<p>@Bingbang</p>
<p>I only applied to 5 schools . . . I didn’t want to spend the money and time working on applications for more than my top choices. So far I have 4 interviews. Or course it’s nerve wracking to apply to only a small number of schools, but I would select your top choices and maybe one safety. You’ll run into fewer scheduling conflicts and you’ll have more time/energy to give to the interviews you do have.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to 7… I’m doing all three New York schools in one long trip, and then separate trips to Yale and Harvard. The other 2 schools are local for me. </p>
<p>One school is being really open with the names of all the candidates… there’s only one interview date for the program and only 13 people are attending. They can probably only expect half of who they admit to enroll, so are they really going to be weeding out people after the interview?</p>
<p>I’m going to have to study on the planes. More than 5 or 6 would be hard to swing, unless you’re taking a light courseload. I am and I still wonder about missing so many classes.</p>
<p>I met with grad students from one program that has a late recruitment weekend (mid-March… They don’t even notify people about interviews until med-Feb, if gradcafe results is accurate). Anyway, they told me that their recruits were so exhausted that they all left the department party before it even started… I’m afraid I’ll be in the same position by that point, if I end up going…</p>
<p>@flutterfly</p>
<p>I’ve heard that if your interview weekend has around 10 people, you’re being tested for “red flags” and sized up for funding. Are you great on paper, but can’t make eye contact, ramble, seem immature or impolite? Do you have no confidence, poor personal hygiene? That sort of thing.</p>
<p>They’re checking on your ability to talk about your own research intelligently. Based on what I’ve seen, I doubt that’ll be a problem for anybody on CC. But I plan to have a semi-rehearsed answer for those “what are your ultimate career goals?”, “where do you see yourself in 10 years” or “what will you contribute to our program?” type questions. As long as you’re articulate and communicative, you should be accepted. Not being able to explain your own research in simple terms seems to be the one fatal error I’ve heard about from people who were rejected post-interview.</p>
<p>On a less exciting note, Columbia seems to be sending out another round of invites for the rest of us : )</p>
<p>For those wondering… I got confirmation about interviews from the following schools (via phone or because it’s my undergrad institution).</p>
<p>UCLA ACCESS: Still reviewing apps. Interview invites still being sent out.</p>
<p>USC PIBBS: Still reviewing apps. Interview invites still being sent out. They might add a FOURTH recruitment weekend depending on the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Weill Cornell: Lady seemed flustered that I was asking about interviews so soon for the allied programs. She said they’re still reviewing and insinuated that no interview invites have gone out for the allied programs.</p>
<p>UCSD Biological Sciences: Still reviewing. Interview invites still being sent out.</p>
<p>Denied UCSF Neuroscience via website :(</p>
<p>@jayeyesee Great to hear UCLA is still reviewing applicants! This is really embarrassing, but I didn’t even know about USC’s PIBBS program…I just applied to their MCB department (interview feb.24th). Do you know what the main differences between these two programs are?</p>
<p>I am going to 6 interviews, which seems like a lot, but I have no idea of acceptance post-interview rates, so I don’t want to be left empty handed! The important thing, in the end, is that we all do what we love.</p>
<p>I hear you about not wanting to come out empty handed… I’ve gone and scheduled 8… Probably wouldn’t have gone to that many if Rockefeller sent acceptances earlier…</p>
<p>@OopsIdiditAgain</p>
<p>You could cancel the interviews to places that you know you won’t pick over Rockefeller now (if there are any), and maybe that interview spot could still go to someone else.</p>
<p>But then don’t you end up paying them for a plane ticket?</p>
<p>@neurogirl85: I’m sorry to hear that. 
But, by website, do you mean that someone sent you a link in an email to a rejection site or that the status of your application changed from “Under review” to “rejected”? Sorry… I’ve just been waiting awhile for a response from them so I’m not sure what to expect!</p>
<p>I saw other rejections on gradcafe and went to check and it said “denied” in app status…</p>
<p>Anyone hear back from UCSD Neuroscience? I called them on Monday and they said they would be sending out interviews in the “next day or two”, so I would think they’d do it by now? But I haven’t gotten an acceptance or rejection.</p>
<p>no news from UCSD…saw 2 other people get interviews yesterday…scared I’m rejected there too…also waiting on UCBerkeley Neuro…looks like I struck out this year…:(</p>
<p>Got an invite for Stanford Biochemistry (Biosciences)! Was told in the email they are only inviting 24 out of 300 applicants, so if you applied to this home program and didn’t get an invite today, I don’t think it looks good for you.</p>
<p>They said I’d receive info in the mail within the next “few days” so I assume everyone else who got an invite from other home programs are likely to get something to around then.</p>
<p>Anyone have any insight to the process at UPenn? I’ve applied to Genomics and Computational Biology (GCB). GradCafe’s database shows a few invites extended early (on Dec 19th) and one invite yesterday on Jan 10th.</p>
<p>Several programs seem to have extended early invites to match some of the California programs which moved up their process this year. So the later round this week makes sense too. I just expected to see more postings.</p>
<p>Anyone else get an invite? Does any one have any info on more invites coming?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>@OopsIdiditAgain</p>
<p>I cancelled an interview with no repercussions; they just wished me luck in my graduate studies. I doubt any program will charge you for the plane ticket…but if you bought the ticket yourself, I wouldn’t expect to still be reimbursed. :P</p>
<p>Edit: From the perspective of the school, if an interviewee has already made up his/her mind that he/she doesn’t want to go there for graduate school but he/she still comes to the interview they are using up resources via hotel, dinners, graduate student time, faculty time, etc. So just costing them the plane ticket is actually much less of an expense for them…</p>
<p>Hey molbio2012, thanks for the info! Now I guess I just have to decide whether there are places I would definitely pick Rockefeller over…</p>