2015 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[ballwera]

Ugh not one interview yet, starting to really freak out now

Yup in the same boat. I guess I need to start looking at backup plans. 

[Ivey0126]

Yup in the same boat. I guess I need to start looking at backup plans.

 

 

Ugh not one interview yet, starting to really freak out now

 

 

I'm starting to feel the same way... no idea what my backup plan should be

[ballwera]

I'm starting to feel the same way... no idea what my backup plan should be

Highly recommend looking for Research Tech. positions. 

[expandyourmind]

i highly suggest doing a master's program. it will boost up your GPA, give you some great research experience, and give you an edge to your application if you decide to go for a PhD. This is what I did and made my application pretty strong compared to what it was before. 

 

I'm actually doing an Erasmus Mundus Fellowship for a European Master's in Comparative Morphology. The research ranges from stem cell research, embryology, molecular pharmacology and nutrition sciences, to primate research - it's incredibly diverse. http://www.eucomor.net/

everyone should check it out. it's a fully funded master's program and every semester you learn at a new university throughout europe, so they basically pay you to travel and learn. i recommend contacting the program director and seeing if you can still send in your application, but probably do it ASAP! They really want more Americans in the program (i'm the only one)

[xxyyxx]

Did you apply for a specific concentration for Miami PIBS? And by Sackler, are you talking about NYU or Tufts?

 

Biochemistry within PIBS. But I think they're all under the umbrella. and I meant NYU Sackler

[expandyourmind]

Biochemistry within PIBS. But I think they're all under the umbrella. and I meant NYU Sackler

 

@xxyyxx i heard from Sackler two weeks ago Dec 24. I applied to the developmental biology/biological imaging departments, not sure if they have multiple waves of interviews.

[future.grad.student]

I'm starting to feel the same way... no idea what my backup plan should be

 

I think you've still got a lot of time. We're not even half way through January. You might hear news within the next week or two so don't give up on that yet. But PREP Programs are good. UNC Chapel Hill has a one, Baylor College of Medicine has one too I think. I'm positive there are more out there. That's definitely my backup plan if my interviews don't go well. You get to take graduate level classes and you get a year's worth of experience doing research (or 2). You also get free GRE preparation and a stipend.

 

Prep Program apps seem to be due in February/March so we still have time to fill those out.

 

They'll be much easier to finish too since we've already done out other apps already and I don't think they ask for as much either. I still have to look at the apps though so I can't say for sure. Just speaking from what my friends have told me. But please do check them out just do a quick google for PREP programs

Edited January 6, 2015 by future.grad.student

[amertume]

Gotcha I haven't heard anything. No rejection yet, so I guess I need to stay in good spirits. Do you know how many Interview dates they have?

 

Hmm, I'm not sure if they have another interview date. I was given only one when I received my interview offer (and it's this Thursday :x) There are 20 kids interviewing (including me, I think). If they have another interview date, maybe they are waiting to see how this first interview goes. If anything, you could email to ask if all the invites have been sent, but I say, stay positive!

[ss2player]

I think you've still got a lot of time. We're not even half way through January. You might hear news within the next week or two so don't give up on that yet. But PREP Programs are good. UNC Chapel Hill has a one, Baylor College of Medicine has one too I think. I'm positive there are more out there. That's definitely my backup plan if my interviews don't go well. You get to take graduate level classes and you get a year's worth of experience doing research (or 2). You also get free GRE preparation and a stipend.

 

Prep Program apps seem to be due in February/March so we still have time to fill those out.

 

They'll be much easier to finish too since we've already done out other apps already and I don't think they ask for as much either. I still have to look at the apps though so I can't say for sure. Just speaking from what my friends have told me. But please do check them out just do a quick google for PREP programs

 

Michigan has one too; a friend I made on interviews last year didn't get in anywhere so she did that this past year and is applying again this season.

[molecularmagic]

Is anyone having any luck calling a program and getting any answers?  I think it's still a little early to call but if people have been getting results then I might try!

[notsaxophones]

Anyone hear back yet from Microbiology programs at University of Washington or UC Davis? Their deadlines were Dec 15, so I imagine the applications are still being reviewed.

I'm waiting on Washington's Micro program also...all of my other programs got back to me the week of Dec 15 so the waiting is killing me! 

 

I'm hoping that if I get an interview there the interview days aren't Thursday/Friday like for their MCB program...I'm an undergrad so having to leave on Wednesday morning means I miss all of my Wed/Thurs classes (I realize this isn't a big deal in the long run, but I still find it stressful)

[amertume]

I'm waiting on Washington's Micro program also...all of my other programs got back to me the week of Dec 15 so the waiting is killing me! 

 

I'm hoping that if I get an interview there the interview days aren't Thursday/Friday like for their MCB program...I'm an undergrad so having to leave on Wednesday morning means I miss all of my Wed/Thurs classes (I realize this isn't a big deal in the long run, but I still find it stressful)

 

I see you have an interview at OSU, will I be seeing you this Thursday?

[notsaxophones]

I see you have an interview at OSU, will I be seeing you this Thursday?

 

Not this thursday, my interview weekend is the 16th (I applied to the Microbiology program)

[ballwera]

Hmm, I'm not sure if they have another interview date. I was given only one when I received my interview offer (and it's this Thursday :x) There are 20 kids interviewing (including me, I think). If they have another interview date, maybe they are waiting to see how this first interview goes. If anything, you could email to ask if all the invites have been sent, but I say, stay positive!

 

Just sent them an e-mail asking for a status update. From Ohio, so hoping for the best. 

[future.grad.student]

Michigan has one too; a friend I made on interviews last year didn't get in anywhere so she did that this past year and is applying again this season.

That's good to know! 

[tonymontana]

Hey guys, how's it going.

I have been checking this forum out for a while and decided to join and post my stats/outcome. 

 

Undergrad & Masters: UT-SA

Major: Biology (MS Thesis)

Major: Biology (undergrad) 

Minor: Business Administration (undergrad)

Graduate Certificate: Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (12 credit hours)

GPA: 3.5(MS), 2.83 (BS)

Position: ?

Type of Student: Domestic, male, minority, first-generation college student

Gre Scores

Q: 154

V: 155

AW: 3.5

 

Research Experience: 

About 2.5 years working in a developmental/male-reproductive laboratory. No pubs, but one in progress.Various poster presentations at conferences and one oral platform presentation. 

Awards: 

Travel Fellowship to Gordon Research Conference, LSAMP-B2D Fellow.

Activities:

I have volunteered at local schools as a science fair judge and tutor at local refugee center.

Special Bonus:

PI is well known (or so it seems). First- generation college student, low-income background

 

Applied:

 UT Cell & Molecular

 UTSW (Molecular Biology)

 UTHSCSA (Cell & Molec)

 MD Anderson (Experimental Therapeutics)

 Michigan (PIBS)

 Mayo Graduate School 

[elkheart]

A story for those without invites who are starting to worry:

 

[Apologies in advance for length]

I graduated with a BS in biochemistry in 2012. I was lucky enough to be able to conduct research in three different labs as an undergrad, each in slightly different fields, so by the time grad school application season rolled around I (thought) had a pretty good sense of what my research interests were. I didn’t get any publications from my undergrad work, but I figured I was still a competitive candidate regardless. I ended up applying to a handful of programs. None Ivy League, but top ones for what I was interested in.

 

I didn’t get a single interview. Didn’t get a chance to meet with anyone. Didn’t get any phone calls. No Skype. What I did end up getting were a couple of emails around March telling me what by then I already knew – I had been rejected from every single program I applied to. They didn’t even want to talk to me. I was crushed.

 

Meanwhile I had been wasting away here on the Gradcafe, seeing people with stats much better than mine (and much worse than mine!) receive invites and acceptances to the very same programs I had applied to. This made my personal defeat that much harder to deal with. Was I really so much worse than all these other people? Sure, some seemed to have rockstar profiles that I knew I couldn’t compete with, but most didn’t. Most just seemed like normal, smart, qualified applicants. Like I assumed I was. Did this mean I was a failure? An idiot?

 

It probably sounds trite, but getting rejected from every program I applied to ended up being the best thing that has ever happened to me (professionally, at least).

 

Even before March rolled around I was freaking out. My life trajectory seemed ruined. I had no backup plan – I hadn’t even given a moment’s thought to one, to be honest. But when things starting looking inescapably dire I began pestering professors I knew, telling them point-blank that I was going to need one or two years of fulltime research employment starting, well, immediately. The majority said little more than, “Good luck with that.” But as luck would have it, some did know of open positions, either in their own labs or just down the hall.

I got hired by the same university I graduated from after less than a month of job searching. I ended up turning down two other positions. I found myself with a salary higher than the grad students in the lab, and it quickly fell on me to train them. And the new post docs. I probably learned more in my first year of fulltime lab work than I did in my entire undergrad education.

After a year at that position I was picked up by a well-known global biotech company that had connections to my university. My new position came with a 50% raise and a chance to work on topics much closer to my core research interest.

It has now been about two years since my blazing defeat. I am reapplying to many of the same grad programs that rejected me in 2012. Only this time I am a much stronger candidate. I know the field, and I know how to articulate my knowledge. I know how labs really work, both in industry and academia. And I have a throng of senior scientists and professors who offered to write me letters. I had to turn most of them down.

 

This time around I was invited to a private interview for a program I hadn’t even applied to yet. I was offered a position by a POI on the spot. “I have a spot for you if you want it,” he said, “but you should wait, apply to other schools, and hear all your offers before you accept it.”

 

The take away:

 

I.   Rejection is not the end of the world. It does not necessarily mean that you’re a failure, or an idiot. It most likely means you just weren’t ready, which is fine. Stay focused.

II.  If you’re worried about not getting in, start your job hunt right now. Get creative about how you seek out and apply to jobs. Accept only meaningful work. It will propel you.

 

tl;dr – Got rejected two years ago. Been working in research labs ever since. Everything turned out better than expected J

[poweredbycoldfusion]

On 1/6/2015 at 12:57 PM, notsaxophones said:

I'm waiting on Washington's Micro program also...all of my other programs got back to me the week of Dec 15 so the waiting is killing me! 

Their pathology/molecular medicine program (M3D) had the same deadline, and I haven't heard from them either. It seems that UDub is good with sending acceptances/rejections concurrently, though.

[CoomassieFingers]

A story for those without invites who are starting to worry:

 

[Apologies in advance for length]

I graduated with a BS in biochemistry in 2012. I was lucky enough to be able to conduct research in three different labs as an undergrad, each in slightly different fields, so by the time grad school application season rolled around I (thought) had a pretty good sense of what my research interests were. I didn’t get any publications from my undergrad work, but I figured I was still a competitive candidate regardless. I ended up applying to a handful of programs. None Ivy League, but top ones for what I was interested in.

 

I didn’t get a single interview. Didn’t get a chance to meet with anyone. Didn’t get any phone calls. No Skype. What I did end up getting were a couple of emails around March telling me what by then I already knew – I had been rejected from every single program I applied to. They didn’t even want to talk to me. I was crushed.

 

Meanwhile I had been wasting away here on the Gradcafe, seeing people with stats much better than mine (and much worse than mine!) receive invites and acceptances to the very same programs I had applied to. This made my personal defeat that much harder to deal with. Was I really so much worse than all these other people? Sure, some seemed to have rockstar profiles that I knew I couldn’t compete with, but most didn’t. Most just seemed like normal, smart, qualified applicants. Like I assumed I was. Did this mean I was a failure? An idiot?

 

It probably sounds trite, but getting rejected from every program I applied to ended up being the best thing that has ever happened to me (professionally, at least).

 

Even before March rolled around I was freaking out. My life trajectory seemed ruined. I had no backup plan – I hadn’t even given a moment’s thought to one, to be honest. But when things starting looking inescapably dire I began pestering professors I knew, telling them point-blank that I was going to need one or two years of fulltime research employment starting, well, immediately. The majority said little more than, “Good luck with that.” But as luck would have it, some did know of open positions, either in their own labs or just down the hall.

I got hired by the same university I graduated from after less than a month of job searching. I ended up turning down two other positions. I found myself with a salary higher than the grad students in the lab, and it quickly fell on me to train them. And the new post docs. I probably learned more in my first year of fulltime lab work than I did in my entire undergrad education.

After a year at that position I was picked up by a well-known global biotech company that had connections to my university. My new position came with a 50% raise and a chance to work on topics much closer to my core research interest.

It has now been about two years since my blazing defeat. I am reapplying to many of the same grad programs that rejected me in 2012. Only this time I am a much stronger candidate. I know the field, and I know how to articulate my knowledge. I know how labs really work, both in industry and academia. And I have a throng of senior scientists and professors who offered to write me letters. I had to turn most of them down.

 

This time around I was invited to a private interview for a program I hadn’t even applied to yet. I was offered a position by a POI on the spot. “I have a spot for you if you want it,” he said, “but you should wait, apply to other schools, and hear all your offers before you accept it.”

 

The take away:

 

I.   Rejection is not the end of the world. It does not necessarily mean that you’re a failure, or an idiot. It most likely means you just weren’t ready, which is fine. Stay focused.

II.  If you’re worried about not getting in, start your job hunt right now. Get creative about how you seek out and apply to jobs. Accept only meaningful work. It will propel you.

 

tl;dr – Got rejected two years ago. Been working in research labs ever since. Everything turned out better than expected J

Thanks for taking the time to write this. It's easy to get tunnel vision regarding a career path, but there are indeed many roads to success in science and as long as the journey rewards you with skills or experience that will serve you well, every part of it is worthwhile.

[molecularmagic]

A story for those without invites who are starting to worry:

 

[Apologies in advance for length]

I graduated with a BS in biochemistry in 2012. I was lucky enough to be able to conduct research in three different labs as an undergrad, each in slightly different fields, so by the time grad school application season rolled around I (thought) had a pretty good sense of what my research interests were. I didn’t get any publications from my undergrad work, but I figured I was still a competitive candidate regardless. I ended up applying to a handful of programs. None Ivy League, but top ones for what I was interested in.

 

I didn’t get a single interview. Didn’t get a chance to meet with anyone. Didn’t get any phone calls. No Skype. What I did end up getting were a couple of emails around March telling me what by then I already knew – I had been rejected from every single program I applied to. They didn’t even want to talk to me. I was crushed.

 

Meanwhile I had been wasting away here on the Gradcafe, seeing people with stats much better than mine (and much worse than mine!) receive invites and acceptances to the very same programs I had applied to. This made my personal defeat that much harder to deal with. Was I really so much worse than all these other people? Sure, some seemed to have rockstar profiles that I knew I couldn’t compete with, but most didn’t. Most just seemed like normal, smart, qualified applicants. Like I assumed I was. Did this mean I was a failure? An idiot?

 

It probably sounds trite, but getting rejected from every program I applied to ended up being the best thing that has ever happened to me (professionally, at least).

 

Even before March rolled around I was freaking out. My life trajectory seemed ruined. I had no backup plan – I hadn’t even given a moment’s thought to one, to be honest. But when things starting looking inescapably dire I began pestering professors I knew, telling them point-blank that I was going to need one or two years of fulltime research employment starting, well, immediately. The majority said little more than, “Good luck with that.” But as luck would have it, some did know of open positions, either in their own labs or just down the hall.

I got hired by the same university I graduated from after less than a month of job searching. I ended up turning down two other positions. I found myself with a salary higher than the grad students in the lab, and it quickly fell on me to train them. And the new post docs. I probably learned more in my first year of fulltime lab work than I did in my entire undergrad education.

After a year at that position I was picked up by a well-known global biotech company that had connections to my university. My new position came with a 50% raise and a chance to work on topics much closer to my core research interest.

It has now been about two years since my blazing defeat. I am reapplying to many of the same grad programs that rejected me in 2012. Only this time I am a much stronger candidate. I know the field, and I know how to articulate my knowledge. I know how labs really work, both in industry and academia. And I have a throng of senior scientists and professors who offered to write me letters. I had to turn most of them down.

 

This time around I was invited to a private interview for a program I hadn’t even applied to yet. I was offered a position by a POI on the spot. “I have a spot for you if you want it,” he said, “but you should wait, apply to other schools, and hear all your offers before you accept it.”

 

The take away:

 

I.   Rejection is not the end of the world. It does not necessarily mean that you’re a failure, or an idiot. It most likely means you just weren’t ready, which is fine. Stay focused.

II.  If you’re worried about not getting in, start your job hunt right now. Get creative about how you seek out and apply to jobs. Accept only meaningful work. It will propel you.

 

tl;dr – Got rejected two years ago. Been working in research labs ever since. Everything turned out better than expected J

 

This is really great! Congrats!  I'm was in a similar situation, although so far no bites for interviews and I'm so scared it will stay that way :/.  I was rejected to all the schools I applied to, but ended up just going full-time in the lab I had currently been working in.  In my year off I even came out with a first author published paper, and reapplied again this cycle, but still nothing.

 

So I have a 3.12 undergrad GPA, and 150 V and 153 Q scores.  I know ugly, but my research is amazing!  I had an internship and LOR from NASA, as well as a very highly regarded genetics professor at the university I went to.  I'm so worried I'm not even getting looked at because of my GPA and test scores.  I have a first author paper, just in PLOS ONE, but I would hope that would prove I can do the entire research process! 

 

Sorry about the rant, I'm just about to go crazy!  Any insight from anyone would be great.

[ilovelab]

The school I did my undergrad in has a PREP Program. Here's my experience from having multiple friends in the program.

One CAUTION about PREP programs is that you really only get an extra 5-6 months of research experience before you apply. You start in May/June and apply in fall. Your letter of rec from your new PI isn't going to be glowing, they only know you for 5-6 months. Who knows how much progress you have made on your project in that amount of time. It could be a little or a lot. The GRE prep is good but they threw my friends in a large class 20+ people, with  one tutor so its a little tough, but its free! 3 out of the 7 prep students got interviews. 2 of those who i knew really well would have gotten interview regardless of the program. For the remaining 4 the issue was that there wasn't enough funding to keep the 4 current students and take a new cohort of 7 students for the following year. Your not guaranteed a second year in the program, it depends on funding.

  That being said, the prep program is a great opportunity for URM students to get extra research experience for Grad School. Personally I would try to find a lab tech position in a research lab I was interested in over a PREP program b/c 2 years of research on your CV in the same lab is going to be better when you apply for grad school vs. 5-6 months.

[lab ratta-tat-tat]

@ Elk Heart-

Same thing happened to me 4 years ago. I wasn't accepted anywhere. I watched people get into the program I applied to with worse test scores than mine, no research experience, or worse- I watched people with better scores than me be accepted purely because of grades/gre scores then drop out of the program or slack off to an insulting level.

 

I worked for someone for 4 years, got 3 publications, my own project, mentored graduate students, reapplied to new and better programs and I'm now in a field/program I absolutely love and could not have gotten here without what i perceived was a "setback" at the time. It turned out to be the best thing and made me an awesome and extremely competitive applicant.

[neuronsbeyondneurons2]

I see you have an interview at OSU, will I be seeing you this Thursday?

 

you'll be seeing me. however i'm already here. doesn't this all start today?

[amertume]

you'll be seeing me. however i'm already here. doesn't this all start today?

o.o I'll pm you

[biorelated]

Hi Everyone,

 

Wanted to ask if anyone has applied/heard from Harvard's Biological Sciences in Public Health?

 

Thank you!