2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[kimthi1011]

Anybody for UAB this weekend?

[Cking86]

I saw your name, Cking, good luck for us next week!

Yes. Good luck! :-)

[hopefulengineer]

I went to an interview this past weekend and two of the girls who interviewed with me are currently at Vandy - one for for undergrad and one for MS. We were talking about schools and they just went into this discussion of aggressive budget cuts and I was like, ok, good to know I guess...then I looked it up and it turns out that last year they had a goal to cut $250 million, or 1,000 jobs.

 

http://www.thelayoff.com/vanderbilt

 

Curious what kind of vibe you guys get at your IGP interviews since IGP is part of the school of medicine...

 

I went to an interview this past weekend and two of the girls who interviewed with me are currently at Vandy - one for for undergrad and one for MS. We were talking about schools and they just went into this discussion of aggressive budget cuts and I was like, ok, good to know I guess...then I looked it up and it turns out that last year they had a goal to cut $250 million, or 1,000 jobs.

 

http://www.thelayoff.com/vanderbilt

 

Curious what kind of vibe you guys get at your IGP interviews since IGP is part of the school of medicine...

 

I went to an interview this past weekend and two of the girls who interviewed with me are currently at Vandy - one for for undergrad and one for MS. We were talking about schools and they just went into this discussion of aggressive budget cuts and I was like, ok, good to know I guess...then I looked it up and it turns out that last year they had a goal to cut $250 million, or 1,000 jobs.

 

http://www.thelayoff.com/vanderbilt

 

Curious what kind of vibe you guys get at your IGP interviews since IGP is part of the school of medicine...

 

I've just been lurking on this board but thought I could offer some help here - I interviewed at vandy this past weekend. There are 8-10 interview weekends with 20 interviewees each time. They make decisions on Monday mornings following the weekend and send out decisions by the afternoon (I was waitlisted, but they review these applications periodically throughout the recruitment period). This year they are expecting a class size of ~60-65 students, meaning they will offer admission to ~125. While they had some budget cuts for last years class, they are beginning to receive more funding and the class size is growing again this year. I'm not sure if they are still sending out invitations to interview, but if they give you an option of weekends, go for the earlier one if at all possible since they operate on a rolling admissions basis. Hope this helps!

[hopefulengineer]

Just realized I completely screwed up the "quote" on that one...my bad

[hopefulengineer]

Also, while I'm at it....does anyone know if Northwestern is still sending out invitations for their DGP? Still hoping to hear something back from them..

[kimthi1011]

For international students who apply directly to the Immunology program at Baylor College of Medicine. They are still reviewing apps and probably we'll know the results next week.

[tcmazer]

Also, while I'm at it....does anyone know if Northwestern is still sending out invitations for their DGP? Still hoping to hear something back from them..

 

They still have a 2nd and 3rd wave of invites to send out, they're working on the 2nd now.

[hopefulengineer]

They still have a 2nd and 3rd wave of invites to send out, they're working on the 2nd now.

 

Thank you! Any idea when those notices will go out?

[tcmazer]

Thank you! Any idea when those notices will go out?

 

The coordinator said that they don't really send them out in bulk, but each day that they make decisions, so really your best bet is just waiting until February 15th.

Edited January 29, 2014 by tcmazer

[MrsWizard]

I think we need to start a box pool on when Einstein and Stony Brook will send out invites/rejections. I need something to take away from my insanity.

[jl2782]

I believe they interview through all of March, I think. 

Thanks:-)

[immuno555]

I went to an interview this past weekend and two of the girls who interviewed with me are currently at Vandy - one for for undergrad and one for MS. We were talking about schools and they just went into this discussion of aggressive budget cuts and I was like, ok, good to know I guess...then I looked it up and it turns out that last year they had a goal to cut $250 million, or 1,000 jobs.

 

http://www.thelayoff.com/vanderbilt

 

Curious what kind of vibe you guys get at your IGP interviews since IGP is part of the school of medicine...

 

I did talk to a current IGP student about the budget cuts. They started with janitorial staff and some support staff in departments. I asked him if he has any problems with "paper pushing" sorts of things and he said no. I highly doubt this is the only place that has had cuts in the last few years. But I guess you never know till you are there.

 

As for the interview vibe, almost every person I interviewed with had funding, was in the process of receiving funding or was applying for more funding.....So if funding is a concern, I think Vanderbilt is currently the 9th highest recipient of NIH funding.

 

They certainly didn't skimp on the interview weekend (private hotel room, wine and dined Friday night catered by one of Nashville's best restaurants and brunch Saturday, along with the normal full catered lunches). They even paid for my SO to be there (minus his travel expenses).

[hopefulengineer]

I did talk to a current IGP student about the budget cuts. They started with janitorial staff and some support staff in departments. I asked him if he has any problems with "paper pushing" sorts of things and he said no. I highly doubt this is the only place that has had cuts in the last few years. But I guess you never know till you are there.

 

As for the interview vibe, almost every person I interviewed with had funding, was in the process of receiving funding or was applying for more funding.....So if funding is a concern, I think Vanderbilt is currently the 9th highest recipient of NIH funding.

 

They certainly didn't skimp on the interview weekend (private hotel room, wine and dined Friday night catered by one of Nashville's best restaurants and brunch Saturday, along with the normal full catered lunches). They even paid for my SO to be there (minus his travel expenses).

 

Also, once admitted, all students are guaranteed funding throughout the program. So there's no chance of you getting left behind if your PI loses funding during your time there.

[toxicgirl]

Anyone else headed to Baylor this weekend for an interview? My first one of the season!

[pyrocide]

Anyone hear from BU-MCBB or Tufts' Biology dept. this week? 

 

(All I'm hearing are crickets and I can't help but start to worry. )

[aba1984]

Anyone else headed to Baylor this weekend for an interview? My first one of the season!

 

 

Oooh that's exciting. Let me know how it goes so I know what to expect for my interview. When is your UAB interview, I had one there recently.

[toxicgirl]

Oooh that's exciting. Let me know how it goes so I know what to expect for my interview. When is your UAB interview, I had one there recently.

 

I unfortunately had to cancel on UAB, which I am really bummed about. I had to chose Baylor over a few other schools because all of my interviews started to overlap and I unfortunately had to prioritize which schools to go to.

 

I wish schools were more sensitive to the applicants who are applying to a greater amount of schools so that we could actually attend an interview at a school that we were invited to.

 

I have had to cancel on Denver, UAB, and Iowa so far.

[T.J]

Did anyone call/email/contact Einstein or Mt. Sinai? They are very silent. Perhaps the cold is delaying the decisions?

[aba1984]

I unfortunately had to cancel on UAB, which I am really bummed about. I had to chose Baylor over a few other schools because all of my interviews started to overlap and I unfortunately had to prioritize which schools to go to.

 

I wish schools were more sensitive to the applicants who are applying to a greater amount of schools so that we could actually attend an interview at a school that we were invited to.

 

I have had to cancel on Denver, UAB, and Iowa so far.

 

Yeah, I feel ya. I had to cancel one too even though there were 2 profs with amazing research. UAB was fun - if you're into translational/clinical research, you'll get a ton of that at UAB. I met a lot of profs who were trying to turn their research into the process of drug development. And everyone is funded, something I am not used to. Once you add it all up, there really are about 6 interview dates that are out there, forcing us to miss some great schools. Bummer

[tcmazer]

Did anyone call/email/contact Einstein or Mt. Sinai? They are very silent. Perhaps the cold is delaying the decisions?

 

Just called Einstein.  They said if that you haven't heard anything, you're still under consideration and that all interview invitations will be sent out by early/mid-February.

[unfortunate]

I think we need to start a box pool on when Einstein and Stony Brook will send out invites/rejections. I need something to take away from my insanity.

 

I had an interview last week with stony brook for mol. genetics and microbiology. They have just started interviewing and said that we will hear back in about 3-4 weeks. Apparently, they are still looking through many applications 

[sciguy]

JUST got my Mt. Sinai interview for those still waiting.  Can't seem to find a rhyme or reason for how they're sending them!

[mvp713]

Sorry for the late reply.  But to answer the person that asked what our plans were for this summer before graduate school..

 

- 10 days (at least) driving around Iceland.

- Build myself a beefed up home PC

- pick up some artistic skill: drawing, writing, singing, an instrument...something that isn't science or gym related that I can escape to during the stresses of graduate work.

 

[T.J]

Just called Einstein.  They said if that you haven't heard anything, you're still under consideration and that all interview invitations will be sent out by early/mid-February.

Thanks a lot @ tcmazer for calling. I tried twice this morning and couldn't reach the coordinator. Thats good to know!

 

 

JUST got my Mt. Sinai interview for those still waiting.  Can't seem to find a rhyme or reason for how they're sending them!

Congratulations @ sciguy. Keeping my fingers crossed!

[ERR_Alpha]

I'm starting to get impatient for all my other schools. They seem to be dragging their feet this year!