nrsnyder

I totally agree with that. The thing I was trying to disagree with was the "consulting and PhD require completely different skill sets" point. I actually wouldn't be surprised if your experience is fairly standard, a lot of areas take pride in their local universities and hire directly from there. The main thing is I know a lot of consulting and VC firms in my area like to hire directly from UCSF and Stanford using on campus recruiting. This is why I'm concerned about getting into a similar "big name" program.

Both lead to similar industry positions but a Master's degree isn't very popular in either. I think it would simply bump you up a level as a Research Associate but spending 2 years in the industry without getting the masters would do the same.

Untrue. I've spent a lot of time researching this career path and if you want to PM me to discuss it go for it, but the short of it is big business firms recruit heavily from top schools for their bio/pharma/healthcare departments.

Good idea. Any idea on whether or not the big consulting firms care? It seems they only do on campus recruiting at the top 10.

My questions were posted under the assumption that I have fairly strong research experience to accompany my scores. Basically what I'm asking in regards to research is this: can someone who has spent their time doing primarily biochem research still get into a top immunology program or vice versa?

How specific do you need to be in "research interests". I'm pretty adaptable and am interested in more than just a single research topic. I'm not trying pigeonhole myself into anything too early but I also understand the benefit of being able to prove you will make a good fit. I'm trying to find the right balance. I'm by no means trying to say a top20 or top 30 school can't be strong within certain sub-disciplines but because I don't have my heart set on any one research topic I'd rather go to the overall better program. More importantly though, I'm specifically interested in top programs because it's better for my career. I don't have a whole lot of desire to stay in academia and will be looking to go back to industry or move into business development/consulting for pharma and biotech pretty quickly after I graduate. In this case I suspect I'll get the most out of my PhD if it has the "glamour" of being from a big name school. Otherwise I would be way more interested in some of the smaller but just as effective/productive programs.

Undergrad Institution: Top research University Major(s): Biological Chemistry Minor(s): Math GPA in Major: Unsure, it's not calculated for us and I haven't bothered to try and do it myself Overall GPA: 3.55 Position in Class: Pretty high I think Type of Student: Generic white dude GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 170 V: 161 W: Still waiting on this, will edit it in once I get it Research Experience: 2 years doing yeast biochemistry at home institution, 2 summers and senior year spent doing R&D of diagnostic assays at a biotech company. Currently a Research Associate II. Pertinent Activities or Jobs: President of a frat but I doubt this will come up aside from on my resume. Applying to Where: Definitely: Stanford Biosciences UCSF Biomedical Sciences UCSD Biosciences Harvard Scripps Institute UCLA Rockefeller Institute Probably: U Penn U Chicago Johns Hopkins UC Berkeley

Hey all, I didn't see a thread for general questions about PhD programs in bio and so I figured I'd start one. My questions are: Is quant or verbal a more "important" section on the GRE for these programs? I can see the importance of both so I wouldn't be surprised if they are weighted equally, but I'm curious. Also, there's a lot of talk about applying to certain research groups and the advantages of making sure you're a good "fit" for the group. However many of the big schools with strong bio programs have you apply to a larger program such as a "Biomedical Sciences Department" and don't require that you have a lab picked out beforehand. Does this lead to a greater emphasis on stats since your research experience doesn't need to be a fit for a particular lab? Finally, to sort of build on the last question, how important is it for previous research experience to be in the same field as your program? For instance I am applying to Immunology programs but all my previous research experience has been in either diagnostic assay development or biochemistry. Thanks, and I know these issues are more complicated than the questions imply. Just trying to get a feel for making my application the strongest it can be, as I only really have interest in going to grad school if I make it to a top 10 program.