biochemgirl67

I'm so happy you liked it!  I'm over the moon about moving to Nashville and going to Vandy.  Every time I would go on another interview, no other program felt like it fit me as well as Vandy IGP did.  I hope you hear back today!  (I heard back on MLK Jr Day, so I think they are definitely at least committed to the cause of sending out notifications.)

I'm so happy you liked it!  I'm over the moon about moving to Nashville and going to Vandy.  Every time I would go on another interview, no other program felt like it fit me as well as Vandy IGP did.  I hope you hear back today!  (I heard back on MLK Jr Day, so I think they are definitely at least committed to the cause of sending out notifications.)

They'll consider her, but experience is key.  If she's looking to get into a stellar program, it might be best to go back to undergrad or do something like a master's in public health first.  That's so she can add a science bias to her experience.  I'm just concerned about a person that wants to jump into a career like this without having experienced it first.  It's a big thing to know if someone will stay in the PhD program since it's such a huge commitment.

I'm glad she's found a passion for disease!
But.
Scientific study is wawaaaaaay more than witnessing a loved one succumb to an awful disease, especially at a graduate level.  In fact, if she were to apply directly to biology graduate programs, her personal statement would be so nonspecific and lack compelling evidence of an aptitude and affinity for science.  It's so much more than being smart, and that's what she has no knowledge of right now.  The study of science, in terms of research, involves so much failure that many highly intelligent people actually don't like it.
So.  Maybe she could get into a master's program somewhere, probably at a not that great school.  But what actually might help her career is to go back to undergrad at a more prestigious university, get involved in long term research, and then decide where she wants to go.  Then she'll have better options.

I was at Vandy this weekend, and @biochemgirl67, I can see why you fell in love with it!!! Although I will admit, I could tell that everyone was exhausted from interview season, especially since I was on the last interview weekend.
I know their turn around is really quick, so I'm suuuuper nervous to hear back (hopefully) today.

I think before the applications are in and options are still open, it's really important to be honest.  After the applications are in and it's a done deal, however, it might cause undue stress on the poor person sitting there thinking oh my god what am I going to do.  Right now, honesty can change something.  After submission, it's kind of just up in the air and not in the applicant's hands to worry about.  Most people will search out other options by the end of January if they haven't heard back if they overshot in all their programs.
Basically it's a timing thing of whether or not I think it's worth it to tell the person their choices don't have a great chance of working out to their best advantage.  And all these people apply to the top 10 programs but honestly don't realize the whole game is a fit search.  I did not like any of the more "prestigious" schools I visited more than or as much as Vanderbilt.  The school you don't consider your top choice (Vanderbilt for me) may actually be your top choice in the end so people might as well diversify their list based on fit.  So yeah, I wouldn't tell some poor anxious applicant he wasn't gonna get in anywhere if he had already submitted.  But now, I would definitely be more blunt about how your record, precluding special circumstances, does indeed affect your acceptance.

You're very right.  I don't know why everyone is downvoting your comment, especially since honesty is essential before this guy goes and spends all that money and time on applications.  @Dank you could take the Biology or even better biochemistry/Molecular Biology subject test to put off your GPA issues.  NO LETTERS FROM POST DOCS.  That is not an option.  If you don't have any letters from a faculty member that has overseen your research or a supervisor in industry, you are 100% going to need to diversify a lot. Maybe focus on fit and reach out to potential mentors beforehand to not waste your time. 

I think before the applications are in and options are still open, it's really important to be honest.  After the applications are in and it's a done deal, however, it might cause undue stress on the poor person sitting there thinking oh my god what am I going to do.  Right now, honesty can change something.  After submission, it's kind of just up in the air and not in the applicant's hands to worry about.  Most people will search out other options by the end of January if they haven't heard back if they overshot in all their programs.
Basically it's a timing thing of whether or not I think it's worth it to tell the person their choices don't have a great chance of working out to their best advantage.  And all these people apply to the top 10 programs but honestly don't realize the whole game is a fit search.  I did not like any of the more "prestigious" schools I visited more than or as much as Vanderbilt.  The school you don't consider your top choice (Vanderbilt for me) may actually be your top choice in the end so people might as well diversify their list based on fit.  So yeah, I wouldn't tell some poor anxious applicant he wasn't gonna get in anywhere if he had already submitted.  But now, I would definitely be more blunt about how your record, precluding special circumstances, does indeed affect your acceptance.

You're very right.  I don't know why everyone is downvoting your comment, especially since honesty is essential before this guy goes and spends all that money and time on applications.  @Dank you could take the Biology or even better biochemistry/Molecular Biology subject test to put off your GPA issues.  NO LETTERS FROM POST DOCS.  That is not an option.  If you don't have any letters from a faculty member that has overseen your research or a supervisor in industry, you are 100% going to need to diversify a lot. Maybe focus on fit and reach out to potential mentors beforehand to not waste your time. 

I'm concerned that as a master's student you have a 3rd author paper... At least the ones i knew would have one by the end of their thesis.  But other than that, of course you have a shot at those schools.  Especially since I'm assuming you have a mentor who will vouch well for you currently.  But to be safe, I would definitely expand your applications to more than 4 schools.  And focus on fit more than anything!

I took both semesters of P chem and I don't think you really need it.  As mentioned before, you could ask if you want to.  If you are interested in structural biology, it might be a good idea just to be able to understand the fundamentals of biophysics.  But I get it!  I hate physics, hate my biophysics class, and generally want nothing to do with physics.  BUT.  I did enjoy my quantum mechanics class quite a bit.  Thermodynamics, which was my 2nd semester of P chem, was really boring.  Honestly, I found taking specialized biology courses and grad courses much more helpful.  Immunology, medical microbiology, virology, molecular signaling, molecular genetics.  These high level classes will introduce you deeply to areas of molecular biology and, if you take a grad level course, you will probably get introduced to literature review which is one of the most important skills outside of experimentation and science you will learn.  HIGHLY recommend finding a publication-based class in an area of your interest to try your hand at what journal clubs, grad classes, and researching for your thesis will be like.  I took 4 before applying and it really helped me to explain what I liked and why, even if it was outside of what I currently do.  (FYI I took immunology, molecular signaling, molecular genetics, and nucleic acid  biochemistry as my publication-based classes before applications.  They were also graduate level.  I took like 9 grad classes total, I think, before application.  But that's completely over the top!)

I took both semesters of P chem and I don't think you really need it.  As mentioned before, you could ask if you want to.  If you are interested in structural biology, it might be a good idea just to be able to understand the fundamentals of biophysics.  But I get it!  I hate physics, hate my biophysics class, and generally want nothing to do with physics.  BUT.  I did enjoy my quantum mechanics class quite a bit.  Thermodynamics, which was my 2nd semester of P chem, was really boring.  Honestly, I found taking specialized biology courses and grad courses much more helpful.  Immunology, medical microbiology, virology, molecular signaling, molecular genetics.  These high level classes will introduce you deeply to areas of molecular biology and, if you take a grad level course, you will probably get introduced to literature review which is one of the most important skills outside of experimentation and science you will learn.  HIGHLY recommend finding a publication-based class in an area of your interest to try your hand at what journal clubs, grad classes, and researching for your thesis will be like.  I took 4 before applying and it really helped me to explain what I liked and why, even if it was outside of what I currently do.  (FYI I took immunology, molecular signaling, molecular genetics, and nucleic acid  biochemistry as my publication-based classes before applications.  They were also graduate level.  I took like 9 grad classes total, I think, before application.  But that's completely over the top!)

I think it depends on the school's reputation, its ego, and the personality of the chair of admissions. I have a friend that straight out told the UChicago chair of admissions during their interview that they had gotten into Harvard. They still got in lol

Just confirmed Emory MMG (+ fellowship)! Definitely the best fit for my research interests (bacteriology and antibiotic resistance). Good luck to everyone making decisions!

To be honest, UCSF, Weill Cornell, and Rockefeller might be stretches based on your GPA.  However, that doesn't mean you should not apply to them!  But I would add Vanderbilt IGP, Emory, UTSW, and maybe like University of Wisconsin or University of Washington.  These have great programs that are really competitive.  You may need to apply to 12 to get a good range of interviews especially if you add big names like Harvard later but if you can afford it, go for it!  You can see my results below and I have a degree in biochemistry with minors in microbiology, 3.76/3.86 cumulative/major GPA, 30 credits of graduate coursework, two years of a long term project plus two summers at other institutions and 3 letters of rec, 1 from each of my research mentors.  I would personally recommend narrowing your application list down to like 7 or 8 that you KNOW are decent fits research wise and that you have a chance of getting into.  Because let me tell you, 4 interviews is already a lot.  I don't know people do 7+.

Just officially committed to UCSF BMS! So glad to be done...

Committed to University of Washington Biochemistry. So happy with my choice and relieved all this is done!!

It's official. I'm going to Penn!! (Cancer Biology)

Oo, I'm interviewing with Dr. Heiman next week. I've heard awesome things about her work and lab. I also have Tonegawa on that list. Not intimidated at all. 

But, back to @raisinbrain; going into the interview season I was all starry-eyed and looking at the big names, but then I realized that a lot of them are now heavily admins, very busy to be effective PhD mentors, or are not even taking students anymore. I would not recommend picking a school based on the availability of those people. Them being present at those schools reflects the caliber of research that goes on there, and hopefully opportunities to thrive and collaborate. Though, there are some exceptions to that (schools which will not be named) where PIs are poached because they have/will win fancy awards that the university can claim on their info sheets. That being said, you should pick the schools based on the programs, availability of other labs you may be interested in, and then where you want to live. Rockefeller will be the cheapest housing you ever have in Manhattan, for instance, if you wanted to live in NYC in your late 20s. 
My own personal choice of school will mostly come down to where I will see myself happy and the external-to-lab opportunities available after all things are considered equal.

.... What did you just say?
Anyways my suggestion is to look outside of research - would you be happy living in the area? There are some schools that I initially loved when I was only looking at the research but when I actually got there
...Holy **** it's cold who am I kidding

Thanks for your reply! I have an update. I have decided to accept the offer! I was at 60-40 (if not 70-30) between this school and the another school, but after thinking through about 6 hours last night between the two schools, I decided to accept the offer! I thought about this school the whole month. I am really excited about my graduate program! 

If every up and coming applicant could see this, I would be so happy.  I just think so much gets lost in the name game!
I just gave a presentation to the Biochem club tonight about summer research, graduate applications, and life and feel like so many people forget that a name isn't even the half of it.

congrats!!! everyone says wonderful things about vandy so i'm crossing my fingers that I love the visit and get an offer from them. 

I'm so glad to hear that you feel so positive about your decision! Nashville is truly a wonderful city, and Vandy is a fabulous school. The beautiful Smoky Mountains are just a short drive away and the Alabama Gulf Coast with beautiful beaches is an easy day's drive away, too. 

I find this funny as well save the names for a postdoc (if at all) to be honest. I was surprised to see that the majority of the faculty in my dept. didn't go to "top" schools ( this is at an R1 fwiw). Everything is about finding the right project and the right PI, and as many find out, trying to work with the biggest name PI isn't always the best either. You get out of grad school what you put into it IMHO. If you are productive and doing impactful work, you'll be fine regardless of where you go to school. Just my 2 cents.