2014 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Eatin' Biscuits]

I don't know that anyone here applied to UPenn IGG, but they have finished sending out invites.

[SailsToTheMoon]

Thanks, hope you get better news than me... are you interested in vector biology? They have a great program at UTMB.

Yes, vector borne diseases and vector biology/ecology. I emailed them and I am a reject too :-( Not much hope now for school. Please do let me know about UTMB though. Good luck to you!

[tcmazer]

Alright, which one of you got an interview at Health Science Center San Antonio?

[seanwilson]

Has anyone here heard from Columbia Biological Sciences department? I see one interview on the results page... based on last year's dates, it looks like they send them out over a pretty long period of time, but I was wondering if anyone had information from this year in particular.

[username1824]

Seconding this question. Can many people really be making truly egregious errors? Or are reasons for rejection usually more mundane (doesn't seem fluent enough in area of interest/previous research) during in-person interviews? 

Many programs don't plan on offering acceptances to everyone they offer interviews to. One school I know offered about 60 interviews and are going to offer acceptances to 25-30. It's not the 30+ people are messing up, it's just they can only offer so many acceptances. I imagine that's how it is at these kinds of programs. Some schools DO want to accept everyone they offer interviews to, but others don't.

[LMac]

I couldn't agree more with rat.girl that a big reason people are not accepted post-interview is if they can't explain why the program is a good fit for them and vice versa, or not being able to articulate previous research experience. I had an interviewer grill me about details of my research (antibodies used and why, why we chose that age of animals, what would I expect if I X happened). They really want to know that you weren't just doing what you were told to do, but that you really understood it and can approach a problem scientifically.

[agalaapple]

Has anyone out there:

 

1) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the UC Berkeley MCB (molecular and cell biology) PhD program?

 

OR

 

2) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the University of Virginia BIMS (biomedical sciences) PhD program?

 

Please respond

Edited January 17, 2014 by agalaapple

[kimthi1011]

oops

Edited January 17, 2014 by kimthi1011

[kimthi1011]

Has anyone out there:

 

1) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the UC Berkeley MCB (molecular and cell biology) PhD program?

 

OR

 

2) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the University of Virginia BIMS (biomedical sciences) PhD program?

 

Please respond

I have not heard anything from UVA.

[mini0n01]

Anyone know if UVA BIMS is done with apps? I emailed admissions and they said my application was updated but I don't know what that means. Still reviewing apps??

 

 

Has anyone out there:

 

1) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the UC Berkeley MCB (molecular and cell biology) PhD program?

 

OR

 

2) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the University of Virginia BIMS (biomedical sciences) PhD program?

 

Please respond

 

I e-mailed admissions asking if all interview invites have been sent out and if not, when the interview dates were. She said she forwarded my e-mail to Pam Mullinex who would get back to me about my application status. I know someone said that there were 130 apps for 8 spots, and I saw recently that someone posted an acceptance. I'm not sure if that was a mistake or not. Hopefully, we'll hear more soon.

[Signal transduction]

I saw a Loyola University, Chicago IPBS interview invitation post on 16th jan. Anyone here want to claim that probably. What are the interview dates you got for that program?

[katethekitcat]

Also I know a woman who is applying with no research experience at all. No idea how that is going for her.

 

I'd be interested to hear how that turns out. The REU I did as an undergraduate offered seminars on applying to graduate school. In one of those, they told us their university's application policy was, if you have zero research experieince, your app gets tossed without being read, regardless of GPA/GRE/etc. Even if you can think critically, you have no idea whether you could actually be happy in a laboratory environment. Wondering if that's true for other unviersities as well.

[tuba250]

Anyone know if UVA BIMS is done with apps? I emailed admissions and they said my application was updated but I don't know what that means. Still reviewing apps??

 

 

Has anyone out there:

 

1) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the UC Berkeley MCB (molecular and cell biology) PhD program?

 

OR

 

2) not been rejected nor invited to interview for the University of Virginia BIMS (biomedical sciences) PhD program?

 

Please respond

 

 

I e-mailed admissions asking if all interview invites have been sent out and if not, when the interview dates were. She said she forwarded my e-mail to Pam Mullinex who would get back to me about my application status. I know someone said that there were 130 apps for 8 spots, and I saw recently that someone posted an acceptance. I'm not sure if that was a mistake or not. Hopefully, we'll hear more soon.

 

 

I also sent a mail and after one week got a reply saying my mail was forewarded to Mary Hall. Still waiting to get some response from her. Also, there is no change in my applicatopn page . It seems odd to me that they have only 8 spots. Do you know anything about their student intake of the last few years?

[ERR_Alpha]

I'd be interested to hear how that turns out. The REU I did as an undergraduate offered seminars on applying to graduate school. In one of those, they told us their university's application policy was, if you have zero research experieince, your app gets tossed without being read, regardless of GPA/GRE/etc. Even if you can think critically, you have no idea whether you could actually be happy in a laboratory environment. Wondering if that's true for other unviersities as well.

I think it is for most of them. Unless you can write a killer SOP. Without my REU I would be freaking out about whether I'd actually enjoy working full time in the lab. Working an independent study is completely different than engrossing your entire life into lab work. I feel like a lot of people reach the end of undergrad and go, "Oh s%^*, now what?" And just try for grad school because there isn't much else out there nowadays.

[byt2104]

Has anyone here heard from Columbia Biological Sciences department? I see one interview on the results page... based on last year's dates, it looks like they send them out over a pretty long period of time, but I was wondering if anyone had information from this year in particular.

I personally applied to the Biomedical programs at CUMC, but the other day at Sloan-Kettering I talked to a few people who said they had invites to Biological Sciences.  I think their (first?) interviews are in the next couple of weeks

[kimthi1011]

@UNC BBSP applicants who are still waiting: If we don't hear anything from them by the end of next week, it means rejections.

[aba1984]

Don't you just hate those schools that don't even bother to send proper rejections but just tell you if you don't hear back, you're rejected?

[darwingirl]

How's it going for the EEB people?!

 

I know there are not many of us here! Anyone hear from University of Michigan EEB yet???

[kimthi1011]

I called UNC. It seems they'll take care to send formal rejections some time later, but if we want an earlier answer, this is it. But it's irresponsible (given that we have to pay the app fee) not to inform us of the rejections. 

[Chimeric Phoenix]

I saw a Loyola University, Chicago IPBS interview invitation post on 16th jan. Anyone here want to claim that probably. What are the interview dates you got for that program?

 

Hey there, that was probably me. The interview dates are on the website: http://www.stritch.luc.edu/graduate_school/admissions/requirements

Fall 2014 IPBS PhD invited Interview Days January 17 February 7 February 21 March 7 March 28

 

 

I ended up choosing March 7th because that was the first date I was free.

[sunpenguin]

Is anyone else here going to the Harvard OEB recruiting event?

[TheCubaLibre]

Thanks for calling Kimthi1011, and I agree with you that it's irresponsible; there is a right way to reject applicants and a wrong way to reject applicants. Did they say explicitly that they would be sending out more interview invitations? I know they already sent out a first wave as my former lab mate got his back in mid-December. 

 

I called UNC. It seems they'll take care to send formal rejections some time later, but if we want an earlier answer, this is it. But it's irresponsible (given that we have to pay the app fee) not to inform us of the rejections. 

Edited January 17, 2014 by TheCubaLibre

[stillwaiting2321]

Is anybody here applying to Emory's GDR more specifically PCRL? 

[Leuco]

 

Thanks for calling Kimthi1011, and I agree with you that it's irresponsible; there is a right way to reject applicants and a wrong way to reject applicants. Did they say explicitly that they would be sending out more interview invitations? I know they already sent out a first wave as my former lab mate got his back in mid-December. 

 

 

I think they've sent out second and third waves, too - I got mine on January 3rd.  I called in December, and I think they said they'd be sending out invites through mid/late January.

[Leuco]

Is anybody here applying to Emory's GDR more specifically PCRL? 

 

I just looked these up - is that the Reigious studies division?  You might want to try a different forum if it is - we are mostly biological sciences here.