2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Neist]

Just now, mwgskol said:

Do you think I should just go for a standard suit then? I feel like I'll be very uncomfortable wearing those but if that's what it takes to fit in.... then I guess I could do that

I think what you're wearing in the picture is probably fine.

You look presentable wearing that, and that's what matters. Besides, if you overdress, it's probably going to be far more obvious than under dressing. 

You might look at portraits of faculty members at the department you're visiting (on their website) and consider seriousness of their attire. That might be a clue.

Just my two cents, but I certainly would accept the advice of others on these boards. However, from my admittedly anecdotal experience, I think what you're wearing in that picture is perfectly acceptable.

[vestigialtraits]

15 minutes ago, mwgskol said:

Hey everyone, I would like some fashion advice! 

Do you think that I can wear something like this for my interview? Some school specified dress code as business casual and the others didn't say.

 

 

Not speaking from any type of experience besides being a good dresser 

Haha but I think that looks fine! Not too dressy, not too casual. It looks like you're put together but not over doing it. I'd recommend it.

[lilacs]

I've been lurking since the start of the app season, decided to finally contribute.

Undergrad Institution: Top research university in California
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.15
Overall GPA: 3.2
Position in Class: I don't have any idea
Type of Student: Domestic female minority

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 156
V: 156
W: 5
B: didn't take it

Research Experience: 3.3 years of research at my school, 1 publication (1st co-author), 1 conference poster, 3 posters at school.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's honors list, multiple research awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: n/a

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: n/a

Special Bonus Points: female, minority, first generation college student and American.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Raised by a single mom on the wrong side of the tracks.

Applying to Where: Dartmouth, University of Michigan(AA), University of Washington, University of Oregon, Tufts, UC Davis, University of Tennessee - Knoxville, Michigan State, Rutgers, Carnegie Mellon, University of Illinois(UC), University of Colorado (Anschutz)

Interviews: Dartmouth, UMAA, UCD, CMU, Rutgers, CU Anschutz

Haven't heard anything from the other 6 schools just yet.

Edited January 16, 2016 by lilacs
formatting

[Liverbird_93]

Anyone interviewing at the Tri-I in ~1 week?

[biosci]

anyone interviewing at CSHL next week feel free to PM me

[Edotdl]

For those still waiting on UCSD

[AtomDance]

16 hours ago, pm666 said:

Thanks for your reply..:) I got my application in on Nov 22nd.  The administrator just told me that reviews are still not complete for IMBS and the final review day is January 29th. So I am trying to stay positive. In the application status check, IMBS is still the active program. Keeping fingers crossed. 

Good luck!!! 

[swiftninja]

2 hours ago, Edotdl said:

For those still waiting on UCSD

Thank you!

Edited January 16, 2016 by swiftninja

[blinchik]

For those who are concerned about interview attire, business casual, which was the dress code for all the ones that I attended, isn't really that ambiguous of a term: if you wear mostly/all neutral colors (grey/black/navy/etc.) and nicer clothes, you'll be fine. I recommend nicer pants for men with a sweater or a collared shirt. We had our first round of interviews yesterday, and I saw guys wearing the above or wearing suits - either way, they looked nice and professional.

If you are a girl, slacks and a sweater/blouse with/without a blazer is good. Also, don't be afraid of wearing skirts/dresses! I interviewed in cold climates, and my interview outfit was a grey closed-neck knee-length stretchy dress from Banana Republic with black leggings, suede boots, and a black blazer - I definitely did not look more casual than the cohort I was interviewing with, and I was warm and comfortable even in the snow. As many in the forum have said before, if you look like you have made an effort and don't look as if you just rolled out of bed, it will be well-received. Obviously, if you're interviewing in a colder climate, a parka and mittens will not make you seem unprofessional or anything. I'm sure people can still get in wearing jeans/T-shirts, but ultimately you only have one chance to make the best possible impression, so why let your sartorial choices hold you back?

Edit: good-condition, nice booties/boots are fine, as is a whatever-colored tote/bag. I used a dark purple/black Longchamp or a black tote, depending on the interview. If you are on the fence, just ask yourself if you would wear this item if you were trying to impress someone/make a good impression. Some of you are definitely overthinking things - this is academia, not business. If you don't show up in heels, a suit, and a fancy-looking bag, it will not count against you at all.

Edited January 16, 2016 by blinchik

[Effloresce]

I just had my first interview weekend at UVA and all I can say is that it was amazing! I psyched myself out from a week before I arrived, but it was honestly amazing. I met with six professors and the conversations were incredibly casual..we talked about research, sure, but a lot of them were more concerned with my questions about the program, and what they could do to make my visit/understanding of the program and area better. 

It's made me extremely relieved about the rest of the interviewing process and now I understand that they're trying to make a great impression on me as well. The grad students were also extremely happy, which gives me good vibes. Not to mention Charlottesville is a beautiful little town, and people are extremely friendly..

[biotechie]

15 hours ago, mwgskol said:

Hey everyone, I would like some fashion advice! 

Do you think that I can wear something like this for my interview? Some school specified dress code as business casual and the others didn't say.

 

I think this looks very nice, and way to go with the comfortable shoes! This is close to on par with what I wore for my interviews (in 2013) and what I've seen applicants wearing the three years I've been here. I personally would wear nicer slacks than that, but if you wear exactly what is in the picture, you'll look plenty nice enough. If they were denim or denim-washed jeans, I would say now. 

On top of whatever you wear, being humble, but also exuding confidence looks very good on most people (so long as you're being sincere).

Good luck!

[peachypie]

23 hours ago, YouCantBcereus said:

I submitted my application on the deadline so i figured it would be a while before I heard back. Maybe they'll just release everything at once at this point? They're the last school I'm waiting to hear back from, waiting is so hard. I hope (if I get an interview) that their weekends are towards the end of February, I'm all booked up til then. 

I don't think when you submitted an application is going to have an impact on when you hear back.  Generally unless its rolling admissions, of which UNC is not, they wait and review all of them at once.

[peachypie]

16 hours ago, mwgskol said:

Hey everyone, I would like some fashion advice! 

Do you think that I can wear something like this for my interview? Some school specified dress code as business casual and the others didn't say.

 

Yes that will be just fine.

[daniolabtest]

For those that have gone to interviews so far, how far in advance did you get a list of professors you were meeting with? I've got one this coming week and haven't heard anything.

[biosci]

1 minute ago, daniolabtest said:

For those that have gone to interviews so far, how far in advance did you get a list of professors you were meeting with? I've got one this coming week and haven't heard anything.

About a week

[bornea]

15 hours ago, daniolabtest said:

For those that have gone to interviews so far, how far in advance did you get a list of professors you were meeting with? I've got one this coming week and haven't heard anything.

For UVa BIMS it was about 3 days but I had some idea who was going to be on it because they asked for 8-10 faculty I would like to meet from me.

[tbaran]

There is already a separate topic for MIT CSB, but I wanted to ask this question here too. There were a couple of interview invites in the survey earlier, and it seems like a lot of pre-interview rejections were sent out last Friday. However, I received neither an interview invite nor a rejection from them so far. Any ideas on what might be going on? 

[AngryRobot!]

May I ask how much usually does hotel rooms in New York City cost? I am an international student going to interview at Weill Cornell. I need to stay in NYC before and after the days when they can provide hotels. I searched airbnb and it seems that it usually costs 100 USD per day. It is expensive but reasonable in NYC right? Anyone has experiences in finding cheaper hotels in NYC? Thank you!

Edited January 17, 2016 by AngryRobot!

[Neist]

45 minutes ago, AngryRobot! said:

May I ask how much usually does hotel rooms in New York City cost? I am an international student going to interview at Weill Cornell. I need to stay in NYC before and after the days when they can provide hotels. I searched airbnb and it seems that it usually costs 100 USD per day. It is expensive but reasonable in NYC right? Anyone has experiences in finding cheaper hotels in NYC? Thank you!

To be honest, you'd have some difficulty locating a hotel in some parts of Oklahoma lower than 100 USD.

Someone who has actually spent some time in NYC might inform you better than I, but I'd say AirBnB seems like the way to go.

[AngryRobot!]

28 minutes ago, Neist said:

To be honest, you'd have some difficulty locating a hotel in some parts of Oklahoma lower than 100 USD.

Someone who has actually spent some time in NYC might inform you better than I, but I'd say AirBnB seems like the way to go.

Thank you! I found something 51 USD per night in Manhattan on airbnb. 

[laxgoal100]

I think we broke the site!

[AngryRobot!]

Funny story. I was in contact with program coordinator about my POIs so that she can contact them about availability for my interview. I listed five POIs as required. There was a rescheduled request on my side so emails went back and forth. Finally my interview was rescheduled and she ask me to confirm my POI list, but only listed four of them. At that time I thought she already contacted them and these would be professors I would meet for interview. So I replied "I confirm these four, but I also indicated professor [XX]. Does this mean he is not available?" She never wrote back. Later I realise she is just confirming the list before contacting professors. And she probably was too busy to wrote me back (I asked a question but it was dumb). And I figured she now should figured she missed one professor and it should be OK. However it was a little curious to me that why she just left out that one professor (who is actually kinda the most important). Until today when I am reading his papers, I realise I keep spelling his name wrong. It was a minor mistake, like "alt--" spelled as "atl--" but she was probably searching the systems and that's why she didn't find him the first time. Anyway, because she did not reply my last email, I am wondering if I should wrote her now to clarify my mistake. The email was two weeks ago and my interview is four weeks away. I guess there should be nothing to worry about. It's just that I asked a question and she did not reply so I feel a little paranoid. 

[bgk]

7 minutes ago, laxgoal100 said:

I think we broke the site!

Nope :-) 

Just doing a few upgrades ... poor server has been barely hanging on for about a year.  I think I've got it back under control now.   Good luck everyone!

[laxgoal100]

Just now, bgk said:

Nope :-) 

Just doing a few upgrades ... poor server has been barely hanging on for about a year.  I think I've got it back under control now.   Good luck everyone!

Thanks for keeping this site up and running smoothly  

[peachypie]

1 hour ago, AngryRobot! said:

Funny story. I was in contact with program coordinator about my POIs so that she can contact them about availability for my interview. I listed five POIs as required. There was a rescheduled request on my side so emails went back and forth. Finally my interview was rescheduled and she ask me to confirm my POI list, but only listed four of them. At that time I thought she already contacted them and these would be professors I would meet for interview. So I replied "I confirm these four, but I also indicated professor [XX]. Does this mean he is not available?" She never wrote back. Later I realise she is just confirming the list before contacting professors. And she probably was too busy to wrote me back (I asked a question but it was dumb). And I figured she now should figured she missed one professor and it should be OK. However it was a little curious to me that why she just left out that one professor (who is actually kinda the most important). Until today when I am reading his papers, I realise I keep spelling his name wrong. It was a minor mistake, like "alt--" spelled as "atl--" but she was probably searching the systems and that's why she didn't find him the first time. Anyway, because she did not reply my last email, I am wondering if I should wrote her now to clarify my mistake. The email was two weeks ago and my interview is four weeks away. I guess there should be nothing to worry about. It's just that I asked a question and she did not reply so I feel a little paranoid. 

Not all interviews will be with everyone you want to work with.  It sounds like you were asked for five and they set up interviews with 4.  The one that is not on that list is likely not available to meet with you.  I don't think the misspelling is an issue, generally program coordinators work for a specific department and know all the PIs anyway and one letter mixup is not going to confuse them to that level.  I wouldn't be overly concerned about contacting again.  You probably won't hear back about anything specific until closer to the interview date, the coordinator is probably fairly busy right now with setting up interview details and the current students of the program.