blc073

I'm from Oklahoma too! I would advise you to apply broadly to programs in places you actually want to be for five or so years. One lab isn't enough to stay in Oklahoma (fifty labs isn't enough to stay in Oklahoma). Apply to some top programs and apply to some programs in random places you've always wanted to visit. If you do not have anything tying you down to a single location, then this is your time to explore! Go West (or East), young [woman]! Explore what the country has to offer! Feel free to PM me. As fellow Oklahomies, I'm sure we share similar experiences.

Are you from Oklahoma? That's the only explanation I can think of for why you would apply to OU...

My girlfriend, a doctoral student in neuroscience at BU, said you would say that, and I think that is just outstanding. Good luck with the process!

I don't feel like NYC is exactly close to Boston. Why not stick with any of the eleven programs in Boston? Harvard BBS, Harvard MCO, BU-GMS, BU, Tufts-Sackler, Tufts, MIT, Northeastern, BC, Brandeis, or UMass-Boston?

I received an offer from Harvard before I interviewed anywhere else, so I did not exactly put a lot of effort into my other interviews. I was only offered a position at one other university (UChicago). I think most places could tell that I was not interested.

I had an average GPA (3.5) and an average GRE (310), but I can write well, I had four amazing LORs, and I had seven semesters and four summers of research experience.

I had to double take when you said the research fit at Harvard is "just okay." What are you considering a good fit for research? In your initial evaluation, you should look at location, research fit (are there five or so faculty with whom you can see yourself working?), and funding (are you guaranteed funding for the duration of your PhD?). Make your list based on those criteria. When you interview, you will find the right place for you. Also, I would honestly cap it at eight applications. I did eight applications, which led to six interviews, and the six consecutive weeks of traveling was incredibly exhausting. I cancelled interviews because I could not see myself traveling for eight weeks in a row.

Yeah, these stats raise so many questions! @BioCat02 Why are you applying to those schools in particular?

I'm late to the party on this one, but I'm surprised nobody mentioned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

A 3.6 GPA is NOT low for top tier schools. More information is needed to fully grade how successful your application may be, but a 3.6 GPA WILL NOT play a big role. I would like to know more about your research experience, your LORs, and your individual GRE scores.

Wait, why aren't you applying this year?

I fundamentally disagree with this, and this quote is completely antithetical to the rest of your comment. The advice here is to realistically evaluate oneself, then apply to a variety of schools within a realistic framework, i.e., if an individual has a below average GPA and less than average experience, that individual should not apply to eight top tier programs and one second tier. Settling here is simply appreciating a situation and pursuing a path that will lead to the best graduate school experience without wasting time.

@bkim346 I would apply broadly this year and maybe include a few post-bacc applications. The real question: are you willing to settle? You have your eyes set on top tier schools, but will you be happy at a second tier school? It gets difficult at this point. Example: Let's say you apply to five schools and a post-bacc. The five schools are two top tiers, two second tiers, and a smaller school that might be considered a safety. You are offered a position at one of the second tier schools, the smaller school, and a post-bacc. Will you choose the second tier school or even the smaller school over the post-bacc? If you choose the second tier school or the smaller school, you are in a PhD program and on your way to a career. If you choose a post-bacc, your time might put you in the running for a top tier position, or nothing will change and you will be two years behind in a PhD program. A post-bacc should either be an opportunity to decide if a PhD is what you want to do or a holding pattern after an unsuccessful application cycle. I would not use a post-bacc as a way to get into a "better" program. If you are certain you want to do a PhD, apply broadly to only schools at which you can see yourself spending five or so years. Then matriculate wherever you are admitted. Don't waste time under the assumption that a post-bacc automatically guarantees a position at a top program.

Just curious, why won't you say your institution in "public"?

I'm not sure it will come up in interviews. Committees only care about an individual's ability to do good science. There are plenty of reasons to take time off, and I do not think individual interviewers will dig. @myhairtiebroke I would not mention it. Make your SOP about your research experience and why you are a good fit for the program. If a weird interviewers tries to bring it up, you can easily say something like, "I had a personal reason to take a gap year, but I am eager to begin graduate school now."

Honestly, just go to the best school to which you are admitted. Everything else will fall in place. Interests change, so you shouldn't pick a program based on whether or not they have the exact research you want. You all can split hairs all day about rankings and what advice you have been given, but at the end of the day, the best programs place graduates into the best post-docs which place graduates into the best jobs. If you are going to do good research, you are going to do good research, regardless of where you do it. Why not do that good research at the best school within reach?

I chose my grad school based on prestige alone. Did I goof!? ?

I would focus on making a list of schools to which you will apply. Once you know your options, you can consider these questions. To your point, the work you do is more important than who your PI is. The goal of graduate school is to be well trained. Save prestige for your post-doc.

I do believe there are programs in the US that allow students to do research and take courses for a couple of years before applying to graduate school. I am not sure if they are open to international students. Since I am not an international student, I am not familiar with that process. Perhaps you could contact graduate programs directly to ask for advice? You might also post in the international student section of this site. Good luck!

@bioapplerobot No Harvard, huh? I see how it is.

If you can get into one program, you will likely be able to get into the other. The real question is which program is right for you. The MCO program caters to basic scientists, and the program is housed in Cambridge. Your core courses will have a basic science focus and you will encounter more basic scientists on a day-to-day basis. BBS has a biomedical focus, so will be in Longwood near all of the teaching hospitals. If you want to study disease, BBS is the better option. It's also important to consider size. MCO is a small program while BBS is large. If you are looking for small classes and a tight community, MCO might be better. That's not to say there aren't small classes and a sense of community in BBS. I'm not completely sure, but I believe MCO students are limited to the sixty or so MCO faculty. BBS students can rotate in over 800 labs, including the MCO labs. As far as courses go, anyone at Harvard or MIT can take pretty much any courses at Harvard or MIT. I do know of a few courses in Longwood that are limited to BBS students, but that's rare. I would consider what the two programs offer, then apply to the program that matches your interests and goals. Good luck!

On paper, you look look great. Your success will depend on your LORs and your SOP. Harvard BBS treats international students the same as domestic students.

I absolutely love my program. PM me if you want to know more about how great Harvard is. I did undergraduate at a small school in Oklahoma. I was able to get work done, but in general, research there es un chiste. Moving to Boston for graduate school was a big change in pace. The environment here is unreal. We have a high number of PhDs per capita, and a quarter of the population is college students. It really is an intellectual hub. The collaboration here is also phenomenal. Harvard uses BU facilities, Tufts works with MIT, and everything in between. Harvard is affiliated with a bunch of hospitals (MGH, Brigham, Beth Israel, Dana Farber, etc.) so there is essentially an unlimited amount of resources. My favorite part of all of it is cross-registration with MIT. As a student at HMS, I can take courses at MIT, so I am currently taking a course in which two Nobel Laureates give lectures (Phil Sharp and Bob Horvitz). As far as research training, I think other schools are comparable. As far as resources and networking, I think Harvard and Boston are unparalleled.

I don't think there is anything wrong with reaching out to PIs. It is important to remember that your relationship with a PI will likely not affect your admissions. With that being said, it is very important to be familiar with the PIs at the university. Mention names in your SOP. Networking is important for your scientific career, but again, it probably won't affect admissions. I would either use one sentence in the first paragraph or the last paragraph to mention your condition. "While in college, I took a medical leave of absence [for this reason], which opened my eyes to the importance of biomedical research and is the reason why I am so passionate about this field." Contrary to popular belief, admissions committees do not care about your personal life. They want to see that you can think and write like a scientist. That's it.

I had a total of four research experiences when I applied, but the majority of my SOP focused on just one of the experiences. I only briefly mentioned the other three. Regarding your SOP, you should really get into the details of your research. Discuss what you did, the role you played in designing the hypothesis and the experiments. Discuss any struggles you had and how you overcame them. Talk about how you grew as a scientist and how the experience prepared you for graduate school. Finally, explain your results and what they mean for you, your project, and for the field. That can easily be two pages without sounding repetitive. Committees want to see that you know how to do science and that you will still love research even when your work is failing. The best way to test that last part is to do a long term project. One meaningful project is better than ten short projects. You might be in trouble if two of your recommendations are from professors who do not know about your research. Have you given presentations at your school or discussed ideas with another PI? Honestly, a PI with whom you discussed ideas and experiments is a better recommendation than a class professor. I don't know about international students, but I would apply similarly to any other student. Pick a couple of big state schools (University of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, Washington, etc.) and a few top schools (Penn, Yale, Duke, etc.). You are probably right about funding, so limit yourself to private schools with too much money and large public research schools.