eeee1923

Haha my plans exactly

I say apply. The worst that can happen is they say no (and there are plenty of other programs). Also when you ask about your chances - it depends on the standard deviation accompanied with those average GPA's (which is program dependent).

Why not? You don't have to have done a Biochem BS to do a Biochem PhD. As long as you have some cursory knowledge and are willing to pick up new skills, you should be ok. Do well on the GRE and take the biochem GRE to prove your skills and you should be good to go.

I say do it. Like you stated what is one year in the grand scheme of things? I think an exchange experience would give you skills and that would positively contribute to any grad program or job. Plus if the university pays you to go - what have you got to lose?

Most GRE prep material give tips such as this. The way I approached the writing section was not to stress too much about it and not actively aim for a 6. I ended up with a 165Q/167V/4.5AW and got into 6/7 programs I had applied. A 6/6 is honestly quite a difficult task to accomplish and partially due to luck since you would have to know about the topic plus be lucky enough to have the prompt be the one generated on the test day. Unless you're going into an English program aim for a 4.5-5 out of 6. You'd be in the 80-93 percentile which is solid enough for most PhD programs. Just make sure your verbal and quant sections of the GRE are in the high percentiles as well.

Since you seem to be very far ahead in your studies I would say you should try it. Double majoring can be tough, especially with the majors your choosing but I feel that it "battle tests" one and forces them to become a better student and thinker. It also will force you to gain/maintain your time management skills. There's no major out there where every class you take will be useful to you in the future, there's always a little fluff. That being said, I feel that a math major would help you learn to analyze problems in a unique way - which could be quite useful to you as a future geoscientist. So in conclusion - go for the double major. However, if after 2-3 semesters - it becomes too burdensome and detrimental to your GPA (i.e. it takes an immense effort to keep up good grades or your grades start dropping too rapidly), then I would just complete a minor in math. It may be very helpful if you could participate in a summer REU in math and earth science to give you some hands on experience in research in those fields.

Those should suffice

shot put

If you have the money, the Manhattan GRE prep is excellent for quant practice since it breaks down all the areas of the math sections into separate books. If that is too expensive, use the Barron GRE book in conjunction with the Kaplan GRE book (~$20 each). For vocab, it really is just a memorization game - most of the words are stuff you may or may not have seen but would really never use in everyday vocab. Magoosh is pretty good for the verbal though.

I've heard there are some pretty affordable places that are safe south of the medical campus. I'll be visiting in June to look at some apartments.

I don't know about how your chances to interview would be since it's sort of depends on how well you present yourself in your SoP (as well as the other aspects of your application package) but some good umbrella programs can be found at Baylor College of Medicine IMBS, UT Southwestern, and UPenn CAMB. Those are a few I can think of right off the bat. Also go to PubMed, look up some articles and look at the schools affiliated with the PI's of the articles you like. Hope this gives you a good starting point.

If you have time to start doing some research during your senior year (even if it's a small independent study project) then you should be fine. A number of people go into a MS program to gain some more research experience or be better positioned for industry. Since many MS programs are unfunded, they tend to be easier to gain admission into and thus my advice to you would be to keep up your grades, do well on the GRE, research a bit and not worry to much about it.

How draining writing a thesis can be

long division

cell wall

Since I am not on an Adcomm I cannot say for certain but I would say it depends. If the program has a ton of applicants then the GRE score may be used to filter applicants before proceeding to the other parts of the application packages just to make the volume of work manageable. In smaller programs or programs that tend to take a bit of international students, they may look at the other parts of the application package before making any recommendations.

This is good to hear since I was considering doing this once I finish up my required coursework and get into the groove of my research.

Really? I wouldn't use the word "awful" to describe that subscore (you did very well overall ). In all seriousness I would send the score in - the rule of thumb I was told was a 75-80+ percentile score is good enough to send in. If the rest of your profile is strong, you should have no issues gaining a few admission offers.

Usually I would say not to waste the money and retake the exam. However, since you would most likely be applying as an international student it may be advantageous to study a bit more and take the exam once more (if it's financially possible). Try to score at least since a 4.5 (80th percentile) since the AWA is a category that is used to filter international applicants. Other than that write a strong SoP and get strong LORs since the other parts of your profile seem solid.

bird food

There usually is not that significant or any difference between the Sc.D. and PhD degrees. Some institutions have slightly different requirements but the degrees are ~ equivalent, except in parts of Europe where the Sc.D. may be seen as the degree that comes after a PhD. From what I've heard, the PhD is just the more commonly awarded research degree.

sky blue

If I'm understanding your question. Keeping a good GPA in your grad program is important for fellowships usually within the first 2 years of the program. If you keep in the 3.7-3.8 range you're considered competitive (though the fellowship amount, prestige, degree of difficulty in attaining, LORs, etc. will play into the final decision). After the first 2 years, you're no longer doing coursework so your research will become the determining factor in winning fellowships.

Are your friends also studying math? Are your programs of comparable difficulty? Those are the only questions that would make sense to ask. College is usually the first stage where kids that blew through high school finally begin to be sufficiently challenged especially in the STEM fields. Just relax and focus and mastering your craft and like pascal_barbots_wager said get involved and enjoy the college experience a bit.

black heart