institution revisits

[cluelesspremed]

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Hey guys...

I was wondering what exactly a revisit entails? I looked on my schedule and it says there's a reception blah blah..but then a day of interviews?! Why/how are they going to interview us if we're already accepted? Will they be the same as the interviews we had before being accepted where we sit down and discuss our research with interviewers again or am I just misreading something?

Clueless and confused as always,

cluelesspremed

 

[microTAS]

if you're sure who your future PI will be, then it might seem like a waste of time. But you can use the time to get general info and career advice from different faculty members without the fear of sounding disinterested in their research.

 

[abeanatrice]

Hey guys...

I was wondering what exactly a revisit entails? I looked on my schedule and it says there's a reception blah blah..but then a day of interviews?! Why/how are they going to interview us if we're already accepted? Will they be the same as the interviews we had before being accepted where we sit down and discuss our research with interviewers again or am I just misreading something?

Clueless and confused as always,

cluelesspremed

Think faculty interest interviews, rather than evaluating interviews. They're trying to set you up with people you might be interested in doing your PhD with. No stress, have fun.

 

[cluelesspremed]

thanks guys!

phew...

 

[noy]

thanks guys!

phew...

Think of it as you interviewing *them* - thats what I did and it led me to ask some very tough questions - I got some honest answers I didnt like (good to know early) and some I did (I rotated in that lab!).

Do your homework, and speak up - if there is a faculty member you want to meet, the program will most likely make a strong effort to get you time to talk to them. If there is one you dont, it might be worth it to anyway, just to see wht they thought you should meet the PI.

Remember, this is one aspect of the revisit - there are others. But its how summer rotations are born!

AND PLEASE EVERYONE READING THIS: ENJOY YOUR REVISIT WEEKENDS - THEY ARE SOME OF THE BEST TIMES YOU WILL HAVE ON THE MSTP APPLICATION TRAIL - YOU WILL MEET SOME GREAT FUTURE CLASSMATES AS WELL

Sorry for yelling, but live it up while the programs are paying!

 

[Neuronix]

I was wondering what exactly a revisit entails? I looked on my schedule and it says there's a reception blah blah..but then a day of interviews?!

Do you have an acceptance in hand? Some schools, notably Baylor and UPitt, do interview a second time before sending acceptances. Then again, with Baylor you may have an acceptance in hand and be interviewing again anyways, because most of the other applicants may not have an accpetance in hand. If this info doesn't apply to the school you're revisiting, ignore it 🙂

 

[BDavis]

Do you have an acceptance in hand? Some schools, notably Baylor and UPitt, do interview a second time before sending acceptances. Then again, with Baylor you may have an acceptance in hand and be interviewing again anyways, because most of the other applicants may not have an accpetance in hand. If this info doesn't apply to the school you're revisiting, ignore it 🙂

At Baylor for our "Candidate Review", the first night (Weds) you meet all the students and some of the students present poster presentations so that you can get an idea of what kind of research is done by each department. This reception is attended by many department faculty who will actively search and recruit you to their department (At Baylor, the basic science departments are separated so after you enroll at Baylor you then have to choose a department).

The next day are for faculty interviews where you will meet and interview with faculty that are either interested in you or faculty that you are interested in. This is an opportunity to see more of what the graduate school has to offer.

Friday night and Saturday day are for exploring the restaurants, main attractions and nightlife of Houston. This is intended to be relaxing and no stress. I think after everyone leaves for Candidate Review the committee makes funding decisions. However, just because you did not get invited to Candidate Review does not meet you will be offered funding. I had some classmates who did not go to Candidate Review, received funding letters, and enrolled at Baylor.

I think we used to have some candidates who were guaranteed funding if they went to Candidate Review, but now I think they have done away with that so that nobody feels left out.

In general, I used revisits to learn more about the program. I often focused on the medical school during the first visit and scrutinized the graduate school on the second visit (because some programs will ask if you have faculty preferences regarding who to meet).

 

[abeanatrice]

Do you have an acceptance in hand? Some schools, notably Baylor and UPitt, do interview a second time before sending acceptances. Then again, with Baylor you may have an acceptance in hand and be interviewing again anyways, because most of the other applicants may not have an accpetance in hand. If this info doesn't apply to the school you're revisiting, ignore it 🙂

Pitt doesn't do that, at least not anymore.

 

[abeanatrice]

However, just because you did not get invited to Candidate Review does not meet you will be offered funding. I had some classmates who did not go to Candidate Review, received funding letters, and enrolled at Baylor.

I think we used to have some candidates who were guaranteed funding if they went to Candidate Review, but now I think they have done away with that so that nobody feels left out.

Weird. My candidate review invitation says: "If we do not hear from you by this date, we will assume you wish to withdraw your application and will extend the offer to another candidate."

I guess it could be interpreted as, "please let us know if you are coming or not, but it doesn't mean you won't get in if you don't come," but I didn't really get that impression. I thought it basically meant if you didn't get invited that you definitely wouldn't be offered a position...But of course, I've been wrong many a time before.

 

[BDavis]

Weird. My candidate review invitation says: "If we do not hear from you by this date, we will assume you wish to withdraw your application and will extend the offer to another candidate."

I guess it could be interpreted as, "please let us know if you are coming or not, but it doesn't mean you won't get in if you don't come," but I didn't really get that impression. I thought it basically meant if you didn't get invited that you definitely wouldn't be offered a position...But of course, I've been wrong many a time before.

I know for my class there was at least two that did not go to Candidate Review and were accepted. They seem to invite 20-30 candidates for the 2nd round interviews to get a class of 10-15; maybe my year, most of the people who went to Candidate Review did not end up going to Baylor.

 

[abeanatrice]

I know for my class there was at least two that did not go to Candidate Review and were accepted. They seem to invite 20-30 candidates for the 2nd round interviews to get a class of 10-15; maybe my year, most of the people who went to Candidate Review did not end up going to Baylor.

Man, I wish I was good enough to do that...this has pretty much eliminated the chance of doing anything fun over my spring break. Oh well, free hotel and free food...guess I can't complain too much.

 

[Neuronix]

I think we used to have some candidates who were guaranteed funding if they went to Candidate Review, but now I think they have done away with that so that nobody feels left out.

I was one such applicant. I was told that because I was one of the few who was accepted with funding, I would have to dress and act like I was still interviewing around the other applicants, as most of which would be interviewing for funding. Perhaps Baylor and Pitt have done away with second interviews this year... I would say it's about time!

 

[BDavis]

Perhaps Baylor and Pitt have done away with second interviews this year... I would say it's about time!

We still have this "Candidate Review" which is pretty much second interviews, because I don't think they have pre-offers of funding anymore.

 

[uproarhz]

We still have this "Candidate Review" which is pretty much second interviews, because I don't think they have pre-offers of funding anymore.

Are the rumors that pretty much anyone who goes to candidate review gets in true? I heard this from a couple of students in the program at my first visit there!

 

[BDavis]

Are the rumors that pretty much anyone who goes to candidate review gets in true? I heard this from a couple of students in the program at my first visit there!

I think your chances are pretty good since many student who go to Candidate Review are already holding onto other acceptances and some will not go to Baylor. I think the program invites ~20-30 students to get a final class of 10-15. As long as you come across as a semi-normal person I think you will do well.

I know my year they did not get enough people from Candidate Review so they offered positions to some who did not go to the 2nd interviews (they may of changed that now).

Usually there are several Rice undergraduate students interested in Bioengineering and it seems like we are able to retain those students pretty well since they are familiar with the engineering program at Rice. However, because of our location, it is sometimes hard to get those students who want to go to the East and West Coast Schools.

 

[abeanatrice]

Usually there are several Rice undergraduate students interested in Bioengineering and it seems like we are able to retain those students pretty well since they are familiar with the engineering program at Rice. However, because of our location, it is sometimes hard to get those students who want to go to the East and West Coast Schools.

Sweet, I fit a mold.

 

[BDavis]

Sweet, I fit a mold.

Sounds like your chances are good at getting funded. The engineering portion of the program has rapidly grown recently over. the years (I think the Rice department takes more students than cell biology or genetics now)

 

[mdphd2b]

Do you have an acceptance in hand? Some schools, notably Baylor and UPitt, do interview a second time before sending acceptances. Then again, with Baylor you may have an acceptance in hand and be interviewing again anyways, because most of the other applicants may not have an accpetance in hand. If this info doesn't apply to the school you're revisiting, ignore it 🙂

As a student member of the MSTP Interviewing and Screening commitees at Pitt, I can assure you that we do NOT have 2nd look interviews to evaluate people for admissions. In fact, this year we finally switched to rolling admissions for the 1st time, so applicants received a decision ~2 wk after their interview. The goal of our 2nd look weekend is for acceptees to find a prospect lab mentor for their first rotation, which begins the summer before MS-I. Hopefully this will help the incoming students in getting situated sooner.

Hope this helps 🙂

 

[Neuronix]

Excellent, UPitt upping their stipend past minimum, covering their students' healthcare insurance, AND getting rid of the second interviews all in the past three years? 👍

 

[mdphd2b]

Excellent, UPitt upping their stipend past minimum, covering their students' healthcare insurance, AND getting rid of the second interviews all in the past three years? 👍

Yes, yes, and yes! Actually, my interviews were back in the 1999-2000 season, and I know for sure we didn't have second interviews then.

The health insurance for MD years was a big plus! Compared to other schools, this was long overdue.

 

[Neuronix]

Actually, my interviews were back in the 1999-2000 season, and I know for sure we didn't have second interviews then.

I know they did when I applied 2 years ago. I also know that wasn't the only year, as people were still talking about them last year. I could probably find the old threads where people were talking about them. Maybe it was just a couple years when they tried it and didn't like it?

 

[mdphd2b]

I know they did when I applied 2 years ago. I also know that wasn't the only year, as people were still talking about them last year. I could probably find the old threads where people were talking about them. Maybe it was just a couple years when they tried it and didn't like it?

Hi Neuronix,

I see where you're coming from. It's true that our admissions process is highly evolving. During my 2nd look weekend in Mar 2000, only 12 students attended, but they all were accepted candidates. In the years after that, there was a practice to invite both accepted AND wait-listed candidates to 2nd look, so I can see how some applicants felt like this would be their "2nd interview" if they were wait-listed at the time. Since we are doing rolling admissions this year, the 2nd look weekend is once again moved to the spring with the hope of aiding students in exploring Pittsburgh, selecting labs, etc.

 

[Alexs42]

I look forward to meeting some of you who are coming to the Vandy MSTP 2nd visit. Among other things, you will have lunch with some of the current students. Hope you will all have fun with the 2nd visit.
Aleks (Vandy MSTP ~ VMS-III/PhD).