Undergrad Institution: Big public top 30 research school Major(s): Cell Biology Minor(s): Music GPA in Major: 3.68 Overall GPA: 3.65 Position in Class: average Type of Student: Domestic female GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 161 (80%) V: 159 (81%) W: 4.0 (56%) B: Research Experience: 1 year at a plant biology lab studying plant hormones, 6 month internship at an algae biofuels lab, 6 months in a developmental immunology lab in Japan, and 1 year at a biotech company working with HIV-1. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: provost honors, bunch of scholarships to study abroad in Japan. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA during undergrad, also created a summer internship program at my current job to mentor high school and college students interested in working in the biotech field. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I don't know if this helps- lots of financial hardships, had to couch surf for several months after graduating undergrad because I wanted to finish up my internship, worked my butt off to get full funding for my trip to work in a lab in Japan. I guess tons of other people probably experience these kind of situations but I guess it won't hurt to mention it (?) Special Bonus Points: 2 of my LORs are from PIs that are well known in their field and also are directors of their departments. The last LOR is from my employer who has a lot of connections in the departments I am applying to at University of Washington. Applying to Where:
UCSF- BMS
University of Washington- MCB & Pathobiology
UCLA- Biosciences
UCSD- BMS
UCB- MCB
Scripps
Northwestern-DGP
University of Chicago- BMS
UNC Chapel Hill- BBSP
I'm pretty worried about my average GPA and GRE scores and I'm kind of regretting now not looking at more lower tier schools. Also, my research experience is kind of all over the place, jumping from plant to algae to autoimmune diseases and eventually HIV, and although I do have an explanation for why I still don't think it'll look as good as working at the same lab for multiple years. Although it's kind of last minute, does anyone have any advice for if I should drop some of these and try to apply to lower tier schools?