2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[biochemgirl67]

3 minutes ago, adiJ said:

They don't provide info until you receive your packet on the day of arrival. (It doesn't matter anyway they talked about their research like you knew nothing about it and no one grilled me)

Yeah, I got my email back today with information from the grad student.  A little bummed but I guess it's one less thing to worry about.

Weird question... Did you share a hotel room there?

[adiJ]

2 minutes ago, biochemgirl67 said:

Yeah, I got my email back today with information from the grad student.  A little bummed but I guess it's one less thing to worry about.

Weird question... Did you share a hotel room there?

Yes, I was in a double. Stuff around Princeton was super expensive so you bet people shared rooms lol

[biochemgirl67]

10 minutes ago, ms_green_genes said:

I know, it's just hard waiting. The adcom meets every Monday and only on Monday.

I'm thinking even if they finished the reviews and their decisions today, it may have been late enough that they wouldn't be able to get emails out to all 40 today. They made it a point that they'll let everyone know at the same time instead of letting people know a few at a time over days or weeks.

They let people in the first interview weekend know the Monday (2 days) after the interview, but that group didn't have as many candidates as this last weekend. 

Patience was never my strong suit!

Before I came back from Vandy, they said that each candidate would get a decision... So they probably just aren't done yet.  But the first group had 30, which isn't horribly lower than the second but still significant.  I wish they would get done for you and your daughter!

[ms_green_genes]

9 minutes ago, biochemgirl67 said:

Before I came back from Vandy, they said that each candidate would get a decision... So they probably just aren't done yet.  But the first group had 30, which isn't horribly lower than the second but still significant.  I wish they would get done for you and your daughter!

We're hoping they got done today but just didn't have time for emails. If not, I guess we wait for next week! 

[biochemgirl67]

12 minutes ago, adiJ said:

Yes, I was in a double. Stuff around Princeton was super expensive so you bet people shared rooms lol

I expected as much.  (le sigh)  Oh well, it's not the end of the world.  I hope you enjoyed Princeton because to be honest, I'm totally not sure what to make of it at all.

3 minutes ago, ms_green_genes said:

We're hoping they got done today but just didn't have time for emails. If not, I guess we wait for next week! 

I checked and no one seems to have posted anything on the survey... So it looks like they're just taking their sweet time!

[ms_green_genes]

I've been watching the survey all day! Later this week, I'll have to start watching for UNC. 

She's flying out of our airport Wed am to head to UCLA. We're expecting light snow showers tomorrow. I hope it's all over and melted before she starts driving home. We are not used to driving in snowy or icy conditions around here. They're sending her home on a red-eye flight Friday night. That's going to be pretty miserable!

[Caffeine Junky]

So I have an attire question...

(I'm a girl)

One of the programs I am visiting is taking us on a day cruise and it says that the attire for that day is casual. I still obviously want to look nice and put together, so what are some good options? Thank you!

[Caffeine Junky]

On February 2, 2016 at 11:06 AM, bornea said:

So glad they gave it to you after that screw up earlier. Congratulations! The people here are awesome and the grad students are some of the nicest people I know. 

Thank you so much!! I'm very excited and it's definitely been a roller coaster of emotion with the interview and then screw up and then invite hahaha

 

On February 2, 2016 at 10:50 AM, michi1987 said:

Me too! For the 11th-12th? If so, see you there!

congrats! No I have Scripps that weekend so I;m actually attending the 17-19

[Caffeine Junky]

On February 2, 2016 at 6:28 PM, Ash04 said:

Has anyone interviewed at SCRIPPS before or know anyone that has interviewed there?

Graduate program coordinator said "I strongly advise that you do your homework on all faculty you meet with"

I wonder how much I should be knowing about the professors. I will be meeting with 6 professors 

I attended a recruitment weekend at Scripps and one of the women on adcom (that takes it very seriously obviously lol) said that her biggest pet peeve/red flag is when students don't know of her work before their interview. She said it was offensive and it put a bad taste in her mouth about that interview. If I were you I would just read a couple of recent pubs and take note of any questions you may have from them. Then again one of the professor at Scripps started telling me about his research without me even asking so everyone is different

[Ash04]

39 minutes ago, Caffeine Junky said:

I attended a recruitment weekend at Scripps and one of the women on adcom (that takes it very seriously obviously lol) said that her biggest pet peeve/red flag is when students don't know of her work before their interview. She said it was offensive and it put a bad taste in her mouth about that interview. If I were you I would just read a couple of recent pubs and take note of any questions you may have from them. Then again one of the professor at Scripps started telling me about his research without me even asking so everyone is different

Thanks a lot!! I hope that I impress them

Edited February 9, 2016 by Ash04

[Infinito]

4 hours ago, Caffeine Junky said:

 

 

So I have an attire question...

(I'm a girl)

One of the programs I am visiting is taking us on a day cruise and it says that the attire for that day is casual. I still obviously want to look nice and put together, so what are some good options? Thank you!

There are examples a few pages back. Please have a look. This has been addressed ad nauseam.

[bdnf_13.1]

5 hours ago, keviv1692 said:

And the month of February just keeps getting better. Skype invite for UMass Medical School Worcester!!!!.............So excited#Thanks all!!

At the in-person interview they said that it could take until 4/15 for you to receive your final decision. But I got mine 6 business days after the interview, and so did a few students that I saw for the second time at a subsequent interview...this may be different for international applicants but they seem to have a pretty good record of accepting people in a timely manner! Congrats on your interview, I really liked it there, if you have any questions about the campus let me know. 

[_Artemis_]

On February 8, 2016 at 7:18 AM, biochemgirl67 said:

Has anyone interviewing at Princeton Molecular Biology this weekend received any information about who you'll be meeting with?  I just want to be preparedddddd

They didn't give me the names until I actually checked into the hotel the night before my weekend, and graduate students told me this was on purpose so people wouldn't put too much time into researching faculty. I just read the website summaries of people I was interviewing with, and all of my interviewers were more concerned about my own research experience than grilling me on their work anyway.

[_Artemis_]

On February 4, 2016 at 1:55 PM, Microburritology said:

I was sitting at the Philadelphia airport a few hours back, waiting for the connecting flight to New Haven, when I hear two girls behind me talking about mol bio research in Yale BBS labs. I turn around and ask them, are you going to Yale for the recruitment weekend, and they're like yeah, you too? I say me too, and I hear 8 other me too's from around me. 

Turns out there were 11 students for the recruitment weekend at Yale, and 2 Yale professors in a SUPER SMALL charter plane of 15 people  It was almost like Yale sent a private jet to Philadelphia to pick up its people.

Haha I think we were on the same plane @Microburritology. 

[bdnf_13.1]

22 hours ago, biochemgirl67 said:

I expected as much.  (le sigh)  Oh well, it's not the end of the world.  I hope you enjoyed Princeton because to be honest, I'm totally not sure what to make of it at all.

I checked and no one seems to have posted anything on the survey... So it looks like they're just taking their sweet time!

Not sure exactly what you mean by "not sure what to make of it" but I go to a nearby college and I have been to Princeton a handful of times. It is a beautiful town with a lot of great restaurants and good shopping (if not a little bit expensive)- just really pleasant to walk around. And outside of the actual downtown area it's very quiet and picturesque, lots of farms where you can pick fruit and taste wine etc. 

[biochemgirl67]

13 minutes ago, bdnf_13.1 said:

Not sure exactly what you mean by "not sure what to make of it" but I go to a nearby college and I have been to Princeton a handful of times. It is a beautiful town with a lot of great restaurants and good shopping (if not a little bit expensive)- just really pleasant to walk around. And outside of the actual downtown area it's very quiet and picturesque, lots of farms where you can pick fruit and taste wine etc. 

"Not sure what to make of it" means that there are a few things that make me take pause and I can't really gauge until I'm there.  Lack of medical campus is one of them, as is the cost of living there.  I'm excited to see it, but it's so different from the other schools I'm going to it'll be a good comparison.

And it's been a dream of mine to see it/have the opportunity to interact with faculty there since I was a sophomore in high school.  I mentioned near the beginning of this thread that they are home to my science idol, Bonnie Bassler.  Her work first interested me in molecular biology and set me on the path I'm following right now. 

[babybird]

On February 1, 2016 at 4:52 PM, Hexokinase1 said:

Did anyone who interviewed at UCSF BMS last weekend hear back about an acceptance? A grad student I spoke with during the invite weekend said in the previous years people would hear back about acceptances a few days after the interview...but I haven't seen anyone mention anything yet. :/ 

I saw that no-one replied to your post... BMS sends out just a few offers directly after the first interview weekend. They do the majority of offers after their second weekend! Nothing to worry about yet. (:

[adiJ]

2 hours ago, biochemgirl67 said:

"Not sure what to make of it" means that there are a few things that make me take pause and I can't really gauge until I'm there.  Lack of medical campus is one of them, as is the cost of living there.  I'm excited to see it, but it's so different from the other schools I'm going to it'll be a good comparison.

And it's been a dream of mine to see it/have the opportunity to interact with faculty there since I was a sophomore in high school.  I mentioned near the beginning of this thread that they are home to my science idol, Bonnie Bassler.  Her work first interested me in molecular biology and set me on the path I'm following right now. 

Well after my experience with her that weekend, I can tell you a few things:

She likes wine, applicants visibly worship her, and she is super chill. Have fun, it was by far my most unexpected set of interviews (in a very positive way). 

[bdnf_13.1]

2 hours ago, biochemgirl67 said:

"Not sure what to make of it" means that there are a few things that make me take pause and I can't really gauge until I'm there.  Lack of medical campus is one of them, as is the cost of living there.  I'm excited to see it, but it's so different from the other schools I'm going to it'll be a good comparison.

And it's been a dream of mine to see it/have the opportunity to interact with faculty there since I was a sophomore in high school.  I mentioned near the beginning of this thread that they are home to my science idol, Bonnie Bassler.  Her work first interested me in molecular biology and set me on the path I'm following right now. 

Makes sense. Just wasn't sure if you were taking pause because of the area/weather/etc. 

You do raise a good point- their MD/PhD program is a joint program with my undergrad institution. It's definitely a different feel, university campuses without medical schools! Good luck!

[biochemgirl67]

16 minutes ago, adiJ said:

Well after my experience with her that weekend, I can tell you a few things:

She likes wine, applicants visibly worship her, and she is super chill. Have fun, it was by far my most unexpected set of interviews (in a very positive way). 

 

12 minutes ago, bdnf_13.1 said:

Makes sense. Just wasn't sure if you were taking pause because of the area/weather/etc. 

You do raise a good point- their MD/PhD program is a joint program with my undergrad institution. It's definitely a different feel, university campuses without medical schools! Good luck!

I'm going to try not to be a worshipper... that's not terribly cool.    But I can't wait to meet her if she'll be there.

Weather in New Jersey (or literally anywhere) will be an improvement on Iowa.  So that's totally not an issue.  I'm actually looking forward to going somewhere with better weather for the weekend.

[ndp13]

Anybody heard from UTSW yet? I saw in the search results that one international student got an email for a skype interview.
It is one of my top choices and just wanted to know

[biochemgirl67]

So I leave tomorrow for New Jersey and my second interview.  But this morning, my boyfriend elbowed me in the face accidentally, right in my nose.  There was blood everywhere and it hurts.  Now I'm trying to keep the swelling down so I don't look like Rocky going to an academic interview.  I'm on the strugglebus so hard right now. 

[Neuro PolarBear]

11 hours ago, biochemgirl67 said:

"Not sure what to make of it" means that there are a few things that make me take pause and I can't really gauge until I'm there.  Lack of medical campus is one of them, as is the cost of living there.  I'm excited to see it, but it's so different from the other schools I'm going to it'll be a good comparison.

And it's been a dream of mine to see it/have the opportunity to interact with faculty there since I was a sophomore in high school.  I mentioned near the beginning of this thread that they are home to my science idol, Bonnie Bassler.  Her work first interested me in molecular biology and set me on the path I'm following right now. 

If you're worried about cost, one thing I found when I interviewed for their Neuro program is that graduate housing is super cheap. It's highly subsidized, so people were basically paying half of what people pay at schools in NYC. Sure, food and other things are expensive there, but I think the stipend is competitive and it all evens out. I hope you enjoy interviewing there!

[123hardasABC]

40 minutes ago, biochemgirl67 said:

So I leave tomorrow for New Jersey and my second interview.  But this morning, my boyfriend elbowed me in the face accidentally, right in my nose.  There was blood everywhere and it hurts.  Now I'm trying to keep the swelling down so I don't look like Rocky going to an academic interview.  I'm on the strugglebus so hard right now. 

Yikes.... If I were you I'd go buy concealer, like right now in case it bruises and shows. If you can, also pick up some color correcting ones -- green to cancel out redness, yellow/orange for purple and blue. 

[levodopa]

3 hours ago, ndp13 said:

Anybody heard from UTSW yet? I saw in the search results that one international student got an email for a skype interview.
It is one of my top choices and just wanted to know

I'm interviewing with them the last weekend in February. They contacted me about the interview the second-to-last week in January. Though their website says they're extending interview offers all the way until March. Hope this helps?