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A question about the interview process. I have my first interview in a couple of weeks and my interview invite mentioned that they will let me know the names of the 5 faculty members who will interview me. The invite also had a short survey with a list of faculty and asked me to check around 8 faculty members I would be interested in meeting. Unfortunately, the list didn't contain the names of the 3 faculty members I was really interested in and who I had mentioned in my application and personal statement. Now I am a little confused if the five faculty members who end up interviewing me are the ones with whom I will have to work or if I should remain flexible until (or if) I get an admission offer and then mention my interest in other faculty members? Are the people who interview you normally the ones whose labs you rotate through or can they just be members of the admissions committee evaluating your fit for the program?

Anyone here applied to Ohio State MCDB program? Can't find any results from them in the survey and no one seems to have posted about them.

Just received a rejection email from Emory GMB.

Applied to the PULSE program Haha. I doubt fewer people apply to these programs because the ivy leagues can only accommodate so many people. More likely there are fewer people like me on the website who didn't apply to top ranked places. The rest of us mortals have to go somewhere too

Just curious if top tier schools generally have their interviews earlier than mid/lower ranked ones? Most people posting here seem to be getting invites from ivy leagues and top ranked places. I don't see many people getting responses from mid tier ones like Purdue, Rutgers, Iowa, Michigan State etc. Do they usually send out invites later or are people not excited enough to post about them I have one interview invite but most of my mid tier schools don't seem to have started sending out invites.

Any idea about NYU?

Is that Ohio State University?

I have a friend currently enrolled in University of Arkansas. He confirmed that they don't do rotations and you stay in the lab you are selected by.

Haha I'll keep that in mind.

Slightly off topic question. I have received interview calls from couple of places and need to book my travel. Since I am an international student (currently in the US) I would like to do some sightseeing after my interviews. Would it seem unprofessional or inappropriate if I ask the university to book my return flight a couple of days after the interview or from a different place (I have an interview in New York but wanted to visit Philadelphia or Washington)?

So for those of us who dont have publications what else can they ask about? I can talk a little about my thesis but 30 minutes seems like an eternity if you haven't done a lot of research.

Congratulations! Just curious if you got accepted directly by a faculty member or if you applied through the graduate program. University of Arkansas is one of my options but they seem to have a system where you have to directly get accepted by a lab. Thanks. Hope they are still sending invites after the holidays.

Has anyone received an interview invite from Emory Genetics and Molecular Biology? I see a few people who have received invites for other bio programs but not from GMB.

Got interview email from NYU GSAS. Anyone else here got one?

I already submitted my applications so it is too late to change now. I ended up writing a single statement. I described my personal background and motivation in the first half and my research and future goals in the second. To be honest I didn't have enough research to write the whole statement based on my work and interests so I had had to include some personal history stuff. Will see how it works out.

Anybody? Oh well, I have already submitted my most of my apps now but it would have been nice to get some advice.

Hello, I am applying to a university that wants me to submit two statements. A statement of purpose which is required and a personal background statement which is optional. According to their website the statement of purpose should focus more on my research, planned work and reasons for going to graduate school while the personal background statement should talk more about diversity and personal background. I already have my personal statement written which basically covers both these areas. I feel my reasons for going to grad school, my background and research are all linked so my statement is stronger and more coherent if I write one single essay. Since the personal background statement is optional I am considering skipping it and submitting just one single statement of purpose. Do you think it would be ok if I submit a single statement or should I try to split my essay into two parts? Thanks

Hello everyone, I am applying to cell and molecular biology phd programs for fall 2017 and need some quick feedback evaluating my chances. I have a slightly unconventional profile so I am unsure of which schools to target. I did my bachelors degree in management from a well known Asian university (well known in my country but not internationally). I then worked for a few years in business/management jobs before deciding to completely change my field to biological sciences. Took some college courses in biology, appeared for gre subjects tests and was selected for a well known scholarship/student exchange program which completely funded my graduate study in the US. I am currently doing my MS in cell and molecular biology at a large public research university (ranked around 100 in the US in biological sciences). I started my masters with zero biology coursework or research experience but by the time I graduate in I will have over 2 years of full time research experience which I am doing for my thesis. I don't have any publications or presentations but have decent GPA (~3.88) and GRE scores (160 each in verbal and quant and 84% in GRE biochemestry). I will have a very good recommendation from my PI and two good/fair recommendations from professors I have taken courses with. I am not really sure if my non traditional background is an advantage or disadvantage. I think my personal statement does a good job of describing my reasons for changing my field and the scholarship I received is certainly a plus but I only have a total of 2.5 years of biology coursework/research. Also I am not sure how big a factor age is but I am almost thirty. Some of the schools I am considering are Emory, Penn State, and Colarado Boulder as my top choices and Rutgers, University of Missouri and Northeastern as the second tier. Am I aiming too high or do you think I can afford to apply to these schools? Thanks!

Hello, I am about to start my masters in biology and wanted to know if it is possible or normal for a student to convert a thesis based ms degree into a phd at US universities. I will certainly ask this question from my advisor soon but just wanted some general feedback for now. First a little background. I always wanted to go for Phd but because I have a bachelors degree completed unrelated to biology and have got a scholarship for masters, I decided to go the ms route. Since I have already wasted a lot of time and am getting a little overage I am thinking that completing an ms in 2 years and then a phd in 4 to 5 years is a bit too long. What I therefore want to know is: - Is it possible for me to convert my ms thesis to phd so I can save a couple of years? - Does this usually happen at the beginning of the ms or after the completion of ms degree? - If I dont covert and go for phd after completing ms will some of my credits be transferred to reduce the duration of the phd? I was wondering if I should discuss this with my advisor right away or wait a semester or two . If anyone has any experience of doing this I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks

Hello, I am an international student and would be attending purdue this year. Need some info regarding living costs and housing. Would appreciate if someone can guide me a little about some cheap housing options. I will be receiving a modest stipend and want to get a rough idea about how much I should expect to spend on housing and food. Thanks

Good to see this thread is useful for other people as well. So anyone has any comments or experiences about the biology program at Pennstate - University Park. Its one of the options i am considering. Thanks

After reading all these replies a masters degree doesnt sound as bad as I first thought (especially when its free!). And milam1186, thanks for suggesting the names of the universities, that is exactly what I was looking for.

Well, i dont know whether getting a masters is the best route or not but it is the only practically viable option i have right now. The question is not whether i should get a masters but where I should get it from. I have pretty much left it to the scholarship granting body to give me some options and will decide from among them. Still open to suggestions about good ms programs.Thanks for the feedback.

I will probably be in south asia in the long term and most people here usually do an ms before phd. But i would prefer to do my phd from usa.

Certainly a biology related job.