Azia

Agreed! University of Utah is one of my top choices! They have a number of great research labs and are very supportive of their students.

Good luck! It's definitely a stressful time and simultaneously equally exciting. Congratulations on your abstract! Those are always bonus points on applications and when interviewing.

Officially submitted my last applications today! It is such a relief to be finished. I hope all is going well for everyone as the deadline approaches! Good luck.

Everyone that has a 3.5 or higher and thinks they have a low/ non- competitive GPA needs to chill out. You're going to be okay! I didn't even graduate my undergrad with a 3.0 (literally had a 2.99), doing a MS now and trying again. AND I think I still have a solid chance at getting in to a decent school. As long as you aren't an idiot (your personal statement will give you away) and you have solid research experience and LOR's you should get in to at least a couple schools. So calm down, and stop stressing over things that are out of your control. If there is any thing I learned from the first time I applied, it is to not psych yourself out in the few months between when you submit applications and actually start getting interview invites. Everyone here has solid stats and is a much more competitive applicant then a lot of people I know, so you can all relax and enjoy the last year of your freedom!

Ferroportin, I suggest making a positive spin on it. I had subpar grades in my undergrad and I addressed it in my SOP but did not dwell on it. You don't want it to take up more then a small paragraph, and if you can explain what you learned, took away from the negative experience it makes your SOP stronger. Also if you can get one of your LOR writers to address it in a letter that will help a lot as well. My current PI is going to address my low undergrad grades and how I have completely turned that around for my MS. Another faculty members opinion always holds a lot of weight. Hope this helps!

@gram neutral I am in a similar situation. Low undergraduate record and average GRE scores. I'm shooting for some top schools as well. Good luck and I hope you have better luck this time!

Undergrad Institution: Large California State UniversityMajor(s): Cell and Molecular BiologyMinor(s): Women's StudiesGPA in Major: 3.2Overall GPA: 2.99Position in Class: AverageType of Student: Domestic M.S. Institution: Mid California State UniversityMajor(s): Molecular Biology and MicrobiologyMinor(s): NAGPA in Major: 3.9Overall GPA: 3.9Position in Class: TopType of Student: Domestic GRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 156V: 157W: 4.0B: Not taking due to MS degreeResearch Experience: 2 years undergraduate research in a molecular virology lab with an independent project and multiple conference presentations. 1 year of MS research in a molecular cancer biology lab. Currently no publications, but hopefully will have one later this year.Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing spectacularPertinent Activities or Jobs: Experience tutoring high school students, mentoring undergraduate students, and 3 semesters teaching, microbiology and general biology lab courses during my MS.Special Bonus Points: My 3 recommenders have solid connections with Stanford and UCSD and hoping that plays in my favor. Also have already met and interviewed with a professor who does HIV research at University of Utah and he is willing to support my application, possibly my top choice right now. Also, this is my second time applying.Applying to Where:San Diego State University- Joint Doctoral Program- Cell and Molecular Biology- Molecular Viro University of California San Diego- Biomedical Sciences- Micro/ Immuno University of California Los Angeles- Immunity, Microbes, and Molecular pathogenesis Stanford- Biosciences- Micro/ Immuno University of Washington- Molecular and Cell Biology- Microbiology, Infection and Immunity University of Utah- Biosciences/ Molecular Bio- Micro/ Viro University of Colorado Denver- Biomedical Sciences- Micro University of Wisconsin Madison- Cell and Molecular Bio- Viro focus group University of Pittsburgh- Interdisciplinary Biomed- Molecular Viro/ Micro Yale- Biosciences- Micro/ Viro

I sure hope not considering I submitted all of my applications the last week of October/ first week of November. That means bad news for me!

For those of us still lacking in interviews just remember the majority seem to come in early- mid January, after everyone gets back from the holiday/ New Year. So if you are like me and still stressing that you haven't heard anything yet, keep this in mind. I have noticed a lot of the schools I have applied for a starting to send out invites for other Bio related departments but barely any for my specific programs. So if we don't hear today, we should all try and enjoy the next couple weeks of the holiday and relax. Also I should probably catch up on sleep and stop stalking the results page every 20 minutes. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year!

Yep! That would qualify as my dream school I applied to so I am not expecting much. But one can always hope right! Good luck!

I have my very last final of my underaged tomorrow and all I can do is nervously refresh this page and my email hoping for good news! Unfortunately the majority of the schools I applied for have not really started sending out invites quite yet. I guess it's good I haven't been rejected from any yet...

That is exactly what I did. I applied majority PhD and then to one MS program as a back up. PhD is my goal but since my grades are not the top of the pack I wanted to have something to fall back on.

Thank you pstar465! I posted my stats here but am at the bottom in rank compared to everyone. It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one who feels that grades and scores aren't everything that matters.

I am interested to hear when people start hearing back from schools! Undergrad Institution: Big state school with reputable Bio research Major(s): Cell and Molecular Biology Minor(s): Women's Studies GPA in Major: 3.2 Overall GPA: 3.1 (3.4 last four semesters) Position in Class: average (I think, but they don't tell us) Type of Student: Domestic female GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 151 V: 155 W: 4.0 B: NA Research Experience: One and a half years volunteer research in a molecular virology lab at my school on my own independent projects and helping my mentor. No publications (yet) two poster presentations as first author. I also have one year experience in a marine ecology lab. Grades are not my strong point in my application because I have never been too concerned with classes, I have always put my main focus on research and volunteering. My strong point is my research experience and my letters of rec from my PI and Collaborators. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None that I can think of Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I have also done a lot of work in campus through the Women's Outreach Association, it's not science but I always hope that admissions committees look at the big picture. Special Bonus Points: Taken numerous grad level classes, also female in science qualifies as a minority Applying to Where: SDSU/ UCSD- Joint Doctoral Program- Cell and Molecular Biology UC Irvine- Molecular and Cell Biology- micro UC Santa Cruz- Program in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering- micro/ virology Stanford- Microbiology & Immunology- micro/ viro UC Berkeley- Infectious Disease & Immunity- micro/ viro UCSF- Biomedical Sciences- micro/ viro UC Davis- Microbiology Oregon SU- Microbiology U Washington- Microbiology