bsharpe269

I agree that your scores are probably within the range they are looking for. If you think that you can drastically increase it (like at least 5 points on the verbal) and keep the same quant then it might be worth it retake. In my experience, it takes quite a bit of work for us math/science people to improve the verbal by that much though so I if you dont think you can easily improve the score then I agree that your time would be much better spent on your research or SOP.

Do you have a reason for the low uGPA? Were you just not interested in the area or not mature at that point? I think you have a shot at top schools but need to make sure you address the low uGPA.

I agree that they probably don't even need to be that detailed. For example, I know my subfield will be biophysical modeling and I think that it would be cool to do this related to enzymes but I am also open to studying transcription factors, protein-protein interactions, energy landscape theory in general. I am interested in all types of models at this point and am still learning enough to know the advantages of different types. I have multiple undergrad research experiences in mathematical modeling along with over a year in a biophysical modeling lab and a couple of papers. The people who I will mentioning in my SOPs are all pretty well known in the biophysical modeing community so their research fits really well with mine even though I can't tell you exactly what I want to do. If I were you, I would just talk broadly about your interests and then connect it to professors at the school. You don't have to say that you are interetsed in a very specific area but connect your braod area to the specific areas of professors. I think that I actually know my subfield very well compared to the average applicant but I still couldn't really pick out specific gaps in the literature except realted to a couple things that I have already published on. My subfield is pretty huge so I have focussed on getting more of a general knowedge of the literature overall, rather than digging into specific areas.

Test anxiety can MAJORLY affect your scores. The most recent time I approached the GRE with the midset that it was a just a practice GRE and if I didn't do as well as I wanted to then I would retake it the following month. Grad schools only see your best score so there is no reason to feel pressure. Going in with this attitude helped me a lot. Also, the test drags on foreverrrrr. I recommend bringing a coffee or energy drink and sugary snack (or whatever helps you focus) and leaving it in your locker to take during the halfway point.

My research group likes to get group pictures... this really isn't a big deal. I would never skip an orientation over something small like this. If you don't want to be in the picture then when they go to take it at the orientation, say that you are uncomfortable and would rather stay out of it.

If you are interested in additional computer classes, I definitely agree that the ones suggested by GeoDude (Matlab, R, and Python) should be the first go to ones to learn. They are all extremely easy to pick up. I use R and Matlab daily for things like sorting data or making charts that would take forever in excel. Python is my go to scripting language for file manipulation or messing around with data. Shell scripting and unix commands are also great, especially if you will do any sort of cluster computing.

I think that this really depends on your reserach area. As a math/computational sort of person involved with biophyical modeling reserach, I of course highly recommend some basic programming courses along with linear algebra. I also think that a course in physical chemistry and/or statistical mechanics is helpful. We have some undergrad bio majors in our lab and they need programming and phyics knowdege to do well in their reserach. In general, I am just in favor of a well rounded undergrad education. I wish that I would have taken more chemistry and physics courses (I was a math major who focused on biomath research). I would think about the research areas that you may want to pursue and then definitely consider taking some extra courses in other departments that would round out your knowledge of that research area. This may be some additional math or computer courses but it may be extra physics or chemistry or animal science, etc instead. I would focus on preparing yourself based on your research interests, not necesarily just taking extra math without a reason for taking it. Also, if you find that you have gaps in knowedge in grad school (by if, i really mean when) then you can buy some extra books and learn the material and it isnt a big deal. This is what I am doing with orgranic chem right now!

In my experience, the GRE isnt something you can cram for. I improved by developing an intuition sort of for what the the test takers thought the answer should be (especially for verbal). It took around 3 months of consistant studying before I started noticing an improvement in the number of practice questions answered correctly. If I were in yoru situation, I would schedule the test a bit further out (like october) and then spend a few hours a week on test questions. This method worked REALLY well for me. To answer your question directly, for my first test I probably spent 1-2 hours a day for a few weeks studying. The number of hours studying probably didnt even change between the 2 test thats much but the slow consistant approach made a huge difference for me. This wasnt just a lucky test day difference either! I took a few practice tests in the few weeks before I actually took the test and I was consistantly scoring around 165-170Q and 160-165V which exactly matches my actual scores.

Do you think that you can make a significant improvement with studying? Those were the exact scores that I got 3 years when I took the GRE before my masters. I wanted to retake it and improve before PhD applications so I took a couple practice tests in February to see my starting point and scored around 163Q, 153V consistantly (my MS is quant focused so it makes sense that I may have lost of verbal since I dont really write/read much outside of science nowadays). I spent 4-5 months, 5ish hours a week, studying with Magoosh. I did most of their practice problems and memorized 250 vocab words. I took the GRE a month ago and scored 168Q, 162V! I highly recommend magoosh because they really prepare you for the hardest quant problems you will see so most of quant questions on the real test are much easier than their study questions. I found their verbal to be on a similar level as the real test. Memorizing vocab helped me so much as well. I didnt memorize as many words as some people do but I knew the 250 words that I memorized very well and could use them all in sentances. I think that it actually may have been waste of time to memorize much more than that... they seem to always use the same words so I was familiar with most of the vocab on the test from memorizing the 250 most common. Good luck!

Before grad school, I was a marathon runner, swimmer and did bikram yoga weekly. I have to say that my fitness has gone way way down since starting grad school... Lately I workout about twice a week and each workout is usually a 3 mile run, 20 mile bike ride, or 75 min of bikram yoga. Other than that, I walk my dogs a 1-2 miles a day. I do need to workout more! I am bad about making time for it. I get so little down time to relax that the last thing I want to do during that free time is go to the gym!

Thanks for the advice! I agree that I need to address it. My MS gpa is 4.0 and my GREs are 168Q/162V so everything recent it very good and I can easily show a huge improvement. I've had the highest grade in the class in all but 1 (and I was still in the top few in that one) of my MS classes so I think my LOR writers can back up the claim that undergrad does to reflect my potential at all. I hope phd programs are willing to overlook the undergrad grades and that they don't hold me back too bad. My current PI doesn't seem to think they will but I guess we will see soon!

I am in a very similar situation but my issue is ADHD. My undergrad GPA is a 3.3 but my grades are very very mixed. I made straight As in the standard classes that are easy to breeze through and even in some of my upper level classes, especially the ones that I could memorize my way through. In the classes that required intense focus and thinking on the exam, I did horrible, even if I had a good grasp on the concepts. The result is an undergrad transcript full of As and Bs, with the occasional C or even D in those intense classes. I am now effectively treating my ADHD and have a 4.0 MS GPA. I am leaning towards mentioning that I had a medical issue during undergrad that will no longer be an issue. You could do something similar related to your depression. Maybe mention that a medical issue held you back but do not go into details. If you are questioned about it at interviews then you can just say that it is personal but is completely resolved. I have even considered having a LOR writer mention this for me, instead of taking up space in my SOP.

I agree that the student probably received bad advice and thought that touring the lab and meeting the PI might give him an advantage in the admission process. I wouldn't hold it against his application but I also think it is reasonable for you to tell him that you don't have time on such short notice.

This is normal. I'll be applying to 11 schools this fall and asked my PI if i would annoy professors to request 11 letters from each. He said that it isnt a big deal at all but if you are applying to alot of schools then plenty of time should be given and you should be organized from the beginning. He said that I could do something like create an excell document with the schools along with due dates and requirements and give this to the professors early (like September).

I think you have a good application but I do think that you are applying to way too many top schools. You might have a tough time with top 20s with your GPA. I don't think you should avoid applying but I do think that it might be a bit safer to apply to a larger of mix of school rankings. I would consider mixing more schools in the 20-50ish rank in there. If you apply to wide range of rankings then I am sure you will have some luck with all of research experience!

I am a MS student currently but the MS and PhD students at my schools vary quite a bit in age. I don't think that age has anything to do with which people I end up close to. Most of the other students in my program are in their 30s and a few are in their 40s as well. There are also a handful straight out of undergrad. I don't really feel like there is a noticable difference in maturity or interests between people in their 20s and 30s... I am 25 and the ages of the people who I am closest to in my program are 23, 24, 31, 33, and 41. I wouldnt worry about or focus on age... Just talk to people and get to know them and try to learn from their experience.

I think you will be fine... if your undergrad letters will be more detailed and personalized then I don't see why getting a couple from there would be a problem at all. If I were in your shoes then I would get at least 1 from MS or a more recent supervisor so it is clear that recent people still think or highly of you. If you get a couple letters from undergrad professors though and then 1 from more recent then then I would just be prepared to be asked about it at interviews. If you have a good reason (like maybe you worked while completing your masters so didnt get to know those professors as well as your undergrad ones or something?) then I don't think it would hurt you.

I'm a masters student but I have been taking 3 classes per semester (same classes that the phd students take) and attending the same seminars etc that phd students do. I've been doing around 20-30 hours of research a week. Classes are not nearly as important in grad school as undergrad and research takes priority. I would definitely make time for it!

I think that depends on how well you knew them. DId you skip class alot and do the minimum or actively participate, talk to them outside of class, and make good grades? You could also ask your undergrad professors. Maybe one of them, one masters professor, and one current supervisor? It sounds like you will get average letters which will not kill an application but just means that your other application materials need to stand out since those will not.

When I took the actual GRE, I didnt run into any questions like this. The charts were all obviously over or under the important values.

You will not necessarily be swamped nonstop with work. You will probably need to work more than a standard 40 hour per week job but you will need to find a balance between work and other priorities. I think visiting your SO every other weekend if completely reasonable. If you need to get some work done while visiting then that is always an option but taking the whole weekend off is also fine. Honestly, you can work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week if you let yourself so it is up to you to set limits and make time for people who are important to you.

All of this FERPA information is really interesting. I always assumed that my PI could access my grades to make sure I am styaing on track.

I used Magoosh, both their online practice questions and also the free vocab app. Here are my before and after scores. The before scores are from practice tests but I was getting similar scores on all the practice tests I was taking. Before: 153V, 163Q After (actual test): 162V, 168Q I studied vocab for around 30min-1 hour a week (divided between a few days) and did practice questions on their site for around 2 hours a week. I kept this schedule for 3.5 months. I highly recommend it!

I also recommend a masters to prove you can get better grades. I went the masters before PhD route due to my low, 3.3 uGPA. I have a 4.0 MS GPA which will help my application alot plus tonssss more reserach (and I even had a lot before the MS). From the program's perspective, it really doesnt matter how good of an understanding of biology you have if you can't make the mimum GPA to stay in the program which is usually between a 3.0 and 3.3. From a programs perspective, why would they risk taking you when, based on your undergrad grades, it is likely that you will get kicked out the program when they can take someone else who wouldnt be so risky. If you can keep a >3.7ish GPA during a masters then a program would be more confident in your ability to handle the course work. Good luck whichever direction you go! I have had an absolutely amazing experience during my MS and feel so much more prepared than I would without the extra education. It has been such a great experience for me that I would really recommend it to anyone.

If you are that nervous about it then you can take it again, but I'm applying to biophysics programs which are of course very math heavy and if I had those score then I would save my money and not retake. If you have bad grades in your math and physics courses and need to prove your quant skills then I might change my opinion but if you have good grades in those classes then your quant score will be absolutely great.