Wow, I wish I had this information before I applied. My main issue was an excess of applications -- I had a very low acceptance rate when I applied for undergrad so I think I was overly cautious and applied to way too many grad schools. I also wasn't sure if I was a highly competitive applicant, so I cast a wide net.
Undergrad Institution: Top 5 Public School Major(s): Molecular Biology B.A., biochemistry specialization GPA in Major: 3.65/4.0
Overall GPA: 3.7/4.0
Position in Class: Somewhere in the middle, but most students in my class were pre-med Type of Student: Mixed race female w/ green card GRE Scores (revised version): Q: 166 V: 165 W: 5.0
Research Experience: 1 summer of chemistry research, 2.5 years of research with a well-known high-profile professor in biochemistry. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nominated for Goldwater Scholarship by home institution (didn't win), presented a poster at a national conference.
--Results --
Acceptances:
Harvard MCO
Yale BBS
MIT Biology
Stanford Biochemistry
Caltech Biochemistry
Oxford Biochemistry
Cambridge Biochemistry
NIH-OxCam
Attending: Harvard MCO
I was rejected from Scripps but later discovered it was because my application got returned to me in the mail.
Overall Impression: My PI told me before I started that I was insane to apply to 8 schools. He said I would get into at least half of them, and probably all of them. In retrospect I wish I had trusted him more and been more confident in my abilities, and I would only have applied to 3 or 4. While I recognize that my GPA and GREs aren't mind-blowing, I have a very good track record in research and I have been told I am excellent in interviews, so that may have contributed. I suggest that if you aren't sure if you are a competitive applicant, ask a well-established professor at your institution and trust their advice!
