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2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results


blc073

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Whoa, awesome!  I'll be going out in three weeks and am looking back to being back in California - I'm currently in NYC but California is home for me.

I guess my major questions - that I don't think I can get answered from talking to prospective PIs - are:

1. Are the grad students "happy", inasmuch as grad students are ever happy?  What's the culture of work - long hours and all-nighters or more balanced?  Collegial and friendly, or competitive?

2. Do fellowships appear to be sufficient to support people in the surrounding area?

3. Do most people live in student housing, in apartments in Davis, or in the Sacramento area?

 

Thanks!!

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Official rejection emails from Columbia and UCSD neuro programs today, so that's fun... 

Actually it's pretty nice that they sent an email instead of just ghosting, and it wasn't unexpected since their interview invites went out before the holidays. 

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24 minutes ago, Wall7213 said:

Whoa, awesome!  I'll be going out in three weeks and am looking back to being back in California - I'm currently in NYC but California is home for me.

I guess my major questions - that I don't think I can get answered from talking to prospective PIs - are:

1. Are the grad students "happy", inasmuch as grad students are ever happy?  What's the culture of work - long hours and all-nighters or more balanced?  Collegial and friendly, or competitive?

2. Do fellowships appear to be sufficient to support people in the surrounding area?

3. Do most people live in student housing, in apartments in Davis, or in the Sacramento area?

 

Thanks!!

1. Because I wasn't one of the grad students, I can only tell you what I observed. They seemed happy, and said they were when I asked. They had time to have lives outside of lab. They almost always came and left the lab at normal work hours, and had time to do stuff outside of lab (trips, hobbies, caring for pets or children, etc). They seemed pretty friendly with their class - the 3 in my lab weren't necessarily best friends, but studied together frequently and got along well.

 

2. For California, Davis and the area is pretty cheap. Rent can be as low as $400 for a private bedroom if you have apartment-mates.

 

3. Where people live depends on where their lab is. If it's a ucdmc lab, it's in Sacramento. Otherwise, it's on the Davis campus. Of the three in my lab in Davis, 2 lived in Davis, and one lived in woodland, which is like a 15 min drive and even cheaper to live in. 

Edited by BabyScientist
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To anyone who got a rejection email from Columbia Neurobiology & Behavior today, was it a mass email or was it personalized and are rolling out over time? I'm wondering why I have not gotten one, but I also did not receive an email invite to interview? I was under the impression that they had sent out all the invites.

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2 hours ago, Davylee369 said:

In December a school contacted me for an interview but after accepting the invitation they have sent me no confirmation of any sort. Is this usual or should they have given me a response by now? I’m concerned that my accepting of the invitation may not have gone through. Thank you for the help. 

Same to me. The interviewer just contacted me directly last night and make an appointment at this Friday. So, It may be normal. Don't worry and be well prepared. Good luck.

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2 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

Having a medical a degree and having worked as a post-doc, do you really need a PhD? Not sure how it is for international applicants, but people that already have a medical degree have a harder time getting in because they cannot be placed on pre-doctoral grants, so funding is more complex.

Thanks Bioenchilada!! I did not knew about this aspect of the funding when I applied.My PI is MD/PhD and never warned me of that. The reason I wanted to pursue PhD was because I wanted to shift my focus to Immunology and felt it a safer bet to go back to the drawing board and get a PhD. 

Now that you bring the question of pre-doctoral funding,I feel a bit naive not to check these things before jumping the gun. 

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4 hours ago, SLEEEEEEEEP said:

To anyone who got a rejection email from Columbia Neurobiology & Behavior today, was it a mass email or was it personalized and are rolling out over time? I'm wondering why I have not gotten one, but I also did not receive an email invite to interview? I was under the impression that they had sent out all the invites.

I was wondering this exact same thing - I saw a bunch of people register rejection emails in the result database, but I haven't gotten anything at all from them.

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5 hours ago, ScribblyDoodle said:

Hi,

Does anybody know if Baylor College and UTSouthwestern are done sending out invites?

I don't think UTSW is done sending invites, because they have several interview dates for all programs that goes through the end of February and even into the first weekend of March according to their website. I am sure BCM is not done sending out invites. I am also waiting to hear back from both BCM and UTSW too. 

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Anyone out there who applied to programs with a primary interest in epigenetics?  I haven't heard back from any of my schools where I put it as my first interest(Like UNC BBSP)...

I think I've been rejected by my one program which never contacted me after my phone interview a month ago...I'm waiting on 4 others, including UNC BBSP.  Super nervous because 4/5 of my schools seem to have started offering interviews last month, and there is no updates on any on my application portals.

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6 hours ago, ChallengerSwimmer23 said:

I don't think UTSW is done sending invites, because they have several interview dates for all programs that goes through the end of February and even into the first weekend of March according to their website. I am sure BCM is not done sending out invites. I am also waiting to hear back from both BCM and UTSW too. 

I'm also applying to similar schools as you. Houstonian here :) what programs did you apply to?

I am microbiology/virology/immunology

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4 hours ago, Katiebird said:

Anyone out there who applied to programs with a primary interest in epigenetics?  I haven't heard back from any of my schools where I put it as my first interest(Like UNC BBSP)...

I think I've been rejected by my one program which never contacted me after my phone interview a month ago...I'm waiting on 4 others, including UNC BBSP.  Super nervous because 4/5 of my schools seem to have started offering interviews last month, and there is no updates on any on my application portals.

Also waiting on UNC BBSP (but with a primary interest in neuroscience), I'm beginning to think that no positive news is coming on that front :( Someone last month said that everyone was going to hear back by the week of the 22nd or something, but there's been nothing but complete silence as far as I can tell. At least Northwestern had the courtesy to reject me formally <_<

I could be wrong, maybe they are still sending more invites! I haven't heard anything from my remaining 3 schools, and all of my interview invites came before Christmas (UVM email 12/12, UMich PIBS call from neuro dept on 12/15, official email on 12/18, CWRU BSTP email on 12/18). Feeling bummed out that I might not be hearing back from the remaining schools, but I'm still tentatively hopeful! Wishing you the best of luck :D

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I am waiting to hear back from 

1. UNC BBSP

2. UT Southwestern 

2. Emory- immunology and molecular pathogenesis

Does anyone know if it is too late to hear back? I have one interview so far at Vanderbilt 1/26. I also have one rejection from UM Ann Arbor. I just hate waiting.

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3 hours ago, synapticcat said:

Also waiting on UNC BBSP (but with a primary interest in neuroscience), I'm beginning to think that no positive news is coming on that front :( Someone last month said that everyone was going to hear back by the week of the 22nd or something, but there's been nothing but complete silence as far as I can tell. At least Northwestern had the courtesy to reject me formally <_<

I could be wrong, maybe they are still sending more invites! I haven't heard anything from my remaining 3 schools, and all of my interview invites came before Christmas (UVM email 12/12, UMich PIBS call from neuro dept on 12/15, official email on 12/18, CWRU BSTP email on 12/18). Feeling bummed out that I might not be hearing back from the remaining schools, but I'm still tentatively hopeful! Wishing you the best of luck :D

UNC BBSP told me that review process is still taking place and they still have offers to give out. They expect to send notifications by mid-late January.  

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Hmm.  It's not even mid-January yet.  I think there's still time to hear back from programs.  I also know there's a set of programs with January 15th deadlines and later February/early March interview weekends.  Stay positive and I hope you hear back soon!

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So, for those who may be interested:

I heard from Harvard OEB that they will be sending out interviews in the next 2-4 days (so, by Wednesday of next week, given that Monday's a holiday).  If you're interested in the Richard Gilder Graduate School (RGGS), they will be sending out interviews by the end of next week.

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2 hours ago, Bio_123 said:

UNC BBSP told me that review process is still taking place and they still have offers to give out. They expect to send notifications by mid-late January.  

Oh, awesome! Thanks so much for the info! :)

 

9 minutes ago, Otinogonnyo said:

Rejection from M3D in University of Washington!!

 

I'm sorry to hear that :( I saw a crap-load of M3D rejections on the results page not too long ago.

Curious if anyone else who applied to University of Washington GPN (neuro) is still waiting to hear back too? I've seen some people who have interviews but otherwise haven't heard anything. 

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6 hours ago, synapticcat said:

Oh, awesome! Thanks so much for the info! :)

 

I'm sorry to hear that :( I saw a crap-load of M3D rejections on the results page not too long ago.

Curious if anyone else who applied to University of Washington GPN (neuro) is still waiting to hear back too? I've seen some people who have interviews but otherwise haven't heard anything. 

I'm waiting on UW neuro too, but I'm pretty sure they're done :/

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23 minutes ago, BabyScientist said:

I'm waiting on UW neuro too, but I'm pretty sure they're done :/

Aw man, that's a bummer :( I had a feeling they might be. Oh well! Can't get them all, haha. Best of luck to you! :D

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