auspiciouslinds

I'm a senior biochemistry major who has always wanted to pursue a Ph.D. because I've always had a thirst for learning more and doing cancer research (for personal reasons). I've been reading A LOT lately about graduate school life and post graduate school life. It seems that MOST people hate graduate school and some even end up hating research! After obtaining a Ph.D., the job market is TERRIBLE going into industry (due to lack of experience for people who jump right into graduate school after undergraduate) and EXTREMELY competitive going into academia. I can go into industry after I get my BSci, but the pay would may be the equivalent of a non-degree job. I don't have money to fund a masters. I may want to go into academia. What's everyones opinion? What I've read on the internet about how dumb getting a Ph.D. is and the aftermath seems sort of biased. What about the good stories?

Hi, I don't know if this may help you, but might as well let you know. My friend is an international student and he applied for graduate school last year (Fall 2013). He got a 166Q/134V, and he got into the following chemistry Ph. D. programs: UT Austin, Texas A&M, USC, and some others. He had a 3.94 GPA and 3 summers of REUs. So, I think for you a 160V or higher is already good enough to be honest. Verbal: I know this sounds dumb, but if you can read the passage and summarize/determine what it's purpose was...you should be fine. I try to quickly summarize what I just read in one sentence before going to answer questions. ALWAYS refer back to the passage when answering questions because you might catch nuances in the passage you didn't see before. Math: For the comparison questions, I often get those really fast, but I always make sure to try to disprove my first deduction. Just try multiple methods and see if the answers are consistent.

What field are you in? It sounds like life/physical sciences. Also, what schools did you apply to specifically? I've heard a lot of people apply to graduate school with no research experience. Depending on the schools they apply to, they still have a good chance to get in. I wonder how true this is and what schools actually accept them...

I'm a biochemistry major at a sister school of UT Austin. I will apply for biochemistry and pharmaceutical science Ph.D. programs. I want to eventually do cancer research in the subfields of drug development/characterization and/or elucidate biochemical pathways related to cancer. Worries: So far, I only have 1 summer of solid research experience from a summer research program. This fall I will be continuing research. Overall, when I graduate, I should have 1.5 years of research, will they even care/or look at me? My god, I am freaking out. I am really freaking out. The schools I want to go to are ranked 13+ in my field. -I will be visiting these graduate schools in the fall for conferences, and hopefully, I will get to impress potential PIs. I did a really cool project in the summer that anyone would find it interesting! Currently: I just finalized my list of grad schools. I will be applying to ~10 gradschools and a total of 14 programs b/c I am applying to biochem and pharm sci programs. Studying for my GRE right now. Then, I need to study for my chem GRE. Graduate school application just seems really depressing. Also, I read about how so many people HATE research/academia after graduate school that I'm kind of not too excited about going anymore.

I know my research experience is more than lackluster. I've been in different labs every summer, and I've tried to gain research experience. Things just came up or the professor just threw me in the lab and was too busy to talk to me/would make appointments to meet me and never showed up on multiple accounts. Anyways, I'm going to try to make the best of the situation. In the fall, I will be visiting these graduate schools due to conferences/paid for graduate school visitation. I've scoped out who I want to talk to/want to potentially work with. Hopefully, I'll impress them enough...

Background: I'm a senior at a sister school of University of Texas at Austin. I'm majoring in biochemistry, and I want to eventually do cancer research (most specifically, understand biochemical mechanisms related to cancer or cancer drug development/characterization). I've attempted to do research my freshman and sophomore years, but both failed... I got nothing out of it. My junior summer, I was accepted into the McNair Scholars program (which is for underrepresented and/or low income students). I conducted bioengineering research all summer, wrote a research paper, had my research published in my school's McNair Research Journal, and presented in front of faculty members. I will be going to 2 conferences in the fall to present my research. My GPA is a 3.80. I have teaching experience and received a handful of accolades. Problems: 1. I have NO biochemistry research background, but I want to get a biochemistry Ph.D. or maybe a pharmaceutical science Ph.D. I know a professor at my school who did his undergraduate research in physical chemistry, but ended up with a Ph.D. in organic chemistry. So maybe I am okay? 2. I only have 1 summer of real research, but in bioengineering. Questions: Should I switch to a biochemistry lab my senior year even though I have established good relationships in my bioengineering lab? I've talked to my mentor about this and he said it's up to me. Do I even have a chance of getting into biochemistry/pharmaceutical Ph.D. programs ranked +10? Such as UC Boulder, UW in Seattle, and UT Austin (dream school) Please let me know what y'all think! It would really help.