macchiato15 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Congrats! Was the e-mail sent to all applicants or only those with missing documents (eg: transcripts?) All applicants...it was basically the same letter that came in the mail. Biochemistry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhammerson Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 University of Wisconsin Madison Rejection...Damn, I was hopeful about that one. Biochemistry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velli Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) One question for you guys: how often is getting a PhD treated, in biology, as a backup plan to med/dental school? It's hard to get into any program if your whole heart isn't into research. It's tough to write a strong statement of purpose and interview well if you're not convinced that you want to be a researcher. If you make a strong enough case for why you should pursue a PhD to be invited for interviews and get admitted, you might well reconsider your career goals. And of course if you're able to do so successfully without sincerity, your challenge will be finishing the PhD. Getting a PhD isn't a backup plan. If you're truly interested in doing both, you should look at MD/PhD programs or do some soul searching before committing yourself to a reasonably large chunk of your life in medicine or in research (or both). (Rhetorical "you" -- I'm not addressing you, Catria, in particular.) Edited January 16, 2015 by velli neverdecaf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhammerson Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 University of Wisconsin Madison Rejection...Damn, I was hopeful about that one. Got three copies of the email in a row as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expandyourmind Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 womp womp Rockefeller rejection at this point my interview list is finalized. best of luck for everyone still waiting on interview invites! Has anyone had any interviews yet? Slash any tips on what to expect or questions they might throw at us? ghostoverground and Biochemistry 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poweredbycoldfusion Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Part of the reason I took time off after undergrad is because I had a change of goals from med school to research. Also, I'll note that the people who I work with who've gotten MD/PhDs find, later in life, that they either have to priortize seeing patients or doing research. I love medical research and really do see it as my future, and when I shadowed doctors, I realized I would never feel that way about working with patients. Even though I enjoyed my time volunteering, I didn't enjoy it in the same way that I enjoyed spending time in a lab and conducting research. macchiato15, ss2player and Biochemistry 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VLSB4Life Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Rockefeller rejection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashmatack Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 University of Wisconsin Madison Rejection...Damn, I was hopeful about that one. What program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vene Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 One question for you guys: how often is getting a PhD treated, in biology, as a backup plan to med/dental school? I think it's not typically treated as a backup to med school, but some will apply to both as their interests kind of merge the two. A lot of medical schools offer MD/PhD joint degrees where both clinical and experimental skills are taught. I could easily see somebody interested in being a clinical researcher deciding to apply for both types of degrees. But, ultimately, if somebody looks at a PhD as a medical school backup they're in for some pain as the type of education really is quite different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gliaful Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Also, I'll note that the people who I work with who've gotten MD/PhDs find, later in life, that they either have to priortize seeing patients or doing research. I wondered about this when scoping out faculty at the beginning of this process. Would you think that MD/PhDs who are faculty would be even more likely to have prioritized research over clinical work? At the time, I tended to think they would be even busier people than the average busy faculty member because I assumed they all balanced both jobs. Totally unrelated PS: Anyone and everyone, take this waste-of-time "What kind of protein are you?" quiz, just because: http://www.cellsignal.com/contents/resources/what-kind-of-protein-are-you/protein-personality-quiz Also, it can waste even more of your anxiety-laden time if you treat it like a puzzle by taking it additional times and trying to work out what answers would correspond to each possible result. sqxz and ghostoverground 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crucial BBQ Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Out of curiosity, what is with the assumed rejections (in the sigs)? I have noticed this from other posters, too (non-bio). Is this because you were not invited to interview? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mha931 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Out of curiosity, what is with the assumed rejections (in the sigs)? I have noticed this from other posters, too (non-bio). Is this because you were not invited to interview? Usually people put that when they haven't been invited to interview for a particular program, but they know all the invites have been sent out. Basically "The rejection has not arrived yet, but it's coming". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gliaful Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Basically "The rejection has not arrived yet, but it's coming". What if it's because you were wait-listed, though? Now that we're at the tail-end of rejection season (not for ecology programs, but almost everyone else) and the beginning of rejection season, I would say that not receiving a letter of invitation or rejection means you either accidentally didn't complete the app or you've been waitlisted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhammerson Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 What program? Microbiology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mha931 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 What if it's because you were wait-listed, though? Now that we're at the tail-end of rejection season (not for ecology programs, but almost everyone else) and the beginning of rejection season, I would say that not receiving a letter of invitation or rejection means you either accidentally didn't complete the app or you've been waitlisted. Possible! Definitely if others have received a rejection and you haven't. poweredbycoldfusion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo_Yang Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Does anyone know about the status of Biological science of Columbia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catria Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) I agree with what everyone else has been posting! I'll just add that I do know some people who are applying to master's programs in the biomedical spectrum before they go to medical school to get more experience, a GPA boost, and more time to study for the MCAT. That makes a lot of sense to me if medical or dental school is still the end goal. Even though many a pre-med tried their hands at research (and, of course, clinical volunteering), if only because med school adcoms seem to look at research experience favorably (the pre-meds I know can go to great lengths to accomplish their ultimate objective) research really is the only thing that can realistically cause pre-meds to consider a PhD in a biomedical science as a backup plan to med school. Then again, if some MSc programs in the biomedical sciences are used by premeds in an attempt to bolster their dossiers for med school, are they funded? Do they come with a thesis? Or are they otherwise used to reinforce the dossiers of PhD hopefuls? One last thing: why not use the MCAT (or any other test specifically designed for healthcare professions, such as the PCAT or the DAT) as an admissions test for PhD programs in biomedical sciences? If I were the head of a department offering a PhD in a biomedical science, I would probably allow the use of such test scores on an experimental basis. That is, if tests designed for aspiring healthcare professionals truly were no better than the GRE at detecting biomedical scientific talent, then their use would be discontinued, but that wouldn't mean much then. In the event, however, that, say, the MCAT was proven to be a better predictor than the GRE is, in the context of biomedical graduate programs, then the GRE would no longer be required. Edited January 17, 2015 by Catria macchiato15 and neverdecaf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berba9 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Has anyone heard from Chicago- Molecular Biosciences - committee on genetics, genomics and systems biology, yet? Do the invites come out separately for each committee or does the entire molecular biosciences cluster send the mail at the same time? I've seen quite a few on the results page, both domestic and international, for mol biosciences - biochemistry and molecular biology but none for this. Does anyone know about the status of Biological science of Columbia? They do rolling admissions so the earlier you apply the better the chances of an admit, and obviously a much higher chance of hearing back quicker. I've seen one entry on the results page (a domestic applicant though). I applied on the deadline day though I had almost eveything ready :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expandyourmind Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Has anyone heard from Chicago- Molecular Biosciences - committee on genetics, genomics and systems biology, yet? Do the invites come out separately for each committee or does the entire molecular biosciences cluster send the mail at the same time? I've seen quite a few on the results page, both domestic and international, for mol biosciences - biochemistry and molecular biology but none for this. :/ I think the entire molecular biosciences sends out invites. Even though I applied for developmental biology they lump it all in one. I was contacted by the molecular biosciences division for interviews. The first interview session is this coming Thursday so I think all invites are out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berba9 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I think the entire molecular biosciences sends out invites. Even though I applied for developmental biology they lump it all in one. I was contacted by the molecular biosciences division for interviews. The first interview session is this coming Thursday so I think all invites are out. Thanks I thought I had a really good shot there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yolk Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 womp womp Rockefeller rejection at this point my interview list is finalized. best of luck for everyone still waiting on interview invites! Has anyone had any interviews yet? Slash any tips on what to expect or questions they might throw at us? I had my first interview last weekend. It was a blast! My advice is smile, be engaged, ask questions and have fun! Just don't be that stuffy person with the suit on gliaful 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vene Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Then again, if some MSc programs in the biomedical sciences are used by premeds in an attempt to bolster their dossiers for med school, are they funded? Do they come with a thesis? Or are they otherwise used to reinforce the dossiers of PhD hopefuls?Well, we have one undergrad in our lab who will be sticking around for an accelerated masters as he wants to go premed route. I don't believe his masters will be funded. One last thing: why not use the MCAT (or any other test specifically designed for healthcare professions, such as the PCAT or the DAT) as an admissions test for PhD programs in biomedical sciences?Well, there's the subject GREs for if a program is truly concerned about a candidate's level of biological knowledge. Otherwise, being able to memorize a bunch of details isn't the best way to tell if somebody can succeed in a PhD. Even for the classes the PhD coursework is designed so that we're supposed to be able to put pieces of information together, make predictions, and interpret data. MD classes are much more about memorizing as many clinical details as possible. Or, to put it another way, a MD can tell you the muscles in a body, a PhD can tell you how to design an experiment to test their function.If I were the head of a department offering a PhD in a biomedical science, I would probably allow the use of such test scores on an experimental basis. That is, if tests designed for aspiring healthcare professionals truly were no better than the GRE at detecting biomedical scientific talent, then their use would be discontinued, but that wouldn't mean much then. In the event, however, that, say, the MCAT was proven to be a better predictor than the GRE is, in the context of biomedical graduate programs, then the GRE would no longer be required.You'd have to convince the graduate college, never underestimate the power of internal politics. Also, since the vast majority of programs in biomedical science want the GRE students will still take it and will only take the MCAT for yours if you are of sufficient interest/prestige. I see it far more likely that such a scheme will lead to getting droves of med school applicants who are just using your program as a backup without enough interest to really succeed in a PhD. ss2player and neverdecaf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrischigta Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I had my first interview last weekend. It was a blast! My advice is smile, be engaged, ask questions and have fun! Just don't be that stuffy person with the suit on I find this offending - I think I am a fun and engaged person, but I like to wear a good suit for an interview, anyway! But I'll probably open a new threat for this topic, although there certainly are already tons of them around^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expandyourmind Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Ahhhh I got invited to Cambridge! Holy crap! amertume, yolk, Dreams of the North and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CancerImmune Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Ahhhh I got invited to Cambridge! Holy crap! That's awesome. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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