2015 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Meep_Meep]

On 3/17/2015 at 8:50 AM, bsharpe269 said:

Congrats! I'm 99+% sure I'll accept WashU's offer! What program will you be in? Does your program offer a revisit weekend at the end of the month?

I'm in the Developmental, Regenerative & Stem Cell program! And I don't think they have an official revisit unless we really want to revisit--but I can't miss any more classes!

[kimmibeans]

It's so exciting to see everyone's results! Congratulations to everyone who has gotten acceptances and good luck to those who are still waiting. If anybody has questions about Einstein or the NYC area, let me know. 

[ballwera]

How long should I wait post-interview to inquire about the decision (interview was 3/6)? According to the programs website, "The Graduate Studies Committee meets the following week to make the decision to accept or reject the applicant, or to defer the decision until a later time".

Edited March 17, 2015 by ballwera

[amaretto]

It's so exciting to see everyone's results! Congratulations to everyone who has gotten acceptances and good luck to those who are still waiting. If anybody has questions about Einstein or the NYC area, let me know. 

 

Hi Kimmibeans,

 

I'm really excited about my acceptance at Albert Einstein, but the recent deal with Montefiore and the past financial issues at Yeshiva have made me a bit nervous about choosing to go there. Have recent efforts to reduce the deficit had any effect on the graduate student population or the faculty who mentor grad students? I know that the deal with Montefiore is good news, but I'm still trying to understand what effect the institution's issues would have on me.

[kimmibeans]

Hi Kimmibeans,

 

I'm really excited about my acceptance at Albert Einstein, but the recent deal with Montefiore and the past financial issues at Yeshiva have made me a bit nervous about choosing to go there. Have recent efforts to reduce the deficit had any effect on the graduate student population or the faculty who mentor grad students? I know that the deal with Montefiore is good news, but I'm still trying to understand what effect the institution's issues would have on me.

 

The easiest way to answer your question is going to be explaining what, to my knowledge, the deal entails. Essentially, once Montefiore signs the paperwork Yeshiva's debt is no longer our problem. Montefiore will be taking on the financial responsibility for the school, with Yeshiva just handing out the degrees. Being that Montefiore is one of the largest health care networks in the city (I think they currently have 5 hospitals plus several other clinics and medical groups) I don't think they will have a problem supporting us, especially since they have already been helping to improve the school's infastructure. Montefiore has had a long partnership with Einstein, and so they understand our mission and have stated that they are going to try not to change too much. It helps that the current Montefiore CEO is a EInstein alumn, so he knows what's up with our school. Also, much of the debt that Yeshiva is in is due to their own poor financial planning, and they are using Einstein as a scapegoat.

 

As for how the graduate students have been affected, I know that last year we accepted half the number of graduate students that we accepted in previous years, but funding hasn't been a problem this year. None of the people in my year seem to have trouble finding labs with funding, due to the fact that funding for sciences has actually seen a slight increase recently. It also helps that many graduate students are graduating, so more labs have space opening up. Other than for the first year, your funding is provided by the laboratory you join, not by the graduate school. However, the graduate school will only let a lab take you if they can guarantee funding for at least 3 years (I think. It may be two, I'll have to double check) and the PI's here are very honest about whether or not they are likely to be able support you. Also, our stipends school wide are getting increased next year, so I'm pretty sure we're good.

 

TLDR: Montefiore has lots of money and has a lot invested in Einstein succeeding, so our finances should be okay. Funding isn't an issue if you have been accepted. The graduate school is good at making sure you get paid.

 

I hope that helps. For what it's worth I really love it here. The school is great and the labs are wonderful. If you choose to go here I'm sure you will have a great time, but you have a lot of wonderful options and so I wish you the best of luck in deciding.

[amaretto]

Thank you! That's very reassuring! 

 

I really got a great impression of Einstein when I visited, but many people I met with did mention the deal with Montefiore, and I didn't understand what it means exactly. Thank you for the information!

 

Can ask you too, if a PI has to be able to guarantee funding for atleast 3 years, does the program support you for the first two years? How long do most people take to finish? Do people ever get rushed into finishing early because of funding (that happened to people at my undergrad institution).

 

Also, do grad students and med students get equal attention, and do they interact? 

 

I really appreciate you checking out this forum! I visited on the interview weekend  that was cut short due to snow, so I have a lot of unanswered questions!

[kimmibeans]

Hey amaretto,

 

So, we recently changed the way we do things. The grad school covers you during your first year, where you are doing rotations. By your second year you should have declared your thesis lab and at that point you are covered by your lab. Currently, the program is designed to take about 5 years to graduate, and most students finish in 5-6 years. As for rushing you out if there is no funding, I honestly don't know. I haven't heard of it happening, so I'm going to guess it is uncommon, but I really don't know.

 

The graduate students and medical students aren't treated differently exactly, just separately. We share some clubs and we interact that way. We also have some orientation activities with the med students. Otherwise, we are pretty much different schools. They do have nicer parties than we do, but we are invited to them so it is all good. We have different student councils with different rules as well.

 

Ah, that sucks! I'm glad I can answer your questions then

[Sarochan]

Visited Chicago and really enjoyed it, so now my choice is that much tougher. Congrats to all you lucky people who've figured stuff out! Best wishes to the people who are still in the process.

[CancerImmune]

I offically accepted my offer from MIT. It's such a big relief to know where I'll be for the next few years. Best of luck to everyone else. Are any of my future classmates here?

[Grumpymeow]

Nope there is still one more weekend, the committees are waiting to send out acceptances until they can compare all the interviewees (though some acceptances have gone out to the very top ones)

Do you know if UNC-CH has sent out all the offers? Thanks!!!!

[mop]

I think more might go out as people reject

[Grumpymeow]

I think more might go out as people reject

So they have sent out the exact number that they want for their program? I am confused about how this works...

[person5811]

Officially going to MIT Biology, most amazing place in the world!!!!!! :-)  :] :3 :c) :> =] 8) =) :} :^) :っ) ＼(~o~)／ ＼(^o^)／ ＼(-o-)／ ヽ(^。^)ノ ヽ(^o^)丿 (*^0^*)(✿◠‿◠) d(*⌒▽⌒*)b ♪┏(・o･)┛♪┗ ( ･o･) ┓♪┏ ( ) ┛♪┗ (･o･ ) ┓♪

Edited March 19, 2015 by person5811

[velli]

Officially going to MIT Biology, most amazing place in the world!!!!!! :-)  :] :3 :c) :> =] 8) =) :} :^) :っ) ＼(~o~)／ ＼(^o^)／ ＼(-o-)／ ヽ(^。^)ノ ヽ(^o^)丿 (*^0^*)(✿◠‿◠) d(*⌒▽⌒*)b ♪┏(・o･)┛♪┗ ( ･o･) ┓♪┏ ( ) ┛♪┗ (･o･ ) ┓♪

 

Congrats! It's amazing that you made a decision so soon with all of those offers! Was there a specific factor that made MIT stand out above the rest?

[person5811]

Congrats! It's amazing that you made a decision so soon with all of those offers! Was there a specific factor that made MIT stand out above the rest?

 

The thing that I loved about MIT, and the feeling that I was left with after my interview, is that everyone that works there really loves and is proud of their institution. And they really care. They care about doing great science, they care about training great scientists, about communicating their science to others and making the world a better place. Man, it's just a place filled with smart, driven, eloquent and NICE people.

 

And I went to some of these other schools and they asked me what other schools I was considering and I said MIT and like four different professors at different places said "I can't say anything bad about MIT" (because it's such an incredible place!). And I had this gut feeling right after my interview of wow, I can't believe I could go to a place like this, this is it! But I am not going to lie, the 37K stipend at Rockefeller (plus 2K for supplies every year) and the possibility to live in New York made me confused for a little, and Harvard MCO with their incredibly smart students and their very selective acceptance rate made me want to go there for a little, and Stanford with their incredibly nice professors, same thing....but I heard this talk today by a professor at MIT and this is the most humble man I have ever met who has done incredible research, and who trained as a PhD student at MIT and who just made me reaffirm my belief people at MIT really care about making a difference (and all the other nice things I said at the beginning).

I should also add that I had SO MUCH FUN during my recruitment weekend, the students are also fun and normal people who drink and act silly sometimes. And I love the Boston area as a place to live (big, but not too big) with tons of academic institutions and biotech companies. Also 35K is a perfectly reasonable stipend to live off of (I know several people who live there and they have no complaints, they even save money). And because of all of those reasons I just could not picture myself going to any other school, but of course everyone is looking for different things in graduate school, so I understand why people have chosen to go to other programs.

Oh and I should also mention that I really like the size of the program (~30 people per class) and the structure of the program (the only place that does only classes the first semester, no rotations). I think having a lot of people working on diverse projects makes for an exciting grad school experience (also, you can get a lot of feedback from them and bounce of ideas, etc) and the structure of the program I feel like allows for students to concentrate on making sure they know the most basic concepts in biology to succeed in many different fields and be able to talk to a variety of scientists in the future. Oh, and lastly MIT does a lot of outreach (in many different ways, they go to high schools, bring people from high schools and different universities, and they make these free online courses open to everyone in the WORLD) and I feel like we are so incredibly lucky to have all of these amazing resources available to us as graduate students that we should share some of that good fortune with others....

 

Ok ok enough about MIT, but OMG I'm going to MIT!!!!

Edited March 19, 2015 by person5811

[Sarochan]

Wow, that sounds incredible! Congrats for getting in to such an amazing program, and having made your final decision. (I also love the dancey emotes! I may borrow the idea for when I've finally made a decision.)

[funkydays]

Hi all, just wanted to finally say "I'm going to grad school!" WHoo hooo!  I'm generally an occasional poster/mostly lurker, but you guys were a great support system through the whole process.  Definitely reduced some of my anxiety about the whole process.  

 

So thank you guys!  You guys are awesome!  I hope to be semi-active here, so I can give back what everyone else has given to me in terms of encouragement & advice.

 

And YAY grad school!

[kimmibeans]

Congrats, Funky Days! If you don't mind me asking, where are you heading?

[funkydays]

Congrats, Funky Days! If you don't mind me asking, where are you heading?

 

Thanks! I'll be heading to UMass Med Worcester!

[blinchik]

Do you know if UNC-CH has sent out all the offers? Thanks!!!!

 

I just got an offer today, so looks like they are still sending them out.

[BiochemMom]

I just got an offer today, so looks like they are still sending them out.

Congrats! Are you accepting? If so, I'll see you there!

[blinchik]

Congrats! Are you accepting? If so, I'll see you there!

 

I'm actually having a really difficult time deciding between Emory, UNC, and Penn - UNC sounds like a great place, and Chapel Hill is a wonderful college town, but I think I'm leaning towards a bigger city. It's nice to have options, though!

[BiochemMom]

I'm actually having a really difficult time deciding between Emory, UNC, and Penn - UNC sounds like a great place, and Chapel Hill is a wonderful college town, but I think I'm leaning towards a bigger city. It's nice to have options, though!

I love Atlanta. I was born and raised there, though I've been in NC for 8 years. You can always message me if you have questions about the city should you choose Emory

[Farafeelo]

i got waitlisted for a couple of schools ... what do u think is the likleihood i will get an offer? why do programs have a waitlist anyway when i was told that they usually send acceptances to more people than they want to account for the fact that many will choose another school?

[ubiqsm]

Who has accepted/ is planning to accept UPitt?