Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission

[starkid]

Oh also I got my first rejection late last night via personal email from the director of grad studies at Princeton.

It was all about fit but I know I could have made it a better fit if I hadn't written the application in literally a week. It's okay cuz I was the least excited about it, but I'd love to have the option.

le sigh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[treeaway]

MEMP sent out invites too today.

I have no clue whether UCSD (home school) send out all their invites but I suspect they're sending it out in waves like UCLA. Oh, I should mention that the interview isn't mandatory for pushing your application forward, which is interesting.

Edited January 17, 2019 by leantower60

[drfigue]

Gotta keep strong!

[dontor]

11 minutes ago, leantower60 said:

MEMP sent out invites too today.

does anyone know if they take multiple days to send invites? otherwise oh well...

[laveritecestla]

@dontor Historically they send them all out on one day. ☹️

[extramaniac]

for those of you applying to stanford BioE, I noticed on their bioengineering phd website, it says that we should expect to hear by "early March for interviews for the PhD program". Seems like they recently changed this...because it previously stated we'd hear for interviews "late January/early feb" wonder what it means or if its real.

[empress_empiria]

2 hours ago, extramaniac said:

for those of you applying to stanford BioE, I noticed on their bioengineering phd website, it says that we should expect to hear by "early March for interviews for the PhD program". Seems like they recently changed this...because it previously stated we'd hear for interviews "late January/early feb" wonder what it means or if its real.

Huh.. weird that seems extremely late.

[Victorious Secret]

2 hours ago, extramaniac said:

for those of you applying to stanford BioE, I noticed on their bioengineering phd website, it says that we should expect to hear by "early March for interviews for the PhD program". Seems like they recently changed this...because it previously stated we'd hear for interviews "late January/early feb" wonder what it means or if its real.

Wow. It really does say that. How bizarre. What are they going to hold interviews in late March/early April or something? I wonder why they need so much time.

[treeaway]

Dang that's late. Isn't the last day to take an offer of admission April 15th? Stanford's playing a bit of a dangerous game. The latest interview dates that I've seen so far is 3/14-3/15 (UW as per their website).

[girlbui]

Anyone knows about medical engineering for Caltech? I didn’t apply to their BioE, Just the MedE. It doesn’t say when the interview or invitation should be

[biomed_gal]

Has anyone heard from UW Seattle's BioE program? 

[dontor]

I would think Stanford notifying applicants for interviews so late might hurt them since students will probably have accepted offers, no?

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

6 minutes ago, biomed_gal said:

Has anyone heard from UW Seattle's BioE program? 

I did a Skype interview with a professor a few days ago, but nothing beyond that. Hopefully we will hear something soon! 

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

10 hours ago, girlbui said:

Anyone knows about medical engineering for Caltech? I didn’t apply to their BioE, Just the MedE. It doesn’t say when the interview or invitation should be

I applied to MedE at Caltech as well, but I have gotten complete radio silence from them. I haven’t heard anything either. 

[girlbui]

3 hours ago, Moods said:

I applied to MedE at Caltech as well, but I have gotten complete radio silence from them. I haven’t heard anything either. 

I asked Dr. Tai and their interview is Feb 15-16. Same date as UMich. Caltech has not sent out any invitations. 

Btw, same dates as UMich visit. 

Edited January 18, 2019 by girlbui

[gummybear9]

I’m starting to get really scared that I’m not going to get in anywhere. I have one official rejection and a couple schools sent out a lot of interviews in one day that I didn’t get (MIT awhile ago,  UW yesterday), and others have been sending things sporadically and I haven’t heard from them either. Even my kind-of safety hasn’t gotten back to me although there have been a few acceptances so far. I know it’s technically still pretty early but this is incredibly discouraging 

[drfigue]

5 minutes ago, gummybear9 said:

I’m starting to get really scared that I’m not going to get in anywhere. I have one official rejection and a couple schools sent out a lot of interviews in one day that I didn’t get (MIT awhile ago,  UW yesterday), and others have been sending things sporadically and I haven’t heard from them either. Even my kind-of safety hasn’t gotten back to me although there have been a few acceptances so far. I know it’s technically still pretty early but this is incredibly discouraging 

Try to focus on other stuff. Go out, have coffee, talk to friends, etc. One of my PIs said that it is still early to worry. He stressed that I should at least wait until mid-Feb. I am sure we all here will hear good news soon!

[StHoly]

48 minutes ago, gummybear9 said:

I’m starting to get really scared that I’m not going to get in anywhere. I have one official rejection and a couple schools sent out a lot of interviews in one day that I didn’t get (MIT awhile ago,  UW yesterday), and others have been sending things sporadically and I haven’t heard from them either. Even my kind-of safety hasn’t gotten back to me although there have been a few acceptances so far. I know it’s technically still pretty early but this is incredibly discouraging 

I have to agree with you.. I am also getting discourage from it.. Yesterday I have started job search! Even though it's still too early! I'd wait, but have low expectation. Have plan B, have fun, hobbies - I'm gonna start Game of Thrones soon (again) just in time for the season finale!! Good luck to all of us waiting. 

I'll still check on this forum periodically, I'm trying to get away from feeling depress, which is definitely easier said than done! 

[sgaw10]

1 hour ago, gummybear9 said:

I’m starting to get really scared that I’m not going to get in anywhere. I have one official rejection and a couple schools sent out a lot of interviews in one day that I didn’t get (MIT awhile ago,  UW yesterday), and others have been sending things sporadically and I haven’t heard from them either. Even my kind-of safety hasn’t gotten back to me although there have been a few acceptances so far. I know it’s technically still pretty early but this is incredibly discouraging 

I'm feeling afraid, too. But try to focus on something else in the meantime. Work, job searching, schoolwork, hanging with friends and family, exercise, cooking, and other hands-on hobbies that can eat up a lot of time. I think it's still early, and it seems like lots of us are anxious. It's not over until it's over, and it only takes one.

[Victorious Secret]

2 hours ago, gummybear9 said:

I’m starting to get really scared that I’m not going to get in anywhere. I have one official rejection and a couple schools sent out a lot of interviews in one day that I didn’t get (MIT awhile ago,  UW yesterday), and others have been sending things sporadically and I haven’t heard from them either. Even my kind-of safety hasn’t gotten back to me although there have been a few acceptances so far. I know it’s technically still pretty early but this is incredibly discouraging 

Hey! I went back and reread your profile. While you did apply to a lot of top schools, you have applied to three programs that I believe you should be very competitive for. Your submitted publication is a significant asset, provided that your PI discussed it in their LOR. But your best reason to relax is this: It is actually much earlier than it seems. I know that a lot of interviews have been sent out already, but Davis doesn't appear to have sent them at all yet, and Riverside trickles them out for months. Sitting and staring at a phone or inbox (like I have all winter break long) makes it seem like something is wrong because of the silence. In my experience, acceptances came when I was distracted and least expecting it. I wish you those kinds of surprises. ?  

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

On 1/17/2019 at 11:09 AM, starkid said:

"It's lame compared to a city, but it's not lame compared to a non-city."

The campus looks nice, and it's a party school, so "how lame could it be?"

^^ From my bf. I'm just itching to get out of town, lol. I don't really party or drink (turned 21 recently), so I thought the town was just so-so. My bf says there's lots of good places to eat, but I would say there are isolated great places to eat and no really good sushi joint in town, which is a crime. But there's an Indian place, an Afghan place, a Vietnamese place (soon two), and two really authentic Chinese places in town. (Also a family-run but only mediocre Japanese place). There's also several chain burrito and pizza joints, as well as an authentic Mexican place and other upscale dining establishments.

He's right that the campus is very pretty. The street layout is weird in that Main St. is a one-way street. As the university expanded I think they had to make new traffic patterns that are weird. The town is dominated/defined by the University, in my opinion. Makes sense to me, as the population of undergrads alone is like, ten times that of my puny home town. 

I'm not sure how to feel about our 'dance floor' restriction, but basically there's only one bar/restaurant where you're 'allowed to dance', which is because the town wants to lower the party-school reputation, I think. 

Anyway, there's more to say about UD but that's all I have in me for now.

Thanks for the insight! Something to consider, especially since I agree that it is a crime that there isn’t a good sushi joint! 

[syntheticbio]

Hello everyone! I hope you all hear some great news soon. I thought I could contribute to this discussion because I applied to 11 PhD programs at 8 schools for Fall 2018 and was rejected by all of them, so I at least know when some top schools notify their unsuccessful applicants. My chief research interest is in synthetic biology, and there seems to be some ambiguity about where synthetic bio fades into biological engineering/BioE/BME programs versus the more cutting-edge life sciences departments and programs.

Fall 2018 Results

MIT Biological Engineering PhD "The number of applicants for admissions to our program greatly exceeds the number that can be accommodated and it has been necessary to refuse admissions to some fine applicants such as yourself." (Rejected January 26, 2018)

MIT Computational & Systems Biology PhD Program. "As a small interdepartmental program that admits 6-8 students a year, we have had a record number of over 220 applications from highly qualified applicants this year like yourself." (Rejected January 19, 2018)

Harvard Systems Biology PhD (Rejected March 2, 2018)

Harvard Engineering and Physical Biology track within the Molecules, Cells, and Organisms PhD (Rejected March 2, 2018)

Stanford Bioengineering PhD (Rejected February 7, 2018)

Yale Physical and Engineering Biology PhD (Rejected February 21, 2018)

Oxford Synthetic Biology DPhil (Received invitation for a December 2017 Skype interview on November 30, 2017 and attended the virtual interview. Rejected January 18, 2018)

Oxford Engineering Science DPhil (Rejected January 3, 2018)

Edinburgh Integrative Physiology PhD (I got a clear "We have now received the information that we require to make our decision on your application" but then never got an acceptance. I later tried logging in to check my results, and my account just said I was no longer affiliated with their university.)

University of Washington Biological Physics, Structure & Design (BPSD) PhD (Rejected January 31, 2018)

Caltech Bioengineering PhD "Your record and qualifications are very good, and we have no doubt of your ability to earn an advanced degree and that you will have a successful career." (Rejected March 23, 2018)

I'm in a very uncommon situation right now. I graduated in December 2018 and started this month as a lab technician at an R1 state university where I'm applying to their life sciences PhD program for Fall 2019 admission. When I talked about my research interests during in-person interviews, the faculty here simply recommended people at other schools (Harvard and MIT) who were a much better fit for the sort of synthetic biology that I want to do. It was very surprising and demoralizing to see them recommending other people and schools to me, after I just relocated here for a full-time lab tech job. After my recent PhD interviews here, I don't think it's the right program for me at all. It doesn't help that this state university doesn't have a stellar reputation / isn't well known / isn't highly ranked, and I'm just here for now because I had no other job/PhD program offers.

 

I think I'm going to try be a lab tech here for several years and/or try to maybe get a research-based masters in BioE/BME elsewhere. I then plan to reapply to elite biological engineering PhD programs (or synthetic biology related programs) in 3-6 years from now. I have a 3.88 GPA (B.S. Biomedical Engineering) from a STEM-heavy top 50 US university and 170/170/5.5 GRE, but I think my total lack of publications after four undergrad research experiences sunk my applications. I hope that being a productive lab tech and helping my PI's intriguing projects can be a stepping stone to getting published, or maybe a stepping stone to a master's program where I can publish some more, so that I can one day be a successful PhD applicant at a much more distinguished program where I actually want to enroll/commit to something like six years. How can I tell my PI in my current lab that I think I'd like to remain a lab tech (and ideally earn publications along the way) rather than actually commit to the lab (and this school) for an entire doctorate? My PI has a doctorate from a very elite school that rejected me last year, and I could suggest that I'm aiming to go to my PI's alma mater for my PhD. My undergraduate research LOR writer also earned a doctorate at the same, very elite place. I think I can do a lot better than where I am now if I just get some impressive post-bachelor's experience and post-bachelor's publications. Does anyone know about the right trajectory for remedying a lack of publications in undergrad (with otherwise solid GPA/GRE)?

[dontor]

1 hour ago, syntheticbio said:

I'm in a very uncommon situation right now. I graduated in December 2018 and started this month as a lab technician at an R1 state university where I'm applying to their life sciences PhD program for Fall 2019 admission. When I talked about my research interests during in-person interviews, the faculty here simply recommended people at other schools (Harvard and MIT) who were a much better fit for the sort of synthetic biology that I want to do. It was very surprising and demoralizing to see them recommending other people and schools to me, after I just relocated here for a full-time lab tech job. After my recent PhD interviews here, I don't think it's the right program for me at all. It doesn't help that this state university doesn't have a stellar reputation / isn't well known / isn't highly ranked, and I'm just here for now because I had no other job/PhD program offers.

 

I think I'm going to try be a lab tech here for several years and/or try to maybe get a research-based masters in BioE/BME elsewhere. I then plan to reapply to elite biological engineering PhD programs (or synthetic biology related programs) in 3-6 years from now. I have a 3.88 GPA (B.S. Biomedical Engineering) from a STEM-heavy top 50 US university and 170/170/5.5 GRE, but I think my total lack of publications after four undergrad research experiences sunk my applications. I hope that being a productive lab tech and helping my PI's intriguing projects can be a stepping stone to getting published, or maybe a stepping stone to a master's program where I can publish some more, so that I can one day be a successful PhD applicant at a much more distinguished program where I actually want to enroll/commit to something like six years. How can I tell my PI in my current lab that I think I'd like to remain a lab tech (and ideally earn publications along the way) rather than actually commit to the lab (and this school) for an entire doctorate? My PI has a doctorate from a very elite school that rejected me last year, and I could suggest that I'm aiming to go to my PI's alma mater for my PhD. My undergraduate research LOR writer also earned a doctorate at the same, very elite place. I think I can do a lot better than where I am now if I just get some impressive post-bachelor's experience and post-bachelor's publications. Does anyone know about the right trajectory for remedying a lack of publications in undergrad (with otherwise solid GPA/GRE)?

Shame that happened dude... you seem like a smart person. I would have recommended that you should have just applied again to a wider range this time, schools both top and in 20-30 range. I've seen people get into harvard neuroscience without any pub. But maybe this year would be a good time to publish something at a small conference or so just to get your name out, maybe BMES conference. And then just apply again! I would suggest not placing too much weight to the lack of publications. Sometimes it just depends on who is reading your app or the funding that year. Just apply to a wider range this upcoming fall. Don't settle at the current school if you don't want to be there.

Edited January 19, 2019 by dontor

[gummybear9]

@drfigue @sgaw10 @StHoly @Victorious Secret Thanks for the positivity and advice! I'm going to try to look at this website less often and enjoy my life. And I'll start thinking seriously about backup plans and looking for jobs. Planning always makes me feel better and you're right - it's not over yet.

[misslitty]

Commenting to give some of y'all hope, because you're all far more qualified than I.  

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  Okay public uni, strong research institution for my field

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering (B.S.), Bioengineering (M.S.)
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: Fuck, I have no idea
Overall GPA: Undergrad: 3.55/4.0, Grad: 4.0/4.0
Demographics/Background: White, female, American

GRE Scores:
Q: 161 (77%) 
V: 164 (94%)
W: 5.0 (92%)

LOR: 

3 incredibly strong LORs.  2 were from current and former PIs, and one was from my advisor/professor

Research Experience: 

Solo research project when I was 16 (published at same age), summer research internship and top university, 3 years research at current university 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

2 publications (1st and 2nd author), 8 conference abstracts, which were a mix of poster and oral presentations

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Took 1st place poster at a conference, if that counts

 

Fellowships/Funding:

2 semesters of undergraduate research funding, travel grant to present at national conference, funding from local medical company, and graduate research assistantship

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Highly involved with outreach.  Have been volunteering with low-income families and women since I was 13, worked with scientific outreach programs that work with primary students, and my last job was solely outreach activities.

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.):

I can't emphasize enough how good one of my LOR was.  It was from the head of the dept at this incredible institution, who was also my PI.

 

Research Interests:

POC diagnostic development for low-resource areas (-:

 

Comments:

Have 3 acceptances! If I can do it, so can you!