A calling to all BME FALL 2008 Applicants:):)

[123456789]

WTF. Just got an invitation to Case Western's interview weekend, which is NEXT WEEKEND, and I've already bought tickets etc for somewhere else. 1 week notice? I assume somebody else must have canceled. Damnit. Never would have accepted Florida's invite if I knew this was going to be the same weekend, even without the invite.

[crossedfingers]

welcome ahug30! u'd disappeared for a while!

[hopingforfunding]

Has anyone heard from UPenn yet? I found this online and was wondering if anyone has an interview...or anything for that matter for the Ph.D. program?

1. All applications will be reviewed between December 15 and January 15.

2. The top tier candidates (approximately top 15% of applications) will be invited for interviews, which will be held in late February and March 2008.

3. Although not all of our invited applicants will be offered fellowships, a high percentage (~ 75%) of these visitors are offered admission to our doctoral program.

4. Only in the rarest cases (most often students living abroad) are students admitted without attending a scheduled visit.

5. So that our applicants who are not admitted can make the most educated decisions possible regarding their graduate careers, we plan to notify the majority of rejected students between January 15, 2004 and March 1, 2005.

thanks and good luck!

[crossedfingers]

WTF. Just got an invitation to Case Western's interview weekend, which is NEXT WEEKEND, and I've already bought tickets etc for somewhere else. 1 week notice?

So where are you gonna go? That really does suck though, cuz ure proly not gonna get refunded for the FL trip. I wonder if you can cancel your tickets and get some amount of money back.

[123456789]

So where are you gonna go? That really does suck though, cuz ure proly not gonna get refunded for the FL trip. I wonder if you can cancel your tickets and get some amount of money back.

UF actually purchased the tickets, so it wouldn't be money out of my pocket. I can't really bring myself to just bail on them though, even though I'm 10x more interested in Case. I'm just going to try to arrange some kind of alternate visit, and hope that some OTHER invitation doesn't end up conflicting with that.

Btw, you should try contacting professors at Pitt and play ignorant about whether there is a visiting weekend. I just got a reply from a professor who made it sound like he might try to get me on the list.

[anon2468]

ahug030 -- I read that you are considering Duke over Cal at this moment. I know nothing about Duke-- but I have to put in a good word for Cal. I am an undergraduate there right now and Berkeley is one of the best places I could imagine going to graduate school. It is a great area, good people (although it true that the locals are a little crazy sometimes-- in an amusing way), and a very flexible and relaxed department overall. All of the graduate students I know are happy here. But the city of Berkeley is very unique-- it's not for everyone. Just my opinion though. You can see for yourself when you visit.

that being said.... I am still anxiously waiting for a response from duke...it's the only school I haven't heard from~

[anonymous_]

Has anyone heard from UPenn yet? I found this online and was wondering if anyone has an interview...or anything for that matter for the Ph.D. program?

1. All applications will be reviewed between December 15 and January 15.

2. The top tier candidates (approximately top 15% of applications) will be invited for interviews, which will be held in late February and March 2008.

3. Although not all of our invited applicants will be offered fellowships, a high percentage (~ 75%) of these visitors are offered admission to our doctoral program.

4. Only in the rarest cases (most often students living abroad) are students admitted without attending a scheduled visit.

5. So that our applicants who are not admitted can make the most educated decisions possible regarding their graduate careers, we plan to notify the majority of rejected students between January 15, 2004 and March 1, 2005.

thanks and good luck!

I applied to UPenn too, still haven't heard anything- I saw that website as well and a little further down it says:

"Applicants who are selected for interview will be explicitly notified both by email and surface mail. Invitations will be issued in January and February 2008 for visits in February and March 2008. If you do not hear from us by February 15, 2008, we can not be encouraging."

So I guess it doesn't look too good right now.. not that I was expecting anything anyways.

[ahug030]

ahug030 -- I read that you are considering Duke over Cal at this moment. I know nothing about Duke-- but I have to put in a good word for Cal. I am an undergraduate there right now and Berkeley is one of the best places I could imagine going to graduate school. It is a great area, good people (although it true that the locals are a little crazy sometimes-- in an amusing way), and a very flexible and relaxed department overall. All of the graduate students I know are happy here. But the city of Berkeley is very unique-- it's not for everyone. Just my opinion though. You can see for yourself when you visit.

that being said.... I am still anxiously waiting for a response from duke...it's the only school I haven't heard from~

Hi anon, thanks for the inside info. I was born in Oakland and lived in the Bay Area for 10 years during my childhood and also have fond memories. Luckily I'll get to see Berkeley again when I visit and appraise it from a new perspective. The only reason I'm leaning towards Duke is because of its more structured campus. I did my undergrad at Auckland University (New Zealand), which is in the middle of the city - nice initially but tends to grate on the nerves with traffic noise and smoke, and the general bustle. That's why I long sometimes to go to university in a place where the focus is the university itself. But we'll see - I'm sure I would be happy at either.

welcome ahug30! u'd disappeared for a while!

Yeah it's summer down here so I've been surfing and spearfishing like mad, just been away to Australia for a little holiday too. Nothing like a little adventure to keep you from going crazy :wink:

[hopingforfunding]

I applied to UPenn too, still haven't heard anything- I saw that website as well and a little further down it says:

"Applicants who are selected for interview will be explicitly notified both by email and surface mail. Invitations will be issued in January and February 2008 for visits in February and March 2008. If you do not hear from us by February 15, 2008, we can not be encouraging."

So I guess it doesn't look too good right now.. not that I was expecting anything anyways.

too bad anonymous- doesn't seem like anyone else has heard yet though...I am still gonna hold out hope (as little as it is)!!!

I just heard from Dartmouth- Accepted to Ph.D. in Engineering with Biomedical Focus- Fellowship too. whew.

accepted: Dartmouth, Case MTLE, Drexel BME

waiting: Penn, UMich, MIT, Cornell, Brown, RPI, Case BME, BU

[123456789]

I'm just going to follow up on my own post, and suggest that anybody who was accepted somewhere but not invited to their visiting weekend, you should definitely try contacting professors and playing dumb about it. The prof that got back to me couldn't get me in to Pitt's apparently elite invite-only weekend, but still got the department to bring me out during another mutually convenient time.

It's in their interest to do so, of course. I can't imagine any prof wants to take on somebody as an RA without meeting with them. Anyway, there is apparently a lot of flexibility in this process, so don't give up if things don't work out immediately.

[miketakena]

Hey xzjohn,

Does it mean that it is possible if you self finance 1st year of your PhD, then get an RA for the rest of the 4 years? i.e. the advisor is not restricted by his grant to employ a foreign grad student to work on the project?

Pls advise. Thanks!

[red_dragone]

OMG, someone got an acceptance from BU. Was it any of you guys? Now I'm nervous :shock:

[campingisintense]

Here's my status so far

Interview: UCSF/UCB, Stanford

Presumably rejected: MIT (I haven't heard anything from them)

[sonymenu2]

Stanford is interviewing? campingisintense, were you the person who posted the Mar. 6-9 interview dates? I guess that means I've been rejected...

By the way, just found this site, here's my status so far (all for BME PhD):

Accepted w/ funding: Cornell, UC Irvine, University of Rochester

Accepted, no info on funding yet: USC, UC Davis, Drexel, UCLA (recommended for Masters, so no funding)

No word yet: Stanford (rejected?), Penn State Univ, Stony Brook

Rejected: UCSF/UCB

Anyone know how many people applied to Stanford BioE in previous years? It looks like they only take about 20 students each year, so I guess chances are slim for anyone who hasn't heard back

[ahug030]

Im also feeling bummed about Stanford - I didn't get an email so I guess that rules me out too :cry: . Luckily I have Cal/SF and Duke interviews... but is it wrong to crave the brand name? I always thought it would be cool to have a degree from stanford or harvard or caltech or...

[ahug030]

Btw sony nice to see you have acceptances already - how did you gather the patience to apply to all those schools, it was hard enough getting 6 apps together for me!

[campingisintense]

yea, i posted those results for stanford, they informed me via email on feb 6, all travel arrangements had to be made before feb 11... sorry to be the bearer of bad news

berkeley/UCSF, duke, cornell are also very good "brand names" too. of course, it all comes down to who has the PIs you want to work with...

Given the choice of boston vs bay area, which would you guys choose (assuming the PIs at both institutions were equally good)? boston is colder, but the bay area is more expensive... also boston is more compact and imho tends to support cross-institutional collaborations better, but i haven't really spent a lot of time in the bay area. Any thoughts?

[xzjohn]

I would say this is POSSIBLE, but not necessarily.

Getting a RA is usually an agreement between the professor and you, not involving any other parties. As long as the professor is willing to sponsor you, you'll get it.

But, I must repeat the point. Every PHD student admitted with full financial aid is guaranteed for funding throughout his PhD study, usually up to 6 years. This means there typically is a professor who endorses his application and indicates his willingness to support him for the next 5~6 years. I would say a professor usually admit 1~2 students per year and sometimes he doesn't admit new students in a few years.

And, you have a specific background and this will limit your chances greatly. i.e. if you're a biomechanics guy, I don't think you'll get a RA from a faculty doing imaging stuff.

Anyway, good luck.

Hey xzjohn,

Does it mean that it is possible if you self finance 1st year of your PhD, then get an RA for the rest of the 4 years? i.e. the advisor is not restricted by his grant to employ a foreign grad student to work on the project?

Pls advise. Thanks!

[excel]

miketakena, being an international student (F-1 student visa) will not restrict you from being a RA...a prof can use his/ her NSF or NIH research grant to suppport an intl student just as easily he can support an American.

[miketakena]

miketakena, being an international student (F-1 student visa) will not restrict you from being a RA...a prof can use his/ her NSF or NIH research grant to suppport an intl student just as easily he can support an American.

Thanks! This really clears the air about grad sch funding!

[xzjohn]

hey, guys

I found someone posted his rejection from UPenn on Feb.16. He got notified by e-mail to check the web system.

Anyone else got any response from UPenn?

[anonymous_]

hey, guys

I found someone posted his rejection from UPenn on Feb.16. He got notified by e-mail to check the web system.

Anyone else got any response from UPenn?

Yup, I just checked my email and got a notice to check the website for my admission notice- got rejected, kinda expected it though so whatever.

[xzjohn]

Thanks, buddy.

I just checked my e-mail. Nothing there. Do you think I should call the department? I remember I called them a few weeks ago and she told me no information could be given over the phone.

UPenn said they can't be encouraging if the applicant doesn't get a response by Feb.15.

Yup, I just checked my email and got a notice to check the website for my admission notice- got rejected, kinda expected it though so whatever.

[crossedfingers]

So only one person has posted their Stanford interview stuff? I don't know if that means there are still more coming.

ughh does any one know when MS people from Stanford get notifications? Is it the same as the PhD(s)? I know MS do not get invited for a visit weekend, but they have got to be making acceptances at the same time right?

I wish i knew.

[miketakena]

Hey Hugs,

Are you attending the interview on 29th Feb?