2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[lethalallele]

Just as they said. They aren't finished reviewing yet. 

[Liverbird_93]

3 hours ago, brainsandeggs said:

I am (neuro though) Yeah I saw that - til midnight OY (I live in Brooklyn so will be commuting back home afterwards, a train ride that'll take me an hour at that time...so might have to skip out on Ph.D: The movie...). I was planning on wearing nice pants and blazer type thing for the actual interview day, including heels so I'm probably going to bring a change of clothes (like dark pants and boots with my collared shirt) to change into after the interviews and faculty parts are done so I'm not in bizness wear all night during "fun activities". 

Hey, I'm (pharmacology) commuting too (though from slightly into Nassau county). I'm planning on leaving the movie a bit early, nice to know I won't be the only one.

[ultravioletblack]

52 minutes ago, Liverbird_93 said:

Hey, I'm (pharmacology) commuting too (though from slightly into Nassau county). I'm planning on leaving the movie a bit early, nice to know I won't be the only one.

Just curious, why didn't you ask for hotel accommodations? I live about an hour away (subway commute) from one of my interview schools and I asked for a room the night before the interview just because I thought it would be more convenient. Since the interview day starts around 8am - 9am, I didn't want to feel rushed or have to wear my nice clothes on dirty, smelly public transportation. I get that it might seem greedy to ask for lodging when I live in state, but I figure the school probably prepared for the cost and they still end up saving on travel expenses for me, anyway.

...Was that a bad idea? 

Edited January 14, 2016 by ultravioletblack

[laxgoal100]

5 hours ago, YouCantBcereus said:

Not exactly. I originally applied to PIBS and got rejected back in december. But a faculty member from MCDB who was on the adcom really liked my application and asked if I wanted to transfer my application to the MCDB program, so that's what I did.

Got this interview invite! going to attend the first weekend!

[YouCantBcereus]

6 minutes ago, laxgoal100 said:

Got this interview invite! going to attend the first weekend!

Congrats!! Did you get an email or a phone call instead? I haven't received an email yet.

[laxgoal100]

1 minute ago, YouCantBcereus said:

Congrats!! Did you get an email or a phone call instead? I haven't received an email yet.

Thanks I got a phone call from a PI, and a quick follow up email from her. She said that the graduate student interview coordinator would email me tomorrow to confirm the date and talk about travel plans. 

[sanfonts]

Has anyone received official rejections from MIT BE or Stanford Bioengineering? I'd really appreciate the closure, because life has shown me that No news = Bad news. Always. 

[Infinito]

12 minutes ago, sanfonts said:

 

Has anyone received official rejections from MIT BE or Stanford Bioengineering? I'd really appreciate the closure, because life has shown me that No news = Bad news. Always. 

[Extra Espresso]

38 minutes ago, sanfonts said:

Has anyone received official rejections from MIT BE or Stanford Bioengineering? I'd really appreciate the closure, because life has shown me that No news = Bad news. Always. 

I don't think Stanford BioE has sent anything out yet at all. There's nothing in the survey for this year, and last year they sent interview invites around 1/21.

[Haiqing]

53 minutes ago, sanfonts said:

Has anyone received official rejections from MIT BE or Stanford Bioengineering? I'd really appreciate the closure, because life has shown me that No news = Bad news. Always. 

I asked my POI about Stanford BioE and I was told they were still finalizing the decisions, which would be sent out in a week.

[peachypie]

2 hours ago, ultravioletblack said:

Just curious, why didn't you ask for hotel accommodations? I live about an hour away (subway commute) from one of my interview schools and I asked for a room the night before the interview just because I thought it would be more convenient. Since the interview day starts around 8am - 9am, I didn't want to feel rushed or have to wear my nice clothes on dirty, smelly public transportation. I get that it might seem greedy to ask for lodging when I live in state, but I figure the school probably prepared for the cost and they still end up saving on travel expenses for me, anyway.

...Was that a bad idea? 

That is not a bad idea.  Many programs that have local applicants still offer them hotel accommodations for the purposes you noted as well as if you are rooming with another applicant to help allow you to meet and bond with potential classmates.

[lethalallele]

1 hour ago, sanfonts said:

Has anyone received official rejections from MIT BE or Stanford Bioengineering? I'd really appreciate the closure, because life has shown me that No news = Bad news. Always. 

MIT doesn't send rejections until the first week of February generally 

[ctenophora]

On 1/13/2016 at 3:53 PM, cephnerd said:

I did apply, and I was invited to interview this morning (eep!). The PI with whom I have been communicating said that they extended the deadline, but hadn't received many additional applications after the original Dec. 1 deadline. Who knows? Recruitment events are the weekends of February 6th and 19th. Good luck!

Me too!  :-)  I'm going the 6th.  Congratulations!

[lncRNAdude]

3 rejections, 0 interviews. This has been the most worrisome few weeks of my undergraduate career. 

[Liverbird_93]

3 hours ago, ultravioletblack said:

Just curious, why didn't you ask for hotel accommodations? I live about an hour away (subway commute) from one of my interview schools and I asked for a room the night before the interview just because I thought it would be more convenient. Since the interview day starts around 8am - 9am, I didn't want to feel rushed or have to wear my nice clothes on dirty, smelly public transportation. I get that it might seem greedy to ask for lodging when I live in state, but I figure the school probably prepared for the cost and they still end up saving on travel expenses for me, anyway.

...Was that a bad idea? 

I actually live around the corner from my town's commuter rail station so getting to WCM isn't a big problem for me. My commute during UG was roughly 70-100 mins each way and i did that 5 days a week for 4 years, so spending roughly an hour getting to an interview isn't an issue in my mind. 

For the other school, asking for one night in the hotel was not a bad idea, maybe the commute isn't easy, schools have no way of knowing this. If they had a problem with providing you with a hotel room they should have said something. I'm assuming that this school won't play mind games along the order of "well let's see if they're being greedy by offering them accommodations that we don't believe they need." 

[katpillow]

2 hours ago, lncRNAdude said:

3 rejections, 0 interviews. This has been the most worrisome few weeks of my undergraduate career. 

Hang in there, you've always got a shot. If it doesn't pan out right now, that doesn't mean it won't pan out in a year or two. From personal experience, you'd be all the more ready to kick ass and take names if you end up working in a research role after UG, if nothing else. Not getting in right now is not failing by any means. You will succeed!

[aichan93]

O my @katpillow how did you manage to finish all those apps. That's a feat in itself 

P.S. did you interview at Mt Sinai? I was there so I might have seen you ~

[katpillow]

@aichan93 I haven't heard back from Sinai yet. It's got me all nervous and wondering if I'll be hearing back at all . My best friend from UG is a current BMS student there and the research has me jonesing for an interview. Finishing the apps was a marathon. By the time I got done, I didn't know what to do with my life... Luckily research tends to keep idle hands busy.

[aichan93]

@katpillow Dang, I hate to be the one breaking bad news but the interviews for non-neuro people were just over 7-8, 11-12 Jan. They said they invited 160 people, will accept 80 and usually 40 will enrol. :/ I hope your other applications go well. I'm sure you will have some choice! You applied so many I didn't even bother to count!! Also, I'm in the same state for Rockefeller - they said all decisions will be emailed by end of this week. I'm waiting to hear back from UT Houston/MD Anderson too - they have 3 rounds of invites, and they have sent their first. It's a rolling app and I submitted mine after the encouraged deadline so I'm not surprised I didn't get the first wave.

[shadenitro]

9 hours ago, lncRNAdude said:

3 rejections, 0 interviews. This has been the most worrisome few weeks of my undergraduate career.

You're not alone
Hang in there. Things will get better

(In the same boat. Hope is all I have - better to stay positive)

[Yav Friendly]

12 hours ago, Infinito said:

RIP to Allan Rickman.

[levodopa]

Got an interview offer from Baylor!

Unfortunately it conflicts with another interview so sads

[B00mt0wn]

Got an informal email from a professor up at Ann Arbor saying that I have been accepted and will receive the formal admission letter and financial aid offer in the next couple of days. This is for EE PhD Fall 2016. I applied to twelve schools and this is the first response.

[biogeochem]

Has anyone heard any news from Duke Biology??  Even with a deadline extension from Dec. 1st to Jan. 15th, I've seen two interviews posted indicating the dates for recruitment weekends.

I'm guessing each of these posters was contacted by their respective POI?

[Ecogirl5]

So I contacted Stanford Biology on Wednesday about whether or not all interview invites had been sent out, and I got this response: "Biology invites have already been sent out; however other departments are still sending invites. I'm sorry I can't be more specific." I didn't apply to any other programs other than biology, so I don't know why she would comment on the other departments. Do you think there is a chance my application could have been transferred to another department (I did check that box on the application that allows for that)? Am I creating false hope? What does it all mean? Gahhh. Btw I am an eco-evo person with an emphasis on ecosystem services and agriculture, so most of the other biosciences departments wouldn't be relevant for my interests.