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blinchik

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Everything posted by blinchik

  1. Also, given that neuroscience programs are more competitive, I would be concerned about having too many "reach" schools on that list, given your GPA and GRE scores. It may be prudent to consider removing some of the more competitive ones such as Berkeley and UCLA and replacing them with more middle-tier schools. For instance, Duke's stats show an average GPA of 3.8 and GRE scores of 160 V and 163 Q for the Neurobiology program . I'm not trying to undermine your dream schools or be discouraging here, but I think it's better to err on the side of caution with regard to neuroscience programs, especially considering your self-professed lack of upper-level science background
  2. One of my faculty mentors is a neuroscientist and I've talked to her about her background (briefly, I must add). She said that it is very important to have a heavy-science based background, ideally while having taken an Intro to Neuroscience course or even an upper-level Neuroscience course, in addition to having relevant research experience. I'm no expert, obviously, but if I were in your position, I would contact every program and see how they would view you based on your preparation. Furthermore, the general consensus is that for whatever reason, neuroscience applicants and therefore programs tend to be more competitive than general/umbrella biology programs - I'm not sure if the pool is self-selecting or what, but that is something she seconded and something to consider. The statistics I've seen from Duke University and other places seem to back up this assertion. Question: When you say you do not have the strongest background in science, do you mean that you have never taken cell and molecular biology, physics, anatomy and physiology, organic and biochemistry, etc.? I could see that being an issue based on what we had discussed.
  3. With regard to contacting potential POIs, I receive variable responses depending on whom I ask - it's very frustrating to not receive clear cut advice one way or another. Like bsharpe269 said, it may be entirely fruitless, but at the same time I want to make sure that the POI is open to taking on a graduate student, if possible. This is quite a confusing process.
  4. I second the "I feel like it was yesterday when I applied for undergrad" comment 110%. I've taken the GRE (general only, I am not touching the subject tests with a 10-foot pole). Surprisingly, all 3 of the professors/scientists I was thinking about talking to offered to write a LOR without my even broaching the subject. As for schools, I have a tentative list with the names of PIs, but I'm so busy right now that a finalized list will be a long ways off. My preparation plans this summer involve a month in Europe to clear my head and come back refreshed and ready to research. When I come back, I'll researching at the lab I've been at the last two summers at FDA/NIH and looking at schools in my free time. With regard to the SOP, I have a working draft of it, but obviously it's nowhere near finalized, so I'll continue working on that over the summer as well.
  5. Hey ERR_Alpha, Thanks for sharing your comments - I figured it could be viewed as either an asset or a liability, depending on who you are talking to. That, and to an extent, I know admissions is a crapshoot and any perceived disadvantage can work against you. Thanks again for the input and good luck to you as well! Hey Appsitude, Thanks for sharing your experience as a comparatively younger applicant - I certainly appreciate it! If you don't mind me asking, would it be possible for you to share some info regarding your stats/research as well as your response to the age question? I'm guessing something along the lines of, "I believe I am mature, responsible and passionate enough about research - Example X, Y, Z" would work. You could PM me if you'd prefer, or alternatively, I completely understand if you'd rather not divulge that information. I would just appreciate getting an idea of what is expected of a highly successful applicant, and I can't find any posts about that sort of thing on your page.
  6. Hi bsharpe269, Thank you for your response. I think your points echo what others have said and I fully agree with you - if I don't get into any PhD programs, I will certainly apply for tech positions. In my opinion, as I said in the first response i made, while I love research, I would certainly rather be in a PhD program than a tech simply because I know absolutely that a PhD is what I want to pursue, and being a tech would mean being stuck in research career limbo for me, I will certainly try to get a tech position if the places I apply to next year feel I am inadequately prepared for a PhD program. In addition, as I said above, it wouldn't precisely be a "year off" because I would be doing research full time - perhaps, if necessary, I would take some time off (maybe a summer or so) before even becoming a tech (if I need to).
  7. Hello Eigen, Thank you for your response. In addition to what I noted above, I also think that objectively speaking, my being invited back to NIH/FDA (the lab I worked in is a bit of a chimera right now) for three summers in a row as well as my continuing research with one professor for a year and a half (it will be 2.5 years next year) can at least serve as an objective illustration that mentors I've researched under think I'm mature enough and valuable enough as an asset to a lab to keep around for longer periods of time than one semester/REU summer program. Of course, I completely understand the points you bring forth with regards to older people generally being more mature and you are welcome to disagree, as is any admissions committee member, but at least there's some evidence to support the idea of my being prepared enough to work in a laboratory environment and all the people-navigating that comes with it. I think perhaps I will talk to my program director and other LoR writers about the points you have mentioned above, and perhaps ask them to note if they feel I am "older beyond my years" and am mature enough to handle the rigors of a PhD program.
  8. Hi Vene, I see your point and certainly understand it - that is my "contingency plan" in case graduate school doesn't work out. Thank you for your input. In terms of maturity, this is a bit of a complicated concept to explain in the right way, but I am the child of immigrants who are refugees and have some familial and cultural experiences that have led me to viewing the world very differently than many American students - in some senses, I am more mature than the average 19 year old because I take very little for granted and understand perfectly that you want to achieve something, you're going to have to often work arduously for it. In addition, I do have some work history and have excellent relationships with both of my previous employers - I was not doing typical summer intern work because they saw my work ethic and "promoted" me, if you will, to doing far more challenging assignments and also working with full-time adult co-workers cooperatively on proposals and other projects. During my research at my university, I was made the "head" of my particular project and I informally mentor several peer students with regards to research opportunities in our lab and also frequently work cooperatively with other students, lab techs, and my mentor/supervisor. During my time at NIH, which I may be returning to this summer, I frequently went to lab meetings with the full-time staff and participated, as well as lab-centric dinners/lunches and whatnot. While I certainly can learn a lot more about interacting with people and I have a lot of room for personal growth, I do feel that I have been afforded many opportunities to experience what it is like to be the youngest person in a room and to try to earn the respect of my much more experienced, much more intelligent, much older "co-workers," if you will.
  9. Hey Fun_Cookie, Thank you very much for your advice - I agree with your point that "admission people seem to want older students more," which is why I was concerned in the first place. I know many Ph.D applicants take a few years off or otherwise just graduate a lot later than I will. I've spoken with my faculty mentors/advisors and I think that if I'm given an interview, I will just touch on the fact that having one fewer year to do everything obviously hindered my application in some respects (19-24 credits a semester leads to a lower GPA, I had less time to prepare for the GRE (aka none), I had one fewer year to research, etc.), but nonetheless, I think my record serves as a testament to my enthusiasm for and perseverance of research opportunities and decent academics despite being on an accelerated path. I will also ask my research supervisors who agreed to write my LoR to touch on that circumstance in their letters. Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it.
  10. Hi sharonnyc, first off, I just wanted to say I really appreciate your longer response (or really, any response at all). For me, I guess the rush is that I really want to conduct research. I have now been researching continuously for over a year and a half and I really love it. I love that every time you come into the lab, even if your experiment didn't proceed exactly as you might have wanted it to (or outright failed), there's a type of excitement that comes with doing something slightly different every day, and knowing that even if you're only getting at the most minuscule piece of the puzzle, one day someone will put it together and you'll have a new drug or vaccine that you helped contribute to. I am really interested in science as it relates to infectious diseases, and it's not really something I've ever wavered about. I understand that research in grad school is not a 20-40 hour commitment, and that you spent a lot of time in the lab - all of my faculty support at uni are PhDs who majored in BBS and have discussed the time commitment at length with me. f I take a few years off from school, it will only be to get more research experience, as I can predict that that may be interpreted as my greatest shortcoming during the application season. However, if I'm going to be working in the lab, I would much rather be working there as a PhD candidate than as a lab tech, simply because I know I want to pursue a PhD and not stop at being a tech. From what I understand, most PhD programs are funded and give a stipend as well as health/dental insurance coverage, so finances aren't too much of an issue at this point with regards to my needing to work to save money for graduate school. I absolutely agree with your point about enjoying life and socializing - I have made an effort to try and balance social, school and research spheres during my undergrad experience, because I do know it will be a vastly different story in grad school and 50-60 hours a week of research will be expected. I just want to reiterate that you make very good points that are all worth considering, and I really appreciate your taking the time to reply - I will keep them in mind whenever I will apply to grad school.
  11. Hello! I just wanted to see if anyone on here had some advice regarding young applicants for Biomedical Sciences/Biology PhD Programs that may be in a similar situation. In short: I will be graduating college in 3 years as opposed to the usual due to financial constraints. I will be 20 when I graduate, and just shy of 21 if (hopefully when) I begin at a Bio/Biomed PhD program during fall of 2015 In terms of stats/facts: I attend a large private research university My GPA is currently 3.8+ (top 2-3% of class, Honors Program and Presidential Scholarship recipient) My major GPA is 3.7 My GRE scores are 158Q (72%), 165V (95%), and 5.5W (97%) (combined 88%) I have conducted research as a summer researcher at NIH in a virology lab consecutively for the past two summers, and have been invited back for the upcoming summer. I may intern instead at a large biotech company that specializes in sequencing viruses, but I do not know yet. I have conducted microbiological/molecular biological research for over a year with my research mentor at my uni, who is funded in part by the university and in part by the NSF and NIH. I intend to continue this research until I graduate and hopefully get my name in a publication. My faculty advisor, research mentor, and the director of my biomedical sciences program told me that given my effort in uni, my age shouldn't be too much a problem. I am just curious as to whether anyone on here knows anyone/is anyone who is somewhat younger than average and got into a Bio/Biomed PhD program. I am compiling a list of schools that I potentially will apply to, but I did not see anything on their websites regarding age. I would very much appreciate any and all guidance I could get concerning this matter - I particularly would appreciate knowing whether or not programs would view me as an unprepared candidate on the basis of my age and if they would view my graduating early as a detriment to my application. I have tried to make the most of my undergraduate experience, but obviously having one fewer year to pull my grades up and conduct research didn't help my CV. So, with all that said, does anyone on here have any thoughts regarding my situation?
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