2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[brainsandeggs]

7 minutes ago, Microburritology said:

Just called MIT Biology department and asked about the interview invites. He said they've been sent out, and that if you haven't received any email thus far, it's unlikely you'll be invited.

Atleast I know now and won't be anxious through the weekend. Ahh the weekend's going to be such fun going over in my head all the things I could possibly have done differently to get called by MIT. Fun times 

ahhh time to break out the smirnoff ices - thanks for letting us know!

[StemCellBio]

Yale decisions have been posted to the website.

 

Edited January 8, 2016 by StemCellBio

[AgingBio123]

7 minutes ago, StemCellBio said:

Yale decisions have been posted to the website.

 

What do you mean decisions?....interviews haven't even happened yet....

 

Also has anyone heard from Stanford biosciences biochemistry?.....

[Effloresce]

1 minute ago, AgingBio123 said:

What do you mean decisions?....interviews haven't even happened yet....

 

Also has anyone heard from Stanford biosciences biochemistry?.....

yeah i was wondering the same thing in regards to yale. in my case, it was a rejection but it was a bit of a reach for me anyway!

[phd-wannabe]

20 minutes ago, StemCellBio said:

Yale decisions have been posted to the website.

 

Do you mean the online application status changed for you? Mine still looks the same... hmmm...Also waiting for Stanford Biochemistry

[Effloresce]

Just now, phd-wannabe said:

Do you mean the online application status changed for you? Mine still looks the same... hmmm...Also waiting for Stanford Biochemistry

yeah, there was a link at the bottom of the page for me for the decision

[StemCellBio]

19 minutes ago, AgingBio123 said:

What do you mean decisions?....interviews haven't even happened yet....

The website updated my status with a link at the bottom. 

[partydon'tstarttillIwalkin]

45 minutes ago, StemCellBio said:

Yale decisions have been posted to the website.

 

I also got a decision email - rejection. good to know early, tho! 

[mythologyking]

Hey guys,

Where is the survey thread (i.e. the one with all the misspellings of MITs)? Can someone link it here please?  

[Edotdl]

2 minutes ago, mythologyking said:

Hey guys,

Where is the survey thread (i.e. the one with all the misspellings of MITs)? Can someone link it here please?  

http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

[mythologyking]

4 minutes ago, Edotdl said:

http://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/

Thank you!

[ultravioletblack]

Anyone heard from or waiting on UC Berkeley Biophysics? That and Stanford Biophysics are killing me! Only one hour left until the admissions offices close for the weekend...thinking of twisting open a bottle of wine and doing a power hour, so at least by 5pm Pacific I'll be complacently juiced. -___-

[mythologyking]

1 minute ago, ultravioletblack said:

Anyone heard from or waiting on UC Berkeley Biophysics? That and Stanford Biophysics are killing me! Only one hour left until the admissions offices close for the weekend...thinking of twisting open a bottle of wine and doing a power hour, so at least by 5pm Pacific I'll be complacently juiced. -___-

Pour me a glass while you're at it xD

[Ferroportin]

Welp. It's end of day Friday so I think it's safe to say all Stanford Biology invites went out  

[mike35]

2 hours ago, Microburritology said:

Just called MIT Biology department and asked about the interview invites. He said they've been sent out, and that if you haven't received any email thus far, it's unlikely you'll be invited.

Atleast I know now and won't be anxious through the weekend. Ahh the weekend's going to be such fun going over in my head all the things I could possibly have done differently to get called by MIT. Fun times 

So they were all sent out already?

[peachypie]

7 hours ago, brainsandeggs said:

I have a question! In your interviews, how detailed did they get in their questions re: your research and your planned projects? I had an informal meeting with a POI before apps season started, and she REALLY grilled me about technical stuff - she wanted me to draw out diagrams and describe how I arrived at equations for stuff. It turned out okay in the end, but I was just totally unprepared for how in detail she would go, and it wasn't the smoothest meeting. I've been working in the same lab for almost 5 years now, so I expect they will want me to have every little thing down pat, but I get really nervous in person and I"m worried I will flub something and blow an interview! So I've been trying to memorize everything, but I"m not sure if I"m overdoing it. 

Do you remember what kinds of things most faculty members wanted to know about your research? Was it big picture stuff, or did they want the nitty gritties? Also - same question for their own research  - I know people have said that they don't expect you to know stuff about their work, but I worked hard to make sure each faculty member I identified in my SOP was PERFECTLY aligned with my current research, so I"m worried they will be asking me technical questions about their stuff too since it's so similar to mine. 

Thanks in advance! I know things must be crazy busy if you are writing a publication! I am just trying to figure out how to best use my time to prepare for interviews. 

 

 

I never was grilled in an interview, not once.  I also don't bullshit at all and I really knew my research well.  From my interview and those along the interview trail said, the ones that got grilled for stuff like that are people still in undergrad and they either don't have a lot to talk to about your personal research experience and/or they are trying to decide if you know what you are talking about.  Memorizing your research shouldn't need to occur.  You after 5 years should know your own research better than anyone else. If you can't explain it with a few questions that is a problem.  Generally its a "if they can't answer the basic questions easily then they dig deeper because they aren't sure how much you know".  Therefore the better and more at ease with your own research from the get go the better. 

I talked in depth about my research and extrapolated upon their questions.  They don't want to know each and every protocol but like to see how you are thinking and what challenges you encountered. 

I interviewed with many different PIs some that I had expressed interest in, other that I hadn't (ad comm members) etc.  You need to familiarize yourself to be able to carry on a technical conversation with them.  The ones that were in my field knew exactly what I was talking about but I also am working on research so you don't get so detailed that they can scoop your idea.  I would read 2-3 abstracts of the most recently published material from this PI/lab.  Be ready to ask insightful questions and not just sit there and go "uh huh!" and "Yeah that is really cool, I find that interesting". 

[peachypie]

4 hours ago, AstronautSteve said:

 

So at what point (or time) do we inquire to the admin about all invites being sent out

Never.  This is out of hand and I've seen SO MANY POSTS about it.  You guys need to calm down and realize that an admin does not have one sole job of secretary to applicants.  They are: organizing their interviews right now (either before or after invites go out), they have to run their own programs with students who already go there and they have plenty of admin duties for PIs.  You  need to stop.  None of you calling will make any difference in your application, your contacting them is unnecessary.  If you haven't heard, why not assume you are rejected and leave it at that.  If that is what takes to move on then just do that.  Stop calling and emailing an admin just to know 100% sure you are rejected so you can "know". 

[peachypie]

4 hours ago, Infinito said:

Unfortunately not all programs are automated or use mail-merge, so the some poor program admins have to do it manually.

I either got automated emails or was contacted by a PI from the admissions committee. 

[biotechie]

8 hours ago, brainsandeggs said:

I have a question! In your interviews, how detailed did they get in their questions re: your research and your planned projects? I had an informal meeting with a POI before apps season started, and she REALLY grilled me about technical stuff - she wanted me to draw out diagrams and describe how I arrived at equations for stuff. It turned out okay in the end, but I was just totally unprepared for how in detail she would go, and it wasn't the smoothest meeting. I've been working in the same lab for almost 5 years now, so I expect they will want me to have every little thing down pat, but I get really nervous in person and I"m worried I will flub something and blow an interview! So I've been trying to memorize everything, but I"m not sure if I"m overdoing it. 

Do you remember what kinds of things most faculty members wanted to know about your research? Was it big picture stuff, or did they want the nitty gritties? Also - same question for their own research  - I know people have said that they don't expect you to know stuff about their work, but I worked hard to make sure each faculty member I identified in my SOP was PERFECTLY aligned with my current research, so I"m worried they will be asking me technical questions about their stuff too since it's so similar to mine. 

Thanks in advance! I know things must be crazy busy if you are writing a publication! I am just trying to figure out how to best use my time to prepare for interviews. 

 

 

You should know your research, but the PIs will be more excited to talk about their own research. I actually went into some detail on mine, but I was coming from a M.S. program rather than undergrad. They asked about how I was looking at epigenetic markers and one was excited when I was able to recommend a good monoclonal antibody, but other than that, they just wanted the "story-book" version of my research. Most PIs will expect you to be able to talk about the basic science behind what you did as well as how you did your techniques, but don't expect your entire interview to be about that. They'll actually spend more time talking about other things, usually their own research. They like to show you things they're currently working on (often unpublished) and then see what kinds of new directions or hypotheses you make. Sometimes they just want to make sure you can follow it. That's why you should spend a good chunk of time reviewing abstracts from the professors you will be meeting. 

 Also, and this is VERY important, make sure you have permission from your current/former PI to talk about their/your research, especially if it is unpublished. Wouldn't you hate to be the guy that gets them scooped?

[biotechie]

5 hours ago, peachypie said:

I carried a nice tote bag, like a longchamp style one...actually mine was JPK and dark purple in color so a color that worked just fine with interview clothes.  I kept my portfolio in there as well as like pens, my phone and random stuff.  Really nice not to be holding a bunch of stuff when you are meeting people and shaking hands etc. 

I had a small leather messenger bag, but both places I attended interviews at gave me a bag to carry!

 

4 hours ago, AstronautSteve said:

 

So at what point (or time) do we inquire to the admin about all invites being sent out

You should NEVER do this. The only time you should contact the admin is if you had a problem submitting your application. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop calling and spamming these poor admins. You're just adding to their stress and odds are you're adding bad marks to your own application. The calls don't increase your chances of interview and they more likely increase your chance of rejection. These admins are at their own busiest time of the year, scheduling interviews, booking travel, dealing with weather-related travel delays, etc. The last thing they need is someone calling them and sounding like they're begging for an invite.

On top of that, nearly all of those admins don't just handle interviews. They have entire programs to run with students that depend on them. In my case, over 100 students depend on hour admin for a myriad of things. I spent time in her office working on something today and she was starting to get pretty miffed at the number of emails and calls she was getting. They don't control the adcom and they don't control how/when invites get released. You calling to find out your application status is a waste of time because usually they don't know, and even if they do, they're not allowed to tell you. If 300+ of you started emailing her, she would go crazy and not be able to get any work done. Then how would you feel next year as a first year struggling through your hardest classes with an admin who is unavailable to help you get a tutor lined up?

The best thing that you can do is look at the results system to figure out when invites normally come out, but also stop freaking out. It will either happen or it won't, and life goes on either way. Freaking out now isn't going to help you. Imagine if people with the adcom got on here and saw all of this (and they do)?

[Infinito]

10 minutes ago, biotechie said:

 

I had a small leather messenger bag, but both places I attended interviews at gave me a bag to carry!

 

You should NEVER do this. The only time you should contact the admin is if you had a problem submitting your application. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop calling and spamming these poor admins. You're just adding to their stress and odds are you're adding bad marks to your own application. The calls don't increase your chances of interview and they more likely increase your chance of rejection. These admins are at their own busiest time of the year, scheduling interviews, booking travel, dealing with weather-related travel delays, etc. The last thing they need is someone calling them and sounding like they're begging for an invite.

On top of that, nearly all of those admins don't just handle interviews. They have entire programs to run with students that depend on them. In my case, over 100 students depend on hour admin for a myriad of things. I spent time in her office working on something today and she was starting to get pretty miffed at the number of emails and calls she was getting. They don't control the adcom and they don't control how/when invites get released. You calling to find out your application status is a waste of time because usually they don't know, and even if they do, they're not allowed to tell you. If 300+ of you started emailing her, she would go crazy and not be able to get any work done. Then how would you feel next year as a first year struggling through your hardest classes with an admin who is unavailable to help you get a tutor lined up?

The best thing that you can do is look at the results system to figure out when invites normally come out, but also stop freaking out. It will either happen or it won't, and life goes on either way. Freaking out now isn't going to help you. Imagine if people with the adcom got on here and saw all of this (and they do)?

THIS.

And, as a general reiteration: how you act now while you wait for interviews and your general outlook towards interviews will reflect heavily on your future success. Are you being neurotic, and anxious to the point of toxicity spilling over onto here and in real life? Take a step back and BREATHE. B.R.E.A.T.H.E. A little bit of learning how to deal with this stuff now will give you big divdends in the future. After all, I'm hoping for all of your successes. At the same time, I'd like my future colleagues and peers to be more grounded and to be people I can drink with without constantly having to allude to all the problems going on in their lives or experiments, lol.

[jayelko]

Just got back from my first interview! It was SO much fun, and way less stressful than I imagined. 

[gyrase]

Late to the party, but Stanford Cancer Bio! Screamed when I got the email. Congrats to everyone! 

4 minutes ago, jayelko said:

Just got back from my first interview! It was SO much fun, and way less stressful than I imagined. 

Whee that's so great! I'm nervous for my first one next week. Glad it went so well for you!!

[MEISFFSNLE]

Anybody think after this week it will be all rejection for those you have not heard from??.....

[HopefulPHD14]

Just now, yonglin489 said:

Anybody think after this week it will be all rejection for those you have not heard from??.....

I hope I start hearing something from those schools soon.  I've been putting off accepting/rejecting an interviews for too long now waiting for my top choices.... At this point I would be happy for a rejection just so that I could accept my 3rd interview without hesitation.  I have the weekend to think about it but I have to make my choice on Monday.  This whole thing is stressful.