ion_exchanger Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Note: this is directed at bsharpe269, and anyone else who was wondering, for some reason my quote is not working. The optional drinking hours are just that, optional. They will not hurt your chances if you do not attend. One of my interviews lasted Thursday evening through Sunday morning, and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night the students offered to take us out to bars and such. I didn't attend any of the outings. I am also shy and reserved, and I don't drink, so I really had no interest in doing that. The students were nice, but there are plenty of opportunities to talk to them and ask questions. My roommate on that interview went to all of the outings, and sometimes came back at one in the morning. I need that time after the interviews and activities to recharge, so I decided to come back to the room, relax, and unwind. I was accepted to that program. Quite a few of the applicants also did not attend the optional outings, and they were ok as well.
ghostoverground Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) Note: this is directed at bsharpe269, and anyone else who was wondering, for some reason my quote is not working. The optional drinking hours are just that, optional. They will not hurt your chances if you do not attend. One of my interviews lasted Thursday evening through Sunday morning, and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night the students offered to take us out to bars and such. I didn't attend any of the outings. I am also shy and reserved, and I don't drink, so I really had no interest in doing that. The students were nice, but there are plenty of opportunities to talk to them and ask questions. My roommate on that interview went to all of the outings, and sometimes came back at one in the morning. I need that time after the interviews and activities to recharge, so I decided to come back to the room, relax, and unwind. I was accepted to that program. Quite a few of the applicants also did not attend the optional outings, and they were ok as well. Thank you for this information, ion_exchanger (and everyone else who's contributed thoughts on this topic). This all makes sense to me and goes along with what I've heard, but on the other hand I've also heard the perspective that if you do not go to these optional social events, you are missing out on an opportunity for the grad students to get to know you and like you/remember you, which could be important since they have some say in the admissions decisions. What do you think about this? Maybe it matters more if you are a borderline candidate, or if your interviews went poorly? Edited January 19, 2015 by ghostoverground
peachypie Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 How long after we interview will we hear back for the results? Ummm could be days to months (literally). I was accepted to all the places I interviewed at, and i would say on average I heard back within a week. I do know others in my program who heard weeks after that. Highly dependent on if they have multiple rounds of invites but usually the ad coms meet right after interviews and make decisions and then it just goes through the necessary means of schools putting together the official invite, though some places someone from the program may directly contact you to let you know. All depends. Try not to stress, this is the part that was for me the most worrisome until I started hearing back and then realized that I had nothing to worry about. Keep busy, its always great if you have other interviews to prepare for or be at so you aren't sitting around. rbear91 1
Ascinflamm Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 I woke up the morning on the interview day to find out that I brought the wrong tie and entirely forgot to pack my dress pants, so I ended up wearing just a button down shirt with jeans. It was totally a non-issue! Several of the faculty interviewers I talked to also dressed very casually. That said, nobody will judge you if you have a full suit and tie on. One of my favorite fellow interviewees (you do make friends at these weekends!) was in a super formal attire, and it was fine too. Many places are cold at this time of the year -- dress warmly should be a priority. 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^^
flashdance Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Is anyone hearing from EEB programs yet???
Vene Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Is anyone hearing from EEB programs yet???You may also want to check out as this one is pretty dominated by biomedical people.
wickie Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Does anyone have any info on the ASU and Rutgers neuroscience programs?
backtoschool13 Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Does anyone have any info on the ASU and Rutgers neuroscience programs? Not on ASU neuroscience in particular, but there is a School of Life Sciences recruitment event (Feb 5-6 and Feb 12-13). I received an email about it (applied to Biology program) last Weds.
ReegY91 Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 sorry - not neuroscience specifically, but regarding Rutgers NJMS - I have an interview with two of their four tracks (Molecular Biology, Genetics and Cancer and Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation) on the same day in February. The way the invitation was worded made it sound like all four of their tracks will be interviewing that same day but I could be wrong.
mademoiselle2308 Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 I got accepted to my first program today after interviewing this weekend! So happy My interview advice: know your research well, know a little bit about the interviewers, show enthusiasm, and have fun! amertume, immuno555, tito balisimo and 6 others 9
brainnetwork Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Congrats mademoiselle2308! Does anyone here know whether UCSD Biological Sciences finished sending out invites? I specified my research interest as neuroscience in my application. I know their recruitment dates are next week and Feb 8, which are both really really close. Does this means I should give up hope? Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks!!
Appsitude Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Some things that were brought up... 1) Optional drinking times: Honestly, it doesn't hurt if you decide not to go/not to drink. We love getting to know everyone but also understand that interviews are very tiring and that going out to a bar is not everyone's cup of tea. We have two outings (one Friday night, one Saturday night) that we encourage recruits to attend but understand if they do not. It's also not like we keep a list of everyone who goes/drinks/etc.! 2) I really think thank you emails are a nice gesture, even if there is a <0.01% chance that they will help your odds of getting it. I sent thank you emails to most of the professors I interviewed with and ended up maintaining an open line of communication with them from the end of the interview, until when I was accepted, and even when I was picking rotations. A simple "Thank you for taking time to talk with me, I really enjoyed hearing about your research" is very courteous, not annoying, and is never a bad thing in my opinion. 3) I've gotten a lot of questions about attire and this has been beaten to death on this forum, but I would just like to throw in my two cents. In general, I felt a lot more comfortable erring on the side of too casual rather than too formal. I wore jeans/slacks + a button down with no tie for all of my interviews and jeans + t-shirt for all other events. There are always a couple people who wear suits, but that isn't really the norm on the west coast at least. Unless you look like a slob, we won't be judging what you wear (you will probably be better dressed than most students anyway...). 4) Ask your student hosts about the faculty who are interviewing you. There is nothing less pleasant than getting grilled in an interview without expecting it. There are a couple faculty notorious for giving students very rigorous interviews -- most of the students will be able to tell you who these are so you don't go in completely blind. Have fun! mademoiselle2308, gliaful, poweredbycoldfusion and 1 other 4
thorerges Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Quick question to the more seasoned students/applicants. I have applied to MIT, UCSD, Stanford, Harvard and Columbia and have to hear anything but a rejection from MIT biology. Should I assume that I'm getting rejected across the board? Harvard has their interviews this week, so I am absolutely certain I got a rejection from there. Honesty is not a problem, I am just sincerely curious as to whether I should even bother looking into my email anymore.
kewz Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Quick question to the more seasoned students/applicants. I have applied to MIT, UCSD, Stanford, Harvard and Columbia and have to hear anything but a rejection from MIT biology. Should I assume that I'm getting rejected across the board? Harvard has their interviews this week, so I am absolutely certain I got a rejection from there. Honesty is not a problem, I am just sincerely curious as to whether I should even bother looking into my email anymore. I simply went ahead with assuming I'm rejected by Harvard and Columbia the moment I saw folks get interview invitations from programs that I applied to at these two schools on Results Search. Not pleased at their not saying a word though -- at least UW had the decency of sending rejections soon after sending out interviews. I have no interest whatsoever in being on the waitlist (read: rebound) list at any school. Either take me or reject me. Edited January 20, 2015 by kewz thorerges 1
thorerges Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 I simply went ahead with assuming I'm rejected by Harvard and Columbia the moment I saw folks get interview invitations from programs that I applied to at these two schools on Results Search. Not pleased at their not saying a word though -- at least UW had the decency of sending rejections soon after sending out interviews. I have no interest whatsoever in being on the waitlist (read: rebound) list at any school. Either take me or reject me. I didn't think it was cool either. Completely ridiculous, I went ahead with my plans anyway.
strand_invader Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) First post on this forum! I'm still sincerely hoping for a Columbia invite. It's been my top choice (my “dream school”) since I began looking at programs last summer, and I feel it's a perfect research fit for me. I based all of my applications primarily on research fit as opposed to merely prestige or location. I have some rather specific research interests, and Columbia's faculty happens to align perfectly with them! So I hope I conveyed that well in my Personal Statement! Does anyone who has received an invite to CMBS (or Genetics & Development) know when the available interview dates are, in the event that more invites are sent? I'm still holding onto that glimmer of hope! Edited January 20, 2015 by strand_invader Biochemistry 1
lzerimar Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 First post on this forum! I'm still sincerely hoping for a Columbia invite. It's been my top choice (my “dream school”) since I began looking at programs last summer, and I feel it's a perfect research fit for me. I based all of my applications primarily on research fit as opposed to merely prestige or location. I have some rather specific research interests, and Columbia's faculty happens to align perfectly with them! So I hope I conveyed that well in my Personal Statement! Does anyone who has received an invite to CMBS (or Genetics & Development) know when the available interview dates are, in the event that more invites are sent? I'm still holding onto that glimmer of hope! I actually just came back from the first Columbia CMBS interview weekend! They have another interview weekend in about two weeks during Jan 29-Feb 1. They told us that they would notify us of our acceptance or rejection in about two weeks from our interview date and that we should let them know as soon as possible whether we will be attending Columbia or not so that they can give our spots to other applicants who have been interviewed. In your case, there is still hope as they told us that there were two main interview weekends and possibly other smaller interviews depending on what their interviewees decide to do but no exact dates. They also told us that about 50% of the people that are interviewed will be accepted and there were about 47 applicants in this interview weekend. They expected about 80 interviewees for the next weekend since it will be a combination of CMBS and the other Columbia programs. In my opinion, people that receive interview invites should definitely try to make the first interview weekend as it appears that a smaller pool of interviewees will be present during that weekend and it will allow you to stand out and get to know the admissions people, faculty, and graduate students more intimately. Regarding the other questions about interview attire, drinking, socializing etc.. I will give you guys my perspective of what I experienced during the interview. I wore a full suit with a tie because I like having an excuse to dress fancy but in general the majority of the male applicants did not wear ties and only had slacks and buttoned up shirts. There were maybe three other people with suits on but it was not the norm. My advice is wear slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie as it is better to look presentable than sloppy. You can always take the tie off if you see that other applicants aren't wearing one and it makes you uncomfortable but plan ahead and adapt to the situation. I have my Baylor interview this week and the letter they sent us said to dress at our own discretion and they suggested no jeans for the Thursday dinner and interviews which means slacks, dress shirt, and maybe tie! The rest of the events say to dress comfortably so it is fine to wear jeans. For my Columbia weekend I only dressed up for my interviews and the dinner the day of the interviews, the other time I was covered in layers as New York was freezing those days! I am not a big drinker but the majority of the events had alcohol so I said what the heck and joined in on the fun . After our Friday dinner they took us to a bar and the majority of the applicants came for about 1 hour and then the majority left. Two other applicants and I stayed with the graduate students until about 3 am and they joked around that since we were the last ones standing that we were admitted... who knows if this will turn out to be true, but I do know that it was to my benefit to talk with the graduate students about their rotations, faculty, the research environment, etc... it shows interest and the graduate students remember you the next day and sorta make you one of their own. Drink a lot of water if you are going to be drinking so you don't regret it the next morning during brunch like I did For those of you that will be exhausted after your interviews take a quick power nap since there will probably be time between your interviews and dinner. You will need this extra energy for the activities after dinner and I highly recommend that you attend these events. If you are sorta antisocial just try to ask about the research of the graduate students as there is probably someone there that is doing what you are interested in and conversation will naturally follow with this interest. The graduate students, if they are doing a good job, will ask you about your interviews and what you think about the school. This is your time to clear any doubts or get answers to any lingering questions you might have. Remember you got to the interview stage so at this point they are trying to woo you. My last observation is directed more towards the behavior of the interviewees. They come in all forms from shy to outgoing and a critical moment in this whole experience is when you are all gathered in the hotel lobby just before your interviews. I would advice to be there early before the meeting time and get to know the other interviewees as they come one by one, a simple hi is enough to start the conversation. Its hard to break the ice, and if you are the one who is being active and engaged in this role, then you are more than likely to find other interviewees that interest you. I recommend that you interact with other people because by Saturday a lot of the other applicants have already formed groups that they are comfortable with and they will usually stick together. I saw a couple of people who were sort of ostracized and i'm almost sure they did not enjoy the experience as well as the other applicants. If you are one of those shy people, then I would recommend you interact with the other shy people as you already have a mutual trait that will allow you to bond together. The important part of this whole experience is to have fun and to interact with as many people as possible since these will be your future colleagues Oops I lied one more thing! The majority of the interviewees had already graduated from their undergrad and were lab techs. I was one of those few that were still in undergrad so definitely your research experience plays a huge role in these graduate school applications! yolk, ghostoverground, AtomDance and 3 others 6
amertume Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 How long after we interview will we hear back for the results? I heard back after 3 business days (as did other applicants that I kept in touch with). I've heard it can take up to months, though
expandyourmind Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) First post on this forum! I'm still sincerely hoping for a Columbia invite. It's been my top choice (my “dream school”) since I began looking at programs last summer, and I feel it's a perfect research fit for me. I based all of my applications primarily on research fit as opposed to merely prestige or location. I have some rather specific research interests, and Columbia's faculty happens to align perfectly with them! So I hope I conveyed that well in my Personal Statement! Does anyone who has received an invite to CMBS (or Genetics & Development) know when the available interview dates are, in the event that more invites are sent? I'm still holding onto that glimmer of hope! I already received an invite from Columbia Development and Genetics. Interview dates are Jan 22-24 and Feb 5-7. I don't know if they send out multiple waves of invites but when I called they had mentioned that all the invites were going out that day (I can't remember when). Best of luck to you! Edited January 20, 2015 by expandyourmind
expandyourmind Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Congrats on your acceptance, that's inspiring to me. I just touched bases with my school of choice, whom extended their deadlines already. My POI there says they nominated me for their fellowship funding. I just hope I get an invite now ><. Either way, 3 invites for the next month, which I'm excited for. is this common that a school will halt your interview invite to see if they can get fellowship funding?
tito balisimo Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 is this common that a school will halt your interview invite to see if they can get fellowship funding? I don't think they "halted" my application. It is just taking a while, just happens that they take way longer than all the rest of the schools for whathever reason. But, it is possible schools will deny or put holds on application's due to funding. Some schools offer people positions with no funding. Either way, I am thinking this may pose a problem if I am offered admissions before I even interview at my school of interest.
canuck02 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 For Rockefeller U interview, anyone know if we need to send the grad office an official sealed transcript? Doesn't appear to say anywhere in fedex package, but seems to be standard practice at other programs.
amertume Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 Congrats on your acceptance, that's inspiring to me. I just touched bases with my school of choice, whom extended their deadlines already. My POI there says they nominated me for their fellowship funding. I just hope I get an invite now ><. Either way, 3 invites for the next month, which I'm excited for. Thank you good luck with your interviews!
notsaxophones Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 I think I got accepted to Ohio State - their online "appstatus" thing says I've been offered admission, but I haven't gotten any emails yet. Anyone else hear anything from their micro department?
kelsell15 Posted January 20, 2015 Posted January 20, 2015 I think I got accepted to Ohio State - their online "appstatus" thing says I've been offered admission, but I haven't gotten any emails yet. Anyone else hear anything from their micro department? Mine still says "Pending," Fingers Crossed!
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