<p>Should you be in contact with professors from an institution you would like to attend? Would correspondence indicating an interest in a lab/program have a direct impact on your standing as an applicant? Certainly connections are everything, but I wonder how many of us are actively seeking to establish ties with professors?</p>
<p>nrds35: Well, I did not seek to establish any sorts of connection to the schools I applied. But I mean if you happen to know someone in the program that you want to apply, you should def utilize this connection. In my case, the PI whom I am working for was the dean of the Columbia school of physician and surgeon, and I am pretty sure that He played an very important role in my application. That’s prob why I received my interview invitation so quickly.</p>
<p>Yo D-dog hook it up!</p>
<p>Has anyone heard back from the neuro program at UPenn? Saw someone heard back on another forum, but in past years they notified in January</p>
<p>did the forum died?</p>
<p>@Nanodrops I haven’t gotten an email from MIT saying my application has been completed, but I’m 99% sure they have all my application materials since every other school has gotten them.</p>
<p>Also, they say on their website you can’t ask for a status update on your application completeness, so there’s nothing I can do about it if my app is somehow incomplete anyhow.</p>
<p>Btw, does anyone else agree that MIT needs to update their application system a bit? I feel like I shouldn’t have to email copies of form letters to my rec-writers myself…</p>
<p>Thanks for replying greenertea, all other schools have gotten my stuff as well so I will just assume MIT has it too. In any case, they have you upload transcript + GRE so it’s not like they don’t have those documents as backup. I actually liked MIT’s system because then I could be sure that my recommendation requests did not go into my professor’s spam folder, which happened for a few other schools.</p>
<p>Looks like a lot of schools are notifying in December this year. So much for a relaxing holiday!</p>
<p>Are applicants with a Bachelor’s degree at any disadvantage compared to those with a Master’s degree? Thanks!</p>
<p>Looks like that gradcafe list has a UVA BIMS interview offered. Funny, considering the deadline is today. Not that it’s untrue, just… strange.</p>
<p>Obviously, advance degree like MS/MA will give the applicants advantages only if the applicants received a good grades >3.7 and acquired more advanced training in research. Usually, the grades in grade school are inflated so the adcomt will pay much more attention to what kind and how long the research has been done during the Master degree.</p>
<p>I see. Thanks davexuke! :)</p>
<p>@virions I have a friend who has been accepted/invited for interview to a couple of pharm programs prior to the deadline for the application, so it’s not entirely unheard of. They’re good pharm programs too (U of A and JHo).</p>
<p>@Inagaki I’m sure it helps you to have masters, especially if you’ve worked on a topic that you’re hoping to continue in PhD. At least, I don’t see how it could hurt you.</p>
<p>@greenertea: My son is an undergradute student. :(</p>
<p>@Inagaki, chill</p>
<p>@Inagaki, yes, I wouldn’t worry so much. Most people do not do masters separately before PhD. I only meant to say that a masters can certainly help your application in certain cases, as I know people who’ve been able to get into PhD programs at the institute they get their MA because they have connections with the professors. I still feel the majority of people apply after an interim year or two of work or apply right out of undergrad.</p>
<p>@Inagaki</p>
<p>I hope you don’t put undue stress on your son.</p>
<p>someone already has a rejection from cornell in CMB (source: gradcafe)?? Do you think that’s Weill Cornell?</p>
<p>dietcokehead7: No these rejections are from the Itheca campus, not the weill cornell medical sampus in NYC</p>
<p>seems like a lot of schools are giving decisions early this year; UPenn, Cornell (Ithaca), Washington U (St. Louis), etc had application deadlines of December 1 or 8.</p>