2018 Computational Biology/Bioinformatics Applicants Discussion Thread

[genomicsandstuff]

33 minutes ago, zxvc said:

I would also be interested in knowing this. 

No idea if they're still sending out invites.  You can try emailing Maureen, she's the coordinator for the group.

[Izaak]

So, it appears MIT CSBi results are out (1 interview / 2 rejections on grad cafe results survey). 

To the people who were rejected (if they keep an eye on this thread), were you sent an official rejection email, or are you assuming rejection due to no invitation email?

I am trying to work out if i'm still in the running; I have received nothing yet. 

xoxo

[nwa5fz]

On 12/28/2017 at 11:12 AM, sbcbba said:

What about Harvard BIG?

I called the office of admissions for Harvard BIG yesterday (1/12) and they said admission decisions have not been sent out yet - except a few exceptional cases where they offered admission right away

[Xiaolin Showdown]

Congratulation to you all who have received offers and best of luck to the ones who are still waiting!

I am not applying this cycle, but I plan to do so next year. Would you guys mind sharing your profiles, especially generally what research experience you have had?

Thank you very much!

[shroomish]

I applied to the NCSU Functional Genomics PhD program last week, but I'd imagine I won't hear back for a month or so based on the (limited) gradcafe admissions data. 

Congrats to those already offered admission, and good luck to those still waiting. 

 

 

[nwa5fz]

Anyone heard of the interview date for Harvard BIG yet?

[1224]

Has anyone heard from CMU/Pitt joint program?

[JumpingJAK-STAT]

On 1/13/2018 at 5:04 AM, Izaak said:

So, it appears MIT CSBi results are out (1 interview / 2 rejections on grad cafe results survey). 

To the people who were rejected (if they keep an eye on this thread), were you sent an official rejection email, or are you assuming rejection due to no invitation email?

I am trying to work out if i'm still in the running; I have received nothing yet. 

xoxo

I got an actual rejection email. (On 1/12)

" Dear Jumping-JAK-STAT:
Thank you for your application to the MIT Computational & Systems Biology PhD Program. As a small interdepartmental program that admits 6-8 students a year we have had a record number of over 220 applications from highly qualified applicants this year like yourself. We regret that we are unable to offer you a place in our program at this time.

We greatly appreciate your interest in our program, and wish you the best of luck in pursuing your education.  Please note that we are unable to provide you with individual feedback on your application at this time. Thank you.

Sincerely,


The MIT Computational & Systems Biology Graduate Admissions Committee "

Edited January 26, 2018 by JumpingJAK-STAT

[Logic]

4 hours ago, JumpingJAK-STAT said:

I got an actual rejection email. (On 1/12)

" Dear Jumping-JAK-STAT:
Thank you for your application to the MIT Computational & Systems Biology PhD Program. As a small interdepartmental program that admits 6-8 students a year we have had a record number of over 220 applications from highly qualified applicants this year like yourself. We regret that we are unable to offer you a place in our program at this time.

We greatly appreciate your interest in our program, and wish you the best of luck in pursuing your education.  Please note that we are unable to provide you with individual feedback on your application at this time. Thank you.

Sincerely,


The MIT Computational & Systems Biology Graduate Admissions Committee "

Just reading that email made me feel bad. Good luck with the rest of your applications!

[JumpingJAK-STAT]

On 1/26/2018 at 5:40 PM, Logic said:

Just reading that email made me feel bad. Good luck with the rest of your applications!

It's fine. I was expecting it. I have 4 interviews lined up, so I'm only sort of worried. Has anybody heard from Yale or Brown for their comp bio/ bioinformatics programs? I'm still waiting on 6 schools, but given that it's nearly February, I'm not exactly hopeful.

[nishant1247]

I've gotten 2 admits as of now:

MS Bioinformatics at GaTech

MS Computational Biology at CMU

Need to make a decision. Any advice?

[Aye AI, Matey!]

@nishant1247 Awesome results. Both are great schools.

What kind of labs/profs are you thinking of working with? It may depend on your goals for computational skill-building. From everything I’ve seen at CMU while visiting for a hackathon last summer, they have some big stuff happening in data science & ML/DL (with even their own department separate from CS), which will definitely rub off in coursework and research. There's also a lot of collaboration with UPitt and its med school, which is enticing on many fronts (new perspectives, data, etc.).

Not too sure about GaTech's program (other than it being well-established), but you probably can’t go wrong with either.

Other than academic specialties, factors like geographical location/weather may play a role in your decision — as a Californian transplant from the Midwest, I will say that warm winters are a lovely privilege that Atlanta shares.  I hate to make blanket statements, but Atlanta also definitely takes the cake on city size (population and area) and things to do for fun. 

Edited February 3, 2018 by Omics’n’stuff

[nishant1247]

On 2/3/2018 at 6:42 AM, Omics’n’stuff said:

@nishant1247 Awesome results. Both are great schools.

What kind of labs/profs are you thinking of working with? It may depend on your goals for computational skill-building. From everything I’ve seen at CMU while visiting for a hackathon last summer, they have some big stuff happening in data science & ML/DL (with even their own department separate from CS), which will definitely rub off in coursework and research. There's also a lot of collaboration with UPitt and its med school, which is enticing on many fronts (new perspectives, data, etc.).

Not too sure about GaTech's program (other than it being well-established), but you probably can’t go wrong with either.

Other than academic specialties, factors like geographical location/weather may play a role in your decision — as a Californian transplant from the Midwest, I will say that warm winters are a lovely privilege that Atlanta shares.  I hate to make blanket statements, but Atlanta also definitely takes the cake on city size (population and area) and things to do for fun. 

@Omics’n’stuff Thank you so much for that honest answer! I'm definitely interested in Data-science oriented research, which is why I was still considering CMU to be an option. But, one major constraint would be the cost of attendance. The MSCB course at CMU costs twice as much as the MSBINF course at GaTech. Whether the "cost of attendance" is less/more than the "opportunity cost" of not attending CMU, is a huge factor in the decision. Also, as you rightly mentioned,  "the city" and "things to do for fun", is pretty high up in my priorities as well! 

[Luptior]

On 1/24/2018 at 2:02 PM, 1224 said:

Has anyone heard from CMU/Pitt joint program?

They've sent out decision.

[Luptior]

Anyone has updates from 

Princeton QCB

Brown Computation Biology

?

[Aye AI, Matey!]

@nishant1247, sure thing! Totally, on top of everything else mentioned, costs/funding are important for quality of life. Best of luck on the decision and let us know where you end up deciding on!

Has anyone heard back from Columbia BMI? There aren't any hits on the Results page and it seems like there is silence on this thread too.

[Rndbmi]

On 2/8/2018 at 2:38 PM, Omics’n’stuff said:

Has anyone heard back from Columbia BMI? There aren't any hits on the Results page and it seems like there is silence on this thread too.

It appears they gave some rejections last week. I’m still waiting for mine. I haven’t seen anything about interviews though.

[geneticsacgt]

Hey! I'm new to Grad Cafe but thought I'd throw it out there as people are starting to get rejections like I have I found this program at Keck Graduate Institute in Claremont, CA (So Cal) its a Master of Science in Human Genetics and Genomic Data Analytics. (http://www.kgi.edu/pharmacy/admissions/ms-in-human-genetics-and-genomic-data-analytics/requirements) Their application is open until March 1! I'm contacting the school today to make sure I can still apply. Has anyone else applied/heard about it?  

[paulbets]

Applied to the four schools below and have not heard from them.

University of Memphis (MSc Bioinformatics) Plus Separate (PhD Biology)

Loyola University Chicago (Msc Bioinformatics)

Virginia Commonwealth University (MSc Bioinformatics)

Indiana University Purdue University (MSc Bioinformatics)

Who has  heard from any of the above schools and program?

Edited February 16, 2018 by paulbets

[shroomish]

I've heard back from NCSU's Functional Genomics program. I think they've begun sending out decisions for their Bioinformatics program, too. 

[ambiencr123]

any feedback from UCSD BISB program post-interview?

[JumpingJAK-STAT]

13 hours ago, ambiencr123 said:

any feedback from UCSD BISB program post-interview?

No, and it's driving me nuts. Looking at entries from the last couple of years we should hear by the end of this month or early March. Do you know how many people they interviewed overall? I heard it was like 70. I do not like my chances of getting in.

[bananacad]

On 2/8/2018 at 11:38 AM, Omics’n’stuff said:

@nishant1247, sure thing! Totally, on top of everything else mentioned, costs/funding are important for quality of life. Best of luck on the decision and let us know where you end up deciding on!

Has anyone heard back from Columbia BMI? There aren't any hits on the Results page and it seems like there is silence on this thread too.

I heard back early February, not sure if you're still waiting to hear back. I was rejected from the phD program and asked to consider their masters program. 

[ambiencr123]

22 hours ago, JumpingJAK-STAT said:

No, and it's driving me nuts. Looking at entries from the last couple of years we should hear by the end of this month or early March. Do you know how many people they interviewed overall? I heard it was like 70. I do not like my chances of getting in.

70ish is correct， both days have 30～40 interviewees. I expect they take 30% from the interview according to the reddit post

 

[not_really_cool]

Today I accepted an offer of admission from the University of Michigan. I'm so relieved to have the application/interview process behind me and excited to start in the fall.

My final statuses:

• NCSU Bioinformatics - accepted
• U of Kentucky IBS - accepted
• U of Michigan PIBS - accepted (matriculating)
• Duke CBB - rejected
• Stanford BI - rejected
• UNC BSB - rejected
• UW Seattle Genome Sciences - rejected
• WashU CSB - rejected
• Harvard BIG - still haven't heard, but almost definitely rejected

I aimed high, but I don't regret applying to all those schools I was rejected from. """You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky" - Michael Scott." - not_really_cool