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

[hopingforfunding]

I wonder at what point do you just write off "no reply" as a rejection? I've still heard nothing from BU, though it seems like they're still sending out both acceptances and rejections. Nothing from Purdue yet either - I emailed Jennifer last month and she said they would keep admitting through the end of March. I know it's still early March, but this thread seems fairly dead and there are very few new results for biomedical engineering.

Oh yes, nothing from Case Western either. After that cryptic email suggesting I might be invited to their visit day, I never heard a peep.

Christina_bme- I have not heard from 6 programs yet either...I applied to a lot of programs overall (1/2 BME, 1/2 MTLE) but have not heard from Case, Columbia, or Carnegie Mellon for Biomed/bioeng and MIT, UMich, and Brown for Materials Science & Engineering....i am starting to freak out as well! I think I am probably a second/third round pick from some of these schools...or just slow rejections. I know last year Case was reaaaaallly slow with their notifications-like up to April 15th slow. MIT already sent out some rejections/acceptances and I have not heard anything...Columbia apparently has interviews scheduled according to the results forum...and it seems Brown is up in the air? I hope we find out soon. I want to know soon so I can turn down offers so wait listers can get a shot. Anyone have any info on these programs?

Yay!: Rensselaer, Dartmouth, Case MTLE, Drexel U, Cornell M.Eng

Boo! : Boston U, UPenn, Cornell Ph.D.

????!: MIT, UMich, Case BME, Columbia, Brown, Carnegie

[christina_bme]

I have to say, I think that's very strange how BU reviews applications in "waves". What if you have someone who's pretty good in the first group, and you admit them, then by the time you get to the last group you find someone who's even better but there are no slots left for them? Presumably they have some sort of quota...I shouldn't even speculate, but I wonder how that works. I guess they have to have SOME systematic way of reviewing those hundreds of applications.

Case does seem to be really slow, but I'm very confused by the fact that they sent me an email on Jan. 22 saying my application "was favorably reviewed" and that they were "finalizing invitations" to the visit day in February...and then nothing. That was the world's biggest tease. I just emailed Carol asking about my application status. We'll see what the reply is.

Meh, I just wish they would all send me my stinkin' rejection letter already. :evil:

[hopingforfunding]

I have to say, I think that's very strange how BU reviews applications in "waves". What if you have someone who's pretty good in the first group, and you admit them, then by the time you get to the last group you find someone who's even better but there are no slots left for them?

Hi again,

Yah, I have to say that my rejection letter from BU was pretty pathetic. It said that I was "qualified" for the program but so are other candidates so they "unfortunately" can not accommodate all qualified students...lame. I would rather they just said "you are terrible do not contact us ever." I have a feeling they have a few spots for each 'wave' and then even if u are qualified you are out. I heard from a professor at my school that they take more international students into the program than other schools too, but I do not know if that is true.

As for Case, sorry you have not heard yet. I worked in the BME dept and at the Cleveland Clinic for an internship, and I have not heard yet either. I only applied to 1 specific person I was in contact with so if I do not get in it is probably due to funding/spots in the lab. Honestly, Cleveland is my last choice after living there for a year. Case is good tho and the Clinic research is awesome. if you get in to CWRU and go, try to go to seminars and do research at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner BME dept if you can. Have you heard from any other programs yet?

[christina_bme]

I've gotten a reject from Northwestern - I think I angsted about that a few pages back in the thread.

I've been accepted to UAB, Tufts, Minnesota, and Notre Dame. Not a bad haul, I'm honestly OK with it especially since my app was good but not super awesome and I didn't have any illusions of getting into top 25 schools. (Getting into Minnesota was a really nice surprise.) I just want to know for sure because the suspense is killing me!

[123456789]

These other guys seriously need to just get off their asses and reject me. At this point it's just obnoxious.

Case BME was apparently really weird/disorganized regarding the interview weekend, and somewhat weird/disorganized about the whole admissions process. I'm actually on a make-up visit there right now because they invited me all of 1 week before it the interview weekend. I had to take care of all my own itinerary and interview scheduling, which I thought was a bad sign. Plus Cleveland seems to more or less suck, and it's unfortunate that the school is so small (a larger school could create a more tolerable student bubble in an otherwise run-down city ... ala Pitt). To top that, I'm actually stuck here at least an extra day because there is a huge snowstorm and the flights are canceled.

All of that said, I may have found the ideal lab after basically assuming I was going to have to settle for something else. Plus it's the highest ranked program I got into and it's not looking promising on these remaining no-replies. Some soul-searching ahead I guess.

The one thing I will say to people still waiting to hear back from schools is that it's never too late to contact specific professors. I emailed assloads of them right around the time i got my apps in, and every time I go on one of these visits they tell me that a) I was one of the only people who emailed and it made a huge difference when they were trying to make decisions. This may not apply to established, big-name profs. A lot of mine were relatively new.

Anyway, sounds like everybody has some good choices. I'm just about ready for this all to be over.

[Severian]

I have to say, I think that's very strange how BU reviews applications in "waves". What if you have someone who's pretty good in the first group, and you admit them, then by the time you get to the last group you find someone who's even better but there are no slots left for them? Presumably they have some sort of quota...I shouldn't even speculate, but I wonder how that works. I guess they have to have SOME systematic way of reviewing those hundreds of applications. ...

I don't think open slot/quota is really an issue. Grad programs typically over admit people because not everyone will accept their offer (even at top ranked programs). I submitted my BU BME app couple days before the Jan. 15 deadline and I received an offer in mid-Feb. But I didn't hear back about funding until couple weeks ago.

Yah, I have to say that my rejection letter from BU was pretty pathetic. It said that I was "qualified" for the program but so are other candidates so they "unfortunately" can not accommodate all qualified students...lame. I would rather they just said "you are terrible do not contact us ever."

Well no one is going to be rude in rejection letters. Some people can apply again next year and get in. But I do agree that rejection letters are very generic and uninformative. If you plan to apply again next year you should call up admission people and find out why you didn't get in.

[crossedfingers]

hey 1234... did u visit UUtah? What did you think? Did they pay for your visit?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm debating whether its worth visiting at my own expense.

[excel]

Since hoppingforfunding has referred to BU's BME graduate program, here are some concrete stats from Peterson's:

Student Population:

144 full-time (52 women), 6 part-time; includes 16 minority (1 African American, 9 Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, 6 Hispanic Americans), 44 international. :arrow: less than 1/3rd of department=intl students...dont think that's above the norm...but dont know for sure though.

Admission Statistics:

468 applicants, 21% accepted, 33 enrolled.

Source: http://www.petersons.com/GradChannel/co ... &sponsor=1

[crossedfingers]

Since hoppingforfunding has referred to BU's BME graduate program, here are some concrete stats from Peterson's:

44 international. :arrow: less than 1/3rd of department=intl students...dont think that's above the norm...but dont know for sure though.

That is definetely above the norm. The schools I have looked at accept only 1-3 international students in each year's entering class. This wasn't so apparent to me when I was applying, but became obvious as I went on the interview weekends. The low acceptance rate holds true not only for BME, but almost every science related PhD field. Its amazing that BU claims to have an international student body (in BME phD alone) of 44. The undergraduate population has a huge intl crowd, but if those numbers are true.. *crosses fingers*..lady luck could be smiling

[123456789]

hey 1234... did u visit UUtah? What did you think? Did they pay for your visit?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm debating whether its worth visiting at my own expense.

I did go, and they did pay. It was a very interesting place. Geographically, I think it is the most unique school I've been to... all nestled up against the mountains in this big giant basin. Amazing scenery. If you are a skier or into the outdoors, I don't think there is any city in the country that has better access to that. 8 or so major ski resorts within 30 min or 1 hr from campus.

They also have a really great bioengineering program. Highly regarded, expanding very rapidly... Lots of money flowing into it... right next to the med school so lots of opportunities for collaborations with clinicians/clinical researchers. Long history of spin-off companies.

My only problem with it is that the Mormon factor does kind of keep the college life behind closed doors. Plenty of partying it seems like, but minimal bars and such within easy walking distance from campus. Not sure if that matters.

Ok that was probably more than you needed. I would say there are a lot of things to really enjoy about the place, and it's worth checking out for yourself if you think you have some good research matches there, and don't mind replacing the typical city/college scene with a more active/outdoor lifestyle.

[excel]

The schools I have looked at accept only 1-3 international students in each year's entering class. This wasn't so apparent to me when I was applying, but became obvious as I went on the interview weekends.

Did you say this based on the number of intl students you saw on your visit? If so, dont you think most intl students who live outside the U.S. would not have come to on-campus interviews? By the way, Phds.org has some legit but slightly dated data on the intl student population at various programs, among other things.

[crossedfingers]

no, i asked graduate school coordinators for a ballpark on the numbers. They mentioned the top reasons were funding and getting the students into the United States. Apparently if you're already in the country ( doing ure undergrad) its viewed as a plus factor, cuz then they dont have to worry about getting you through immigration. Sounds pretty lame to me. I was actually shocked to find out that aero engineering has stopped accepting intl students (???)

Being an intl myself, i seriously hope someone can contradict me and give better stats.

[excel]

They mentioned the top reasons were funding and getting the students into the United States. Apparently if you're already in the country ( doing ure undergrad) its viewed as a plus factor, cuz then they dont have to worry about getting you through immigration. Sounds pretty lame to me. I was actually shocked to find out that aero engineering has stopped accepting intl students (???)

That agrees with what several admission directors have told me. All domestically trained students, intl or not, are treated equally with regards to evaluation, except in several public universities that have constraints on how much funding can be provided to F-1 visa students. Crossedfingers, did you get your undergrad degree from outside of the U.S.?

[excel]

If you are a skier or into the outdoors, I don't think there is any city in the country that has better access to that. 8 or so major ski resorts within 30 min or 1 hr from campus.

It sounds like U.Utah has a very pleasant location. Somehow, I feel that hoppingforfunding would have loved this location for its ski resorts. Now, I wonder why I feel that way :? Must be sixth sense!

[bme_dude]

Excel, what program did you apply to in brown? when did you hear from them?

[excel]

Excel, what program did you apply to in brown? when did you hear from them?

The only two BME programs in my list are U. Virginia and U. Rochester. There are also a bunch of biomedical sciences program. Brown is neither.

[bme_dude]

123456789, anything yet from Brown? I saw someone got into the masters program already.

[123456789]

123456789, anything yet from Brown? I saw someone got into the masters program already.

Nope. Not holding my breath at this point.

[melancholypenguin]

If a school tells you at their interview weekend that you're unofficially accepted (to everyone at the interview), but then later rejects you, what are the chances that it's a mistake?

I'm not sure what to do because I don't want to tell them "I think you might be wrong" if I'm really rejected...

Sort of distressed since it was my first choice

[hotcupofjava]

Oh that was your submission in the results section!

Upon looking at the results history, it seems less likely to me to be a mistake since the rejections came out a few days after the invite for the interviews (ie, the acceptances and rejections were not sent at the same time a few days ago). I would definitely recommend being careful in your wording, expressing surprise and emphasizing how it was your top choice.

[miketakena]

Hey Alex (ahugs), have you heard anything from your schools?

[ahug030]

Yeah I got accepted to Duke and Berkeley, I've decided to go with Berkeley because of the living environment basically. Any good news or decisions on your end?

[miketakena]

Yeah I got accepted to Duke and Berkeley, I've decided to go with Berkeley because of the living environment basically. Any good news or decisions on your end?

Congrats!

I didn't get anything from Duke yet. The professor said he would keep me posted... And I'd just sent Kathy an email to enquire.... getting really stressed up at this point. My application was rejected everywhere else...

[melancholypenguin]

Oh that was your submission in the results section!

Upon looking at the results history, it seems less likely to me to be a mistake since the rejections came out a few days after the invite for the interviews (ie, the acceptances and rejections were not sent at the same time a few days ago). I would definitely recommend being careful in your wording, expressing surprise and emphasizing how it was your top choice.

I talked to a professor of mine who used to be at Berkeley, and he told me that the weekend was an actual interview. I find it deceptive that they would tell us that we were basically in... and I feel this way of rejection is quite mean...

[bme_dude]

Excel, which program did you decide to go with?