Undergrad Institution: virtually unknown, public, state, "Hispanic-serving institution" in the southwestMajor(s): BiochemistryMinor(s): noneGPA in Major: 3.84Overall GPA: 3.76 (3.80 at time of application)Position in Class: UnknownType of Student: Domestic, Hispanic femaleGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 154 (56%)V: 155 (67%)W: 4.5 (80%)B: N/ATOEFL Total: N/AResearch Experience:
3.5 years research experience at my school: 0.5 year in organic chem. lab, and 3 years in plant genetics lab (lots of mol. bio. techniques)
summers were spent as follows: one summer at UTSW QP-SURF program, one summer in medicinal plants summer program at my school, and one summer in my plant genetics lab at my school -- no publications
presented posters at SACNAS, ABRCMS, end of QP-SURF program, end of medicinal plants program, and my host institution's annual conference (twice: one oral, one poster) and outside of science, I went to 3 ethics/bioethics conferences to debate cases
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Undergrad. Research Programs: RISE scholar for ~0.5 year until grant ended, HHMI scholar for 1 year until my program ended, and finally MARC scholar for 2 years
Honor's student (wrote a thesis and graduated with Distinction in University Honors -- but this part is not in my application since I graduated in May 2016), and Dean's list for 2 semesters only
Received travel grant from my Honors College and a SACNAS travel grant
ABRCMS poster presentation award in BiochemistryPertinent Activities or Jobs: Teaching Experience: tutor/mentor for general physics course (1 semester), and for an incoming Freshman course on college prep./advice/etc. (1 semester)Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Member of a community service organization (Rotaract) ~2 years, and held various leadership positions in an ethics organization on campus ~3 years
Special Bonus Points: Hispanic (bilingual: Spanish/English), female, first generation student (mother did some college but did not finish, and father did not finish high school)Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Don't think so...?Applying to Where:
Interested in translational medicine and general research interests in Biochemistry, Biophysics, Structural Biology, and Neuroscience
Applied (10/10) - Interview/Visit Offered/Attended (6/10) - Rejected (6.5/10) - Accepted (3.5/10) - Admitted and Attending (1/10)
1. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) - Division of Basic Science interested in Mechanisms of Disease Track/Molecular Biophysics/ Biological Chemistry - email on 1/4, interview offered for multiple weekends, chose to attend 2/25-2/27 - phone on 2/29
2. University of Wisconsin, Madison - A. IPiB and B. Biophysics - A. email on 2/3, interview offered on 2/18-2/20 B. email on 1/5, interview offered 2/11-2/13; interviewed for both on 2/11-2/13 - A. unofficial email on 2/17, official email on 2/22 B. email on 2/24
3. Scripps Research Institute - Chemical and Biological Sciences - no response, so I emailed on 1/22 and was emailed back on 1/26 that final decisions would be sent out the next week, official email on 2/2
4. University of California, San Fransisco (UCSF) - TETRAD - email on 1/7
5. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) - BBSP interested in Biophysics/Biochemistry - email on 1/5, interview offered and attended 2/18-2/20 - unofficial email on 3/31, official email on 4/1
6. University of Washington, Seattle - Biochemistry - email on 12/18, interview offered and attended 1/20-1/23 - email on 2/2
7. California Institute of Technology (Cal. Tech.) - Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (BMB) - no response, so I emailed on 1/22 and received my rejection that day (side note: got a second, official email much later on 3/15)
8. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS) - email on 12/21
9. University of Colorado, Denver: Anschutz Medical Campus - Structural Biology and Biochemistry (STBB) - phone & email on 12/18, interview offered and attended 2/4-2/7 - told in person during interview weekend on 2/6, official email on 2/11
10. University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) - Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics (BMB) - email 12/27, interview offered 1/21-1/23 but did not attend, Skype interviewed instead, went to Revisit Weekend in March - unofficial email on 2/3, official email on 2/5 (side note: accepted into Graduate Training in Medical Science (GTMS) Certificate on 3/10) - Attending!!