scienceFAYM

Microbe, welcome to the forums. Trust me when I say that you are not the only person who has been in this sort of situation, and hopefully you can get some productive tips from these forums. My background is in the clinical lab, however I spent the last three years in a research lab; I will be heading into a Micro/Immuno PhD program this fall. 1) I can give you some advice on the clinical background. As you said a lot places will be hesitant to hire someone with no background in other than a technician position. This is because in order to be a clinical laboratory scientist you need to have pass an accredited program (AS or BS pay will vary between the two) and/or pass a certification exam offered by an accredited professional organization (eg ASCP, NAC). This is due to heavy regulations by both state and federal entities over labs that run patient samples for diagnosis. If you choose this route you will likely take some classes and sit for the exam. The pay off being that upon completion you will have no problem finding a micro job because lab techs are in high demand. You will make a comfortable salary (depending on where you are and where you work). If you still want to pursue an academic path you can study for the GREs and volunteer in research labs during this time while making decent money (and gaining much desired technical skills). 2) Look into some master's programs for Micro/Immuno. While your stats might be a bit low for the top tier schools, you have a decent shot at numerous programs. I would recommend doing your research on programs in both terms of their acceptance stats and the kind of research they conduct. Ultimately you want a good fit research-wise. A lot of programs will let you parlay your MS into PhD as well (varies from school to school). The downside to this is you will most likely be on the hook for tuition, which will be substantial. These are the two routes I would recommend. I don't see taking post-bacc classes as being too beneficial for a few reasons: they cost a lot of money and if you have to spend money on tuition it might as well be towards a MS, at this point in the game you will need to take a lot of classes to dramatically increase your undergrad GPA (unless you flunked a core class). To me it seems like that route will be spending a lot of money and time with little pay off. Again, these are both my opinions but as someone who is in your field with a background in both clinical and research labs AND having just gone through the PhD application process I feel I should weigh in. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

The best advice ever got for these kind of things is, walk into the interview with the confidence that you already have the job/position. I do not mean walk in there arrogant and condescending, rather with the confidence that not only do you deserve to be there but you deserve the position you're interviewing for. If you do this you will find yourself not only less nervous, but more engaging (not to mention come across wayyyy better to the interviewer). As for the GPA, you're right it will most likely come up, but you have the advantage of knowing this walking into the room. Just be up front about it, it is one thing to try to spin your reasons for the GPA in a more positive light, it is another to lie, be aware of this. You got an interview because someone in admissions saw something in your application that they like, you would not be granted an interview if they thought you couldn’t pass their curriculum. So I would work on an explanation for your GPA (without making it too much of a sob-story) and just be up front about it, part of what they are seeing is how you would react to these kind of things. Most likely they will bring it up, just be honest about it and try to put it into a positive light and move the conversation to a topic your more comfortable talking about. Best case scenario is they don't bring it up. Just be confident, and be prepared. Good luck.

Anyone?

Hello everyone, I will be starting my micro/immunology PhD program this August at Drexel. I grew up in Philly and know it well (I am currently employed at UPenn). I am very familiar with both NYC and DC as well, and let me say Philly is by far the easiest to live in of the three. You basically get the NYC feel (the smaller size being the difference of course) with the high-end bars/theaters/restaurants; while having distinct neighborhoods (like DC) with neat achitecture and unqiue attractions. The great thing about the city there is something for everyone, and the price of living is wayyyyyy less then other east coast cities (for the time being). You should have no problems find apartments in the city. UPenn folks can look in West Philly (nothing past 45th though) and in the Graduate Hospital area. Drexel folks can look in center city/ graduate hospital/old city/ queens village. Again housing is very do-able (especially with roommates). If you have any more questions let me know. You will enjoy your time here there is plenty to do when you need some downtime outside of lab.

Hello, I was just accepted in to Drexel's Micro/Immunology PhD program. This is how our funding breaks down: $27K per year base (for 5 years, will find funding if you stay longer), TA and other teaching jobs available for additional income, and health insurance. Again, this is the funding for this particular program; I am not sure whether this pertains to the rest of the Graduate Biomed School let alone other schools within Drexel. Good luck.