<p>@telojennie</p>
<p>It is possible, but highly unlikely. As long as you were truthful in your application (eg. transcripts match), haven’t committed a felony and tried to cover it up, and aren’t part of a hate/terrorist organization (or something else really extreme), there shouldn’t be a problem. Really, don’t worry about it. You’re in!</p>
<p>Congrats phDhopeful and microphd! That’s exciting.</p>
<p>I just got back from Weill Cornell and had a great time. It was good meeting some of you (Oncogene!), though I think we missed each other alot though haha. Great week in NYC and it certainly makes the GSK vs. Cornell decision harder than I thought. I’ll let you all know for sure when I make my final decision. Lastly, if “champ” means anything to any of you, PM me asap, otherwise ignore me. haha</p>
<p>I heard back from Yale MCGD and Johns Hopkins CMDB programs today. Accepted to both. </p>
<p>@Telojennie- I got the same thing in my email from Yale. I think it’s standard procedure. Congrats! I probably met you at the weekend.</p>
<p>I’m on cloud nine right now! I hope that everyone is getting good news as well. :)</p>
<p>I find actually a ton of good science there. A lot of high-profile publication. And esp. its RNA-related research is truly top-notch. However this school seems to be greatly underrated in ranking. And I bet not many people apply to UMMS here or may even not heard this place.</p>
<p>I’m just wondering how much the phD school reputation contributes to one’s final success of research? And more specifically, if facing Princeton Molecular Biology and Umass Med, how should one choose? (Princeton is pretty much more basic science-oriented and has very few investigators; so based on the strength at biomedical research and much larger number of researchers at UMMS, the research at UMMS seems more attractive to me.)</p>
<p>What’ll matter in the end is the quality of your research. So if there are well-known PIs at UMass who are doing exciting work and publishing in top-flight journals, I don’t think the school’s prestige will matter all that much. Again, the single most important factor in selecting a graduate program is “goodness of fit,” so if you adore the UMMS program and think the research at Princeton doesn’t really excite you all that much, I’d say go for UMMS.</p>
<p>Has anyone heard from Georgia Tech?</p>
<p>what is the best way to turn down an offer of admission? i can’t seem to think of the right words, is there like a right way to do this? (lol)</p>
<p>I don’t really know the best way to turn down an offer but if you’re concerned about stepping on toes just remember that 50 - 70% of the offers of admissions will be turned down so they’re used to it…especially if you’re way overqualified for the school.</p>
<p>I’d say thank them for the offer and say you liked the dept/interview weekend (if you did) but that you have elected to go with another school which suits you better.</p>
<p>OMG! So I emailed some professors after my interview thanking them. One of the professors offered to give advice after the interview of not only their school but others too. So I emailed them about school A compared with school B… and they haven’t replied yet. I asked him about the connections to industry but I told him that research was my main goal. It’s been 6 days and he hasn’t emailed back. Same with 2 other professors that I asked questions to (but different subject).</p>
<p>Did I just do a major no no? AHHHHHHH!</p>
<p>Lelouch: I don’t think so. He offered to give advice and you took it… I am always pretty open about the fact that I don’t know what I want to do after my PhD, I just know I want a PhD and whatever I choose to do after requires one or will help me get the job… and it depends on too many other factors. I suppose it depends on the prof, but I’ve had tons of profs give me advice about schools during interviews and good luck if I choose a different school than theirs and to let them know… if you are honest that you don’t know between school A and B, I think that’s fine. I’ve been honest about that… but we’ll see. As long as you don’t express complete disinterest, I think it is normal. They were applying for grad school and doing the same thing before too.</p>
<p>Don’t stress! I have spoken with many professors about the difference between their program and another, and they usually offer candid advice. Six days is pretty short in terms of profs answering emails haha.</p>
<p>Lelouch, professors generally don’t like to get back in touch with interviewees until the final decisions for admission have been made. If you don’t get in, they will not respond because of the potentially volatile situation. If you DO get in, then you might hear back, provided they remember that you’ve asked questions.</p>
<p>As a general rule, wait until after you’ve been accepted to ask questions, not because it’s a faux pas to ask before but because you’re more likely to get a response. Of course, asking questions during the interview is perfectly fine as well.</p>
<p>^ So MWFN, if all the profs I sent thank-you’s to (and I only did this for the two schools I’m really interested in attending) responded in like hours… does that mean my chances are good?? </p>
<p>I sure hope so because I am really putting all of my eggs in one basket!</p>
<p>A) You should be sending thank-you’s to everybody you had a scheduled talk with.
B) Response time is largely dependent on the professor’s style.</p>
<p>So if I met with 8 PIs at a school, you would really send a thank you to every one of them?</p>
<p>Honestly, I sent thank-yous to the profs that looked like they actually knew something about me - or even if they didn’t, they seemed to care or put effort into the interview. With some professors, they really had not a clue about who I was, what I was doing there, etc. I don’t really have anything to thank them for or say anything meaningful/personal as I did with the people I did say thank you to. That’s just my opinion, although I think I probably should be sending thank you’s to everyone, regardless, I haven’t done that thus far. </p>
<p>fredhutch: Yeah, why not. A couple of more emails doesn’t take much more time.</p>
<p>I got an offer of admission from my top choice already. I got an email saying that they have recommended me to the Graduate School for admission for Fall of 2010, and I will receive “official” letter from them soon. I still have not received anything solid in mail (i.e. nothing in paper document that says “you are accepted!” from the graduate school office). </p>
<p>I think I might be being a little paranoid because I don’t have anything in paper, but I am a little reluctant to cancel interviews at another school (coming up real soon- actually, this weekend) and decline acceptances from my “safety” choices. Should I just go ahead and cancel it?</p>
<p>i felt really bad about canceling my columbia interview one week before the actual interview.</p>
<p>Safetypin, I know you are referring to Princeton :), and I know your chances are excellent there based on your interests and the small group invited to interview. Although you shouldn’t count on Princeton, I can honestly say that the interview weekend is more of a recruitment weekend, and that the professors are answering you because of this.</p>
<p>Shannonista, you’ll have to make the call on this, although I’ve never heard a case of the graduate school denying a program’s recommendation for admission. Getting that definitive letter from the graduate school should be a mere formality at this point.</p>