2015 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Chrissymisha]

I think a lot of the anxiety and confusion regarding interview weekends could be solved simply by the universities explicitly stating when their interview weekends are going to be on their websites/applications. I knew that the only Brown-NIH interview weekend was the third week in February, so I held off committing to that weekend for another school until I heard from them. It actually made my decision process easier. Apparently some interview weekends aren't set in stone and change from year to year at certain schools, so I get not saying when the weekends are in that case (though this could be solved by simply making the decision earlier; it's the same process every year), but for some universities especially with some of the more prestigious schools, we know from the results search what their weekends are and they don't change. Why not just say from the beginning what that weekend is? I knew that when I applied to 11 programs that if I received 4+ invites that there were going to be conflicts. There are only so many weekends after all. I have managed to work it out so that I've only had to decline one interview, but because I didn't know what everyone's weekends were it was an interview that I had softly committed to early on, and I felt really bad about then declining. In the end, it puts unnecessary pressure on us which could easily be dealt with if they were just more upfront about the interviews.

[tuckbro]

For the top 10 BME programs, I had no problem whatsoever, they all seemed to know when the other's interview weekend was and so I really didn't have conflicts as they were on different weekends or offered choices.  For the probgram ranked 10-20, however, I had conflicts but they were all very accomodating and I was able to get to each shcool.

 

Penn had two choices and they were both before the other schools, followed by MIT, JHU the next weekend and so forth.  There seemed to be an understanding they were all interviewing the same group of students.

 

Maybe it was random luck but it seemed coordinated.

[gliaful]

I think a lot of the anxiety and confusion regarding interview weekends could be solved simply by the universities explicitly stating when their interview weekends are going to be on their websites/applications. I knew that the only Brown-NIH interview weekend was the third week in February, so I held off committing to that weekend for another school until I heard from them. It actually made my decision process easier. Apparently some interview weekends aren't set in stone and change from year to year at certain schools, so I get not saying when the weekends are in that case (though this could be solved by simply making the decision earlier; it's the same process every year), but for some universities especially with some of the more prestigious schools, we know from the results search what their weekends are and they don't change. Why not just say from the beginning what that weekend is? I knew that when I applied to 11 programs that if I received 4+ invites that there were going to be conflicts. There are only so many weekends after all. I have managed to work it out so that I've only had to decline one interview, but because I didn't know what everyone's weekends were it was an interview that I had softly committed to early on, and I felt really bad about then declining. In the end, it puts unnecessary pressure on us which could easily be dealt with if they were just more upfront about the interviews.

I don't know why they don't state these things. Perhaps they hadn't figured out the weekend prior to the deadline?

Of the schools I applied to, only OHSU, UW, and Iowa had dates posted on their websites...and Iowa's dates weren't even correct!

 

Overlap was a big problem for me:

For the Jan 29-31 weekend, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, and Brandeis had interview weekends (luckily, all except Vanderbilt had multiple options)

For Feb 5-8, CU Denver, Brandeis, Pittsburgh, and UW (Feb 3-5 or 4-6 only).

Feb 12-15, Utah, Pittsburgh, Brandeis

Feb 19-22, nobody (I thought this was going to be the most popular weekend based on previous years...)

March 1-3, only OHSU -- only weekend available

March 5-7, Iowa's alternative weekend

 

I only had to decline UW. Pittsburgh offers 3 weekends, but they are flying me out at a separate time that works for me. The Brandeis interview is "optional" (email said it was a chance to "kick the tires") but I already committed to 6 interviews so I'm not going.

 

I suppose there are only so many weekends in late January, February, and early March, so overlap isn't entirely avoidable...However, it would still be really helpful to know these dates in advance!

[bhammerson]

Thanks to TedBlinsky for reminding that there are people who haven't had a single invite yet. I happen to have applied unsuccessfully for 2 seasons now, and am still waiting for a single interview invite on this current 3rd attempt.

 

It's rough seeing too much about those first world too many interview problems.

[tuckbro]

Thanks to TedBlinsky for reminding that there are people who haven't had a single invite yet. I happen to have applied unsuccessfully for 2 seasons now, and am still waiting for a single interview invite on this current 3rd attempt.

 

It's rough seeing too much about those first world too many interview problems.

Think this is a really good point.  I have my figners crossed for you this year!

[neuronsbeyondneurons2]

I don't think any of us want to sound like we're not grateful or excited for these opportunities, but every step of this process seems to hold a lot of uncertainty and we're just trying to figure it out. Good luck with this application season!! 

 

 

i see what you're saying but i think you have to understand that a large amount of people that come here are nuts about applying to graduate school and they signed up because they really really want it (me included). so when you read about other people complaining about overlaps or interviews i sort of feel like this is a problem most people wish they had (again, myself included) and that maybe they should enjoy the burden of having the choice rather than not getting interviews at all.

[tito balisimo]

Thanks to TedBlinsky for reminding that there are people who haven't had a single invite yet. I happen to have applied unsuccessfully for 2 seasons now, and am still waiting for a single interview invite on this current 3rd attempt.

 

It's rough seeing too much about those first world too many interview problems.

 

 

i see what you're saying but i think you have to understand that a large amount of people that come here are nuts about applying to graduate school and they signed up because they really really want it (me included). so when you read about other people complaining about overlaps or interviews i sort of feel like this is a problem most people wish they had (again, myself included) and that maybe they should enjoy the burden of having the choice rather than not getting interviews at all.

 

[bsharpe269]

I find it interesting that there is such a variation in invitation dates by subfield. It seems that neuroscience people heard back right away, followed by biology. I have received responses from 2 programs and both are umbrella bio programs. I have not yet received invites for any of the biophysics programs I applied to (and no invites posted in results either). In previous years, most of my programs sent invites in mid-end of January. I am thankful to have 2 interviews so far but super anxious/hopeful that I will get a couple more! All of you who already know your interview schedules are super lucky!

[Ragneo]

I find it interesting that there is such a variation in invitation dates by subfield. It seems that neuroscience people heard back right away, followed by biology. I have received responses from 2 programs and both are umbrella bio programs. I have not yet received invites for any of the biophysics programs I applied to (and no invites posted in results either). In previous years, most of my programs sent invites in mid-end of January. I am thankful to have 2 interviews so far but super anxious/hopeful that I will get a couple more! All of you who already know your interview schedules are super lucky!

 

Speaking of which--this made it super difficult to find out what kind of program I should apply for! Technically, my subfield is at the interface of biology and chemistry, but I could have applied to Biology, Chemistry, or some other Biochemistry programs! (And most of the faculty were in multiple departments anyway). 

[shadowclaw]

i see what you're saying but i think you have to understand that a large amount of people that come here are nuts about applying to graduate school and they signed up because they really really want it (me included). so when you read about other people complaining about overlaps or interviews i sort of feel like this is a problem most people wish they had (again, myself included) and that maybe they should enjoy the burden of having the choice rather than not getting interviews at all.

I totally wish I had this problem! Although 5 of my 7 schools haven't begun looking at applications yet or at least won't be sending invites until sometime in January, I definitely feel your pain. I feel really good about my applications to UT, UNC, and OSU (I've made really good connections with POIs at each), and to an extent my USU application (have a good POI there, but funding is an issue). So I feel like I have a really good shot at invites for UT and UNC (not sure if the others do interview weekends). It would really suck, though, if those two interviews overlapped. So even though I feel a little pained when some folks have 7 interview offers and can't go to them all due to overlap, I completely understand where they are coming from, too. I'd be really bummed if I was excited about two programs and could only go to one interview.

[ERR_Alpha]

Speaking of which--this made it super difficult to find out what kind of program I should apply for! Technically, my subfield is at the interface of biology and chemistry, but I could have applied to Biology, Chemistry, or some other Biochemistry programs! (And most of the faculty were in multiple departments anyway).

I feel like the profs you were interested at Penn State are the exact profs I rotated with... Haha

[blinchik]

i see what you're saying but i think you have to understand that a large amount of people that come here are nuts about applying to graduate school and they signed up because they really really want it (me included). so when you read about other people complaining about overlaps or interviews i sort of feel like this is a problem most people wish they had (again, myself included) and that maybe they should enjoy the burden of having the choice rather than not getting interviews at all.

 

For the record, this application season is going surprisingly well for me, and clearly going incredibly well for some other people on here, but admissions is and has always been, to some extent, a crapshoot, and I'm still not sure precisely how admissions committees rank students. The Emory program I am applying to, for instance, is interviewing 10 people and accepting maybe 5, for a total acceptance rate of 5%, so even though I have an interview lined up, I'm still very much freaking out - who says that I'll get that acceptance in the first place and be one of the lucky 5%? Personally, until I'm holding an actual acceptance letter in my hand, the jury is still out. Of course I feel incredibly lucky that I have gotten to that stage, and feel a lot of empathy for the other no doubt qualified people who were cut for whatever reason - I'm just commenting in the mindset of a person who has gotten past one hurdle but is still hyperaware of the other one I have to jump before I reach my end goal.

[KevAquarius]

Thank you!

 

And congrats, expandyourmind!

 

 

Holy crap...I didn't notice you applied to 20 schools, ghost! You must be exhausted (and will continue to be exhausted if you keep getting interviews  )

[SOFTCDF]

Did anybody receive an interview call from MIT BCS in systems track?

[ashmatack]

Does anybody know if the interview invites for UPenn CAMB program have been sent out?

[Chrischigta]

Does anybody know if the interview invites for UPenn CAMB program have been sent out?

Some of the people here in the forum already have received invitations from them (including me, got the email on Dec 15). However, if you take a look at the results section you will see that they sent out invitations in a pretty broad time window in Dec/Jan over the last years, so don't lose hope yet! Edited January 2, 2015 by Chrischigta

[ballwera]

How often do schools extend deadlines? One of my programs extended their deadline from Dec.15th (mine was in before thanksgiving) to January 7th. Good thing or bad thing?

[nutellarain]

Anyone know if UC Berkeley MCB is done sending out invites? It seems many people were contacted before the holidays already

[poweredbycoldfusion]

Just like we are "fishing" for the best opportunities, and trying to get multiple invites, the schools are employing the same strategies to get the best and most applicants. They know that some people they invite have no real intention of accepting admissions if the student gets multiple admissions offers.

I'm a little stunned that so many people are applying to 10+ schools. If you apply to 10 schools and get invited for all of their interview weekends, you'll have to cancel, but then again, you got 10 interviews, so chances of getting in are a lot higher. I know my university told us to apply to 4-8 schools and to be realistic about our choice of programs.

[ballwera]

I'm a little stunned that so many people are applying to 10+ schools. If you apply to 10 schools and get invited for all of their interview weekends, you'll have to cancel, but then again, you got 10 interviews, so chances of getting in are a lot higher. I know my university told us to apply to 4-8 schools and to be realistic about our choice of programs.

 

Everyone I talked to was Stunned that I was applying to 8 - 9 haha. I couldn't imagine shelling out another $1000+ to apply to another dozen schools ( although if you get in, I'm sure the added cost was worth it). Also working being out of school and working fulltime, I can't spare the vacation days to possibly attend that many interviews. 

[lilbert5]

How often do schools extend deadlines? One of my programs extended their deadline from Dec.15th (mine was in before thanksgiving) to January 7th. Good thing or bad thing?

 

I would assume that means that they didn't get as many applicants as expected. 

[lilbert5]

I'm a little stunned that so many people are applying to 10+ schools. If you apply to 10 schools and get invited for all of their interview weekends, you'll have to cancel, but then again, you got 10 interviews, so chances of getting in are a lot higher. I know my university told us to apply to 4-8 schools and to be realistic about our choice of programs.

 

I originally wanted to apply to only 5 schools and all of my advisers said to apply to a least 7-9 because funding has been cut so drastically over the past few years and as a result most programs accept less students. 

[ballwera]

I would assume that means that they didn't get as many applicants as expected. 

 

That's what I'm assuming as well. 

[expandyourmind]

I applied to about 16 different programs because I was able to get application fee waivers.  The only thing I really had to pay for was sending the GRE score, plus programs like Madison and Harvard will let you apply to multiple programs under one fee waiver, so I just said screw it and applied. I felt bad for my recommenders because they couldn't keep up, but I've been having a lot of success getting interviews just because of the sheer number of schools I applied to. I understand that normally it costs money, but anyone looking to apply again in the future - check out the University's rules for application fee waivers! It saved me so much money!

[bsharpe269]

I applied to about 16 different programs because I was able to get application fee waivers.  The only thing I really had to pay for was sending the GRE score, plus programs like Madison and Harvard will let you apply to multiple programs under one fee waiver, so I just said screw it and applied. I felt bad for my recommenders because they couldn't keep up, but I've been having a lot of success getting interviews just because of the sheer number of schools I applied to. I understand that normally it costs money, but anyone looking to apply again in the future - check out the University's rules for application fee waivers! It saved me so much money!

 

Oh man.. good for you for applying to so many but I don't think that I can handle any more applications (i have 11). Personalizing my SOP for each school has taken so much time. There were 3 more schools that are great research fits that I may have applied to if I could handle any more applications. Juggling 30ish hours a week with my current research, applications, and classes though has been really rough. You must be much better at managing your time than I am!