Just_Alice

Did anyone else from the first interview batch at Columbia get an email today? 
 
I got an email about them being impressed with my application and interviews, but will be waiting till after the 2nd round of interviews to make formals offers. They also asked whether I’m planning on accepting any other positions before then. 

Just received a rejection from Sinai!

Hi guys! Did anyone receive a rejection letter from Sinai?
It is so weird, I can see that last years they always sent out rejections early and fully... It is way past their time for sending out rejections. I would assume they are keeping a waitlist for interviews, but they sent out more interviews this year if judging only by the results page. I counted 7 interviews, and last year it was 5 and the rejections were sent out. 
Do you think there is still hope for Sinai? They told me more than a week ago that applications were under review, but it seems kinda late for it at this point. 

Hi everyone, I applied last cycle and just wanted to say that I hope this cycle brings you what you wished for, but if not, please please don't let it crush your dreams! It is heartbreaking to not be accepted anywhere after getting hopes up and putting in all of the effort, but take some time to evaluate your options and whether you still want to go to grad school, and if so, apply again next year!  Many people apply multiple times. It took me a couple of tries as well -- if you want to discuss options/generally vent, feel free to PM me.  Lastly, this year there is the added struggle (I think) that program sizes are smaller, and between (hopefully) regularly sized programs and a little bit more experience, next year's cycle could be much more fruitful!

Not to bum everyone out, but I don’t think being waitlisted for interviews is very likely for many programs. Programs interview sometimes 2x more people than they send offers to, and send offers to more people than they expect will matriculate. They have waitlists for after the interview in case their yield is too low than they expected. 
 
My heart goes out to all who didn’t get interviews, but just know that it’s not personal and this cycle is much more competitive than any other year, sometimes these things are just a cr*pshoot.
 

Same here...applied to 12 programs..received 4 rejections and no interviews yet. Really wondering if there's any hope at this point? Especially regarding waitlists and how they work.

same boat, feeling super down but you know what they say about misery...
fingers and toes crossed that @sirtuingirl is right about waitlists. on the other hand i'd expect even wait-listed folks would be hearing something? or do wait-list interviews happen after an entire round of interview and offer letters? not sure how this works

Anyone else did didn’t get any interview invitations at all??? Please tell me I’m not alone ? 
I’m super bummed. I had everything lined up as I’ve I was gonna start grad school next fall, plus I have extensive research experience, first author publications, good gpa, relevant undergrad course work..
Is there still hope at this point ☹️
I don’t know what went wrong. I would really like to work on what I failed to meet to be stronger applicant in the future..
 

I agree with this. At no point besides the CV would anything not related to science (extracurriculars, non science jobs, volunteering) come up. About 90% of your application and basically 100% of your interview will be specifically talking about performing research. 

I’m not so sure about this. I was under the impression that most admissions committees (for PhD at least, med school is a completely different story) really only care about research experiences and academics. Science outreach/teaching always is a bonus but not necessary, and I dont think much weight is placed on participating in unrelated extracurriculars themselves. Maybe they could help illustrate how you might work as a scientist, (eg athlete-> hardworking) but I don’t think they are necessary for admissions into a top program. Just my (possibly incorrect) take ?

I just received an interview invitation for UCR Neuroscience!

Just got into UConn PNB!

After 2/3 interviews I received my first admissions offer today! Huge sigh of relief knowing I will be able to go into a PhD program this fall, I was worried about coming straight form undergraduate. Ah! Exciting day!
 
Good luck to you all!

International w/o Us degree, just got rejected by Northwestern, and that’s five rejections in a row. Good luck with the interview guys.

Stay positive! You've cleared the biggest hurdle by getting the interview invite, now just show them how great you are!

Hey Just_Alice, so sad to hear that you had to go through that painful situation, if you'll ever need a place to rant about that person (or anything in general), you're always welcome in my DMs. If you have to go through the application cycle again next year, look up "Project SHORT" - it's mostly ivy league students helping those in need craft their applications and do the mock interviews. Also if you want to message me and I'll share any tips and trick that I've learned over this fall (both the season and the fact that universities rejected me)
Anyway, let me know if I can be any kind of help! 

Hello guys, I wrote to Mount Sinai asking whether the interviews were out and they told me applications were under review... whatever that means.

Hello guys, I wrote to Mount Sinai asking whether the interviews were out and they told me applications were under review... whatever that means.

Hi all! ❤️ hope everyone is doing well, wishing you all peace of mind. Yesterday I received an interview invitation from Vanderbilt-I had read they had sent out interview invitations before Christmas, so wasn't expecting to be contacted positively from this school. This is just to say, stay hopeful!! Some schools really may be reviewing applications and contacting on a somewhat rolling basis ?
This thread has been really helpful to read as a fellow applicant. I appreciate all of you and am rooting for ya
UCSF (r) UNC Chapel Hill (i) Emory (i) Tulane (i) Vanderbilt (i) UCLA (?) UC Berkeley (?) Columbia (?) Georgetown/NIH (?)

Hello guys I'm Korean (of course South) future neuroscientist. I graduated my local top 5 Univ. and have a 3yr research experience in one of national science institution. 
I just got an interview offer from UMass Neuro. I guess international interview offers are kinda late this year. Lets wait for more interview letters.
Good luck for  both domestic and international applicants.

Hello guys, I wrote to Mount Sinai asking whether the interviews were out and they told me applications were under review... whatever that means.

My interview at Drexel is this Thursday! So nervous.

Thank you, I really appreciate that! I'm the first person in my family attempting to go to grad school, so I really wasn't sure what to expect when applying. But I'll keep my hopes up!

2/6 interviews is AWESOME, and you very well may get accepted, dude! I'd say focus on your interviews before planning your backups.

If anyone wants to be a Post-Bacc @ the NIH, lmk: I was a Post-Bacc for 17 months & can speak about the application process / experience!