Hey Everyone!
I am really looking for some possible help or guidance with steps necessary to pursue a PhD. I'll preface the following by saying I have limited knowledge of what I really should be doing next, what are my options, and the direction I should follow. I would appreciate any and all help and advice ya'll have! I apologize if this is all long winded.
For some general information and scores, I graduated in December 2012 from UNC Chapel Hill with my B.A. in Biology after transferring from a community college in North Carolina with my AS in Science. Prior, I was unable to attend any formal high school education due to medical issues and received my GED, resulting in quite a few issues with grades at UNC. As a result, my GPA suffered and I graduated with a cumulative (AS + BA degrees) of a ~2.9 and a ~2.8 sGPA. A few weeks ago I took my GRE and received a 150v, 151q, and 4.5. I understand these are low and will likely retake them when I am financially able to do so.
I've worked both in undergraduate and since graduating in public health, primarily through HIV/AIDS research as a community outreach coordinator in addition to sexual health education working primarily with sexually transmitted infections. In the past, I worked on social and behavioral research projects and had only a few months of traditional wet laboratory work (outside of the classroom), as well as working in clinical medicine as a emergency department technician. While I have been attempting to get into a lab, many will not take an individual with my limited experience. This has left me to continue in the public health sector, continuously searching for laboratory and/or research opportunities.
Unfortunately, due to my history, I have not found a lot of supportive staff or mentors at my university and the few individuals close enough to support me do not have experience in the hard sciences (primarily public health and MD). I have heard mixed reviews on steps to take and most involve taking classes, but I am not financially able to take courses without taking out more loans, which is hard considering the loans I have that are currently in repayment. I have looked at different Masters, technical masters (Medical Laboratory Technician, etc.), and fellowships (NIH Post-Bacc) but have been discouraged by lack of many of the requirements, such as previous experience and a higher GPA.
I was hoping maybe some of you out there have had similar experiences or have advice for someone in my shoes. As I'm sure you all can understand, this has been very stressful!
Thanks in advance for the help!
Hey Everyone! I am really looking for some possible help or guidance with steps necessary to pursue a PhD. I'll preface the following by saying I have limited knowledge of what I really should be doing next, what are my options, and the direction I should follow. I would appreciate any and all help and advice ya'll have! I apologize if this is all long winded. For some general information and scores, I graduated in December 2012 from UNC Chapel Hill with my B.A. in Biology after transferring from a community college in North Carolina with my AS in Science. Prior, I was unable to attend any formal high school education due to medical issues and received my GED, resulting in quite a few issues with grades at UNC. As a result, my GPA suffered and I graduated with a cumulative (AS + BA degrees) of a ~2.9 and a ~2.8 sGPA. A few weeks ago I took my GRE and received a 150v, 151q, and 4.5. I understand these are low and will likely retake them when I am financially able to do so. I've worked both in undergraduate and since graduating in public health, primarily through HIV/AIDS research as a community outreach coordinator in addition to sexual health education working primarily with sexually transmitted infections. In the past, I worked on social and behavioral research projects and had only a few months of traditional wet laboratory work (outside of the classroom), as well as working in clinical medicine as a emergency department technician. While I have been attempting to get into a lab, many will not take an individual with my limited experience. This has left me to continue in the public health sector, continuously searching for laboratory and/or research opportunities. Unfortunately, due to my history, I have not found a lot of supportive staff or mentors at my university and the few individuals close enough to support me do not have experience in the hard sciences (primarily public health and MD). I have heard mixed reviews on steps to take and most involve taking classes, but I am not financially able to take courses without taking out more loans, which is hard considering the loans I have that are currently in repayment. I have looked at different Masters, technical masters (Medical Laboratory Technician, etc.), and fellowships (NIH Post-Bacc) but have been discouraged by lack of many of the requirements, such as previous experience and a higher GPA. I was hoping maybe some of you out there have had similar experiences or have advice for someone in my shoes. As I'm sure you all can understand, this has been very stressful! Thanks in advance for the help!