Chem BA 2002, GPA 3.19. 1 yr UG chem research. 1 pub. 10 yrs work in chemistry writing. MA 2006, writing-related. 2016-19 back to school: UG STEM courses w/labs, 3.40 GPA. Curt rejection from UCSF: email to check status online. Checked, said "Rejected." I'm crossing fingers for others with non-traditional backgrounds.

Conducted undergraduate research in the field, second author on a paper in review, 2 years of clinical lab experience. Was interviewed February 2018 but was not accepted.

Did all interview invited get sent out? I have heard no news.

Masters GPA 4.0, 6 years of research experience and multiple presentations in congresses. Skype interview between February 10 - March 6

A short email !!

Notified by PI. interview weekends are January 31st and February 14th.

Typical rejection letter "The Graduate Admissions Committee has completed their review of your application. We regret to inform you that we will not be considering your application further for admission into the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology Ph.D. program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for the Fall 2020 term. Admission to the MCB program has become more competitive in recent years, with a continuing increase in the number of outstanding applications."

Generic email. Good luck to those who received interview invites!

I was contacted by a PI for a Skype interview, they said PI's usually "nominate" a candidate to be brought for formal interviews. 2+ years of full-time research in the specific field, first author manuscript in progress, 3.7 GPA for last 90 credit hours, strong letters of rec. Who gets in???

Ivy League undergrad with two publications and 2+ years research

GPA 8.7/10, 2 manuscripts in submission (1st and 2nd author), 1 conference presentation, 2 years iGEM. Short and simple rejection email. MIT was always going to be hard being an international applicant.