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Everything posted by BabyScientist

  1. They could send them out literally any day or time. BUT you should unplug and enjoy yourself. They aren't going to take your invite away if you don't pick up the phone when they call.
  2. Remember that not every applicant visits GradCafe. It's totally possible that internationals have received invitations but aren't posting.
  3. Some grad programs will let you start rotations the summer before starting. So if I were you I'd keep that time open.
  4. The only prep you should need (for any interview) is knowing about your research and having an idea of which faculty at that school are doing things you're interested in/you'd want to work with. Did you contact this person at any point or did they randomly reach out? My main tip is ask them questions about the program/location/their lab.
  5. They wouldn't know or care, tbh. The only people who would probably be upset are your letter writers, with short notice to write and submit letters.
  6. Depending on the strength of your LORs and SOP, you have great odds at interviews at a bunch of those schools. No red flags at all in your application: your GPA is great, your GRE is good (and not even important anymore), having any pubs at all is great (let alone 6-8), and your school list looks fair. Don't be down on yourself. I'd say your reaches are just Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia.
  7. I think you have a good chance at interview offers at a few of those for sure. It'll depend heavily on the strength of your LORs and SOP, but your GPA isn't terrible, the masters helps, and the breadth of experience is valuable. Good luck!
  8. I'm not really familiar with cancer bio, so it's hard to say. UVA, Tulane, Tufts, U of Rochester, UPitt, etc
  9. You look plenty competitive enough to me. If you were really sold on doing a PhD, I'd say it'd strengthen your application a lot to work in a lab for a year or two past grad. It sounds, though, like you just want to see where this application cycle goes? Your school list is relatively reach-y, but if these are all schools where you're interested in at least 3 faculty and would be happy to live in the area, the list is fine. If you really really wanted to be sure you got in this cycle, then apply to some more mid-tier schools. If you really want to go to those schools, take a year for post grad
  10. Generally if you've taken the standard intro biology coursework they're cool with it
  11. Probably not a good idea to submit more than required unless the extras are stellar..
  12. You're applying for way too many competitive schools (and generally too many schools). I think your application could be totally solid, and you could reasonably get in to graduate school, but your list is made up entirely of reach schools. If you're committed to going to one of those schools, I would recommend taking a year or two to work full time in a lab, get some publications under your belt, etc.
  13. Definitely not too late. I recommend emailing the people you're most interested in so you know they have room in their labs and you aren't wasting the application fee money.
  14. GRE score isn't that important. It'll only matter if they're on the fence about you. Your application looks strong, and your school list has a good range. It'll all depend on LORs and SOP.
  15. There's a mathematics and statistics forum under applied mathematics. They'll be able to help you better.
  16. Doesn't really matter unless they specify. I believe I went with 1.5 spacing just to make it easier to look at. I'd say they're usually no more than 2 pages, just long enough to say what you need to without droning on
  17. What have you tried? When I applied I essentially sent emails that explained that I had loans and financial constraints and didn't want that to limit my educational goals. From my experience public schools and very unlikely to give fee waivers and private schools do it no problem.
  18. That's a big assumption, and no one can count on that. No one can be confident enough to only apply to top tier schools - I know people with 3.9 GPAs and multiple publications who didn't get interviews at many of those schools. I, too, think you have good odds at getting interviews at a bunch of those schools, but if you definitely want to go to grad school next year, I recommend broadening the range of schools. If money is an issue for application fees, contact the schools and ask for a waiver.
  19. That's a lot of top tier schools... You're going to want to broaden your range a little.
  20. It's not required, but suggested. It's more for your own benefit, though, than for your application. You should contact the people you're most interested in, express your interest in their research, and ask them if they're even taking students. If they're not, maybe you don't want to apply. If they are, having a conversation with them will give you an idea of if you like them as mentors or not. I finalized my schools in August and started working on my SOP. Didn't finish my SOP until October, probably. Requested letters of rec in September, sent them my CV and SOP once I was done with
  21. Knowing someone can help skew things in your favor, but it's still a committee. They have to convince everyone else that you're worth accepting. Tbh if you declined Pitt after your PI pulled for you, it makes him/her look bad. They essentially wasted a slot on you they could've given someone else.
  22. I agree with @mcfc2018. The goal for you in emailing a PI is getting to know them/their research/their opinions of the program. If it goes well enough, you might build a relationship with them, and they might ask you directly about gpa/shortcomings, but don't bank on it.
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