queerorpheus

Honestly don't worry too much about the "tier" of the schools you're applying to. Yes, obviously some schools are better than others, but focus on what's a good fit for you. I know people who got rejected from "lower tier" schools but got into better schools because their academic interests just weren't a good fit with schools they thought would be easier to get into. Getting into any grad program is hard. I would recommend looking at where research you like is being done and really tailoring your application to show that you did your research on the program and how their goals align with yours. That being said, I interviewed with both University of Maryland and Penn State and found them to have a solid base of micro research with a more umbrella curriculum. They're both very reputable schools with great research - not easier to get into by any means, but good based on the criteria you listed.

Woohoo, go bucks!!!

There were a couple main reasons I made my decision: 1. The research: OSU has a dedicated center for my desired area of research (RNA biology) that is well supported and will provide me extensive professional opportunities. 2. Columbus is the best combination of low cost of living and plenty to do out of all the places I was accepted to 3. Program specific details that made the program stand out from other ones I was considering (not having to TA, flexible curriculum, emphasis on scientific communication) 4. Personal reasons: my partner and many of my friends live in the area. This wasn’t my deciding factor, but it was a nice bonus

No, I actually turned down my offer last week and accepted at another institution where I got off the waitlist.

I got off the waitlist at Ohio State and ended up committing there this week. It was really hard to be patient but it was worth it in the end!

I just committed this morning and am very excited!! Any other future Buckeyes out there?

I think mine says under graduate school review, but I've already been accepted. It didn't change even after I got my acceptance though.

I think that's definitely possible. It seems like the University had some issues with state funding, so the number of people they accept is changing. This might have impacted international students even more than usual.

Yes I am! I know they were only sending out as many offers as they could accept and then putting everyone else on a waitlist so hang in there!

My portal hasn't been updated to my knowledge. I also just received an offer to another program that I thought I had no chance with, so my decision is a lot harder now! I really enjoyed my visit with UMD and it's going to be tough deciding where to go.

Did you apply to MOCB? It's my understanding that acceptances from a single professor are really only common for the BEES concentration area, so I'd be interested to hear the concentration area you applied to and who you talked with. Even with an unofficial offer from a professor, these decisions are made by an entire committee, so while a professor's support is helpful it's not the end all be all. UMD also isn't making more offers than they can fund, so you may be on a waitlist or something.

I'm not sure about when offers will be sent to international students. I was told the first wave will be sent within a week or two, but I don't know if that includes domestic and international students or just domestic. The program director mentioned some issues with funding that are preventing them from releasing all offers at once, but I would say no news is good news and to sit tight!

I just received mine last night! Super duper excited!!!

We were told that the first wave of official offers will be sent sometime in the next week or two. If you don't receive an acceptance in the first wave, don't worry because they'll make additional offers as people from the first wave accept/decline.

Hi, I interviewed the week following you and had a wonderful experience so I'm going to try to make sense of some of what you're feeling. First, my event the following week was closer to 30/40 students, so I'd say the "shortlist" you mention is around 100 students. This is also spread out across four concentration areas, all with a different admissions committee, so some of the people you saw on Zoom weren't even "competitors" in that sense and are being chosen from completely different pools. Just in general, I've found that graduate school interviews are more of a conversation. They don't have to be super formal - professors are excited to hear about you and share their work. Your experience with interviews could've been largely dependent on the PIs you selected as well. Most of the professors I talked to had looked at my application and had questions about it, but I'm not doubting by any means that your experience was different. I think it really does depend on who you talk to. I was in a similar situation as mentioned above where I was admitted before interview. We were told at my event that we can expect to hear within the next week or two, but that offers will be sent in waves due to a decrease in state funding this year. They didn't really tell us the criteria, but made it seem like if you were at the interview stage, you would likely receive an offer at some point as people from the first wave accept or decline their offer. Basically no news is good news. Best of luck to you!!