helpert

Agreed - it's been a great resource throughout this whole process! That first episode about interviews (in person) is also helpful, their tips for faculty one-on-ones will still apply even to virtual interviews.

Yes, they gave me the names! I would advise waiting. The program office is probably closed for the holidays. I would say that if you haven't heard from the program a week before the interview, it would be fine to email them and gently ask when they plan to send interview details/itinerary. Good luck

I have an interview next week and that school sent my schedule with faculty members early last week (so that’s ~2.5 week notice). Other schools have said they aim to send faculty interviews at least 5-7 days before.

It might be redundant if you end up formally interviewing with them anyways. I would wait until you get your recruitment schedule from the program that says who you’ll be interviewing with. If there’s a faculty member you’re interested in but you don’t get to meet them during recruitment, I don’t think there would be anything weird about contacting them, either before the interview or you could even wait until after the interview or receiving an admissions offer

Cool! Definitely a great program with a lot of cancer research options (what I'd like to do)

Hi, I also recieved a vandy interview invite yesterday! I was surprised to see that they are squishing everything into one day. On the Hello PhD podcast about virtual interviews, Beth Bowman (vandy biomed grad director) talked a lot about zoom fatigue, so I expected them to break it up into at least a couple days...guess not!

I can't imagine it makes much of a difference, especially given that so many schools state they do not start reviewing applications until the deadline passes.

No sense in paying $50-100 to apply to a school that doesn't have any research/labs you're interested in!

Has anyone heard from Vanderbilt IGP at all recently? it seems like a little while since their first wave of invites.

Received an invite from UMich PIBS today! (applied with cancer biology as first choice and molecular & cellular pathology as 2nd)

Just got an interview for CU Denver’s biomedical umbrella program!

Has anyone heard from Yale BBS- MMPP track yet?

Actually, I just heard from DGP via email!

I also applied to Northwestern DGP. I haven’t heard anything from them but their website says invites will start going out today and continue until all interview slots (3 weekends) are full. Hope we both get invites soon!

Yay, congrats!! I nearly missed mine, only saw it because I was checking my spam for another email I suspected went into that folder, so I’m happy to help!

Regarding UNC BBSP, make sure to be checking your spam inbox too! My invite from them went into my spam, so I didn’t see it until a few days later!

I think this will be the toughest part about interviews/deciding on programs. Grad student testimonials is really the main/only source we’ll have to figure out the vibe of a program. Some schools might try to do a “virtual” tour of campus/location? Not really sure how that would work! a couple of the programs I applied to are local-ish to me, so if I interview there and like it (and get offered admission), I might take my own day- or weekend-trip just to feel out the campus/location (of course depending on COVID situation in ~March).

Good luck to you both, fingers crossed your invites are on their way!

Do you mind me asking what track you applied to at Yale?

Hi! I applied for gene therapy and vaccines group

I heard from Penn yesterday (got an interview!). I applied to the CAMB program.

congrats! I saw something like this on the results page for another school, I think CU Denver biomedical sciences. Maybe this is how some schools are dealing with the increase in applicants, by having a “screen” interview to narrow down the pool before the real thing

from what I’ve heard, some schools will sent an outright rejection email, others will just ghost you. you should check specific program websites; some say that if you don’t hear from them by x date, you aren’t being considered for an interview.

congrats on the vandy interview!! I applied there too but haven’t heard anything, hoping my invite comes in the next wave. I got an interview @ UNC chapel hill last week, but I think that group of invites was just for priority deadline applicants. I also applied to Penn (CAMB) haven’t heard anything but I know IGG sent invites earlier this week.

disregard this; just spoke w the program director and she said to ignore this!