bloops

Wow, your profile is so similar to mine! Congratulations! Also, completely agree on working on a backup plan. International applicants' competition can get quite crazy!

Adding my experience here for international applicants who are shit scared like I was around three months back. International applicant from a reputed institute, at least in India. My SOP focused on Computational Structural Biology, although I am flexible. I lean towards computational modelling of bio systems in general.
Here's my list:
Bio@Purdue: Got an offer last week BSB@SUNY-SB: Interviewed. Waiting BMMB@Penn State: Waitlisted. UW: rejected QCB@BCM: rejected CBB@USC: rejected CBB@Duke: rejected Bio and Neuro @MSSM: rejected Plus I have been offered a position in a German lab. Found the ad on Euraxess. I love the project and the supervisor seems great, so I may take this one. If you are an international applicant waiting on US uni results, I suggest you work on backup plans by applying to other places like me.
Stats:
CGP: 8.0/10.0 (somehow doesn't seem to matter much unless you are applying to some top-tier uni) Bioinformatics and molecular modelling background; Interdisciplinary coursework - mostly in bio, chem, and math, in that order Languages: Python, C++, MATLAB, Shell Scripting Experience with parallel processing on HPC No publications (...yet. Working on one, but MY GOD this is tough) Only two research experiences: the second one is what I am pursuing my masters on right now; Current guide writes well and most probably gave me a solid reco, courtesy of good work (I hope) and 2+ years of familiarity with my work GRE: 324/340 (V:161; Q:163) TOEFL iBT: 115/120 (W:30; R:30: L:28; S:27)   (If you are working on this right now, watch a ton of Hollywood and BBC stuff. Work towards understanding everything without subtitles) Multiple extra curricular activities (this is important; otherwise work on showing a good personality during the interview; show what activities have contributed to building the personality). I have been coordinator for some or the other dept. for multiple events in college and otherwise.

I just wanted to tell everyone on this thread that I have grad school plans now!! I'll be at Cornell in the fall. 

I am annoyed at the people in other threads and on the results page who have been wait listed for a program and are announcing that people who have been accepted should hurry up and decide. The real kicker I saw said something along the lines of: if you got in can you please turn it down if you have other offers because this school is my first choice.
The sheer entitlement. 
Also annoying: people who got into programs they applied to but don't want to go there (?), so now they are bashing the only school that accepted them, that they applied to. Moaning and groaning about having to go through a second application cycle. Why did you apply if you were going to be a snob about it? So you could add it to the list of institutions you got to turn down? Jokes on you.
Being able to pursue a career in academia is privilege. It is not a given right. Whatever you think of yourself doesn't  allow you to feel entitled to anything. 
Everyone who pursues a career in academia works hard. Nobody owes you anything. You are not the smartest person in the room. 

THIS. This is so important to remember! Even after I got accepted I had people tell me I was too young. Clearly, the adcomm disagrees, and it’s pretty obvious who has more authority on that decision 

I've been pretty absent from Grad Cafe for a while butI wanted to share this experience with all of you. One night I was talking with a friend who is also applying to grad school and we were both lamenting how difficult it is to get into a program straight out of undergrad and worrying about anything and everything related to the process. That night I convinced myself that I should just assume that I wasn't going to get in anywhere and build a backup plan from there. Better to be prepared for the worst than devastated at a surprise right? The very next day I got an offer of admission and full funding from a PhD program (which came way earlier than expected).
I know this time can be beyond stressful for so many reasons but in all of the stress and worry don't lose sight of the fact that you are capable of great things.

Ugh i hate 9am classes

Hi everyone! I'm applying for a PhD straight after my undergrad as well and the constant sense of not being worthy of being accepted anywhere is something that has haunted me for the last few months. Almost everywhere I go to look for profiles of fellow applicants have only further added to my misery. Lack of publications, significantly less "cool" research projects, etc., just seemed too much for me to convince myself that I'd ever have a fair shot at the colleges I'm applying to. That tied along with the fact that I'm an international applicant just made matters worse. Considering the significant amount  of money required for application fees, GRE, TOEFL, etc., I felt extremely guilty that I was merely wasting my parent's money on a stupid dream. However, the last few weeks have been helpful. I've gotten some (what atleast appears to be) good news from surprisingly the more competitive programs I had applied to. I guess the take back from all this is that it's not very productive to stress yourself on comparisons you make between yourself and applicants who have had more time to build their profile. While the admissions process is not perfect, I've found that most committees take into serious consideration the amount of time and the resources you've had at your disposal for pursuing research before you've filled the application form. The feeling of uncertainty and nervousness hasn't completely gone yet (and probably never will =P ) but I've found it easier to cope with this stress and the acads of my final semester now that I've heard back from the programs I applied to and come to terms with whatever work I've done as an undergrad. I hope someone can relate to this and best of luck to all you guys! Ace it!

Hi everyone! I'm applying for a PhD straight after my undergrad as well and the constant sense of not being worthy of being accepted anywhere is something that has haunted me for the last few months. Almost everywhere I go to look for profiles of fellow applicants have only further added to my misery. Lack of publications, significantly less "cool" research projects, etc., just seemed too much for me to convince myself that I'd ever have a fair shot at the colleges I'm applying to. That tied along with the fact that I'm an international applicant just made matters worse. Considering the significant amount  of money required for application fees, GRE, TOEFL, etc., I felt extremely guilty that I was merely wasting my parent's money on a stupid dream. However, the last few weeks have been helpful. I've gotten some (what atleast appears to be) good news from surprisingly the more competitive programs I had applied to. I guess the take back from all this is that it's not very productive to stress yourself on comparisons you make between yourself and applicants who have had more time to build their profile. While the admissions process is not perfect, I've found that most committees take into serious consideration the amount of time and the resources you've had at your disposal for pursuing research before you've filled the application form. The feeling of uncertainty and nervousness hasn't completely gone yet (and probably never will =P ) but I've found it easier to cope with this stress and the acads of my final semester now that I've heard back from the programs I applied to and come to terms with whatever work I've done as an undergrad. I hope someone can relate to this and best of luck to all you guys! Ace it!

Hi everyone! I'm applying for a PhD straight after my undergrad as well and the constant sense of not being worthy of being accepted anywhere is something that has haunted me for the last few months. Almost everywhere I go to look for profiles of fellow applicants have only further added to my misery. Lack of publications, significantly less "cool" research projects, etc., just seemed too much for me to convince myself that I'd ever have a fair shot at the colleges I'm applying to. That tied along with the fact that I'm an international applicant just made matters worse. Considering the significant amount  of money required for application fees, GRE, TOEFL, etc., I felt extremely guilty that I was merely wasting my parent's money on a stupid dream. However, the last few weeks have been helpful. I've gotten some (what atleast appears to be) good news from surprisingly the more competitive programs I had applied to. I guess the take back from all this is that it's not very productive to stress yourself on comparisons you make between yourself and applicants who have had more time to build their profile. While the admissions process is not perfect, I've found that most committees take into serious consideration the amount of time and the resources you've had at your disposal for pursuing research before you've filled the application form. The feeling of uncertainty and nervousness hasn't completely gone yet (and probably never will =P ) but I've found it easier to cope with this stress and the acads of my final semester now that I've heard back from the programs I applied to and come to terms with whatever work I've done as an undergrad. I hope someone can relate to this and best of luck to all you guys! Ace it!