Vene

If they're each relevant to the application my inclination would be to combine them (say you did chemistry and physics and are applying to a material science department). Or you could contact the program and ask how they want it reported.

That statement right there, it makes me think you need some time away from school. This isn't a criticism, there's a lot more to the world than academia.

That's what red ink is for. But, such comments can actually be constructive and can help a student to grow and learn from mistakes. Completely destroying a piece of work just sends the message that 'this is bad' with the implicit message 'you are bad' I just don't see it as possibly being constructive. I also do think that even though graduate students exactly colleagues of the professors, we are certainly not undergrads anymore and most of us have professional experience. I've personally made decisions for companies worth tens of thousands of dollars (and more) and I would get quite upset if a professor isn't willing to trust my judgement considering outside of the ivory tower I'd be a well-educated professional.

Your GPA is going to hurt you during the application process (at least it's an upward trend, what was your junior/senior GPA?), but everything else looks good (especially publications). Is there time to take a subject GRE in biology or biochemistry? I'm not going to promise anything, but it may help you if you do well in it. I'd also recommend you look at MS programs in addition to PhD programs as a back up option. Doing well in a masters will make struggles you had in undergrad classes far less of a black spot.

It eats soy and corn. That's why so much of both are grown in the midwestern US.

Talk to them now.

Cacao to Cacao, what discipline are you looking to go into? I do doubt that you'll get any reimbursement for an unofficial visit, but for any potential interviews you may want to ask a question in the appropriate subforum here as to how recruitment weekends are typically handled. I can say that with my personal experience the programs which interviewed me completely covered any travel costs (they provided plane tickets), they booked a hotel room, and provided reimbursement forms for any other expenses along the way (taxis, meals, etc). But, such will vary from field to field and likely even university to university.

I'd go with getting paid for my work.

I think if you call yourself a biochemist you won't run into problems.

This may interest you, I know it's still a ranking, but it gives a different perspective than most. I can also say I did a little bit of industrial work prior to entering graduate school and they do tend the follow the money. With an infectious disease focus you'd be less likely to work on a heartburn treatment, but in industrial research your training doesn't tie you to a subfield as tightly and it's not unheard of for such a thing to happen.

I personally don't think that such flexibility is bad, but I do agree that you're focusing too much on a handful of universities. Pick one or two departments from each where you think you can get the training you really need. Also, are you looking at staying in academia afterwards or are you open to the idea of moving into industry? If you're open to industry check out the funding sources of different professors that interest you and focus on those who regularly work with different companies. Also seek out professors who write patents in addition to publishing in traditional journals. I do have to ask, what is it about the universities you've listed that makes you attracted to them? What kind of environment are you looking for? It does kind of put people off as such behavior reads as prestige seeking.

I just finished grading this week's quizzes, believe me I'm tempted. Under no circumstances should a student tell me that sugar is an organism.

You can submit the rest of the application before you do the GRE. Just make sure they get everything prior to their deadlines. You should also be able to start the application profile and start uploading materials and if you want submit it later. Last year I had my profiles set up a month or two before I actually hit the submit button.

I don't think that you're asking for too much at all, especially since they can probably use the same letter for every school (or with extremely minimal tweaks).

Incomplete applications do not get looked at. You have to be able to follow directions no matter where you work. Even if your third letter or GRE score is abysmal you at least will be considered. But submitting an incomplete application is a waste of time and money.

Disclaimer: I'm outside your field. I do think those are good scores, not necessarily top top, but good and good is pretty much all you need for the GRE. Your high GPA makes me inclined to believe you'll have a good shot.

You have the pay the full price every time you take it.

I know, right? 'I'm at the best university for my subfield and don't think it's good enough.'

Then stop your complaining, you're already at the top.

Considering ETS sends the scores to the programs you can submit your application before they arrive, kind of like how official transcripts arrive separately. I had one program where I accidentally didn't send the score and was able to get them my GRE result after I formally submitted the application. Either way, early November should still give you all the time you need.

I think this is one of the great truths of the universe. There's the conventional wisdom to apply based just on academic fit and ignore all else, but not everybody has the same priorities and a perfect university for one individual is awful for another (ex. if you're married and your spouse is dead set against living in small town don't apply to Dartmouth if you value your marriage). I like your option 1, personally, there's nothing like actually going for the interview to see how you feel about a program. My preferences certainly changed after I visited the universities and spoke to faculty and graduate students.

I don't think I would go with only two schools, that strikes me as way too specialized of a research goal, interests change over time. If nothing else when I applied I made sure that I could take full advantage of being able to send out 4 scores for free. But, I do know that I come at this from a little different of a perspective because I believe personality is more important than the exact research topic. In my experience in industrial research the exact subject you're studying can vary quite tremendously and since I don't believe I'll work in academia after graduate school I'm telling myself that if I'm too focused on one subfield of a subfield I'll never accomplish anything on a professional level.

It's one grade, it doesn't matter. Bringing it up shows you're overly fixated on it and haven't moved on.

Isn't this the truth, I don't take anything she says about relationships seriously. I admit to being skeptical of how well such a relationship can work out due to the age difference, but for all I know she is exceptionally mature for her age and he is immature for his age so they may well be close to the same emotional age. And this is very much possible, I know people who have developed slowly emotionally/socially but have high intellect.

I generally don't worry too much about what I wear, but I'm a white male in the northeast. That said, when I teach I try to wear at least a collared shirt and slacks.