SynBioGuy Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) 1 hour ago, bioconfused said: Hello everyone, Are there any international students from India out there? who are applying to biomedical programs? I got an interview invite from Mount Sinai today and they asked me to choose between two options. Id really like to hear from an international applicant about interviews. or someone already attending to give some insight about attending interviews for international students. Do they expect us to fly to the other side of the globe? Im willing to do it if it is necessary. But I have to add that the interview dates fall during the semester and travelling to the US is no joke. Its at least a 20 hour flight, to say nothing of the cost. I think you can always ask whether you can do a Skype interview instead. But if I were you, I will definitely go to the States for interviews. You will be spending 5-6 years of your life in a grad school, so I would invest the time and money to choose the "right" school. Edited December 9, 2015 by SynBioGuy
aichan93 Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 @keviv1692 @bioconfused strange. all my friends who are internationals from my country fly to the US. I'm planning to go. It's better to see how things are. I'm from Singapore, so the travel distance is about the same for us to the US
ilovelab Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 It all depends on the program. Some will fly international students out some will just do skype interviews. Both have the same weight in the admissions decision.
Microburritology Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) I'm from India as well, but in a slightly different boat as I already work here. Nonetheless, for all the programs I've applied to, you do not have to fly anywhere. Neither can they afford to fly you all the way from India, nor will they expect you to at your own costs. The dates they gave you were probably for your Skype interview - and you've probably got to get back to them with a suitable date before they set up a time for the interview. They specifically state on their website what their process is for international students, and I'll the ones I've applied to or looked over have preferred skype. However, if they haven't mentioned anything in your email, i'd email them back and ask them what their plans are. Finally, even if they do fly you, NO, it won't be at your costs. All the best! Jai Hind! 5 hours ago, bioconfused said: Hello everyone, Are there any international students from India out there? who are applying to biomedical programs? I got an interview invite from Mount Sinai today and they asked me to choose between two options. Id really like to hear from an international applicant about interviews. or someone already attending to give some insight about attending interviews for international students. Do they expect us to fly to the other side of the globe? Im willing to do it if it is necessary. But I have to add that the interview dates fall during the semester and travelling to the US is no joke. Its at least a 20 hour flight, to say nothing of the cost. 5 hours ago, aichan93 said: Hi bioconfused, I'm from Singapore in the same boat. I'm traveling. Tons of my friends who apply to grad sch from here fly there. I applied quite a few schools so hopefully I get some interviews and I won't be traveling there for just 1 school. I'm working as a research officer now so i have to take annual leave Edited December 9, 2015 by Microburritology
bioconfused Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 22 minutes ago, aichan93 said: @keviv1692 @bioconfused strange. all my friends who are internationals from my country fly to the US. I'm planning to go. It's better to see how things are. I'm from Singapore, so the travel distance is about the same for us to the US Did you get an email from Mount Sinai? And will you be flying for every interview weekend? i dont see it panning out well unless i know I can combine several interviews on one trip. But I've only heard from Mount Sinai so i shouldnt get ahead of myself. But I did check out the flights and they seem more expensive in jan than in the next few weeks. And i cant really stay there for too long, i have to work on my undergraduate thesis which I would potentially begin in January. Which is why I'm worried. Everybody I spoke to, indians in graduate programs in the US said they did skype interviews. so im quite confused now, and I'm supposed to be studying for a final tomorrow :|
bioconfused Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 2 minutes ago, Microburritology said: I'm from India as well, but in a slightly different boat as I already work here. Nonetheless, NO, you do not have to fly anywhere. Neither can they afford to fly you all the way from India, nor will they expect you to at your own costs. The dates they gave you were for your Skype interview - and you've probably got to get back to them with a suitable date before they set up a time for the interview. Can I PM you? my email seemed like they were asking me to come there.
keviv1692 Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 5 minutes ago, Microburritology said: I'm from India as well, but in a slightly different boat as I already work here. Nonetheless, NO, you do not have to fly anywhere. Neither can they afford to fly you all the way from India, nor will they expect you to at your own costs. The dates they gave you were for your Skype interview - and you've probably got to get back to them with a suitable date before they set up a time for the interview. Exactly my point! Hello, I see you got an invite from WUSTL DBBS. Congrats man! Best of luck for that. What was your first choice there? MCB? Since I am also applying there, but I don't expect to hear from them till late Jan, since I am an international applicant.
Caffeine Junky Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 If anyone hears from Vanderbilt today can they please post? Freaking out over here
Microburritology Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Saw your message - I understand now. Relax, looks like they email they sent out was an interview email basically targeted for the domestic candidates, and they probably forgot to email you with the template for the international candidates. Reach back to them, they'll get it taken care of Once again, neither can they afford to fly you here for an interview, nor would they expect you to ever fly here on your own. 23 minutes ago, bioconfused said: Can I PM you? my email seemed like they were asking me to come there. Thank you @keviv1692!! First choice was Plant and Microbial Biosciences and the second was Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis. Late Jan? They have those dates for informing international candidates? You sure? Not unheard of, but pretty late though.
keviv1692 Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 1 minute ago, Microburritology said: Thank you @keviv1692!! First choice was Plant and Microbial Biosciences and the second was Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis. Late Jan? They have those dates for informing international candidates? You sure? Not unheard of, but pretty late though. No man just assuming. I don't know, but certainly not getting an invite this year . Probably sometime in Jan, I hope to get an interview somewhere. Also, I strongly believe that the international applicants are evaluated as a separate pool, once they are done with sending out interviews to top domestic candidates. But still, my hopes are high, and WUSTL should be one of your top choices, I guess. Certainly its one of my top 3.
Microburritology Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Well, for sure international candidates are evaluated separately, because of the funding and the grants primarily being allotted for domestic students. But this is still applicable only to public universities, not for private universities, like WUSTL. Well my first choice is Yale MCGD, and I've received some positive vibes from a professor there, so fingers crossed. Relax, you will be fine, you'll definitely get an interview somewhere, assuming you've applied to a good mix of reach and safety net schools! 21 minutes ago, keviv1692 said: No man just assuming. I don't know, but certainly not getting an invite this year . Probably sometime in Jan, I hope to get an interview somewhere. Also, I strongly believe that the international applicants are evaluated as a separate pool, once they are done with sending out interviews to top domestic candidates. But still, my hopes are high, and WUSTL should be one of your top choices, I guess. Certainly its one of my top 3.
neuroVg Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 6 hours ago, bioconfused said: Hello everyone, Are there any international students from India out there? who are applying to biomedical programs? I got an interview invite from Mount Sinai today and they asked me to choose between two options. Id really like to hear from an international applicant about interviews. or someone already attending to give some insight about attending interviews for international students. Do they expect us to fly to the other side of the globe? Im willing to do it if it is necessary. But I have to add that the interview dates fall during the semester and travelling to the US is no joke. Its at least a 20 hour flight, to say nothing of the cost. Hello, even I am from India but on a slightly different situation as I am currently doing my master's here. As far as I know almost all the schools do Skype interviews for international students especially in India. There are some exception though like University of Washington Neuroscience program which requires all to student to attend in person interviews. In person interview for International students are really expensive and most of the school won't reimburse airfare charges. 6 hours ago, aichan93 said: Hi bioconfused, I'm from Singapore in the same boat. I'm traveling. Tons of my friends who apply to grad sch from here fly there. I applied quite a few schools so hopefully I get some interviews and I won't be traveling there for just 1 school. I'm working as a research officer now so i have to take annual leave But the main reason why most of school don't except students in India to show up for in person interviews when compared to Singapore or any european students is because of the visa restrictions. It is not easy to get US visa (its a time consuming process) and at the same time the program won't sponsor for your visa. If I were you, I would definitely ask for Skype interview! And congrats to everyone who has got early invites.
aichan93 Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 yup I'm going. I emailed them about hotel accommodations and stuff. And oh yeah, i forgot about the visa requirements; I don't need a visa cause of FTA.
SynBioGuy Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 @keviv1692 Which program under the WUSTL DBBS did you apply to ??
jzhan118 Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 Anyone knows when does Northwestern send out invitations?
Metbio2016 Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 I got interview invites from U Chicago (Biomedical Science, CMMN), Vanderbilt (IGP) and Berkeley (Metabolic Biology) on Monday of this week. Submitted my application mid November but it wasn't complete (recommendations) until Nov. 28th. Still waiting to hear back from others! fucun, jzhan118 and S.K.P. 3
SynBioGuy Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) 2 minutes ago, keviv1692 said: @SynBioGuy First Choice- MCB, Second choice-Dev Bio, You? My first choice is molecular microbiology and microbial pathogenesis Edited December 9, 2015 by SynBioGuy
Neuro PolarBear Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 MIT BCS (Neuro) sent out an email today saying they'll send out interview notifications in January.
brainsandeggs Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 On 12/7/2015 at 4:13 PM, Microburritology said: Okay I can't feel my legs....I GOT AN INTERVIEW INVITE TO THE DBBS PROGRAM AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS 5 minutes ago via email!!!!! Confirmed right away, booking my tickets for the interview weekend of January 14th. All the hard work f***ing paid off. I'm so on top of the world nowwww!!! Amazing!! Congrats!
StrongTackleBacarySagna Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 That WUSTL response is pretty amazing because if you can get in there you can get in pretty much anywhere. Also it's been like a week since the deadline
Microburritology Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 @brainsandeggs Thank you, thank you!! 1 hour ago, brainsandeggs said: Amazing!! Congrats! @StrongTackleBacarySagna Haha yea, I wish you were right and that were true. All I'm hoping for is in addition to WUSTL, I get something from my first choice, Yale MCGD. MIT is more like a distant dream, applied coz it was my childhood dream, but my chances there are next to zero. Nonetheless, thank you! 24 minutes ago, StrongTackleBacarySagna said: That WUSTL response is pretty amazing because if you can get in there you can get in pretty much anywhere. Also it's been like a week since the deadline
Microburritology Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 (edited) @SynBioGuy molecular microbiology and microbial pathogenesis was my second choice in the application!! What was your second choice? Edited December 9, 2015 by Microburritology
SynBioGuy Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 @Microburritology Hi, well first of all congrats!! My first choice was molecular microbiology and microbial pathogenesis; my second choice was plant and microbial biosciences.
Microburritology Posted December 9, 2015 Posted December 9, 2015 @SynBioGuy HA my choices were the same, in the reverse order. Thank you, and good luck to you!
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