remember seeing someone post something that international applicants won't be contacted until mid jan? I may be wrong tho.
I noticed you got an interview from Stanford! That's amazing, but also I thought they didn't send out invites until mid January??
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3 hours ago, devcby said:
UT southwestern just sent me an invite over email, I applied very late~November 30th.
Holy crap you heard back from Stanford already??? I thought they only start sending mid January
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15 hours ago, icsyr said:
Hey all,
Throwing another update in the thread.
I've heard back from 5 of my 9 programs thus far:
UW - Immunology, UW - MCB, UCSF - BMS, Boston U - PiBS, Harvard - BBS, Brown - MCBGP, UPenn - CAMB, UNC - BBSP, Duke - BSP Immunology
I haven't heard back from Harvard, but I'm sure I did not receive an invite based off the responses from others in these threads.
Has anybody heard from UW Immunology or Duke BSP?
Congrats! When did you hear back from Brown?
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17 hours ago, Naima77 said:
I was invited for Penns program back in 2017. The city was very depressing, but they are very open and cool there! Nice research
UPenn or Penn State (Hershey)?
Biomedical Science PhD Applicants (Fall 2021)
in Biology
Posted
That's reassuring. I'm leaning more towards Dallas, so I hope it's the same there. I also found a list of restaurants that will still require masks, so I'll really just be patroning those while visiting and once moving there.