BU PiBS/UMD Bisi/UMB

[Irene39]

Hi everyone, 

I am not sure it is right page to ask this. 

Applied to several schools and got the interview invitation for these schools. How do I choose which school to go? What are the criteria you guys might consider when you choose the program?

 

For BU PiBS, I applied for Genetics and Genomics. 

For UMD Bisi, I applied for MOCB (molecular and cellular biology).

For UMB, I applied for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

All the interviews are first and second week of Feb. 

[queerorpheus]

Did you receive any details about the interview dates for BISI? I also applied and was invited to interview with MOCB but haven't gotten any kind of interview timeline. 

I don't know much about the other two programs, but I'm very excited about BISI! One of the biggest factors for me in applying there was the professional opportunities - I want to work in government so the opportunity to work with the NIH as a graduate student was huge for me. I think some of my decision will come down to funding and cost of living, but it's a great program and I wouldn't be mad at all to end up there.

[Irene39]

36 minutes ago, queerorpheus said:

Did you receive any details about the interview dates for BISI? I also applied and was invited to interview with MOCB but haven't gotten any kind of interview timeline. 

I don't know much about the other two programs, but I'm very excited about BISI! One of the biggest factors for me in applying there was the professional opportunities - I want to work in government so the opportunity to work with the NIH as a graduate student was huge for me. I think some of my decision will come down to funding and cost of living, but it's a great program and I wouldn't be mad at all to end up there.

Thanks for the information. I think it is a great opportunity to work in government, too. It is just I am not sure whether there will be any regulation for the international people. I am one of the international candidates. I did an interview on Jan 22 with one PI. Then, I received the email with dates for the recruitment yesterday. It will be on Feb 9-10 or Feb 17-18. It is two days event from 9AM to 12PM. Hope this helps. 

[sirtuingirl]

3 hours ago, Irene39 said:

Hi everyone, 

I am not sure it is right page to ask this. 

Applied to several schools and got the interview invitation for these schools. How do I choose which school to go? What are the criteria you guys might consider when you choose the program?

 

For BU PiBS, I applied for Genetics and Genomics. 

For UMD Bisi, I applied for MOCB (molecular and cellular biology).

For UMB, I applied for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

All the interviews are first and second week of Feb. 

which university is UMB?

[Irene39]

1 hour ago, sirtuingirl said:

which university is UMB?

Oh, Sorry about that. It is University of Maryland Baltimore. 

[sirtuingirl]

4 minutes ago, Irene39 said:

Oh, Sorry about that. It is University of Maryland Baltimore. 

You mean UMBC (Baltimore County)?

[Irene39]

1 minute ago, sirtuingirl said:

You mean UMBC (Baltimore County)?

No, there is a school for UMB just another university of Maryland, Baltimore. It is different school from UMBC.

[ood63]

If I understand correctly from my research, the UMB program you are asking about is thru the University of Maryland Medical School.

 

[Irene39]

Yes, you are correct. Sorry about the confusion.

[ManifoldsAreMadeUp]

Depends on your goals but definitely whichever has the most number of professors whose research you are interested in and the program is in an area you like. There is something to be said for prestige because that greases the gears for future paths. Also, Boston is the best place in the world for biotech. I think BU is the clear leader in the last two aspects but those facets aren't nearly as important as the first two.

[Irene39]

On 1/26/2021 at 6:48 PM, ManifoldsAreMadeUp said:

Depends on your goals but definitely whichever has the most number of professors whose research you are interested in and the program is in an area you like. There is something to be said for prestige because that greases the gears for future paths. Also, Boston is the best place in the world for biotech. I think BU is the clear leader in the last two aspects but those facets aren't nearly as important as the first two.

Thanks for your opinion. Does Boston University PiBS more prestige than UMD(MOCB) and UMB(school of medicine) in terms of research and education?

 

[Irene39]

On 1/26/2021 at 5:16 PM, ood63 said:

If I understand correctly from my research, the UMB program you are asking about is thru the University of Maryland Medical School.

 

Yes, it is the program under medical school. Sorry for the confusion. 

How is the program?

[hazelgrace]

Hi Irene,

To answer your question, based on my experience doing research at BUSM (Boston University School of Medicine) in a master's program, I truly had a blast with several professors and colleagues. As one of the best institutions in medical research, I am glad to be part of BU Terriers. And if you are interested in pursuing career in industry (biotech/pharma), staying in Boston, provides you a lot of opportunities for professional networking.
 

When is your interview? I also got invited for interview at BU PiBS. My interview is on Feb 18 (I wasn't available on Jan 29, although I'd like to pick the earliest session). If you've done it, how was it? 

Edited February 1, 2021 by hazelgrace

[Irene39]

23 hours ago, hazelgrace said:

Hi Irene,

To answer your question, based on my experience doing research at BUSM (Boston University School of Medicine) in a master's program, I truly had a blast with several professors and colleagues. As one of the best institutions in medical research, I am glad to be part of BU Terriers. And if you are interested in pursuing career in industry (biotech/pharma), staying in Boston, provides you a lot of opportunities for professional networking.
 

When is your interview? I also got invited for interview at BU PiBS. My interview is on Feb 18 (I wasn't available on Jan 29, although I'd like to pick the earliest session). If you've done it, how was it? 

Hi, thanks for your answer. My interview date is on Feb 8. I will leave comments after that. 

[ood63]

@Irene39 just curious what you think about the UMD BISI program?  Are you interviewing there? What do you like about it?  I'm thinking about applying next year.  I love the DC area and its close to the NIH.

[ood63]

Not sure if @irene39 saw my question above but I was looking for feedback on the UMD BISI program.  Anyone heard anything about the program?

[Irene39]

On 2/2/2021 at 2:20 AM, ood63 said:

@Irene39 just curious what you think about the UMD BISI program?  Are you interviewing there? What do you like about it?  I'm thinking about applying next year.  I love the DC area and its close to the NIH.

HI, Sorry for the late answer. At the beginning, email was sent every time someone comment this post, but I do not get an email. I could not follow up quickly. 

I chose UMD BISI more for the area. Yes, it is near NIH. Also, there was an article that Maryland will be next biotech hub in 2023. Biotech company starts moving to Maryland. A lot of prediction happened for Maryland as future biotech hub like Boston. 

I have an interview next week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Program itself, I could tell more when I finish my interview. 

I will re-comment after that. 

[queerorpheus]

On 2/5/2021 at 12:42 PM, ood63 said:

Not sure if @irene39 saw my question above but I was looking for feedback on the UMD BISI program.  Anyone heard anything about the program?

I'm interviewing there next week and honestly I'm super excited about it! Aside from just biotech, there's a lot of great science going on in the DC area, so no matter which track you apply for there's going to be opportunities with government labs, museums, and industry. Even within the department, there's some really amazing research that fits with my interests. Just in general, UMD is well known for its STEM programs and I know I'll be getting a quality education if that's where I choose to go. I'll be able to speak to this more after my recruitment event, but if you think you'd fit within the program you should definitely go for it! 

[hazelgrace]

On 2/2/2021 at 11:45 AM, Irene39 said:

Hi, thanks for your answer. My interview date is on Feb 8. I will leave comments after that. 

Good luck on your interview today!! You'll do great!
I'm looking forward to hearing from your experience!

[Irene39]

On 2/8/2021 at 6:03 AM, hazelgrace said:

Good luck on your interview today!! You'll do great!
I'm looking forward to hearing from your experience!

Hi I finished BUSM PiBS program interview on Monday. There was three interviews, and the rest of them was just information session. One professor asked me very detailed questions related to the Genetics part of my current research (RNA-seq, scRNAseq). The other two were very easygoing. Introducing their research to me rather than me speaking to them. 

PiBS program itself was very nice, have a lot of research funding. Program for NEIDL was super cool (BSL4 lab facility). There were about 900-1000application, invited 140 people for the interview. They are going to select about ~25 people. Stipend for upcoming year is set for $36,782/year. No TA. 

Please let me know if you have more questions and good luck on your interviews

[Irene39]

On 2/7/2021 at 11:50 AM, queerorpheus said:

I'm interviewing there next week and honestly I'm super excited about it! Aside from just biotech, there's a lot of great science going on in the DC area, so no matter which track you apply for there's going to be opportunities with government labs, museums, and industry. Even within the department, there's some really amazing research that fits with my interests. Just in general, UMD is well known for its STEM programs and I know I'll be getting a quality education if that's where I choose to go. I'll be able to speak to this more after my recruitment event, but if you think you'd fit within the program you should definitely go for it! 

For international student, admission is little different from domestic students. I already had an interview in January. They said there is no more interviews for us. We might be in the same group yesterday and probably today since I applied to MOCB track. I talked to several professor that I am interested for their research via emails. Because my research interest is both molecular and computational, I am also talking to the director of CBBG today. I reach out to him yesterday whether I can talk to him. 

I did not expect that many people to come for the recruitment event yesterday. Hope for the best. Please let me know how the result come out for you. We might go to the same program

 

[queerorpheus]

2 hours ago, Irene39 said:

For international student, admission is little different from domestic students. I already had an interview in January. They said there is no more interviews for us. We might be in the same group yesterday and probably today since I applied to MOCB track. I talked to several professor that I am interested for their research via emails. Because my research interest is both molecular and computational, I am also talking to the director of CBBG today. I reach out to him yesterday whether I can talk to him. 

I did not expect that many people to come for the recruitment event yesterday. Hope for the best. Please let me know how the result come out for you. We might go to the same program

 

My recruitment event is next week, but I actually got an acceptance yesterday morning! I'm super excited and pretty likely to choose this program based on my current options. Hope to see you in College Park this fall  

[Irene39]

Just now, queerorpheus said:

My recruitment event is next week, but I actually got an acceptance yesterday morning! I'm super excited and pretty likely to choose this program based on my current options. Hope to see you in College Park this fall  

Congratz!! I am so happy for you. I wish I get an acceptance soon. I do have an offer from UMB school of medicine, but I prefer to go UMD BISI. Hope to see you there. 

[neuroscientistinaa]

I'm going to be in the second round of the virtual event form UMD BISI next week. Do you guys have any advice on what it was like or what I should expect? I'm set to meet with 3 professors but idk if it's treated like an official interview or not? I haven't heard anything from them before/gotten an acceptance so I'm not sure if this is an official interview invite and I still have a chance of getting in or not?(because it sounds like some of you guys got accepted even before this event)

I applied for the PSYS concentration under BISI by the way. but any advice/insight into what it was like would be helpful!

[queerorpheus]

17 hours ago, neuroscientistinaa said:

I'm going to be in the second round of the virtual event form UMD BISI next week. Do you guys have any advice on what it was like or what I should expect? I'm set to meet with 3 professors but idk if it's treated like an official interview or not? I haven't heard anything from them before/gotten an acceptance so I'm not sure if this is an official interview invite and I still have a chance of getting in or not?(because it sounds like some of you guys got accepted even before this event)

I applied for the PSYS concentration under BISI by the way. but any advice/insight into what it was like would be helpful!

I'm also in the second round next week so I'll see you on Zoom!! I was the one who already has an acceptance, but I applied to MOCB so things might be slightly different for you. I still have interviews scheduled because I want the opportunity to talk to potential faculty advisors, but I'm expecting general chats about research interests and life in College Park. MOCB applicants were able to choose not to interview, so I don't think admission is hinging on that. I don't know if you've had other interviews, but from what I've experienced, professors genuinely just want to have a conversation with you and they get really excited to share their research. I'd say if you're at this stage in the process, it's because they see potential in you for the program so I'd just relax and enjoy it! Best of luck!