Question

[jlee13]

I am currently a master's student seeking a PhD.

My undergrad GPA is a bit low ~3.4

my master's GPA is high, 3.9

I have 2 years of research experience, going into my 2nd year of master's (which is another year of research)

I have papers trying to get published, and a bunch of abstracts published at conventions and conferences.

My GRE is 1350.

Am I considered competitive if I want to get in programs such as UCSD, UCLA or berkeley?

[ivyworm]

I don't know much, but from what have read in this forum. YOU SEEM EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. i don't know what your master's was in or if your undergraduate curriculum included a lot of rigorous science courses but i think with a strong SoP and strong LoR's, you are competitive. however, i also don't know what programs you are looking into. evolutionary biology? biochemistry? is your past research experience at least slightly related to your proposed field of interest?

[eklavya]

your numbers are good, and i honestly believe you have pretty good shots are getting into a good program. but your question 'am i competitive' is difficult to answer because it entirely depends on the strength of the applicant pool for each application season. depending on the curve of gpas, gres, research experience and so on, your chances of getting in varies.

i strongly recommend you to contact few professors in several schools whose work inspires you to be a scientist, and see if they are taking any new students coming fall, and if your resume is able to impress them. i've discovered that writing personal emails to the professors, and being serious about your desire to do research plus showing respect for their work garners a lot of positive attention.

[jlee13]

thank you both for your replies.

It feels a lot better knowing where you stand (even if it's sort of where you stand)