Biology applicants Fall 2010

[NeuroNerd86]

Since I am completely done with application process I figured I'd post my full list. My application is not perfect but I still got in, which makes me soo happy:D

My stats:

Permanent resident, non-native English speaker, neuroscience applicant

GRE: V-560(77%), Q-760(85%), AW-41%::blegh::

GPA for 2 years at a university in my home country: 4.65/5

GPA at the American University (top public school), neuroscience major: 3.1 - I hit a rough patch during those two years which reflected in my grades. I dedicated a paragraph to it in my SOP

Research experience: 1.5 years of undergrad research, 2+ years of full-time research tech job at the same lab

Publications: 1 paper 2nd author in a decent journal, with journal cover; 2 abstracts (1 first author); 4 posters (2 first author, although one of them at an undergrad poster session, so that doesn't really count)

Awards: top prize at an international conference for my abstract and poster

Applied (all PhD programs)

Rockefeller (as a proverbial "out of my league" school), UC Davis (neuroscience), U Michigan (PIBS), Virginia Commonwealth Univ (neuroscience), U Minnesota - Twin Cities (neuroscience), SUNY Stony Brook (neuroscience), U Pittsburgh (Neuroscience), Oregon Health and Science Univ (neuroscience), NIH GPP Ox/Cam (biomed sciences), NIMH GPP Univ College London (neuroscience)

Rejected:

UC Davis, U Pitt, OHSU, both NIH GPPs, Rockefeller (duh!).

Interviewed and accepted:

U Michigan (PIBS), SUNY Stony Brook, VCU, U Minnesota

Good luck to everyone!

Edited March 11, 2010 by NeuroNerd86

[dzk]

Congrats! Do you know where you're planning on going? I'm very, very, biased, but I'd pick UMich from that list.

[bb9931]

Going to Dartmouth MCB!!! Lemme know people who decide to go there, would be nice to talk to the other incoming first years.

Applied: Harvard, BU, Tufts(Sackler Immuno), MIT, WashU, NYU, Columbia, Albert Einstein, Dartmouth, Umiami

Interviews: Tufts, Umiami, Dartmouth, Einstein

Attending: DARTMOUTH!!!

[NeuroNerd86]

Congrats! Do you know where you're planning on going? I'm very, very, biased, but I'd pick UMich from that list.

dzk, you hit the nail right on its head:)

bb9931 CONGRATS!!!

[only-time]

Hesitating: MCB@Dartmouth or Mount Sinai School of Medicine

[yinyangwriter]

Wow, it seems the genetics/cell/molecular crowd heavily outweighs the ecology/evolution group around here! Haven't seen more than a couple other people interested in the "big biology" side of things.

Any aspiring ecologists out there?! If so, where are you applying?

Hi afritz87! I am very interested in ecology but not quite as "big" as you might like...I'm primarily interested in microbial ecology and studying microbial diversity in general. As a fellow ecology person however, are you at all worried about funding issues and about the unfortunate perception that eco/evo is a 'softer' subject than the molecular stuff? Just something I'm keeping in mind as I choose a program and then a thesis topic.

[afritz87]

Hi afritz87! I am very interested in ecology but not quite as "big" as you might like...I'm primarily interested in microbial ecology and studying microbial diversity in general. As a fellow ecology person however, are you at all worried about funding issues and about the unfortunate perception that eco/evo is a 'softer' subject than the molecular stuff? Just something I'm keeping in mind as I choose a program and then a thesis topic.

Hey! That's awesome.. microbial ecology is definitely a cool field. I tend to not worry about funding issues too much, but I'm just resigned to the fact that I won't make as much money in my lifetime as genetics/molecular/neuro people. And I'm fine with that. I'd rather have a field site in Ecuador and get to play around outside while doing science than be stuck in a lab and have tons of money! Haha.. But also something that is a comfort to me thinking about funding is that the primary field I'm interested in is the ecology of emerging wildlife diseases. Both NIH and NSF have pretty substantial funds for this field, and it's a bit of a hot topic that has enough money thrown at it to make me feel a bit better.

Have you decided where you're going yet? Looks like you've got a couple great offers!

[lizgb]

Ok, I'm frakking confused. So I applied to 4 PhD programs, got interviews at all of them and heard back from all but one (U Chicago) within two weeks of the interview. I waited around for U Chicago to reply for a few weeks, and then (since I really didn't like U Chicago anyway) gave up and accepted my offer to Yale. Today I got an email from U Chicago that said they THINK they can finally make me an official offer. I said no thank you, and thought that was that. Now I have this email asking me if I want to withdraw my application so they won't have to "reject" me. I am very confused.

So I figugre I probably should say yes, withdraw my application- but I don't really get why. Is there some kind of record that follows you around about which schools rejected, and which schools accepted you? Does it look bad if you're officially rejected from a school you didn't even want to go to (and who actually sort of accept you anyway?) I didn't even know this was something I had to worry about! Any advice? I kind of feel like they tricked me. Thanks!

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

Ok, I'm frakking confused. So I applied to 4 PhD programs, got interviews at all of them and heard back from all but one (U Chicago) within two weeks of the interview. I waited around for U Chicago to reply for a few weeks, and then (since I really didn't like U Chicago anyway) gave up and accepted my offer to Yale. Today I got an email from U Chicago that said they THINK they can finally make me an official offer. I said no thank you, and thought that was that. Now I have this email asking me if I want to withdraw my application so they won't have to "reject" me. I am very confused.

So I figugre I probably should say yes, withdraw my application- but I don't really get why. Is there some kind of record that follows you around about which schools rejected, and which schools accepted you? Does it look bad if you're officially rejected from a school you didn't even want to go to (and who actually sort of accept you anyway?) I didn't even know this was something I had to worry about! Any advice? I kind of feel like they tricked me. Thanks!

My guess is they don't want to bother dealing with the graduate school. If you don't withdraw, they will have to recommend (or not) you to the graduate school, which will then have to send you an official letter, which you will then have to reply to...all this even though they know you are not going. If you withdraw, they can just dump your record, or do whatever it is they do with old applications.

[yinyangwriter]

Hey! That's awesome.. microbial ecology is definitely a cool field. I tend to not worry about funding issues too much, but I'm just resigned to the fact that I won't make as much money in my lifetime as genetics/molecular/neuro people. And I'm fine with that. I'd rather have a field site in Ecuador and get to play around outside while doing science than be stuck in a lab and have tons of money! Haha.. But also something that is a comfort to me thinking about funding is that the primary field I'm interested in is the ecology of emerging wildlife diseases. Both NIH and NSF have pretty substantial funds for this field, and it's a bit of a hot topic that has enough money thrown at it to make me feel a bit better.

Have you decided where you're going yet? Looks like you've got a couple great offers!

Hi, afritz...just seeing your reply. Thanks. I am trying to decide between University of Washington and University of Oregon... I love the research in Oregon but want to be in a city so am leaning towards UW. I'm worried that if I go to Eugene that I'll end up an old maid because there is no diversity in the area and I'm at that age, you know...Anyway, I have to decide now.

[coffeecoffeebuzzbuzz]

I'm pretty sure I've been rejected outright by Georgia, I haven't heard a peep from them and wasn't invited to interview. It doesn't really matter as UC Davis was higher on my list anyway.

Why the eyerolling?

Any idea how many of the folks who interview at Davis end up being accepted? What was the interview there like?

[genome]

Just wanted to leave a final update for future applicants

I graduated in May from a top-ten liberal arts college with a major in biochemistry and a minor in mathematics.

GPA: 3.98

GRE: 800Q, 790V, 5.5A

Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology GRE: 98%

Three and a half years of yeast genetics research at my undergrad college, two summer research programs at top-five schools, and excellent LORs.

Rejected: None

Accepted: Harvard BBS, MIT, Stanford Biosciences, UCSF TETRAD, UNC-Chapel Hill BBSP, Washington University in St. Louis DBBS, Yale BBS

Attending: WUSTL! Sooooo excited!

[evolve]

Genome,

Congrats! I am quite envious of your GRE score! Good luck at WUSTL DBBS!

Evolve