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2015 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results


Dedi

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Actually everybody in every single program has until April 15th to notify, although most programs ask people to kindly tell them as soon as possible. I rejected my offer to Columbia's integrated program today, so maybe that spot will be for you! Good luck!

Well, thanks for the information. I am a bit confused what to do now. Should I email them or just keep waiting? Btw, congrats on your Mt Sinai decision. I am sure you will love it. All the best.

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Well, thanks for the information. I am a bit confused what to do now. Should I email them or just keep waiting? Btw, congrats on your Mt Sinai decision. I am sure you will love it. All the best.

Lots of schools are on spring break and interviews went later this year because of bad weather out East (there's bad weather out West, too, but drought isn't delaying interviews). I'm waiting until April then shooting emails to any program I haven't heard back from, which is 2.

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That same thing happened to me. I'm from the bay and Stanford was my dream school, but I'm taking the plunge and going to the opposite coast. Looks like you've got a tough choice to make. It'll be interesting to see what you choose with those options. Do you have favorites?

 

I definitely really liked Stanford (which I thought was a reach for me) and UChicago as my favorites. I feel like I'm going to end up leaving home regardless, I just can't decide where I'll thrive more. 

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I definitely really liked Stanford (which I thought was a reach for me) and UChicago as my favorites. I feel like I'm going to end up leaving home regardless, I just can't decide where I'll thrive more. 

 

I looked at the application process as a chance to explore new places to live, and potentially go outside of my comfort zone. After all, the time you spend in grad school is finite, so it is an excellent opportunity to head to a new location. The bay area and Chicago are both wonderful places to live, with plenty to do!

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Hi everyone,

I was interviewed at Drexel School of Medicine for PhD in Microbiology in February. I still haven't heard back from them regarding the interview results. I emailed the school but no response from them so far. Is there anyone in the same boat :(  :mellow:  :wacko:  

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I looked at the application process as a chance to explore new places to live, and potentially go outside of my comfort zone. After all, the time you spend in grad school is finite, so it is an excellent opportunity to head to a new location. The bay area and Chicago are both wonderful places to live, with plenty to do!

Neuromedic, have you heard from Stanford?  Do you know if they notified the Neuro admits yet?

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Phew - just declined a school for the first time. The initial tension I was feeling gave way to a pretty profound sense of relief as soon as I realized I had hit Send. :) Would recommend. 

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Phew - just declined a school for the first time. The initial tension I was feeling gave way to a pretty profound sense of relief as soon as I realized I had hit Send. :) Would recommend.

You've just inspired me to start that unpleasant process haha. I'm 99% sure my decision will be between two schools so might as well start, right?

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Neuromedic, have you heard from Stanford?  Do you know if they notified the Neuro admits yet?

 

I didn't apply to Stanford, but looking at the results search it looks like most people are still waiting. 

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Congrats to everyone who have gotten into schools already! For those who are still waiting to hear back; hang in there... we're almost there! To add onto the excitement of hearing back from programs, I'm personally getting nervous about going back to school after being out for 3 years!

Edited by Octopus28
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I didn't apply to Stanford, but looking at the results search it looks like most people are still waiting. 

 

Thanks for the response - I've been going nuts.  Congratulations on UCLA!  We'll be classmates if Stanford doesn't pan out :)

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How much do you think funding should influence your decision? I was recently offered a very generous fellowship at what is probably my second choice school. It's an incredible offer at a very good program, but I am finding it very hard to turn down UCLA...which is by far the most expensive place to live of my choices. 

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How much do you think funding should influence your decision? I was recently offered a very generous fellowship at what is probably my second choice school. It's an incredible offer at a very good program, but I am finding it very hard to turn down UCLA...which is by far the most expensive place to live of my choices. 

I'm having a similar issue since I had one school offer me a lot of extra money. I've decided to consider money in a "can I live comfortably without worrying about it" frame of mind. I want to have my own bedroom, be able to eat real food (not top ramen for every meal), afford upkeep/gas for my car, and have a bit leftover for fun/savings. I think UCLA's stipend is a bit low for the location; I'm planning on doing a bit of craigslist research for the area to see how feasible living on the stipend would be. 

Edited by nutellarain
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How much do you think funding should influence your decision? I was recently offered a very generous fellowship at what is probably my second choice school. It's an incredible offer at a very good program, but I am finding it very hard to turn down UCLA...which is by far the most expensive place to live of my choices. 

I feel like it shouldn't be among the most influential of things, but I'm going to attempt to pay off a chunk of my unsubsidized student loan debt each year so it mattered to me.

 

First, this got me nervous: http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj6978-102a even though the stipends mentioned in the article feel lower than than any I've heard of (except the ecology stipends are believable)

 

I used this extensively http://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/ to compare stipends, as well as other stuff (air quality, crime, stuff). There are a lot of calculators out there but I found this one to be the most comprehensive.

 

And this is also a good tool, but it didn't tell me much (other than that all of my stipends were above the "living wage"): http://livingwage.mit.edu/

For Los Angeles county, it says that a "living wage" is $23640 (before taxes), but that's based on an average $943 monthly rent. 

Edited by pasteltomato
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First, this got me nervous: http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj6978-102a even though the stipends mentioned in the article feel lower than than any I've heard of (except the ecology stipends are believable)

That's 10 years old, which may explain some of the numbers.

Oh, and fyi, this is normal; "McNatt brings in US$1,791 a month and says one-third of that used to go on rent before he found more people to share housing costs with." Spending a third of your income on housing is typical, even outside od grad school, not something to be used as evidence of hardship. It's when you're spending half your pay on rent that you have a problem. That said, grad school is definitely a (hopefully short term) pay cut compared to finding a job. Ideally, the education should have some value though.

Oh, and I do think that you absolutely need to take your stipend into account when deciding. When I first made my list of schools any program that said funding is competitive got crossed off immediately. Grad school is hard enough without adding unnecessary financial difficulties.

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How much do you think funding should influence your decision? I was recently offered a very generous fellowship at what is probably my second choice school. It's an incredible offer at a very good program, but I am finding it very hard to turn down UCLA...which is by far the most expensive place to live of my choices. 

 

Expenses was by far one of the biggest concerns of mine, and one of my main concerns about UCLA (it still is, actually). However, talking with the current students during the interviews, it seems that LA is affordable on the stipend. I won't be living in Beverly Hills, but it's doable. At another program that I was accepted, current students have actually been able to afford a mortgage.

 

Like Pasteltomato said, it shouldn't be the most influential matter, but it definitely isn't something to wave off and ignore. 

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Expenses was by far one of the biggest concerns of mine, and one of my main concerns about UCLA (it still is, actually). However, talking with the current students during the interviews, it seems that LA is affordable on the stipend. I won't be living in Beverly Hills, but it's doable. At another program that I was accepted, current students have actually been able to afford a mortgage.

 

Like Pasteltomato said, it shouldn't be the most influential matter, but it definitely isn't something to wave off and ignore. 

Depends on where and how far you want to live from campus. If you live in the new grad apartments (the ones on weyburn) you're going to pay 1100+ for rent and utilities. Parking is pretty expensive as well. Its cheaper to live in Santa Monica or south of Wilshire Blvd. Its obviously doable but you're going to probably have roomates unless you don't mind living in a crappy apartment.

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After emailing the PI I wanted to work for at UGA, he told me to go with my heart, life was too short to not be the happiest, and there would be a post doc waiting for me at the end of my phd. He's so awesome.

I accepted UNC's offer! Thanks for all the support, everyone.

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Congrats to everyone making their choices! I just finally told my PI, who didn't want me to go to WashU over Columbia that I had accepted the offer at WashU and he was surprisingly supportive! Hooray, the part I was dreading is officially over! Now to just keep dreaming about moving to St. Louis--I can't wait!

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On 3/17/2015 at 7:18 AM, Meep_Meep said:

Congrats to everyone making their choices! I just finally told my PI, who didn't want me to go to WashU over Columbia that I had accepted the offer at WashU and he was surprisingly supportive! Hooray, the part I was dreading is officially over! Now to just keep dreaming about moving to St. Louis--I can't wait!

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?

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