PhD Biomedical/Bioengineering/EE Fall 2016 Profiles

[rhymespit]

1 hour ago, myelinsheath said:

Would anyone here happen to know / have an opinion on what the protocol is for someone waitlisted at their first choice PhD program and holding on to another offer? 

The deadline for me to accept an offer at hand is April 15, but my waitlisted program has told me that I may not hear back until a few days after the 15th, since that's also the deadline for their admitted students to make a decision. Assuming I don't hear back from them by the 15th, should I accept the other offer? Or would it be okay to explain my circumstance to the program I'm admitted to and request for an extension? It feels a bit unprofessional to accept an offer and then withdraw later, especially for PhD programs which have smaller cohorts. But I obviously also don't want to end up in a situation where I have no place to go.

I'm waitlisted at MIT MEMP, by the way.

So I'm just another applicant, so take this with a grain of salt. 

I would contact MEMP and ask if they can get back to you by the 15th, most likely they'll say probably not. So the 14th rolls around and you still haven't heard back from MEMP, then I'd go ahead and accept the other offer you have on the table. 

You're right, if you end up getting into MEMP, it'll be a tad unprofessional to then back out of the commitment you made, but as long as its by the end of April, it shouldn't be too big of a deal. It becomes a hassle for the other program if you back out in say, May or the summer. 

But that's just me, you should probably get some other feedback. Asking the program for an extension might be a bit weird, especially cause you don't know exactly when you'll hear back from MEMP and it could be a rejection anyway.

[Hue Neutron]

International Student with a BSEE from a B-school in USA.

GRE: 157V/170Q/3.0W (only took it once, I was never good at writing hurriedly)

Domestic/International (TOEFL/IELTS): 109

UG GPA: 3.71

(If you did Masters)

Masters GPA:

Research experience:

- None but I worked

- Worked for a major company for 3 years while attending school

Research publications, patents, conferences:

- None

PHD intended specialization: 

- I did not apply for any PhD program. All were masters program with specialization in Communications (MSEE).

University list:

1. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (MSEE) - Rejected (4/1)
2. Cornell (MEng) - Accepted (3/23)
3. RPI (MSEE) - Rejected
4. Virginia Tech (MSEE) - Accepted With TAship
5. UC Davis (MSEE) - Accepted (TAShip applications open right before school starts)
6. Lehigh (MSEE) - Accepted
7. U Delaware (MEng) - Accepted, Rejected from (MSEE)
8. U Houston (MSEE) - Accepted

Accepted: 6/8. Rejected: 2/8

Food for thought: It would be wise to look for Research Assistantship positions as soon as possible.

[ilmj]

 I'm on the waiting list of Rice Bioengineering, WUSTL BME. If you guys don't plan going there, please reject them as soon as possible.

[StHoly]

I am waiting on Cornell and Columbia (Fu Foundation) I dont think I have much hope on Columbia and I am wishing I can get into Cornell, I can't wait...!

[Santos]

Hey All,

I am on the alternate list of JHU BME (focus on CTE) PhD program. Please let JHU know asap if you decided to go elsewhere, or know that you will not go JHU. I have already let all other schools except one know that I will not be going. 

Thanks

[madbiochemist]

1 hour ago, Santos said:

Hey All,

I am on the alternate list of JHU BME (focus on CTE) PhD program. Please let JHU know asap if you decided to go elsewhere, or know that you will not go JHU. I have already let all other schools except one know that I will not be going. 

Thanks

Please let programs know before the 15th if you know you aren't going there so that schools can extend invitations to students on wait lists. Schools want a particular class size and it becomes really difficult if we don't accept the alternates until the very last minute (or after the April 15th deadline). 

[tuckbro]

Ok, so where is everyone going?

[rhymespit]

On 4/4/2016 at 2:09 PM, ilmj said:

 I'm on the waiting list of Rice Bioengineering, WUSTL BME. If you guys don't plan going there, please reject them as soon as possible.

 

On 4/10/2016 at 2:44 PM, Santos said:

Hey All,

I am on the alternate list of JHU BME (focus on CTE) PhD program. Please let JHU know asap if you decided to go elsewhere, or know that you will not go JHU. I have already let all other schools except one know that I will not be going. 

Thanks

I notified Rice Bioengineering and JHU BME (focus on Comp. Bio.) of my decision to decline the offer yesterday. I wish you both the best of luck!

 

 

[madbiochemist]

If you're still making your decision know that if you come to JHU, there will be cookies. 

[Extra Espresso]

On 4/11/2016 at 8:38 PM, madbiochemist said:

If you're still making your decision know that if you come to JHU, there will be cookies. 

I hope this is true because I accepted my offer this morning!

 

[ilmj]

19 hours ago, rhymespit said:

 

I notified Rice Bioengineering and JHU BME (focus on Comp. Bio.) of my decision to decline the offer yesterday. I wish you both the best of luck!

Thanks for letting schools know your decision. I wish you the best!!!

[StHoly]

12 hours ago, Extra Espresso said:

I hope this is true because I accepted my offer this morning!

did you decline offer to Cornell? Many of us are still waitin for decisions from Cornell and haven't heard from them.. 

Congratz!

[Extra Espresso]

2 hours ago, StHoly said:

did you decline offer to Cornell? Many of us are still waitin for decisions from Cornell and haven't heard from them.. 

Congratz!

Thank you!  I declined all of my offers yesterday when I accepted my offer! Best of luck to you - I really hope you end up somewhere amazing!

[daymoose]

Just declined the last of my remaining offers yesterday. Best of luck to everyone who's still waiting

Anybody else going to Rice?

[cmiller13]

Hey! I got accepted to UNC Chapel hill/ NC State bme phd today. So for those of you who are still waiting to hear back, they are sending out last minute acceptances. I hadn't heard anything from them until today. 

I already committed to Stanford, so I just declined the offer. Hopefully someone else will get that spot today! 

[MEMP_student]

On 4/11/2016 at 11:45 AM, tuckbro said:

Ok, so where is everyone going?

HST MEMP! So not MIT BE, but I'll be in Cambridge for the next 5 years!

[tuckbro]

For those who will be in Cambrdge Ma, please take advantage of all the perks in this area!  Go to the Harvard MIT Galas, use the discount Symphony tickets, go to shows at the Opera house, go to the Head of the Charles Regatta, take the free sailing lessons,  run in one of iconic races in this incredible place - I do the Run to Remember and any others I can  and am trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon before I graduate!  Experience the culture offered to grad students.  

Welcome to Cambridge!

[pterosaur]

I did my undergrad in Boston and lived less than a mile from Symphony hall and never went to the Symphony. I should probably do more when I'm in Cambridge for grad school...

[nh2015]

Has anyone had any further acceptances from wait lists?

[aegis921]

Someone did mention on this forum that JHU is particularly bad about reimbursements -- has anybody received anything in the mail yet?

[rhymespit]

2 hours ago, aegis921 said:

Someone did mention on this forum that JHU is particularly bad about reimbursements -- has anybody received anything in the mail yet?

Yup, got my reimbursement from JHU BME about a couple of weeks ago. I used the travel agent that they recommended using.

[MEMP_student]

@aegis921 I got my JHU reimbursement a few weeks ago as well. Perhaps you should call them. Quick question: did you get any reimbursement stuff from Stanford BioE yet? Its been a while and I haven't heard anything yet.

[aegis921]

1 hour ago, Dr_Patel said:

@aegis921 I got my JHU reimbursement a few weeks ago as well. Perhaps you should call them. Quick question: did you get any reimbursement stuff from Stanford BioE yet? Its been a while and I haven't heard anything yet.

Yeah, I received a payment from Stanford on 4/5. I attended the second JHU interview weekend, so maybe they're processing them chronologically? I'll follow up with them on Monday. 

[daymoose]

On 5/1/2016 at 0:59 AM, Dr_Patel said:

@aegis921 I got my JHU reimbursement a few weeks ago as well. Perhaps you should call them. Quick question: did you get any reimbursement stuff from Stanford BioE yet? Its been a while and I haven't heard anything yet.

I got my reimbursement from Stanford a month ago. At this point you should probably call them and ask.