2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[jeanetics17]

3 hours ago, Kaede said:

 

Awesome! I'll see you there then! Have y'all committed yet?

Yes!

[MCF10A]

21 hours ago, jeanetics17 said:

Yes!

 

On 3/13/2017 at 2:11 PM, Kaede said:

 

Awesome! I'll see you there then! Have y'all committed yet?

I'm committed too! So see ya'll this fall

[Kaede]

Made a FB group for BBS - pm me if you want a link, anyone. @jeanetics17 @MCF10A

Edited March 15, 2017 by Kaede

[biochemistry4505]

Anybody know if BU PIBS has completed sending out acceptances? I saw a lot of acceptances on the results, but very few from international students. I also haven't seen any waitlists.

[colorandlight]

Anyone else still waiting on UNC's BBSP? I visited 6 weeks ago and made up my mind 3 weeks ago after finishing my other interviews, but I still don't have an acceptance yet. It's been kind of frustrating for me since I probably want to do a summer rotation so I don't have to get a horrible barista job over the summer,  but I can't really talk about it with professors until I actually get accepted.

[kevinrhinoceros]

2 hours ago, biochemistry4505 said:

Anybody know if BU PIBS has completed sending out acceptances? I saw a lot of acceptances on the results, but very few from international students. I also haven't seen any waitlists.

I attend BU now for undegrad and applied to PiBS. From my understanding, they're waiting for students who they've extended offers to respond yes or no before extending more offers, if needed. You're probably on some sort of de facto waiting list. I'm sorry  

[Katyya]

Officially committed to Vanderbilt IGP. Excited to see they moved one up to #14 this year.

Opened up waitlist spots for Sinai CAB and Emory CB. Hope they pulled someone off the waitlist who really wants to go!

[Sdomi]

Has anyone heard from Brown (MCB) program post interview? Still waiting 

[colorandlight]

So I saw on he results search that someone got waitlisted for UNC's BBSP today, is it at all common for schools to send out those on the wait list before they send out acceptances?

[hopefulgradstudent999]

On 11/18/2016 at 7:26 PM, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

I didn't say that they did. I said that those who have deficiencies in their packet usually do. The GPA and low quant score are red flags to admission committees. To overcome this usually one has to show that they are more than just the numbers in their packet. Having talked to many professors who have and currently sit on admission committees, and reading what others have said, most in top programs will automatically reject packets with low GPA/scores without a second thought, unless they have a the ability to show that they are more than that set of numbers. I believe this person is on the edge of that, had they had a 75% or higher in quant that GPA would be a minor issue. I am not telling them not to reach, but to also look at other programs as well. I wouldn't want to find out that middle April they are left out in the cold. 

 

In the end it comes down to them having great a LoR, a well polished SoP and being good in interviews. 

 

Hey there, I just wanted to give you an FYI lest you advise too many more people on this site. Mainly I must say that due to the nature of this forum there is only so much you can possibly know about a potential grad student. With that being said, I think everyone (you especially) may want to exercise some extreme caution when telling people where they should/could apply or get accepted into. If I had listened to your advice god knows what school I would be attending this fall. Thankfully I had already submitted all of my applications by the time of reading your comments so my fate was sealed. Point being I would just be careful what was said because from this forum one can only know so much about a person but can have profound effect on their confidence.

[Cervello]

Woke up this morning to an email telling me I won the NSF GRF. I'm in shock. Never thought I'd get it. Was hoping for an honorable mention. Now I've got to decide where I'm going to grad school. 

Edited March 17, 2017 by Cervello

[Kaede]

Wom NSF Interestingly enough, my best grades came from my harshest reviewer.

[Sdomi]

On 10/12/2016 at 4:09 PM, BioCat02 said:

I would greatly appreciate any feedback on my overall application strength, I am getting anxious about applying! Thanks! 

Undergrad Institution: Large State School, great biology reputation. 
Major(s): Physiology 
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.5 
Overall GPA: 3.5
Position in Class: Above average 
Type of Student: Domestic Female 

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:156
V: 158
W:4.0
B: (taking the subject for the heck of it. Scored above 90th percentile on practice) 
 

Graduate Institution: Small Private Medical College, relatively unknown 

Major: Biomedical Sciences 

Overall GPA: 3.0 (1yr program, had a very difficult personal experiences during that year) will address this briefly in my SOP

Graduate Institution (Masters): Small Private University, excellent reputation in biology 

Major: Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology 

Overall GPA: 3.5

Research Experience: ~2 years of research experience in Develpomental genetics. Will have completed and defended a Masters thesis by this coming summer. Have gained experience in basic genetics techniques, molecular cloning protocols, cell/tissue culture and CRISPR. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several undergraduate scholarships and awards in biology, competitive graduate assistanship and summer graduate fellowship 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Spent 3 years working as an adjunct professor. Taught general biology, anatomy and physiology as well as general chemistry. Have also been a graduate teaching assistant for 5 semesters at current institution.  

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: My current PI has connections at my top choice school, as she attended there for her Ph.D and is still in touch with faculty in the department I am interested in. I will also have three strong LORs, all from my current Institution. One from my PI, one from the Biology department chair and one from the graduate program director (also on my thesis committee). 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Cornell - Genetics and Developmental Biology 

Brown - Molecular and Cell Biology and Biochemistry 

Pennsylvania State University - Molecular and Integrative Biosciences 

University of Pennsylvania - Cell and Molecular Biology 

 

Have you heard from Brown MCB program? 

[LEEM]

On 3/9/2017 at 9:59 PM, STEMC said:

I interviewed in January 26 as well, I E-mailed them last week and they said their admission committee still haven't decided yet and said they will meet again this week. Not sure when it will come but I am also very anxious!

I e-mailed the director of NYU Sackler today and she said final decisions will be made in early April.

[Epigenetics]

Just got rejected by my last dream school. I can't tell what's worse, the schools I loved that have ghosted on me or the schools I love that send me harshly-worded rejection letters. I just want to crawl under a rock

[Kaede]

42 minutes ago, Epigenetics said:

Just got rejected by my last dream school. I can't tell what's worse, the schools I loved that have ghosted on me or the schools I love that send me harshly-worded rejection letters. I just want to crawl under a rock

Ouch. Did you get into any programs you could still see yourself at?

I also didn't know schools would send harshly worded rejections. That seems like a terrible way of going about things.

Edited March 17, 2017 by Kaede

[STEMC]

2 hours ago, LEEM said:

I e-mailed the director of NYU Sackler today and she said final decisions will be made in early April.

April?! This really take them a long time!

[abcd1]

Got my first rejection today. I thought the interview went well so a bit surprised. I really can't understand how they evaluate a candidate based the really informal conversations I have had at all four of my so called 'interviews'. Still waiting for an acceptance. Don't know if it is getting too late. 

[colorandlight]

1 hour ago, abcd1 said:

Got my first rejection today. I thought the interview went well so a bit surprised. I really can't understand how they evaluate a candidate based the really informal conversations I have had at all four of my so called 'interviews'. Still waiting for an acceptance. Don't know if it is getting too late. 

I got rejected from Brown's pathobiology program after an interview and I felt it was because I wasn't a great fit for the research of the faculty members taking students, and they seemed to imply that I wasn't the type of student they were looking for. I have an MS in a tangentially related field while they seemed to mostly want people that had been a lab tech after undergrad before starting their program. I wasn't too miffed about it since I knew it wasn't a good fit.

 

Also I'm waiting for a school to accept me that I interviewed at in January. They said they'd have acceptances out by mid march, but after asking them about it, it seems like they'll be sending out offers until the beginning of April. These rolling processes are frustrating since it's not apparent whether they think you're a low priority student to recruit, or if the delay is simply due to administrative bungling (ie. are they just unable to get the right people together to discuss my application compared to that of others in other departments).

[abcd1]

11 minutes ago, colorandlight said:

I got rejected from Brown's pathobiology program after an interview and I felt it was because I wasn't a great fit for the research of the faculty members taking students, and they seemed to imply that I wasn't the type of student they were looking for. I have an MS in a tangentially related field while they seemed to mostly want people that had been a lab tech after undergrad before starting their program. I wasn't too miffed about it since I knew it wasn't a good fit.

 

Also I'm waiting for a school to accept me that I interviewed at in January. They said they'd have acceptances out by mid march, but after asking them about it, it seems like they'll be sending out offers until the beginning of April. These rolling processes are frustrating since it's not apparent whether they think you're a low priority student to recruit, or if the delay is simply due to administrative bungling (ie. are they just unable to get the right people together to discuss my application compared to that of others in other departments).

I hope my schools are also sending out invites late. Being an older international student, the stakes are too high for me. If I don't get in this year I don't think I will have time to apply again plus I will have to leave the US unless I get admitted. What bothers me most is that all my interviews seemed to go well and I never got any indication at any school that they didn't like me.

[bioinformaticsGirl]

Should you tell all universities you're still considering that you got NSF? Or only when you accept the offer? I wanted to let the two I'm still considering that I received the award so they can choose whether to accept someone off the wait list, but I'm not ready to commit 100% to any university yet...

[shikkui]

6 hours ago, Kaede said:

Ouch. Did you get into any programs you could still see yourself at?

I also didn't know schools would send harshly worded rejections. That seems like a terrible way of going about things.

What do you all mean by harshly worded rejections?  For the most part, the schools that have rejected me basically just told me that they have a small program and can't accept everyone.  I guess I just can't see a grad program sending something like "YOU'RE NOT WORTHY!"  XD

 

[Kaede]

54 minutes ago, shikkui said:

What do you all mean by harshly worded rejections?  For the most part, the schools that have rejected me basically just told me that they have a small program and can't accept everyone.  I guess I just can't see a grad program sending something like "YOU'RE NOT WORTHY!"  XD

 

I just used @Epigenetics's words. I haven't heard of rude rejections either - I'm curious as to what programs would treat their applicants disrespectfully.

[Epigenetics]

4 hours ago, Kaede said:

I just used @Epigenetics's words. I haven't heard of rude rejections either - I'm curious as to what programs would treat their applicants disrespectfully.

I literally had a program just tell me they "have more highly accomplished applicants than we can accept".

[shikkui]

1 hour ago, Epigenetics said:

I literally had a program just tell me they "have more highly accomplished applicants than we can accept".

I think they were just trying to tell you that the applicant pool was competitive and nothing personal.