Biology/Biomedical Sciences Applicants 2008

<p>I thought that harvard bbs didn't do interviews..</p>

<p>hi i'm new to this forum..</p>

<p>i've applied to Harvard, UCSF, Stanford, Yale, JHU, Wisc, Duke, WashU, and U Mich. So far, accepted at Yale and interviews at Wisc, Duke, and Michigan. Has anybody heard back from UCSF or JHU yet?</p>

<p>dd - which program did you apply to at Yale and when did you hear?</p>

<p>I've really come to hate the weekends, because there's no chance that I will hear from any schools. I really really really want Yale to contact me.</p>

<p>buffkitten,
i applied to the MBB program, and was notified by email on the evening of the 3rd. yeah the weekends suck.. i'm still compulsively checking my email about 10 times a day even though it's saturday. best of luck</p>

<p>BBS doesn't do interviews for domestic students, certainly. I'm not sure if the procedure is different for international students -- apparently it may be.</p>

<p>Just heard from UT Southwestern's DBS. I was very pleasantly surprised by the email they sent me; hadn't expected to hear from anyone on a Saturday. So that makes it four interviews till now: Hopkins, Columbia, Wash U and UT Southwestern, with an acceptance at USC's chemistry. I'm so excited!!!</p>

<p>So far I have heard for an interview from Baylor College of Medicine (MCB), UT Southwestern (DBS), Weill Cornell (BCMB), and an acceptance to UT-HSC Houston (MD Anderson).</p>

<p>Mollie:
Do I need to dress formally when going to the interview?</p>

<p>I'm hearing the rumor that HMS Neuroscience started sending out interview invitation last Friday. But I may be misinformed. I heard from the coordinator last Friday that the committees are reviewing the application. Did anyone hear back?</p>

<p>You want to dress a little formally, but not in a suit and tie, probably. You don't want to dress super-formally and be uncomfortable -- this should be about the formality level of presenting a poster or talk to an audience.</p>

<p>Generally, interviewers just want to ask you about your previous research experience, and the sorts of things you might be interested in researching in graduate school. If there are any weaknesses in your application, you might be asked to explain those.</p>

<p>What about girls? Should I wear pants, blouse, jacket and nice shoes, or will a nice pair of pants and a button down shirt be okay? And should I dress differently for the different parts of the interview? For example, NYU gave this as their tentative schedule, what should I be wearing each day? Thanks!</p>

<p>Thursday
3:30 – 4:00 PM Students arrive at NYU
4:00 - 4:15 Greeting by Dr. Joel Oppenheim
4:15 - 5:00 Research Seminar
5:00 – 6:00 Graduate student posters presentation with hors d'oeuvres
6:00 - 7:15 Dinner
7:30 Leave for theater
8:00 – 11:00 Broadway Show</p>

<p>Friday
8:30 AM Students arrive at NYU
8:45 - 9:15 Breakfast and Q&A with Dr. Oppenheim
9:15 - 9:45 Tour of the Medical Center and housing
10:00 - 11:45 Interviews
12:00 - 1:30 Lunch with graduate students
1:45 - 3:30 Interviews
3:45 - 4:15 Meeting with individual Program Directors of your choice
4:45 - 5:15 Summation with Matthew Cipriano, Admissions Coordinator
5:15 – 6:00 Sackler TGIF
8:00 Dinner and night on the town with first year graduate
students</p>

<p>A friend of mine said they got into Harvard Bio already and Harvard is paying her to visit. Is this an interview or an acceptance? Granted since she does have a 4.0 from a top school and was a goldwater scholar, I wouldn't be that surprised.</p>

<p>^It depends on which Harvard program -- they all pay for students to visit. BBS does not interview domestic students (in which case she'd be in already), while Neuroscience and MCB do interview, and no student is accepted before the interview. I don't know what the procedures are for Immunology and Virology.</p>

<p>
[quote]
What about girls? Should I wear pants, blouse, jacket and nice shoes, or will a nice pair of pants and a button down shirt be okay? And should I dress differently for the different parts of the interview?

[/quote]

Whatever makes you feel dressed up, but comfortable, is okay. I had a standard set of interview outfits -- a sweater and skirt one day, and a sweater and khakis for the next. </p>

<p>You'll get the hang of it after one interview; at my first interview, some small percentage of people showed up in suits (male and female), but basically nobody wore suits after that.</p>

<p>You also want to be sure that you're wearing something that will allow you to wear at least semi-comfortable shoes. For many of these events, you'll be walking quite a bit, and the last thing you want is blisters on your feet.</p>

<p>Applied: UCSF (BMS), UCB (MCB), UW (MCB), WUSTL (DBBS), UCSD (BMS), OHSU, UPENN, Columbia, UNC-CH, UChicago, Northwestern, UT-Austin, TSRI
Accepted:
Interviews: WashU (2/7)
Rejected:UCSF(BMS) 1/7/08 email, where you come from means everything.</p>

<p>i got rejected by ucsf too :( sorry to hear the bad news, autocell, it was my first choice too. i'm hoping they'll email us tomorrow and be like "whoops! we got the lists mixed up" :P</p>

<p>Autocell,
Sorry to hear that :( Frankly, I'm surprised because you have all those research experiences and publications, and a great profile besides. Was your current PI in BMS or somewhere else? Anyway, with your background I would guess they are just acting on a policy meant to strengthen your career. Most programs won't take their own undergrads, and your situation is analogous: you've been at UCSF long enough to learn what you can from those profs, and starting at a new campus, with fresh ideas and projects, will help you grow as a scientist. So it's true that "where you come from means everything," because you can't (or at least shouldn't) go where you've already been.</p>

<p>My PI was is in BMS although not well established and he didn't have any involvement with admissions. To say that having worked at a research university as large as UCSF and had the opportunity to learn from the professors here and their ideas is a bit farfetched. I have had the opportunity to collaborate with two other labs, which aren't PIs that I wasn't proposing to work with, have only been here 2yrs, and bring with me experience from two other universities. It is a slap in the face but the truth is harsh. Names and powerful connections mean everything...</p>

<p>I'm assuming that you got an invite, right?</p>

<p>Applied: UCSF (BMS), UCB (MCB), UW (MCB), WUSTL (DBBS), UCSD (BMS), OHSU, UPENN, Columbia, UNC-CH, UChicago, Northwestern, UT-Austin, TSRI
Accepted:
Interviews: OHSU (PCMB notified by email 1/7/08), WashU (2/7)
Rejected:UCSF(BMS) 1/7/08 email, where you come from means everything.</p>

<p>Applied: MIT, Sloan-Ketering, Rockefeller, JHU, Columbia, Georgetown, Penn State, Brandeis, NYU Sackler, CMU
Interviews: Penn State (12/15), Sloan-Kettering (12/17), NYU Sackler (12/28), JHU-Biophysics (01/07)
How are you guys preparing for your interviews? Any Suggestions??</p>

<p>Just heard from UW genome sciences! (they sent out a package)</p>

<p>Applied: Harvard (HILS-Genetics and Systems), MIT (Genetics), Rockefeller, Stanford (Genetics, Biochem, Cancer Biology), UCSF (Tetrad), Berkeley (MCB), UWashington (Genomics), NYU (Functional Genomics)</p>

<p>Acceptances: Rockefeller (12/21)</p>

<p>Interviews: UW (1/08)</p>

<p>it seems that you don't have much of a decision to make.</p>