pali123

What do you guys think about emailing individual PIs and telling them you are interested in their research? Is that appropriate? To ask them to check out your application? My PI said it was but I am not sure :/

Thanks @Edotdl for your reply. I am very worried about this. I come from a really good research lab and my PI really wants me to get into these top schools since every single one of his undergrads got into either Stanford or MIT for BioE. I hope I don't disappoint him! I spoke to MIT graduate advisor and she told me the cut off is just a recommendation and that they look at every single application. I hope this is true and they do not merely screen me out due to bad verbal GRE!

Do you think it matters more for MIT Stanford etc? @bioeng2016 those are honestly my dream schools.

@TTTYYY I am in the same boat with regarding GRE verbal scores. I hope it does not matter as much! Besides that I think you have a great shot especially with all that research experience!

@bioeng2016You are going to get into every school most likely. Great and awesome stats! Very impressive GRE scores! I do not think you need to be worried about whether or not you have background in that specific field. My PI told me that he doesn't really care what background the student has as long as they have/show potential to become a great researcher. I think you show that for sure!

Everyone please be super honest with me. Do you guys think I should even apply to these schools? I took the GRE yesterday and I did TERRIBLY. A lot worse than I expected, so now I feel like I need to reconsider my options. What do you guys think? Is there any hope? :( Major(s): Biomedical EngineeringMinor(s):NoneGPA in Major: 3.80Overall GPA: 3.84Position in Class: Top 30%Type of Student: FemaleGRE Scores (revised/old version): revisedQ: 162V: 152W: NAResearch Experience: 2 years at Laboratory in Chemical Engineering - Learned things like: PCR, molecular cloning, competent cell prep, protein purification, primer design, protein structure analysis, PyMOL ,Geneious software, DNA sequencing, ELISA prep, Gibson Cloning, miniprepping, genomic library constructions, protein-ligand docking. Working on engineering enzymes for cancer therapy. I had many side projects as well, spent about 25-40 hours a week in lab (freaked out like a grad student). I worked and was actually paid as well due to my large contributions. Had 3 projects total in this lab. No publicans yet, all in preparation. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Biomedical Engineering Honor Society, Undergraduate Research Fellowship, 3 scholarships, Dean's Honor List. Engineering ScholarPertinent Activities or Jobs: Chemistry Tutor for a professor intro class, Mathnasium Tutoring Center, Myriad RBM testing and receiving serum and blood samplesAny Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Attended and presented at 4 undergraduate research symposiums at institution of study, presented at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium Special Bonus Points: Excellent LORs from widely known professors (one is my PI, one is a research scientist in our lab, 2 are other BME professors that I did well in their classes for), Applying to NSF fellowship as well Applying to Where: - Rice University - Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Program - University of Washington – Bioengineering Program - University of California at San Diego -Bioengineering - Stanford University – Bioengineering - MIT - Bioengineering - University of Texas at Austin – Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering - Georgia Tech – Bioengineering - University of Chicago – Bioengineering - Northwestern University Can someone tell me what my chances are in getting into these schools? I feel like my GPA is quite low and may not be as competitive. Thanks.

I got a good quantitative GRE percentile (>85%) however verbal is ridiculously bad (around 54%). Will this hinder my chances of getting into top 10? GPA is 3.85, 2 years experience, lots of presentations, strong SOP and 3 LORs. Do I still have a chance u guys? :(

Wow @TheAbsurdShark your stats look good! you are lucky you have strong GRE scores, I unfortunately am suffering in that department.