Fourstarnotes

Thanks for the help everyone! As for my masters GPA I was in the program while working full time in the research lab I am currently at. Since I was focusing on working full time simultaneously I only focused on keeping a B average since my employer was paying for the program. Since it was at night after work I wasn't really able to form strong connections with professors either. I will be able to get letters for atleast one professor from my undergraduate institution but I'm less sure about my masters, I think they would write it but I don't know how strong it would be. I will still have extremely strong letters coming from my research in the laboratory I currently work in. And I do plan to retake the GRE's to increase my score. Would it make sense to just not include my masters program in my application at all? Since it may raise too many red flags? I know this sounds crazy but it seems like this may be a good option? Thoughts? Thanks again everyone!

Hi everyone, just looking for a little advice. I applied to PhD genetics programs last year and didn’t get into any schools so I figured I could use a little advice. I have a BS in Biology and a minor in religious studies with a 3.1 GPA. I also have a masters in biomedical science with a 3.1 GPA. I took the GRE and scored 156 (71% below) for verbal reasoning, 150 (40% below) for quantitative reasoning and a 4.5 (80% below) for analytical writing. I have worked in a human genetics laboratory with for the past 4 years. I have attended and presented at several genetics conferences and am on dozens of abstracts. I have one first author publication and three publications where I am a coauthor, with a few others in preparation. I have excellent references from my job in the laboratory but none (I was close enough to ask) from my undergraduate or masters program. I think I just chose the wrong programs last time and thought my research experience would overcome my mediocre grades and average GRE scores, which proved not to be true. So I guess I’m really looking for advice as for what I should do? Should I take the GRE subject test for biology? Should I contact professors at the schools that I want to apply to see if they have are taking students in their lab? Any advice would be appreciated! I would really like to get in this cycle.