Vene

To add to this be careful if your school of interest has a similar name to a different school. I accidentally sent a score to the State University of New York College at Buffalo instead of the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

I actually have a copy of one of my LORs even though I waived the right. I could go on a mini-rant about how on principle I'm opposed to waiving a right I have, even if it's minor, but fuck it I'd never try and read the letters anyway.

I'd doublecheck to see if you even need to report your old GRE score since you have a masters. The verbal score does seem a bit low to me, but it sounds like you have other strong points. If I was you I'd probably retake it, unless the programs don't require those with a MS to submit scores in which case I wouldn't bother telling them what the score is.

Looks like I to that post. My opinion hasn't changed. Feel free to apply to top programs, just make sure that research interests match and that you think it is a place where you want to live for the next 5-7 years. For reference, my GPA was lower than yours and my V and Q GRE scores were both 161. I got interviews at both the University of Minnesota and University of Vermont (I didn't reach significantly higher for prestige than them) and I'm currently studying at Vermont. I can't imagine you having a tough time finding a good university.

Not if you upload the file to the right place such as googledocs or dropbox, as long as you have your user name and password you'll have access to the file.

I doubt it'll be a problem, assuming the rest of your application is competitive.

The biggest advantage I can think of for applying early (assuming there isn't a case like being able to get a early jump on fellowships) would be that after you click submit you have time to talk to the admin assistant of the program and make sure that everything made it there in the proper format. I know I had one program where even though I paid the application fee it wasn't processed by their system correctly and the money got sent to the wrong people. Until I emailed them the program had assumed I hadn't paid. Once we found out what happened I was able to show the receipt and everything was fixed.

I think this is something where there's gotta be some give and take. It's a lot easier to have a great career if you don't care about things like where you live, the particulars of what you do, and if you're willing to move and abandon relationships at the drop of a hat. But for most of us at some point you've gotta settle. The question becomes what are you willing to sacrifice and what aren't you willing to sacrifice. And, hey, at least New York has a lot going on and is a major hub. So you have a lot more options than if you decided you needed to stay close to family and were from rural Idaho.

I doubt they have an official cutoff, but unofficial ones may exist. This is speculation, but I could see a program having an unofficial GRE cutoff (let's say 310), but if an application with a lower score catches their attention (say from networking with a professor) then not having an official means there is no barrier to accepting said student. But without such an in their application would have been culled.

You do? I took it last year and I had to decide if I accepted the scores and if I wanted to submit them (without a fee) there. Otherwise I could accept the scores and send them later (for a fee). It was only after I selected where to send them that I got my Q and V scores.

If the program doesn't ask for it why send it? I think that's one of those things where you're more likely to harm yourself than help yourself.

They may or may not answer, but asking won't harm you any.

According to this the description you gave of your grades does put them on a pretty high level. If you were a US student I'd say don't bother with the chemistry GRE as your coursework does show competency. To add to that, getting a masters degree should also help show competency. But, US adcoms may have a bias against foreign education, so if it's not a hardship and if you do well on it it may be worthwhile to send the score in. Also, you are aware that undertaking a US PhD means you'd have to effectively redo your masters coursework, right?

I can't say I have completed a PhD yet, but there are definitely jobs outside of academia for PhD level biologists (actually, most don't work in academia). I had a professor in undergrad who worked for the USDA, he was an animal geneticist and did work on swine breeding. There's also a ton of biotech companies out there which hire geneticists and genomic medicine is becoming more and more developed. I'd say go to job search websites and search for something like "PhD genetics" and see what pops up to see what options there are.

I guess my thought to add to this is that if it is that damn important pay me more. If my work is truly so valuable it means the difference between life and death if I work 12 hour days instead of 10 hour days then I deserve the same level of pay a MD gets.

I am legitimately impressed.

Are you doing the computer or paper based test? Either way, follow this link and it will spell out exactly what you can and cannot bring.

Sometimes masters students are able to find ways to fund their education in the same manner a PhD student can (working as a TA or RA). But I'd imagine that if you head into a MS in bio without a science foundation you're not going to get whatever funds the program may have available.

Even getting an AS in biology could go a long ways towards helping you. I know of cases where people get a masters without a science degree, but I think it would be wise to talk to the grad program about the best way to go. I'd also look at regional state universities to see about getting on for less money as coming in without a science degree means you are more likely to have to pay for it.

This I'd where I come from as well. I think grad school is important and it is definitely a commitment, but I'm not willing to put my life on hold for it especially since continuing with a postdoc is so common. I expect to work hard, but there is a conference between working hard and burning out. Besides it's just research it's not like lives are at stake here and it's not like I can expect to work hard now in exchange for great prosperity later in life the same way a MD can. Does it really make a difference if I sequence the protein next week instead of on Friday night?

Fair enough, I stand corrected.

I have one syllabus, because it was posted online. I mostly used it to know which book I needed to buy.

Even if this is true, you have the reverse going on where people more biologically focused may well be more interested in a neuropsych lab as they may want to combine the bioscience side with a more psychological approach.

There may be some programs which will judge this negatively, but I would imagine most would think it's a positive thing to be able to maintain a high GPA and deal with the stress of balancing work and school.

That's going to depend a lot on how each school does it. There could easily be intro level, intermediate, and advanced cell biology classes. Personally, my first taste of it was with an advanced class which assumed we had coursework completed in genetics and biochemistry.