Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering Fall 2021 Admission Results

[Bioenglover]

Hi everyone!

 

I know it's a bit early, but as an international applicant, I am already starting to gather information to decide where to apply.

Would love to hear from you, which schools are you planning to apply for and why?

 

We can do it with the template I've seen people used before:

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): 

Major(s): 

Minor(s): 

GPA in Major: x.xx/4.00

Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00

Demographics/Background: 

 

GRE Scores:

Q: xxx (xx%)

V: xxx (xx%)

W: x.x (xx%)

 

LOR: 

 

Research Experience: 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

 

Fellowships/Funding:

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

 

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

 

Research Interests:

 

Institutions/Programs:

 

Comments:

[Bioenglover]

I'll start ?

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Undergrad: Tel Aviv University, Israel Grad: Columbia University

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering

Minor(s): N/A

GPA in Major: 3.8/4.00

Overall GPA: 3.2/4.00

Demographics/Background: White female, International student, First Gen, Women in Engineering 

 

GRE Scores: Planning to retake, GRE not amazing.

 

LOR: 1 from research supervisor, 1 from professor, debating on wether to ask for a letter from my summer internship boss (biomed startup - quality assurance internship) or from another professor (would love to hear your opinion)

 

Research Experience: Undergrad - almost two years. 3 years industry experience (research), grad school thesis in biomaterials

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 oral presentation, 1 conference 

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:  none

 

Fellowships/Funding: none

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  Summer internship, 3 years as a project manager at a biomed startup

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: GRADSWE vice president

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): none

 

Research Interests: Biomaterials, Tissue and cell engineering 

 

Institutions/Programs: so far considering: (all biomed)

Rockefeller University

UCLA

MIT

UC Berkely 

Stanford

 

Comments: Honestly feeling like my background is not strong enough for PhD applications. Really worried...

[polymer engineer]

On 5/27/2020 at 12:47 PM, Bioenglover said:

I'll start ?

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Undergrad: Tel Aviv University, Israel Grad: Columbia University

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering

Minor(s): N/A

GPA in Major: 3.8/4.00

Overall GPA: 3.2/4.00

Demographics/Background: White female, International student, First Gen, Women in Engineering 

 

GRE Scores: Planning to retake, GRE not amazing.

 

LOR: 1 from research supervisor, 1 from professor, debating on wether to ask for a letter from my summer internship boss (biomed startup - quality assurance internship) or from another professor (would love to hear your opinion)

 

Research Experience: Undergrad - almost two years. 3 years industry experience (research), grad school thesis in biomaterials

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 oral presentation, 1 conference 

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:  none

 

Fellowships/Funding: none

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  Summer internship, 3 years as a project manager at a biomed startup

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: GRADSWE vice president

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): none

 

Research Interests: Biomaterials, Tissue and cell engineering 

 

Institutions/Programs: so far considering: (all biomed)

Rockefeller University

UCLA

MIT

UC Berkely 

Stanford

 

Comments: Honestly feeling like my background is not strong enough for PhD applications. Really worried...

you should consider Duke as well. They have some impressive biomaterials research happening and they're bioE program is ranked highly along with some of the other universities you have listed. I'm also interested in biomaterials, and regenerative medicine so I am interested to hear how your application process goes

[polymer engineer]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Virginia Tech

Major(s): Chemical Engineering, Focus in Polymers

Minor(s): none

GPA in Major: 3.61/4.00

Overall GPA: 3.51/4.00

Demographics/Background: male, white, US citizen

 

GRE Scores: haven't taken it yet but I'm targeting >= 165 V/Q, and 4.5 W

Q: 169 (highest practice score taken so far)

V: 155 (highest practice score taken so far)

W: 5 (highest practice score taken so far)

 

LOR: 1 research advisor in undergrad, 1 PhD technologist I know in industry, 1 post doc or PI from research experience post college

 

Research Experience: 2 years undergrad (polymers, additive manufacturing, rheology), 3 years industry (porous membranes, surface science), 3 months university lab (neuroscience)

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 co first author publication, 1 poster presentation at graduate student assembly, a couple posters and presentations in industry

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Scholarship (x2), Deans list student, Technical excellence award

 

Fellowships/Funding: n/a

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: EHS internship, Project manager for research group in industry

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: rode bicycle across US for charity

 

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

 

Research Interests: biomaterials, regenerative medicine, polymers

 

Institutions/Programs: Duke (BioE), UFlorida (ChemE), UT Austin (ChemE), Northwestern (BioE or ChemE), open to other suggestions

 

Comments: want to know if I'm being realistic about the schools I have listed

[momentumflux]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Very meh/regional state college. 

Major(s): Chemical Engineering

Minor(s): Computer Science, Visual Arts

GPA in Major: 3.49/4.00

Overall GPA: 3.19/4.00

Demographics/Background: white female

GRE Scores:

Q: 157

V: 165

W: 5.5

These are from practice tests. I was only correctly diagnosed with ADHD this past spring and am currently exploring a dyslexia diagnosis, and working to get 1.5x time accommodations set up for the GRE. The current quant score is with me taking practice exams at the normal pace; I genuinely feel as though I can't even read all of the quant questions in the normal allotted time. The discrepancy between scores also obviously shows a neurological processing disorder of sorts. Very fun! I'm likely dyslexic. 

LOR: 1 from chemE prof, 1 from pharmacology prof, 1 from internship boss at major biopharma/consumer goods company

 

Research Experience: 7 months in a polymer engineering lab 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: none

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

• dean's list
• scholarship for entirety of undergrad

 

Fellowships/Funding: n/a

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

• 6 months on co-op at a polymer manufacturing plant
• 3 months as an analyst for a startup, writing huge literature reviews 
• 3 months in a summer internship at major biopharma/consumer goods manufacturer
  • student leadership position in this role

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

• I'm completing my BS in essentially ~3.0 years, schedule has been a nightmare but that is a huge accomplishment.
• I got a perfect 4.0 my junior spring, in 18 credits of all 300 and 400 level science/engineering courses. 
• General strong upward trend in grades throughout undergrad, it reflects a lot in my major GPA!

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

I did start off undergrad as an art major actually, so factored into my cumulative GPA is a lot of mediocre grades in the visual arts. It's actually quite funny. 

Throughout undergrad I dealt with a host of horrendous life circumstances (sexual assault, financial issues with my family, severe mental illness of family members, housing instability due to a specific minority status, getting diagnosed with ADHD very late in life, and long-term health issues that cumulated in a semester of full medical withdrawals). I will mention this in my applications. 

Honestly though, I am incredibly strong and resilient from all that I have endured. If I can heal, survive, and excel in the face of adversity, then I am a fantastic candidate to tackle something as hard and as large as a PhD. It is all the adversity that I have faced that has kept me going and has made me so passionate. In a lot of ways, I have also been extremely lucky and blessed in my life. If I do have the opportunity to pursue grad school, then it is my obligation create technology that has a tangible humanitarian impact. Statistically I should never have made it even to this point in any education. I am incredibly grateful.

Anyways though, the #sobstory is being put in as a way to explain an erratic and crazy transcript, and honestly argue as to why it makes my application even stronger. 

Research Interests: Formulation science (consumer health goods, pharma), emulsions, fluid mechanics, pharmacology, genomics! Anywhere where I can use AI/cs/data analytics to make my life easier, and where the ability to visualize data comes in handy. Art school was very useful for data visualization. Again, the end societal impact of what I'm doing deeply matters to me. I got into a cool rabbit hole lately about deep learning and pharma which would be extremely fun. NOT POLYMERS! 

Institutions/Programs:

• Stanford
• UC Berkeley/UCSF
• UC San Diego 
• UMD College Park 
• Johns Hopkins 
• University of Virginia
• my own university 

Comments:

Please suggest some other schools! I'm worried that I may be aiming a little too high- I've had such a strange path through undergrad that it's hard to compare myself against other applicants. I know to some schools, my unique story will be advantageous, but to others it won't do much and I'll be judged solely by my grades. For my own mental sanity I am avoiding the south as much as possible.

 

Edited June 25, 2020 by momentumflux

[johnvln]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Large public research university in Canada. 450-500 in the world.

Major(s): BSc and MSc in biology

Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: 3.47/4.00 (undergraduate) and 4.00/4.00 (graduate)

Overall GPA: 3.59/4.00 (undergraduate) and 3.68/4.00 (undergraduate and graduate)

Demographics/Background: Asian male, Canadian citizen (applying to the USA so I guess international)

GRE Scores: Did not write

LOR: Two strong letters: one from MSc PI and one from honours thesis committee member. One good letter: former professor for a course and former department Chair.

Research Experience: Eight months of research in a genetics lab. Going to be one year (out of two years for MSc) of research on bioinstrumentation and biosensors in a bioengineering lab when I apply.

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: Two poster presentations at my university. One first author publication hopefully submitted before I get my applications in. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: In reverse chronological order:

1. Canadian national graduate scholarship ($17,500)
2. Canadian provincial graduate scholarship ($15,000)
3. Two awards for the poster presentations ($600 x 2)
4. Graduate student fellowship ($11,000)
5. Graduated on dean's honour roll ($0)
6. Three small scholarships during my bachelor's ($645, $500, $1,500)

Fellowships/Funding: None for my PhD (yet). Had some for my MSc (see above), but it isn't going to carry over to my PhD.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for four undergraduate biology classes.

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: Various service and outreach activities (accomplishments):

1. Graduate student mentor (one year)
2. Member of graduate student committee that evaluates honours theses (two years)
3. University ambassador (two one-day events)
4. Laboratory science demonstrator for faculty (one-day event)
5. Summer hospital volunteer (three summers)
6. Public library volunteer (one year)

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): Nothing. No faculty connections.

Research Interests: bioinstrumentation, bioMEMS, biosensors, high-throughput screening, medical devices, microfluidics, point-of-care testing

Institutions/Programs: All bioengineering, biological engineering, biomedical engineering or molecular engineering programs

1. University of California, Los Angeles
2. The University of British Columbia
3. Columbia University
4. Brown University
5. University of Toronto
6. McGill University
7. University of California, Berkeley
8. California Institute of Technology
9. University of California, San Diego
10. Johns Hopkins University
11. Stanford University
12. University of Washington
13. Cornell University
14. Harvard University
15. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
16. Yale University
17. Carnegie Mellon University
18. The University of Chicago

I already identified faculty at these schools doing work in my area of interest. I haven't contacted anyone yet though. 

Comments: Biology major, but I took graduate level classes in computer programing, microfluidics, and optical measurement. Money and location isn't an issue for my applications or during my doctoral studies. Hoping to apply to many places because I can afford it and because I feel as though I may be disadvantaged because of my low-ranking school, okay-ish GPA, and non-engineering background. 

Open to (or hoping to hear) some feedback.

Edited July 4, 2020 by johnvln
Clarification

[AtLeastOneAdmission]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Science and Tech Institute in Asia. 200-250 in the world.

Major(s): BSc in Chem. eng and MSc in BME

Minor(s): BSc in BME

GPA in Major: 3.70/4.30 (undergraduate) 

Overall GPA: 3.72/4.30 (undergraduate) and 4.21/4.3 (graduate)

Demographics/Background: International asian male

GRE Scores: 

 

Q: 158

V: 168

W: 4.0

LOR: One from PI that I've been working for during the last 4 years as undergrad and MSc research assistant, and one from assistant professor at another university who I'm working for as a contract-based researcher. The third one is from famous Professor in the field, I've completed a 2-month internship in his lab in the US during undergraduate years. 

Research Experience: About 4 years of experience (2 as an undergrad + 2 as MSc student) 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: One poster presentation at well-known international conference and One podium presentation at Local conference. One first-author publication that was already published, another first author article under review at a Journal (IF ~10), one co-author article under review at another journal (~9), 1 small first-author article that I'm planning to submit soon (IF ~ -5-6), and another co-author article that I expect to be submitted by the application deadline. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

1. Full tuition scholarship for international student. 
2. Monthly stipend for living expenses. 
3. Best Podium Presentation Award at a conference
4. Summer UROP Travel scholarship. 
5. Magna Cum Laude (not sure if it even counts as an award) 
6. Scholarship to attend Summer Data analysis & Machine learning camp.

Fellowships/Funding: None yet

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for General Biology class, TA for Bioinstrumental Analysis class, TA for English Writing tutorial service, Science Mentor at 2 International Biology Olympiad Training camps. 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: 

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

Research Interests: bioMEMS, biosensors, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip

Institutions/Programs: All bioengineering, biological engineering, biomedical engineering programs

1. University of California, Los Angeles
2. Columbia University
3. University of California, Berkeley
4. California Institute of Technology
5. University of California, San Diego
6. Johns Hopkins University
7. Stanford University
8. University of Washington
9. Cornell University
10. Harvard University
11. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
12. Yale University
13. Carnegie Mellon University
14. The University of Chicago
15. Georgia Tech
16. University of Pennsylvania
17. UC Irvine
18. Boston University

I haven't contacted anyone yet. 

Comments: Thank you johnvln! It happens that we share the same research areas, so I hope that you don't mind me using your post as a template for mine. 

 

[laveritecestla]

Hi! Not an applicant but was in your shoes two years ago, so just popping in to say that I'm happy to answer any questions about the process/my experiences! 

[micromachines]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): 

Great college in my home country, probably not internationally renowned 

My master’s was at a top 5 college in the US. 

Major(s): BS in Biotech, MS in Biomedical engineering

Minor(s): N/A

GPA in Major: Undergrad: 4.00/4.00, Master's: 3.6/4.00

Demographics/Background: Asian, International

GRE Scores:

Q: 160

V: 162

I know they aren't the best, but I'm trying to take advantage of programs that don't require the GRE this year.

LOR: My Master's advisor (quite famous in his field, which is related to what I want to do my PhD in), my undergraduate thesis advisor (the head of my department), and my boss at work (R&D director) - basically, three strong letters. 

Research Experience: 
2 years of projects at my undergraduate institution
2 summer internships at famous research institutes in my home country
1.5 years as a Master's student 
1 year at a small startup doing Biotech R&D

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:
2 poster presentations at my university 
1 poster presentation at a local conference 

No papers unfortunately ?

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 
Master's Research Fellowship
Summer Research Internship at a program that has a 5% acceptance rate in my home country 
Two awards for my design project during my Master's 
Graduated undergrad with Distinction 

Fellowships/Funding:
Master's Research Fellowship - funding for my master's research

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 
Blogger and Student Representative for the website and team of one of my design projects
Started the first journal club in my department as an undergrad
Master's BME Association member 
Laid the groundwork for a small healthcare startup in India during one of my internships
Budding science writer! 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): My master's university, to which I'm applying

Research Interests: Microfluidics, microphysiological systems, organ-on-chips

Institutions/Programs:

Duke BME
MIT BE
Harvard BE
Boston University BME
UC Davis 
University of Washington, Seattle
Columbia 
Berkeley 
University of Toronto
McGill 

Comments: I've already identified faculty I'm interested in working with, but I haven't contacted any of them yet. I'd love any feedback related to programs I can apply to, and whether I'm aiming too high (which I def feel like I am). 

[micromachines]

I was also wondering if anybody has ideas about what the admissions and funding situation is going to be like for fall 2021, given the economic condition of the country. 

[Bernt]

12 hours ago, micromachines said:

I was also wondering if anybody has ideas about what the admissions and funding situation is going to be like for fall 2021, given the economic condition of the country. 

The anticipated impacts of COVID-19 on graduate admissions is negative. This is due to three primary factors: 

1. Increased number of applicants. Historically, more people apply to higher education (undergraduate, Masters, and PhD) during times of economic turmoil. This was seen during the last US recession. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, applications to graduate programs increased (sources: Census Data, NYT, MSN). This is likely due to the job market tanking; people lose their jobs and go back to school for the resume boost and financial security associated with a funded PhD.

2. Less slots due to deferrals. Many students admitted for Fall 2020 deferred their admissions (due to online classes, travel issues, etc.). These deferrals may “take away slots” from students applying during the next cycle. If 25 out of 50 people in a cohort defer, this could affect the amount of available slots + desired cohort size for the next admissions cycle. 

3. Less slots due to less funding. COVID-19 is negatively impacting many schools funding, due to decreased enrollment, deferrals, lack of on-campus housing, and other economic factors. If a school has decreased funding, they will prefer to fund their current students as opposed to admitting new ones. Multiple programs have already stated they are decreasing their number of slots or not accepting any applications for this upcoming admissions cycle (source: Reddit Masterpost).

The second two reasons are less relevant for STEM. STEM programs typically have more stability and external funding, as opposed to smaller humanities programs.

Regardless, it seems there will be more applicants for less slots, resulting in more competition. How significantly this will impact STEM, specifically BME, admissions is unknown at this moment in time. The advice I’ve given to people applying this cycle is to apply to a few extra/backup programs, just in case. Things are hectic right now, it’s better to be overly cautious.

Edited August 1, 2020 by Bernt

[ohboyherewegoagain]

Hey everyone, I'm applying for Fall 2021 admission and I recently received an interview invite for Harvard Bioengineering. Interview slated for December 20th (happening way faster than I anticipated!) From what I read online the interview process seems pretty decentralized so I'm not sure if this is THE interview or just an informal chat-type deal. I'm also really interested in the joint HST program so maybe that'll help me there? I don't know ach

Good luck everyone

[heistotron]

13 hours ago, ohboyherewegoagain said:

Hey everyone, I'm applying for Fall 2021 admission and I recently received an interview invite for Harvard Bioengineering. Interview slated for December 20th (happening way faster than I anticipated!) From what I read online the interview process seems pretty decentralized so I'm not sure if this is THE interview or just an informal chat-type deal. I'm also really interested in the joint HST program so maybe that'll help me there? I don't know ach

Good luck everyone

Congrats! How is this possible though - don't SEAS PhD applications just closed 5PM yesterday?

[BrainBot]

Has anyone got any interview invite from any BME program? Seems like interview invites shared in the results page are all from other departments... And I am so anxious now

[ohboyherewegoagain]

13 hours ago, heistotron said:

Congrats! How is this possible though - don't SEAS PhD applications just closed 5PM yesterday?

That's a great question-- I reached out to this professor about 2 weeks ago and he said that my background matched his research and that he would take a look at my application when I submit it! In the application I listed him as someone I had been in contact with so maybe as soon as I submitted it got sent to him? I also submitted a couple days before the deadline, so maybe that had something to it with it? 

[2020bioE]

39 minutes ago, BrainBot said:

Has anyone got any interview invite from any BME program? Seems like interview invites shared in the results page are all from other departments... And I am so anxious now

Chiming in from the previous cycle.... I applied to 8 engineering programs and heard nothing official until January 15! The engineering pipeline seems to be a bit slower than biomedical sciences where I heard back like late-ish December. Covid could impact these results but definitely no need to worry yet. If you want a frame of reference, the latest positive response I heard back was an interview invite in late Jan (Jan 24).

Edited December 16, 2020 by 2020bioE

[zoees]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): UConn (T25 public)

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering

Minor(s): French; Physiology and Neurobiology

GPA in Major: 3.510/4.0

Overall GPA: 3.567/4.0

Demographics/Background: White, domestic, female

 

GRE Scores:

Q: 160 (72nd %ile)

V: 160 (85th %ile)

W: 4.5 (80th %ile)

 

LOR: 1 from research supervisor, 1 from my hall director (2 years supervising me as a senior RA), 1 from senior design advisor/professor I TA for

 

Research Experience: Neuropsych lab since January 2019, pharmaceuticals HTS internship summer 2019, canceled stem cell internship summer 2020

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: no conferences but I did present a poster in our undergrad research expo Fall 2019 on my lab work

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nu Rho Psi National Honor Society in Neuroscience

 

Fellowships/Funding: none

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: BMES, SWE, UCSD virtual REU, Phi Sigma Rho National Sorority, 1 year as an RA and 2 years as a senior RA

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: senior design project in a tissue engineering-adjacent product (used with an engineered graft)

 

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

 

Research Interests: tissue engineering, regenerative medicine

 

Institutions/Programs: UCSD BE PhD, UMich BME PhD, UF BME PhD, UConn BME PhD, VT/Wake Forest BME PhD, Duke BME PhD

 

Comments: I didn't reach out to any PIs and only submitted GRE to Duke due to costs

[ohboyherewegoagain]

On 12/16/2020 at 3:26 PM, ohboyherewegoagain said:

That's a great question-- I reached out to this professor about 2 weeks ago and he said that my background matched his research and that he would take a look at my application when I submit it! In the application I listed him as someone I had been in contact with so maybe as soon as I submitted it got sent to him? I also submitted a couple days before the deadline, so maybe that had something to it with it? 

Hi I had my interview (it turns out it was THE interview) and just wanted to provide a lil information to anyone interested in Harvard's interview process!

So this year there are ~5000 applications for the SEAS graduate program, so really only the 3 people you list in your application will have the time to thoroughly review your materials. I was asked to give an overview of my research and then I asked some questions about the PI's research and their future directions. I was asked why Harvard in particular, and what I want to focus my graduate school research on. In late Jan the greater committee will convene to decide on your application (the council will decide your fate...) and if they like you and the PI you interviewed with likes you then you're p good! The PI said that my background for their lab's future directions so I am feeling pretty good about the status of my application, but also I realized that one of my letter writers has yet to submit their letter so I need to email them and remind them, and hopefully this doesn't hurt my chances with the committee.

_______________________

Also here are my stats and such:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): well-regarded Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering, an arts and humanities subject

Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: 3.97/4.00 (undergraduate)

Overall GPA: 3.93/4.00 (undergraduate)

Demographics/Background: Mixed-race, female

GRE Scores: 169 V | 166 Q | 5.5 W (only submitted to my freebie schools because no one cares about GRE)

LOR: 2 research mentors and one professor + department chair that I did an extended finite element analysis project with and biofluidic coursework 

Research Experience: nanomaterials and biomaterials characterization, microfabrication. Also a ton of translatable academic projects in cell culturing, FEM, VICON, etc. Cancelled internship at national lab summer 2020 that I will hopefully do this summer, leading to a little more than 8 months of research before entering grad school. 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 3 posters at BMES, oral presentation at REU Convocation. No publications!

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater, honor societies, several awards in my arts and humanities field

Fellowships/Funding: Applied for NSF

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 3 courses, STEM tutor, volunteer K-5 STEM tutor, 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: BMES executive board, president of prosthetics club, lots of STEM teaching experience and STEM outreach. Senior project in RF ablation probe design

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): I reached out and received replies + video calls from Harvard and Columbia PIs. Short reply from Johns Hopkins PI. Did REU at UPENN. My humanities degree will set me apart, probably? Also intensive coursework to finish double major in 4 years because I was not going to spend extra money on tuition...

Research Interests: microfabrication, organoids, neural interfaces. 

Institutions/Programs:  

1. Harvard

2. MIT - Biological Engineering

3. Harvard-MIT - Health Science and Technology (I am kind of a history nerd and would love to live around Boston oKAY)

4. University of Pennsylvania

5. Columbia

6. Johns Hopkins 

7. Cornell 

8. Vanderbilt

9. UCSF/UCBerkeley

10. Georgia Tech

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by ohboyherewegoagain

[zerozero1]

11 hours ago, ohboyherewegoagain said:

Hi I had my interview (it turns out it was THE interview) and just wanted to provide a lil information to anyone interested in Harvard's interview process!

So this year there are ~5000 applications for the SEAS graduate program, so really only the 3 people you list in your application will have the time to thoroughly review your materials. I was asked to give an overview of my research and then I asked some questions about the PI's research and their future directions. I was asked why Harvard in particular, and what I want to focus my graduate school research on. In late Jan the greater committee will convene to decide on your application (the council will decide your fate...) and if they like you and the PI you interviewed with likes you then you're p good! The PI said that my background for their lab's future directions so I am feeling pretty good about the status of my application, but also I realized that one of my letter writers has yet to submit their letter so I need to email them and remind them, and hopefully this doesn't hurt my chances with the committee.

_______________________

Also here are my stats and such:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): well-regarded Biomedical Engineering undergraduate program

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering, an arts and humanities subject

Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: 3.97/4.00 (undergraduate)

Overall GPA: 3.93/4.00 (undergraduate)

Demographics/Background: Mixed-race, female

GRE Scores: 169 V | 166 Q | 5.5 W (only submitted to my freebie schools because no one cares about GRE)

LOR: 2 research mentors and one professor + department chair that I did an extended finite element analysis project with and biofluidic coursework 

Research Experience: nanomaterials and biomaterials characterization, microfabrication. Also a ton of translatable academic projects in cell culturing, FEM, VICON, etc. Cancelled internship at national lab summer 2020 that I will hopefully do this summer, leading to a little more than 8 months of research before entering grad school. 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 3 posters at BMES, oral presentation at REU Convocation. No publications!

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater, honor societies, several awards in my arts and humanities field

Fellowships/Funding: Applied for NSF

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 3 courses, STEM tutor, volunteer K-5 STEM tutor, 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: BMES executive board, president of prosthetics club, lots of STEM teaching experience and STEM outreach. Senior project in RF ablation probe design

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): I reached out and received replies + video calls from Harvard and Columbia PIs. Short reply from Johns Hopkins PI. Did REU at UPENN. My humanities degree will set me apart, probably? Also intensive coursework to finish double major in 4 years because I was not going to spend extra money on tuition...

Research Interests: microfabrication, organoids, neural interfaces. 

Institutions/Programs:  

1. Harvard

2. MIT - Biological Engineering

3. Harvard-MIT - Health Science and Technology (I am kind of a history nerd and would love to live around Boston oKAY)

4. University of Pennsylvania

5. Columbia

6. Johns Hopkins 

7. Cornell 

8. Vanderbilt

9. UCSF/UCBerkeley

10. Georgia Tech

 

Wow it sounds pretty promising based on the responses you've got! This is always a good sign. Was it J Liu that you contacted at Harvard? (Just curious, based your research interest haha; btw I am not an applicant for Harvard) Wish you luck!!!!

Edited December 23, 2020 by zerozero1

[bobdogs20]

Has anyone heard from UC schools or any others? 

[PapaSeanL]

Does anyone know the post interview acceptance rate at Caltech bioengineering?

[bobdogs20]

6 hours ago, PapaSeanL said:

Does anyone know the post interview acceptance rate at Caltech bioengineering?

Congrats! I would expect it to be pretty high. When is your interview? And what sub field of bioengineering?

Edited December 25, 2020 by bobdogs20

[PapaSeanL]

1 hour ago, bobdogs20 said:

Congrats! I would expect it to be pretty high. When is your interview? And what sub field of bioengineering?

Thanks! I don't recall having to select a subfield for caltech. But in general I'm interested in tissue engineering, nano/micro-tech, and single cell/molecule biophysics.

I'm pretty sure I am on the very bottom of their list lol. Hopefully the interview will go smoothly!

Good luck! 

[bobdogs20]

1 hour ago, PapaSeanL said:

Thanks! I don't recall having to select a subfield for caltech. But in general I'm interested in tissue engineering, nano/micro-tech, and single cell/molecule biophysics.

I'm pretty sure I am on the very bottom of their list lol. Hopefully the interview will go smoothly!

Good luck! 

Oh right on! Yeah I mean I’ve applied and still no interview, so you’re higher than me?

[PapaSeanL]

3 hours ago, bobdogs20 said:

Oh right on! Yeah I mean I’ve applied and still no interview, so you’re higher than me?

Lol but who knows wtf is going on this year. Maybe they haven’t stopped sending out the invites since I got it at Christmas Eve. My interviews invites are hit and miss as well lol.