2013 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

[biotechie]

Wish I could type my experience but it would be near impossible to do on my phone. Can't wait to share tomorrow. Biotechie, I'm glad to hear that you had a positive experience!

I hope yours was equally as positive. I can't wait to hear!

[elkheart]

Been lurking for a while, thought I'd throw myself into posting. I'm interested in the protein sequence-function relationship and I would like to ultimately design proteins based on this understanding.

Congrats to everybody who has landed acceptances and interviews! Im still eagerly waiting for some... and checking.. all.... the.. time....

Undergrad Institution: University of California, Davis.

Major(s): Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
GPA in Major: 3.74
Overall GPA: 3.72
Position in Class: top 10%
Type of Student: Domestic, male, white, middle class, vanilla pudding

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Took the test cold, no review. This could be what bites me in the ass...
Q: 156
V: 164
W: 4.5

Research Experience: I was lucky enough to work in three different labs as an undergrad, each with a different focus. One plant genetics, one bioinformatics, and one structural bio. I am now employed full time in that same structural lab, and my bioinformatics research is also ongoing. No publications yet, but several are expected. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Completed o-chem with honors, if that means anything.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I've tutored physics and chemistry here at home and was invited to tutor genetics at Cambridge University in the UK, (summer of 2012). I traveled and tutored under a visiting UCD professor.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I graduated early - did two years at a community college and one at UCD before receiving my BS.

Special Bonus Points: I've taken a few interesting grad classes (membrane biophysics, advanced molecular biology, advanced biotechnology).

 

Schools, in order:
University of Washington, Seattle ; Biological Physics, Structure, and Design (BPSD)

University of Washington, Seattle ; Bioengineering
University of California, Berkely ; Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of California, San Francisco ; Integrative Program in Quantitative Biology (iPQB) rejected =(
California Institute of Technology ; Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics

[nishiki]

for those of you who like admissions statistics... some enterprising person on college confidential found a lot of detailed stats for particular schools. 

 

i'll just link a couple that are relevant to a lot of people here but original thread is here.

 

university of washington: for each graduate program, it lists average gpa/gre for rejects, admits, and enrollees, # of applicants/admits (and international admits), and more. 

 

ut austin: GRE and admission/yield rates for each department

Edited January 20, 2013 by nishiki

[SynBio1]

elkheart, UW BPSD sent invites on Friday, with a deadline to reply of this coming Friday. I would expect a rejection if you haven't heard.

Edited January 20, 2013 by SynBio1

[Winteriscoming]

On 1/20/2013 at 12:07 AM, nishiki said:

for those of you who like admissions statistics... some enterprising person on college confidential found a lot of detailed stats for particular schools. 

 

i'll just link a couple that are relevant to a lot of people here but original thread is here.

 

university of washington: for each graduate program, it lists average gpa/gre for rejects, admits, and enrollees, # of applicants/admits (and international admits), and more. 

 

ut austin: GRE and admission/yield rates for each department

 

Woohoo! Consistently one of 50 international students accepted for my UW Seattle program.I feel better now!  

 

One of the questions I got was "What excited you most of your research?" 

[RaganSmash]

for those of you who like admissions statistics... some enterprising person on college confidential found a lot of detailed stats for particular schools. 

 

i'll just link a couple that are relevant to a lot of people here but original thread is here.

 

university of washington: for each graduate program, it lists average gpa/gre for rejects, admits, and enrollees, # of applicants/admits (and international admits), and more. 

 

ut austin: GRE and admission/yield rates for each department

 

Dude, what's with those low GRE scores for accepted bioengineering applicants?

[JulesJules]

One of them thought my application and research statement sufficed, and after making sure that my personal life would not pull me away from lab (i.e. the boyfriend) and that I was genuinely interested in the school, he set out to describe a research project he thought would fit my interests. There was pretty much no interview, though he did ask how confident I felt. I was sent home with an outline for a project and about 100 pages of papers to "look over." I would imagine that this is very uncommon.

 

OK, this is kind of weird, but is it common to be asked about your personal life in interviews?

[RaganSmash]

Oh, right, I should probably do this.

 

Undergrad Institution: Northwestern University

Master's Institution: Northwestern University

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering
Undergraduate GPA: 3.29

Two-Year Undergraduate GPA: 3.55

Master's GPA: 3.67
Type of Student: Domestic, male, white, lower middle class, rural South

GRE Scores: 
Q: 168 (97%)
V: 165 (95%)
W: 4.0 (49%) (I'm a damn good writer though and my SOPs reflect this fact)

Research Experience: 4 years as a Work-Study lab tech, 3 years doing independent research, iGEM Team Member, a summer in rural Africa working on a tuberculosis diagnostics project (finishing up my to-be-published Master's thesis on orthogonal biosensors now)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Undergraduate Research Grant, a few Dean's Lists, $45k educational grant for a global health certificate,  

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I've been a teaching assistant in addition to the stuff listed above

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I think I listed everything?

Special Bonus Points: Family's kinda poor?

 

Schools, in order (All biomedical or bioengineering): EPFL, University of Washington, Stanford, Duke, UCB/UCSF, Harvard, Yale, Boston University, Rice

 

I know I didn't apply to any safety schools and thus only give myself about a 50% chance of getting in anywhere.  However, it's more important to me that I do research in the field I want (immune engineering) than it is to get a PhD. If I don't get in, I'll go work a few years and try again.

[biotinman]

I had my first acceptance offer, but I haven't heard back from any other schools. A friend asked me if I would be sending emails to try and get more information in the context that I will have to be making a decision about the offer I have.

 

Any advice on whether this is reasonable and tact for such an approach?  --thanks

[SynBio1]

Ragan, what iGem team were you from( if you don't want to share this, its fine)? I am a 3 year vet of the University of Washington, including the 2011 winning team.

[ion_exchanger]

As promised, here is my interview experience. I must say that as nervous and anxious as I was, the overall experience wasn’t nearly as nerve-wracking as I had anticipated. In fact, I actually had a lot of fun!

 

My interview day consisted of five 35 minute interviews with faculty. Each interviewer was very different. I didn’t once feel as if I was being grilled, in fact, a couple even let me know that they were pretty bad at grilling!

 

One interview was with someone who was working on a topic that I am, so they knew a bit about my project, and asked about specific details, the overall goal of the project, and where it was going. They then asked about what I specifically wanted to focus on in graduate school. Then they gave me an overview on their research, and goals and expectations. I asked questions regarding the nature of the lab, who was in it, how much interaction that PI had in the lab, and they explained the nature of their lab, and we spent the rest of the time discussing the city, comparing it to my hometown, and he made a lot of suggestions on ways to get around and places to go. Was very low key, was actually like having a conversation with another person who just happened to be a scientist.

 

Another interviewer seemed like they read my file extensively, and knew what I did in undergrad and grad school. She asked me to give a brief overview of what I have been working on lately, and asked general questions along the way. [Make sure you know how to explain what you are doing, and WHY you are doing it!] She asked a lot of questions, but it wasn’t grilling, it was just an honest curiosity of what I have been doing, because she hadn’t heard of it before. She also asked what I wanted to focus on in graduate school. I asked about the nature of the lab, and the rest of the time was spent discussing her research.

 

Another interviewer was pretty quiet, but I was warned by the graduate students that he would be. He asked about my research, and I gave him a brief summary, and he asked a few general questions about what techniques I use. He gave a summary of his own research, and then we spent the rest of the time discussing where we were from and the advantages of the program and city. I had a similar interview after, it was just me explaining my research, and him explanining his, standard meeting.

 

My last interviewer was a tough nut to crack. I was used to the format of being asked about my research, them telling me about theirs, and then us going back and forth with my questions. This professor asked for questions first, and after asking a few he opened up the conversation. Then he asked about my research. The rest of the interview felt sort of like a job interview. He asked me my biggest strength, my biggest weakness (which he actually liked and agreed with me! Score!) He asked where I saw myself 15 years after earning a PhD. After more talking, we definitely warmed up to each other, and it ended up being one of my favorite interviews. We just went back and forth about grad school life, lab specifics, and such. Then he gave me a short tour of the lab and the people in it.

 

Interviews for other students:
I asked some of my fellow prospective grad students how their interviews were, and they said that they were a lot like mine. One actually said that one of her interviewers asked, “Why does this matter?” This goes back to knowing what you are doing and WHY. Just discuss the implications for the findings of your research.

 

Questions I was asked by everyone:

 

Is this your first interview? Be honest. For me, the answer was yes. They just want to gauge where they are in your app process.

What other schools did you apply to? Again, be honest. You don’t have to run off the entire list that you applied to. I said something about applying to a state school because it was close to home, but I really want to get away.

What are you working on? This was asked by faculty and grad students both in passing and during interviews. Try to have a short succinct summary prepared. It doesn’t have to be overly rehearsed, so that it doesn’t come off as robotic.

What do you want to study in graduate school? They want to see what your interests are, but you aren’t held to that. One of the great things I loved about this school was that there was a wide variety of research going on which was great for collaborations or if I wanted to move in a different direction.

 

General advice:
There are graduate students helping throughout your interviews. TALK TO THEM! They are there to answer all the questions that the professors can’t: grad school life, courses, where to live, which labs to join, which to avoid. They are an amazing resource, and all of the graduate students at my weekend were friendly, helpful, and willing to answer all of my questions. Also, don’t get down on yourself because an interviewer isn’t as talkative or seems passive in your interview. Sometimes, that’s just peoples’ personality. I had an amazing interview experience, the bar was set pretty high! The time flew by, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Bottom line, schools are looking to impress you just as much as you are trying to impress them, so relax, enjoy the free delicious food, and be yourself. You are an amazing potential graduate student. Show them why they chose to interview you!

 

If anyone has any additional questions, feel free to ask!

[bamafan]

I had my first acceptance offer, but I haven't heard back from any other schools. A friend asked me if I would be sending emails to try and get more information in the context that I will have to be making a decision about the offer I have.

 

Any advice on whether this is reasonable and tact for such an approach?  --thanks

 Why do you need to be sneaky? There's nothing wrong with asking about decisions, no need for an excuse as to why. Also, most places dont require you to accept until April and I imagine they all know that anyway.

[RaganSmash]

Ragan, what iGem team were you from( if you don't want to share this, its fine)? I am a 3 year vet of the University of Washington, including the 2011 winning team.

 

I was on Northwestern's first team in 2010. We only got a Silver Medal that year because we had to figure out how to run a team successfully. The team we picked and mentored for the next year did very well though! =P

 

Congrats on y'all's win!

[SynBio1]

Has anyone heard back from UC Berkeley bioengineering? Surely they are sending out soon, and nothing on results.

[RaganSmash]

Has anyone heard back from UC Berkeley bioengineering? Surely they are sending out soon, and nothing on results.

 

If you mean UCB/UCSF, I'm pretty sure they'll send out initial rejections and invitations next week. They say late January on their website and results from prior years do come around this time.

[JulesJules]

Ok, I just got a missed call with *that* area code. They wouldn't be calling now, would they? :/ I shouldn't panic, but I do. 

[cleverfool]

@I_E and biotechie: Thanks for taking the time to summarize your experiences! It's good to have some details to think about; as my first interview gets closer, I am getting more nervous than I expected to be.

[Biohopeful]

Thank you for your wonderful advice, guys!  Any pre-interview freak outs and apprehensions I had have flown out the window.  I have a bit of reading and whatnot to do, but I'm feeling heaps better!

 

Also, for those who just came back from your interviews, could you give some information on the attire you observed candidates wearing, especially for women?  I'm debating between a nice skirt/button up shirt combo versus a suit/blazer combo...

Edited January 21, 2013 by Biohopeful

[biotechie]

OK, this is kind of weird, but is it common to be asked about your personal life in interviews?

 

They may ask to try and decide how serious you are about grad school. They're not trying to get your whole life history, but, especially in the case of women, this is an age when lots of people are wanting to settle down and start families. They want to make sure you're not going to let yourself be pulled from your studies by these things; they need to know that you're not going to get two years in and then quit to have babies or something. You're in a PhD program, and they expect that you can be productive for 4.5-6 years. They don't have time to and don't want to train someone new every two years. A biomed PhD program is going to require that you be flexible with your lab time and put in 60 or more hour weeks. If you are constantly flying out to see a boyfriend or are trying to start a family, it is nearly impossible to maintain acceptable lab productivity and to do will in classes. There are lots of grad students who have a significant other that comes with them, but you just have to be able to show that you're serious and you mean business for science.

 

They may also ask to just sortof figure out your background. What sort of person are you? Where did you grow up? How were you raised? They are trying to recruit students to their lab, and they want to know if you have chemistry and can survive the lab dynamic.

[biotechie]

Thank you for your wonderful advice, guys!  Any pre-interview freak outs and apprehensions I had have flown out the window.  I have a bit of reading and whatnot to do, but I'm feeling heaps better!

 

Also, for those who just came back from your interviews, could you give some information on the attire you observed candidates wearing, especially for women?  I'm debating between a nice skirt/button up shirt combo versus a suit/blazer combo...

 

I wore a pair of nice grey slacks with comfortable (also cute) black boots, a nice blouse, and a 3/4 sleeved black jacket... sortof the female version of a sport coat. I also saw girls wearing skirts with either really nice blouses, sometimes with jackets, or belted dresses and sweaters. Comfortable shoes are key. No stilettos.

[ion_exchanger]

How likely is it that the interviewers are going to focus on my undergrad work and thesis project over my current position?

 

This will vary depending on how much the interviewer has read up on you. Only one of my interviewers read my file extensively and knew the work I did in undergrad. The others seemed to have only read my research statement, where I did not list the undergrad experience, and only asked about that. Some knew nothing at all about me. Some people will say that they know nothing so that they won't have any preconceived notions about you. In the case of them not knowing about your research, it is up to you which experience you want to focus on.

 

OK, this is kind of weird, but is it common to be asked about your personal life in interviews?

 

The extent to how much I was asked was where I was from, was it country, suburban, rural, etc. There wasn't anything deeper than this. I'm surprised to hear otherwise.

 

Also, for those who just came back from your interviews, could you give some information on the attire you observed candidates wearing, especially for women?  I'm debating between a nice skirt/button up shirt combo versus a suit/blazer combo...

 

For the actual interviews, I wore a suit set with slacks and a matching suit jacket, with a sweater underneath (I'm a female). A couple of people had on skirts suits or nice shirts and skirts, and some had slacks and a non matching suit jacket. I believe the majority of women had on slacks. For the men, i saw nice slacks with a sweater, slacks with a button down, and a couple had on slacks with a nice suit jacket. A few had on ties, but the majority didn't. I personally brought a small bag that had a small notebook in it, but you didn't have to, I didn't end up taking any notes. They actually gave us a folder with information, so it was at least nice to put the folder in the bag.

[whp09]

I'm always stumped by the "Tell me about yourself" question. It's too broad, and I always feel like I give really lame answers. My name is ______, Im from ___________, I love science blah blah blah. Anyone have any suggestions about what they actually want me to talk about when they ask this?

[ion_exchanger]

Whp09, I usually say my name is ion exchanger. I'm originally from city and state. I received my bs degree in subject from x university in this year. My research background is in structural biology and I am currently working as a whatever.

[banksy]

Just got word from UI-Urbana Champaign for an interview 3/1-3/2. No conflicts with other interviews, though I think 8 interviews might be pushing my physical and mental limits. Then there is my work that needs to be considered - trying to get 3 papers submitted ASAP. I guess this is one of the better problems to have!

Edited January 21, 2013 by banksy

[BambooPanda]

If anyone here is wondering about Caltech biology - they sent out interview offers late last week by email.