ghelskel124

Fair enough. But can you think of a more benign way of explaining the poor parts of my transcript?

From the feedback i have gotten, its my credit score and bad credit that are keeping me from getting positions. Attending a program will allow me to get away from my family. I'm doing great academically for the last year and I am very productive studying on my own right now. But grad school would allow me to get away from my family AND advance my education.

I appreciate the feedback. I have 2.5 years worth of lab experience and , while i haven't seen my letters of recommendation, i am hoping they are solid as i was working 60 hours a week at some point in each lab I worked in. I don't want to put off graduate school but i would work as a full time RA just to get away from my family. But i can't even manage that as no matter how hard i try, i can't land a job, biological or otherwise.

I believe i did when i wrote my SOP. I would post it on here but i don't think that's prudent. But from what i understand, you are saying that the strong points in my concrete stats don't offer enough to guarantee me anything. And that the committee will still have to satisfy themselves that i will be a good "fit" and that i'm "interested" in the research being done their. I'm personally very interested in molecular biology, biochemistry in general and would be happy to continue in the fields I have worked in prior. That said, i would be ecstatic to work on anything right now. Is that not enough?

I don't mention "mental" or "health" in the SOP but i refer to a "trouble concentrating" and "fatalism" i felt in the past. i guess i tried to be euphemistic. But I only spent a few sentences on it since i made a point of saying they are clearly in the past and behind me. I don't see how i could not say anything at all, they will want an explanation when they see my transcript.

They don't require a subject gre. My LOR dont know about my troubles and when i reference those troubles in the SOP, i am concise, with the emphasis that the most recent part of my record is the part without any caveats.

Hey all, This is a "what are my chances" post because i'm floundering a bit. First my application content: I attended a top 15 university and completed my degree in may. I had a 3.5+ GPA my senior year. Loads of lab experience at 3 top institution labs 170 quant, 164 verbal I am very fit and interview well (am articulate) that's the good news. The bad news is: degree took me 8 years since i spent 4 years either failing some classes or on a leave of absence due to REALLY BAD home and mental health problems (the mental problems are completely resolved). i was not able to take the subject GRE even though i spent a month studying for it (home problems) i am currently unemployed, likely due to my savaged credit and credit score (a family member did this to me, i don't spend ANY money) also, no publications (which is the defining academic currency) The thing is, I have finished my application to the university i originally attended and i will finish my application to two more schools near me, one of which is free and one application which will cost 100$. I look around and even a safety application like university of arizona is 60$. I really dont want to spend any money due to my SEVERE home problems but a lot of schools dont waive fees or only waive fees based on your current financial aid filings with your university (im not in school now). So here is my question: I'm applying to the graduate program in molecular and cellular biology at CUNY, which is ostensibly ranked 130th in biology. Am i guaranteed admission or can you not say with certainty based on my pros and cons that i would get in. I really don't want to spend any money on applications and i would be very pleased to simply matriculate there. I really would appreciate an honest informed opinion on this as i am , while very intellectually productive at the moment, under a lot of stress at home. unable to get a job no matter how hard i try and with ruined credit and few contacts, i'm unable to extricate myself from my family and under SO MUCH psychological stress. If i don't hear from any program that i have gotten admission in a few months, i'm really afraid for myself in the next 6 months. i'm really at my wits end as this family has been a crushing weight for a decade now. thanks for any help