Piedwerp

I spent a lot my time lurking on this forum, but I've finally decided to post my stats hoping that they will be helpful to future applicants, especially those of us that have to deal with some of the disadvantages that accompany being international. Undergrad Institution: Big Ten Major(s): Molecular and Cellular Biology, Honors Concentration GPA in Major: 3.98 Overall GPA: 3.99 Position in Class: Approximately top 1% Type of Student: International GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 170 V: 165 W: 4.5 B: N/A Research Experience: 3 years in a lab at my home institution, including 3 full summers. Presented at a couple of conferences, but they were both undergraduate specific, and thus far I have not been published. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple of research awards from my home department, another research award from an honors program, and a couple of other awards for academic performance and such. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Volunteered quite extensively with various MCB related and unrelated activities, including things such as undergraduate research workshops, tutoring sessions, and even some humanitarian work. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Part of three different honors programs on campus, the most selective of which admits about 2% of the incoming class. This means that one of the most common letters on my transcript is an H, which stands for honors. Don't know how much of a difference this makes though. Special Bonus Points: A handful of graduate level courses, and one of my letters was from a professor who taught one of those courses. The reason I mention it, is because I have a feeling his letter made a significant difference to my application. Applied (9): MIT Biology (Interviewed, Waitlisted, Accepted) UW Madison MDTP (Interviewed, Accepted) Yale BBS Microbiology (Interviewed, Assumed Rejected) Columbia University Medical School- CMBS (Interviewed, Rejected) Stanford Genetics (Rejected) Duke MGM (Interviewed, Accepted) WUSTL MCB (Interviewed, Accepted) UW Seattle Microbiology (Invited for an interview but I couldn't make it due to scheduling conflicts) UPitt IBGP (Rejected) Advice for future applicants: I'd like to address what I consider to be a few key points below. Grades/Scores/All the numbers Although my GPA and GRE scores are relatively high (excusing of course the writing score ony my GRE), I don't believe they got me into any schools I wouldn't have gotten into otherwise. Several faculty members I met with during the interviews specifically told me that those numbers aren't given too much importance beyond a certain level. Under most circumstances, nobody should feel the need to get above a 90th percentile on the GRE or 3.90 GPA on a 4.0 scale. I have seen several students with much lower scores be just as successful as me, if not more so. A number that could make a significant difference however, is the number of publications you have. Several good publications can often compensate for even extremely low GPAs. Research Experience I am sure most applicants know this already, but this is by far the most important aspect of your application and both quality and quantity are often necessary. As to the debate between spending several years in a single lab without interruption, or trying to squeeze in as many REUs as possible, I prefer the former. However, over the past few months I have learned that it might be most attractive for one to spend regular semesters or quarters at a lab in your home institution over an extended period of time, and do a couple of REUs over the summers. Letters of Recommendation These are up there with your research experience. I had one from my PI, one from a professor who taught me a graduate level course, and one from an instructor/academic advisor/honors coordinator who I worked closely with all through undergrad. I had been warned that the recommendations my PI writes are often extremely dry and they often don't read very well (English is not his first language), and so I sought out people who were much more likely to be passionate about my future and would be able to convey that effectively in a letter. Some would suggest that it is best to have at least 2 letters from research supervisors for a competitive application, and so I made sure that all the people I recruited letters from would be able to comment on my research experience and graduate school potential in a significant manner. I had discussed my research extensively with both these people, and it might have helped that they saw me at my bench all the time as they passed by on a regular basis for the past few years. Statement of Purpose Although important, I don't believe it needs to be extensive as long as you satisfy the basic criteria. Typically that involves talking about your research experience, motivation to continue to do science and potential future research interests, and choice of graduate school (including names of faculty members you are interested in working with). Mine was rather short, but I made sure it covered all the bases, although it was the least fun part of the application cycle for me. Deciding where to apply A lot of the admissions process cannot be quantified, and what I mean by that is that it is highly unlikely that you will be able to logically come to a precise conclusion regarding which schools you are going to apply to. However, there are several constraints that can be applied, and that will make this task much easier. I believe the most important factor is fit. If you are already aware of the kind of research that interests you, obviously make sure that the programs you apply to are strong in that area, but also make sure you have the freedom to explore new areas of research. Just because the specific program or track to apply to is part of a bigger umbrella program or division doesn't necessarily mean you have access to faculty outside of the program/track you've picked. After fit, the two most important factors I think are location, and prestige. And when I say prestige I'm referring to the program, not the school itself, there is sometimes a significant difference. Prestige becomes important if as an international student you want to keep the option of going abroad after your PhD open. After fit, location, and prestige, I think the focus should be on program structure, stipend, and any other constraints you can come up with. Interviews Terribly exciting, so much fun, and once in a lifetime opportunities that need to be taken advantage of. These are often just as much of an interview weekend as much a recruitment weekend, and I would suggest going to as many as you can. After 4-5 interviews it can get exhausting, but it is definitely worth it. My impressions of several schools changed drastically after I visited, and that has helped me a great deal in making my final decision. Talk to as many people as you can, faculty, graduate students, administrative staff, and other recruits. One typically doesn't have to prepare much for these. Just make sure you can confidently talk about your research, whether it's a short summary to be delivered in 10 seconds, or a 30 minute description. And also make sure you can answer questions regarding your work (Shouldn't be much of a problem if you've worked on your projects for an extended period of time). Also, I know some schools only admit 40-50% of the students they interview, but that should not be something to worry about during the interview weekend, it won't help. Post-interview Some schools take forever to get back to you (Yale Microbiology still hasn't gotten back to me), and others will send you an email on your way back from the interview weekend. Try not to spend hours of your days refreshing your email or stalking GradCafe because it won't really help you hear back any sooner. In my opinion, you will never really know what your PhD experience is going to be like at any given institution unless you spend a few years there actually doing your PhD. And keeping in mind what I said earlier about how it's nearly impossible to precisely quantify your experiences and determine which school would be the best fit for you, it might be best to simply talk through your decision making process with others who could be of help, including PIs, other professors, and anybody who either has a PhD in the sciences or is working towards one. Family and friends can be helpful too if you think out loud with them there to help you figure out what you really want. Lastly, international students need to keep in mind that for a large number of programs, being international does mean that your chances of admission are lower. Although sometimes it might not make much of a difference, at times it could mean that while a school accepts nearly all the domestic students who interviewed, they might not have the funds to offer admission to many of the international students. (Sometimes as low as 1 out of 4 students who interviewed on site) Based on several of the factors mentioned above I have decided to accept my offer at MIT Biology. UW Madison-MDTP was my second favorite amongst all the programs I visited. I hope this post is helpful for future applicants, and I would be happy to answer any other questions that might come up (specifically for international students). Just send me a personal message.

Haha.. Congratulations! I think Stanford is an absolutely great choice.

I haven't. Honestly, I doubt there are many more than the two of us on that list.

I did too!