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I also enjoyed my interviews at BCM and UCI; BCM were definitely more fun because they had more informal sessions but UCI recruitment event was after interviews, so I they weren't bad either Before my visit, I was inclined more towards BCM but TCM is really just a bunch of buildings with labs. At least when I visited BCM I didn't get a cohort-like feeling because the labs were split into all the TMC buildings. I visited BCM on Feb 28th; I wanted to see the city and surrounding area in person and have a cousin who lives close to BCM. I tried to co-ordinate with Judi but didn't get as much support (she said there was a third round of interviews she was preparing for and some grant deadline stuff) but my interview 'buddy' volunteered, so I got a small peek. The place and city felt a bit isolating when I visited but it's just my reaction on the particular day! UCI on the other hand was very warm even though I gave them a much shorter notice compared to UCI. I did enjoy my interviews at UCI even though I was kinda nervous (it was my first in the cycle). Like I said UCI feels like a place I'll be more happy, it's a gut feeling tbh among other reasons I mentioned above. I do have a couple of friends closer to Irvine so I may be biased in that sense, plus Houston/ IAH crowd didn't feel as diverse (I live in the Boston area, so that's my comparison rn) while Irvine felt better (safer because of the University setting too) For almost every positive aspect that drew me to BCM, there is a similar or comparable one at UCI. I planned to see both places to help my decision, so this trip was self-organized and I just emailed them about a week in advance. EDIT: oh, also while waiting at one of the campus Starbucks in UCI, I saw some faculty hanging out with student(s); it felt very casual and nice to see!

Looking for information/ advice for making my decision - this is me thinking out loud basically! I'm trying to decide between Baylor College of Medicine Genetics & Genomics track and UCI CMB Genetics, Epigenetics & genomics track. I visited both places recently and even though both programs are amazing, I felt like Houston is not for me; even though it might be more affordable, UCI has subsidized on-campus housing for PhD students. Among other things, UCI's program director met with me and gave me a campus tour, we chatted for more than an hour, met some students and faculty. It seemed like he's very approachable (also v funny) and recognized sooo many of the current students (he greeted them and checked-in on them while we were walking). I also liked the feeling of campus and having other students (even though it means there will be undergrad chaos lol). I love teaching science and mentoring to help others find their way, whether it's technical or career stuff - and it looks like I'll be able to do that more at UCI. Baylor is a very professional setting where you are around just PhD or MD/PhD students mostly. Also, I got the sense that there are many post-doc in almost every lab, sometimes even more than grad students, which makes me feel like PIs may not have as much to directly mentor PhD students (makes sense because no undergrads, so PhD students are at the bottom in the chain I guess?). I do love the breadth of the choices I'd get at BCM and the classes seem to provide a solid foundation as well! If anyone here knows more inside information on either of these programs, please share it! It'll help me as I make my final decision and I'd really appreciate it. Thank you!! ?

I was told that there is another interview round coming up (my guess is today/ tomorrow or next weekend) for 19 applicants, which means the invites have been sent out for the round. This is G&G track. This might be their last round of interviews since their target size is 15 students and their program coordinator recently sent an email saying “incoming class is coming together nicely”; I guess some students might have accepted the offer already this is just my interpretation, ofc!

Yes, typically programs end up offering 2x offers but I believe they also do it slowly until April, as there are many moving parts for applicants with other offers. I’m sorry BCM outcome is not as expected. May be they thought your fit was better for QCB based on your interests communicated during the interview? It is a bit shocking. I hope you have an offer from your top choice schools!

Is this after the interview?

The program director said “it’s most likely” that majority will be waitlisted. They did say they’ll communicate rejects as soon as possible so applicants can accepts other offers they have. According to the presentation, they are interviewing 58 candidates but want the incoming class size to be ~15. So they can’t give out too many offers and not have enough spots, right? I guess that is true for most schools, just that some make you wait in silence and BCM might be more communicative. That’s my hunch!

Less than a week but they specifically gave us a timeline, which I was grateful for! More decisions for genetics and genomics might be conveyed by the end of the week but they did say majority will be waitlist. I believe the admissions committee for Genetics and Genomics met on Wednesday 2/16 and I got a call the same afternoon. Applicants on waitlist will get accepted as others decline the offer but also might get rejected as a spot is taken, according to the program director

Thank you!! Yes, I’m an international student with Master’s in the US from Brandeis University. I worked there for 1.5 years after graduating (one of my recommendation letters was from the lab I spent 2 years in, another from an instructor for a grad level lab course I took and later was the TA for) and I’m at an early stage startup company now (rec letter from immediate supervisor, a Senior Scientist - who’ll start his own lab in Colorado State University coming Fall) . Had 2.5yrs exp while applying. My interview with Rutgers was 1/28, UCI had interviews 1/20 but there was recruitment event on 1/28 (yeah, they overlapped, it was very stressful but EST PST worked in my favor lol) Baylor interview was 2/10, 2/11 but they told us they’ll meet 2/16 and tell us initial decisions by Friday, 2/18 (accepted, rejected or for most people, waitlisted) hope that helps! happy to answer any questions about the process or my experience

Today was a rollercoaster - my anxiety was through the roooof this morning, hardly able to focus on anything; ended up texting my therapist to meet in the evening. In the afternoon, I received an email from UCI with subject line 'UC Irvine CMB' and there it was - unofficial acceptance ? I opened it in the middle of a meeting at work because I just couldn't help checking my email every few mins! Later in the evening I also got a call from the program director of Genetics and Genomics at Baylor College of Medicine to personally tell me that I have an offer from them! I really loved them during interviews, so I'm leaning towards BCM but UCI was pretty good too! By the time I met with my therapist, so many things changed! I'm sooo relieved and grateful that I have choice. Didn't hear from UT Austin and Boston University since I applied but BCM and UCI are my top choices. I believe that's the end of the admissions process for me! Good luck to everyone else! ?

I applied to Rutgers New Brunswick and received interview invite 12/10. Interview dates were 1/28 and 2/11. I chose 1/28 and received acceptance 2/8

Anyone here who interviewed with Baylor college of medicine? I want to know your experience in general but specifically about faculty office hours! did you pop in and say a casual hello or talk about their research? Was it awkward? I have an interview coming up this week but I know they had one in early January.

There’s more than one way to pursue your dreams. Don’t let this experience dishearten you! If you have multiple companies offering you a job after talking to you, they clearly see your potential. At the end of the day, a lot of us will end up looking for those kind of positions anyway. A few years down the line, if you want to revisit the idea of doing a PhD for any reason, you will have wayyyy more experience and also these learnings you mentioned in your post about the admissions process. Good luck in everything you do!!

I applied to the program too and didn’t hear anything yet. I also don’t see any posts on the results page either.

I went to Brandeis for my masters - MCB though, not biochem. It’s fairly common for masters students to get into PhD program and you are also on ‘fast track’ so you save some time - you can transfer class credits, rotate in summer and start your thesis earlier (instead of spending your entire first year doing rotations)

Add me to the UNC BSSP rejection club. I didn’t have a lot of hope on this because I’m international, and they had already sent out a lot of invites. Same goes for UPenn CAMB

the radio silence from some of the other programs I applied to killing me! ?

UCI has a separate ‘recruitment event’, right? I was told they have one on Jan 28th, wondering if that’s the only date or if they have multiple ?

Rutgers has multiple campuses. I applied to the New Brunswick campus’ Molecular Bioscience program and it had Dec 1 deadline. the comment above mentions multidisciplinary biomedical PhD program which is offered in the Newark campus and had Jan 4 as deadline.

Unfortunately, international students have far fewer PhD slots than domestic students. Even domestic students consider PhD admissions very very competitive, so imagine our chances. I did my Master's in the US at Brandeis University. It's a small school/ program but has great reputation (even being in the Boston area). The PhD program admits 7 to 8 students on average and only ONE international student is among them each year! This might be true for any programs admitting less than 10 students. I have also seen many people say that the number of students applying has increased more than the schools anticipated (especially since the pandemic began), even though the number of available slots are the same. Having seen the numbers at Brandeis University, I decided I have to work on my skills and experience to stand out and be more competitive. That's what I tried to do with work experience and working on different projects, learning as many skills as I could. I don't have any publications or poster presentations at conferences but my recommendation letters are from people who have seen me in research settings (almost everyday) for at least 10 months to two years. I think that helps corroborate your story from your essays. Keep working on yourself and that will show on your CV and application as a whole!

@Immunogenic how was your experience at UCI? I applied to the CMB program and got an interview invite! I attended the virtual fair they hosted and it seemed like they care about students overall. Would love to have your insight!

Got an interview invite email from UC Irvine! I applied to their Cell and Molecular Biology Program. Interviews are in the second half of January. Submitted application Nov 21, deadline was Dec 1 Anybody else applied to the program?

Just got an interview invite from UCI CMB program! Definitely one of my top choices! ? I was starting to think it'll be silent rejections for the programs I didn't hear from. This is just a reminder that it's still early in the process. So don't lose hope yet! For those of you who applied there, UCI gave 6 different dates (between Jan 19 and 26) with 2 hour time blocks for interviews. They have a 'recruitment weekend' following Friday!

@anxiously_refreshingMy Rutgers application portal also still says “submitted” but I received an interview invite too! They sent an email with the subject line “Rutgers University, Molecular Biosciences Graduate Programs - Invitation to a Virtual Campus Visit”. It looked personalized and not like a mass email. I submitted my application pretty early, like mid-October. Hope that helps!

@darklings I received an email saying BCM interview will be virtual and dates are Feb 10-11. 4 faculty members will be interviewing did you receive the dates/ any other information yet?

Heard from Baylor College of Medicine today - Genetics and Genomics Track. The email said more details will be sent out soon about the interviews!