NIH PREP 2019-2020 Applicants unite

[CWRUPREPScholar]

On 4/4/2019 at 12:15 PM, mediumtwotopping said:

Confirmed with the Grad Admissions office at Einstein that nothing has been sent out yet in terms of either interviews or acceptances/rejections. She said it’ll be out within the next couple of weeks.

If anyone else is headed to Mount Sinai this weekend, shoot me a message! I would love to connect in person at some point over the next couple of days! 

[mediumtwotopping]

3 hours ago, AspiringMD/PhDScholar said:

If anyone else is headed to Mount Sinai this weekend, shoot me a message! I would love to connect in person at some point over the next couple of days! 

Sure! I do research at Albert Einstein so I am around the New York City area. I’m curious, did Mount Sinai send out an interview to you? I regretfully didn’t send out an application to them (my PI was adamant that Einstein will take me and she doesn’t want me going to the competition hahaha)

[neurooooo]

Received an interview invitation from tufts (option to do in person, phone, skype). They had over 90 applications.  

[nęm0]

3 hours ago, neurooooo said:

Received an interview invitation from tufts (option to do in person, phone, skype). They had over 90 applications.  

congrats! Anyone has news on Uchicago? Harvard?

Edited April 10, 2019 by NK Advocate

[mediumtwotopping]

7 hours ago, NK Advocate said:

congrats! Anyone has news on Uchicago? Harvard?

I wouldn't hold my breath on Harvard.

[trollsloot]

Does anyone have any tips for interviews? Should I review what I put in the essays or is it more expanding on it? What are they looking for when they ask the question "Is there anything you'd like the admissions committee to know?"

[CWRUPREPScholar]

14 hours ago, trollsloot said:

Does anyone have any tips for interviews? Should I review what I put in the essays or is it more expanding on it? What are they looking for when they ask the question "Is there anything you'd like the admissions committee to know?"

My biggest piece of advice? If it's a Skype interview, make sure you take doing down anything inappropriate in the background! ? I have a Sports Illustrated calendar that I totally forgot to take down and then when I answered the Skype call, I had to like awkwardly position my head so the committee would not be steering at the bathing suit models in the background. But in all seriousness, it depends on YOU. If you're MD-PhD the interview has a slightly different approach than if you're just PhD. If you're a strong candidate with notable credentials the purpose is different than if your GPA is lacking. 

[neurooooo]

Anyone heard from tufts re. scheduling an interview? They emailed on Tuesday but haven’t heard anything from them since. Do you think I should email them?

[mediumtwotopping]

Yale still hasn't sent out interview invitations yet. They said they're guaranteeing faculty mentors first and then within the next few days they will send them out.

OOOOF

[Abcs12345]

13 minutes ago, mediumtwotopping said:

Yale still hasn't sent out interview invitations yet. They said they're guaranteeing faculty mentors first and then within the next few days they will send them out.

OOOOF

So they aren't sending out interviews by the end of this week (lol today)? 

[mediumtwotopping]

32 minutes ago, Abcs12345 said:

So they aren't sending out interviews by the end of this week (lol today)? 

I would assume so or maybe they have been rolling out interviews and will be sending out final decisions next week? I honestly don't know at this point. Anyway, I got the update from Dr. Streete this morning.

Edited April 12, 2019 by mediumtwotopping

[ima__ima]

Earlier this week I was told by Dr. Nearon that interview invitations should be sent out by the end of this week, and then official offers by next Friday, the following Monday at the latest. This might only be for the ESI-PREP though, not sure. I didn't think to get clarifications about at which steps rejections would be sent... Decision dates might be moving now that it's Friday though. 

[rx971]

Seems like there's some conflicting information coming out? I was told last week by Dr. Streete that final announcements would be made by the end of this week...

[mediumtwotopping]

Is it safe to say that none of us have gotten any interview invitation from Yale? ?

[ima__ima]

Just now, mediumtwotopping said:

Is it safe to say that none of us have gotten any interview invitation from Yale? ?

That seems to be the case, yeah. There might be slightly different timelines for NIH-PREP vs. ESI-PREP... if anybody posts decisions, please be specific about which of the two programs you applied to!

[htimspri]

I just spoke with Dr. Streete. He said that they are confirming faculty members for the ESI PREP program, and some advisers have not gotten back with their availability yet. If those advisers do not have availabilities, they will have to revisit students' applications. He said this process may, and likely will, go on into next week. To clarify, no interviews have been conducted for ESI PREP. He also noted that interviews for ESI PREP are more of a formality, as at that point an adviser has already agreed to work with a particular student.

It sounds like they have made a nearly final list of who they would like in the program, but cannot finalize it until faculty members report back. Side note - Imagine getting removed from the finalist list because a faculty member doesn't have availability!

[mediumtwotopping]

4 minutes ago, htimspri said:

I just spoke with Dr. Streete. He said that they are confirming faculty members for the ESI PREP program, and some advisers have not gotten back with their availability yet. If those advisers do not have availabilities, they will have to revisit students' applications. He said this process may, and likely will, go on into next week. To clarify, no interviews have been conducted for ESI PREP. He also noted that interviews for ESI PREP are more of a formality, as at that point an adviser has already agreed to work with a particular student.

It sounds like they have made a nearly final list of who they would like in the program, but cannot finalize it until faculty members report back. Side note - Imagine getting removed from the finalist list because a faculty member doesn't have availability!

Thanks for the clarification! 

[nęm0]

Got out of the interview this morning. I lost my train of thought some many times I wouldn't be surprised if they thought I had some kind of mental disability.

They were still pretty responsive to my comments/questions/jokes, so maybe it wasn't so bad.

Edited April 12, 2019 by NK Advocate

[CWRUPREPScholar]

2 hours ago, NK Advocate said:

Got out of the interview this morning. I lost my train of thought some many times I wouldn't be surprised if they thought I had some kind of mental disability.

They were still pretty responsive to my comments/questions/jokes, so maybe it wasn't so bad.

Interview from what school?

[ucsluggo]

Out of curiosity, what are your plans (addressing everyone) after graduation if you didn't get into PREP? I either haven't heard back from or mainly received rejections, I'm graduating in early June and trying to plan for other potential careers/programs to help me go to graduate school for a PhD. I know I'm applying to a PhD program in the fall but I don't know what else to do in the mean time.

[neurooooo]

Just now, ucsluggo said:

Out of curiosity, what are your plans (addressing everyone) after graduation if you didn't get into PREP? I either haven't heard back from or mainly received rejections, I'm graduating in early June and trying to plan for other potential careers/programs to help me go to graduate school for a PhD. I know I'm applying to a PhD program in the fall but I don't know what else to do in the mean time.

Apply for a research tech/assistant position. But ask questions like: will I have my own project? What will I be doing day to day? Do techs receive authorship on papers? Those questions will give you an idea of how valuable the experience will be. 

[mediumtwotopping]

1 hour ago, ucsluggo said:

Out of curiosity, what are your plans (addressing everyone) after graduation if you didn't get into PREP? I either haven't heard back from or mainly received rejections, I'm graduating in early June and trying to plan for other potential careers/programs to help me go to graduate school for a PhD. I know I'm applying to a PhD program in the fall but I don't know what else to do in the mean time.

Just building onto what @neurooooo said. I am actually using PREP (if I get into it) as my second year off. Since I've graduated in May 2018, I've been a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The best thing about my current position is that I've built enough confidence and trust with my PI that she has been willing to throw me into my own project, on top of helping out with post-docs and her student. In addition, if you seen CVs of many PhD students (at least in the biomedical sciences) most of them have had some type of research assistant/technician job after undergraduate because it really helps them build their portfolio and also skillset.

[dejosco]

On 4/10/2019 at 12:34 AM, NK Advocate said:

congrats! Anyone has news on Uchicago? Harvard?

I got an interview from UChicago and Harvard (declined both though). 

[dejosco]

7 hours ago, ucsluggo said:

Out of curiosity, what are your plans (addressing everyone) after graduation if you didn't get into PREP? I either haven't heard back from or mainly received rejections, I'm graduating in early June and trying to plan for other potential careers/programs to help me go to graduate school for a PhD. I know I'm applying to a PhD program in the fall but I don't know what else to do in the mean time.

I highly agree with neurooooo. I would also highly advise taking more than a few months to do research before applying to PhD programs considering your outcome with PREP programs. 

Edited April 16, 2019 by dejosco

[Madistrong]

I've heard back from both Tufts and Rochester, and I've got interviews with both this week. Still haven't heard anything from Michigan PREP, has anyone else?