2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[cytok]

Hi, I just found this website! I wanted to ask everyone, for the interviews it sounds like there are a lot of fun activities involved where the school takes you out to explore your potential new city. For these events, do people ever dress more casually, like wear jeans? Or should you stick to your business casual interview clothes the entire time?

Thanks!

[biotechie]

6 hours ago, immuno91 said:

Out of curiosity, has anyone here been in a position where, of the four faculty interviewers you've been assigned, none of them are people you've requested and only one of them is even remotely involved in research in your field of interest (even then it's a stretch - bacteria and inflammation is their field and my field of interest is virology)? I'm not really sure how to go about preparing for this. However, I'm also concerned that I'm going to get a very negative impression of the program because I won't be meeting with anyone whose research interests me. Has anyone that has gone through the process had to deal with this and, if so, how did you handle it? Or is this a situation where you just have to grin and bear it?

To me, that kind of thought process is very closed-minded. There are lots of reasons the PI's you're interested in might be busy. Maybe they're out of town or maybe they're not taking students next year. Regardless, you should read up on the professors you'll be interviewing with. Honestly, if you have a rotation, you probably won't end up with your main POIs, anyway. I know very few of the people in my program who actually joined labs they thought they would be interested in. I definitely didn't. I joined a lab in a completely different field.

Having interests is great, but don't put all of your eggs in one basket. You're going to find a program that feels like home, and you'll know it when you're there. If rotations are something your program does, focus on how the students in the program are, and how you feel you fit into the coursework and student body. Perhaps you'll find research that interests you, but you just don't know about it, yet. The abstracts you find online only represent a portion of their research, and they don't include whatever cool projects they are currently pursuing that they haven't made public yet. If you look at it as you might get to learn something new or different that you didn't know you liked, you'll like it a lot better. 

5 hours ago, Earl said:

Will we know the list of our faculty interviewers a few days BEFORE traveling/arriving to the school?  Or do they give you the schedule right when you land?  I really hope it is the former!

Most schools ask you for a list of POIs, and then they see if they're available. If not, you'll get assigned someone. However, the most fun interviews I had were with PIs I didn't pick, and I feel like they ended up being my strongest advocates for admission as they were the most excited.

[biotechie]

5 minutes ago, cytok said:

Hi, I just found this website! I wanted to ask everyone, for the interviews it sounds like there are a lot of fun activities involved where the school takes you out to explore your potential new city. For these events, do people ever dress more casually, like wear jeans? Or should you stick to your business casual interview clothes the entire time?

Thanks!

I didn't wear jeans at any of my interviews, and I very rarely saw others do so. Stick to the more comfortable casual side of business casual for those types of events. For your interview, go more formal, but not quite business formal. For example, a mis-matched suit for girls, or a dress shirt and slacks for a guy.

[shadenitro]

4 hours ago, charles14 said:

I heard back from the Columbia's integrated program for an interview on Dec 21. 
(international applicant with Bachelors in the US here)

Oh!
Congrats

Just wanted to know - is it customary for international applicants to get invited later?

 

According to the survey, the Columbia program sent out invites in late Jan/Feb last year. Just wanted to confirm   

International applicant here, and I'm getting extremely nervous.

[sanfonts]

Has someone heard any news on Stanford Bioengineering and Yale Biomedical Engineering?

[Tanids]

What do you think about these kinds of outfits for non-interview day (like dinners with grad students, faculty and other events) during the interview weekend? Do you think the tucked in boot look is too casual?

 

 

[onceinalifetime]

Guys I just want to say congrats on all your acceptances! I wish you much luck during your grad school journees!

Edited January 12, 2016 by fuzzylogician
Edited out inappropriate language.

[biotechie]

3 minutes ago, Tanids said:

What do you think about these kinds of outfits for non-interview day (like dinners with grad students, faculty and other events) during the interview weekend? Do you think the tucked in boot look is too casual?

 

 

The middle one looks too frumpy to me, but I'd say the other ones are good! To be honest, they're all three probably fine, though I'd avoid skirts if at all possible (even with tights). Sometimes schools take you out hiking in the local area, etc. One school offered to take us skiing, though they'll let you know ahead of time for something like that.

[ultravioletblack]

2 minutes ago, biotechie said:

The middle one looks too frumpy to me, but I'd say the other ones are good! To be honest, they're all three probably fine, though I'd avoid skirts if at all possible (even with tights). Sometimes schools take you out hiking in the local area, etc. One school offered to take us skiing, though they'll let you know ahead of time for something like that.

Skiing?! Which school? That's awesome! Though knowing me, I probably would've shattered my pelvis from repeatedly tumbling down the mountain, or falling off the ski lift. -__- Bad for first impressions.

[peachypie]

10 hours ago, immuno91 said:

Out of curiosity, has anyone here been in a position where, of the four faculty interviewers you've been assigned, none of them are people you've requested and only one of them is even remotely involved in research in your field of interest (even then it's a stretch - bacteria and inflammation is their field and my field of interest is virology)? I'm not really sure how to go about preparing for this. However, I'm also concerned that I'm going to get a very negative impression of the program because I won't be meeting with anyone whose research interests me. Has anyone that has gone through the process had to deal with this and, if so, how did you handle it? Or is this a situation where you just have to grin and bear it?

That is really too bad and I've had some similar things happen to me.  It is not ideal for student or program obviously.  The issue here is that typically your interviews will include members of the admission committee.  They also need to schedule your interviewers and they aren't always able to get everyone the ones the applicant is interested in.  This may be a result of a professor being gone or unable to schedule that day.  What to remember is the interview process isn't solely about you talking to one person you are going to work with in an interview.  You are going to have to be able to talk a lot of science regardless.  It also doesn't prevent you from meeting these individuals in non-interview time of your visit.  I had interviews where the morning of there were emergencies (pipe burst or family emergency) and I couldn't even meet with the people I was planned to meet with.  You really have to roll with it and enjoy the experience.  I am sure the school tried to get interviews with people of interest to you but it also can be a bit like herding cats.  Try not to let the impression of the school be dictated by something like this and realize there is a lot going on in the background you may not be seeing the result of. 

[peachypie]

9 hours ago, Earl said:

Will we know the list of our faculty interviewers a few days BEFORE traveling/arriving to the school?  Or do they give you the schedule right when you land?  I really hope it is the former!

Anywhere from a few days to maybe a few weeks.  Usually like average about a week or so?

[peachypie]

4 hours ago, breaker746 said:

I did banking last summer, so was referring to that since that could've been my sad future (~80-100 hrs a week). Curious though, what are the typical hours for a grad student like? 

Depends on your school and how it is set up for your program.  When you are in classes and in lab its a lot of time commitment.  You have class and work in lab during the day then have to come home to study/prepare for exams or presentations etc.  You don't get a lot of "break time" if you will.  Often times when you aren't studying you feel guilty that you aren't because you don't really have "the time" to do that.  Grad students will work anywhere from like a 9-5ish kind of feel to 12 hour days.  Weekends happen often.  All depends on the student and where they are in their PhD journey.  If you are still in classes you add in time away from lab in class and when studying at night.  Weekends and holidays are just time to catch up with what you've been behind on either class-wise or in lab. 

[biotechie]

1 minute ago, peachypie said:

Depends on your school and how it is set up for your program.  When you are in classes and in lab its a lot of time commitment.  You have class and work in lab during the day then have to come home to study/prepare for exams or presentations etc.  You don't get a lot of "break time" if you will.  Often times when you aren't studying you feel guilty that you aren't because you don't really have "the time" to do that.  Grad students will work anywhere from like a 9-5ish kind of feel to 12 hour days.  Weekends happen often.  All depends on the student and where they are in their PhD journey.  If you are still in classes you add in time away from lab in class and when studying at night.  Weekends and holidays are just time to catch up with what you've been behind on either class-wise or in lab. 

My program was set up such that we finished classes when we finished rotations, so as soon as I got done and joined a lab, I was writing my qual. I'm a lucky one in that I didn't have to spend 2-3 years doing coursework. However, I don't think I've had a week under 50-60 hours since before my qual. I don't mean sitting around waiting for incubations 60 hours a week. I mean always-on and at least mentally engaged if not actually doing science. Peachy is right. There is ALWAYS something to do and always something you're behind on. You still need to be producing data when you're writing fellowships and writing papers. If you're lucky, you'll have another backup project in case something catastrophic happens, but that also means you're working on two projects. My boss is a pretty cool dude and will occasionally chase me out of the lab to get me to take a break, but other than that, I don't take much time off and I work most weekends. I do go home at Christmas, but that's about it. My fiancé is long distance, so I talk to him while I work.

Since I want to go into academia, I know that I'm not going to have more free time later. You need a supportive family/group of friends to be a graduate student in the sciences. Students who do put in the work do well. Those that go out of town every weekend or who ALWAYS do only the 9-5 won't do as well. Very quickly you'll see who in your cohort can hack it and who can't, and it will be obvious who will make it in academia and who will go in other directions if they elect to stay and graduate. I will be honest with you. Graduate school isn't easy. However, it is worth it. I love what I do.

I highly recommend that you schedule in some things that are not science to help you keep sane. Note that I said SCHEDULE in. If you don't, you'll never get around to it. Now I play with a community band once a week and I have a graduate student friend that is helping me train for a 5k. I also cook at least 1-2 times a week in my crock pot. Otherwise, I would starve...

[apple93]

Is Stanford Biosciences done sending invites? :(((( I applied for Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology...

Edited January 12, 2016 by apple93

[Gram Neutral]

8 hours ago, MidnightShow said:

Does anyone know if any of the following program are still sending invites?

Northwestern - Driskill 

Yale - BBS (MMPP)

UNC - BBSP

JH - CMM

 

Thanks! I've been checking this thread for months, but just made an account. Hello to you all and congrats on interview invites! 

I applied to Northwestern DGP as well. I saw an invite went out in the results, but also a rejection went out. It seems that they send out a few waves. I doubt they would have gone through all their apps. When I emailed them with my semester grades around Christmas they said they hadn't even reviewed my application yet. 

9 hours ago, queerpsych2013 said:

If it says not to email and ask, I would assume that generalizes to all forms of communication and not call. Like they said in other posts, admins have a lot of stuff to do and this school specifically said not to contact them...

That's how I felt as well, but I submitted my application Dec 18th and I haven't heard anything about it being completed or missing something(it's not missing anything, but what if it is). The radio silence is bothering me. 

[Infinito]

10 minutes ago, apple93 said:

Is Stanford Biosciences done sending invites? :(((( I applied for Stem Cell & Regenerative Biology...

I believe so. As did I. But, then again, I knew each class only had about 5 spots and they'd only interview 10, so I'm not upset, and wishing the best to the people that get accepted.

[apple93]

2 minutes ago, Infinito said:

I believe so. As did I. But, then again, I knew each class only had about 5 spots and they'd only interview 10, so I'm not upset, and wishing the best to the people that get accepted.

But they said "During the week of January 4, 2016, the committees will START TO contact applicants who have been selected for an interview.". How do you know they are done? Did you contact them directly? 

[Infinito]

Just now, apple93 said:

 

But they said "During the week of January 4, 2016, the committees will START TO contact applicants who have been selected for an interview.". How do you know they are done? Did you contact them directly? 

I called once to ask when they would be released (last Friday), I'm not calling again to double check.

I'm moving on; I have interviews at 7 great schools to prepare for. Mind you, Stanford was one of my top choices going into the application season, but as I applied that all changed and I'm more interested in seeing the places I am interviewing at then being stuck on the idea of Stanford. There's always chances for postdoc opportunities. The same should be emphasized to anyone that is upset about not getting an invite or waiting for that invite to their "dream" school.
 

[apple93]

1 minute ago, Infinito said:

I called once to ask when they would be released (last Friday), I'm not calling again to double check.

I'm moving on; I have interviews at 7 great schools to prepare for. Mind you, Stanford was one of my top choices going into the application season, but as I applied that all changed and I'm more interested in seeing the places I am interviewing at then being stuck on the idea of Stanford. There's always chances for postdoc opportunities. The same should be emphasized to anyone that is upset about not getting an invite or waiting for that invite to their "dream" school.
 

Ya I just wasn't sure if I should still wait or move on. But that's good to know they sent out invites last Friday. Good luck with interviews!

[Yav Friendly]

I noticed some top tier programs send interview invitation directly by POI but all the interviews are sent around the same time. Does this mean they had a meeting and were told, OK, you can go now! Is that it? Why they need to ensure every POI send invitation at the same time.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Yav Friendly

[lethalallele]

10 hours ago, sanfonts said:

Has someone heard any news on Stanford Bioengineering and Yale Biomedical Engineering?

Yale doesn't send stuff out for another month or so typically 

[HopefulPHD14]

11 hours ago, biotechie said:

I do go home at Christmas, but that's about it. My fiancé is long distance, so I talk to him while I work.

Sorry but this got me thinking...  How does taking time off for a wedding/honeymoon work in grad school? 

I will likely be getting engaged between now and the start of grad school and married at some point during my 2nd year or so.  I would like to know ahead of time how taking time off in grad school works.  Would we have to split up the wedding and honeymoon?

[Infinito]

44 minutes ago, HopefulPHD14 said:

 

Sorry but this got me thinking...  How does taking time off for a wedding/honeymoon work in grad school? 

I will likely be getting engaged between now and the start of grad school and married at some point during my 2nd year or so.  I would like to know ahead of time how taking time off in grad school works.  Would we have to split up the wedding and honeymoon?

Depends on two factors.

1. Your department. If you look at most program handbooks, the average amount of vacation time you get a year as a grad student is about 10 days. I'm not sure if sick days run into that.

2. Depending on your PI, you could possibly ask for more time off. Since they're pretty much paying for you at that point, it's up to them. They probably won't say anything as long as you make work up or they're just that understanding of your situation. And it might be even easier if you take unpaid leave, even though that's pretty much impossible in grad school since you're not actually getting paid since you're on a stipend. Hence the makeup work arrangement.

 

[zamtheuniman]

Has anyone heard back from any pharmacology programs? Really waiting on Columbia Pharmacology. 

[swiftninja]

Did anyone apply to UC Berkeley IDI, USC Pharmaceutical & Translational Sciences, or UW Pharmaceutics? I don't know if this would be the wrong place to ask this.