KR Marksmen

The relatively small amount of time doing coursework on topics that aren't related to the most likely very small subsection of biology you do is why coursework should be a secondary factor. You will(should) learn more from PI/Postdocs/Lab work and from your individual reading than you will from your class work. Coursework can lay the foundation for an area you are weak in, have no experience in if you are shifting into a new topic area (like trying to join a lab that does Immunology, but you have no background in Immuno), or give you a deeper understanding of topics that you have already been exposed to in undergraduate biology but by no means have I been in a course were the concepts are totally new. It's just a deeper understanding of basic concepts being taught. I wouldn't follow this quote 100% but I was told to "get the lowest possible passing grade for your coursework". Why? because if you are spending all your time studying for courses, you most likely aren't spending enough time in the lab doing research and learning hands on. That being said, If you are trying to be competitive for grants GPA is a factor so don't tank anything. Find the balance that offers you an understanding of your coursework without causing a deficit to your lab work. At the end of the day its what you produce at the bench/computer that will speak volumes not the fact that you got an A in a 1st-year cell biology course.

Delmar Loop is a great area. Lots of food and entertainment. That being said, just like every city, you have to learn the safe and not so safe areas. If you stay within the loop you should be fine. Same goes for most of the popular student living areas (CWE, Delmar/U City). To me St Louis is very easy to tell you are in an area you "shouldn't be in", you'll recognize that your surroundings have drastically changed. Most of my student friends live in/around the loop, in the central west end, or by debaliviere/forest park(Recommend waiting to move to this area until after your first year). If you find a place in either of those though public transportation won't be an issue. Students have free access to metro/subway and you can get to most things you need (school, grocery store, entertainment) in less than 10 minutes. Walkability is great and even with cars most of us (that being my classmates) rarely use them for normal day to day. Feel free to PM if you have any more questions.

I started writing and researching schools mid july. I got serious about it in August though and wrote most of my generic essays (why PhD/PS/research Statement). These essays and an updated CV were proofread by several people, my mentor pi and advisors, and finished by mid September. I used October to tailor each essay to each school(different schools want specific things addressed in essays or have additional diversity essays). I took my GRE in November exactly two weeks before December 1st(lol dont do that, shoot for mid october at the latest) or else I would have submitted all my apps mid November. Every app was submitted before December 1st.

If anyone from the north east will be taking a uhaul through the DC area to WUSTL this summer/August or will go through st louis I'm trying to find someone to take my mattress and we can work out the compensation. DM if you are interested. (Shipping costs for just a queen mattress are ridiculous, but to expensive /new of a mattress to just buy a new one)

Hi all! I'm positive and committed already to Washington University in St. Louis DBBS Biochemistry. Side note. If anyone from the north east will be taking a uhaul through the DC area to WUSTL this summer/August or will go through st louis I'm trying to find someone to take my mattress and we can work out the compensation. DM if you are interested. (Shipping costs for just a queen mattress are ridiculous, but to expensive /new of a mattress to just buy a new one)

Try to present your research. It doesn't need to be a big national conference. A symposium/poster session at your university is good enough. Showing that you can present your research usually means you have a certain level of understanding of your project and looks good to adcoms. I think it's hard to say things to improve on or add since you didn't really post your stats or what you have already done.

Headed to WashU this Fall. Anyone else going hit me up if you are looking for a potential roommate in the CWE!

There's still hope! I got into 3 different schools this cycle all ranked between top 5 to top 15 in the country. I graduated with a 3.27. My last year gpa was actually around 2.9. I took two years off did full time research and applied to programs broadly. Although there will definitely be programs that look over you because gpa if you can try to do these things it will help you a lot. 1. Explain any hardship you had that caused your gpa to be low. So important!!!! 2. Rockout your gre and use it to balance out your gpa and include that although your gpa is low your gre shows you are capable of learning. (Despite the fact that correlations between gre and graduate school success are minuscule at best) 3. Do full time research/post bac if you don't want to go the masters route. All my projects haven't worked but im able to go in depth about every topic related to my projects and this impressed every adcom I interviewed with. Additionally, working in a lab full time just makes you think differently and actively so that when adcom members talk about their research you can naturally follow up. Showing that you can think like a scientist will impress on the interview trail. 4. Apply broadly and don't limit yourself by your gpa. There's also alot of ways to get free applications. If there is a graduate school fair attend it and tell programs how interested you are and ask for a few waiver. Out of 10 schools i paid for 2. The broader you apply the more likely you are for a program to take a chance. 5. Same as 1 but so important im saying it twice. Don't hide from your gpa. Address it in all your applications and talk about why it happened and what changes you have made since then. If you don't explain why it's low schools won't care and your applications will get dropped. Don't make it sound like your being whiny or it wasn't your fault. No matter the hardship own up to it and tell how you've grown and why those issues are no longer an issue for you. Good luck on your grad school journey!

First acceptance!!! Duke Biochemistry!

I've been doing the same thing!!! Newegg and Linkedin scared me so bad!!! One of my programs said by the end of February. Glad it's a short month. 3 less days to panic!

Waiting to hear back post interview is driving me nuts!!! The fact that everyone in my lab keeps asking me if I've gotten accepted doesn't help either. In other news, my step-mom apparently told all her friends and family I'm going to be a medical doctor....... Just rambling in hopes of keeping my fingers from pressing refresh on my email......

Mine have been a mix. Most are half and half. First half being "Tell me about yourself" (meaning research) followed by why i did certain things and why i want to come to that particular school. Second half being "I'm going to tell you what my lab does and try to pitch to you to rotate in my lab if you matriculate." I definitely had one interviewer who did nothing but grill me. Literally asked me to draw out pathways, draw a structure, and give him an explanation on how would i tackle a research problem his lab had previously. On the other end I had an interview start off with "im going to tell you about two projects my lab works on. Feel free to stop and ask questions and make suggestions. Otherwise it will be 30 minutes of me just rambling".

Phew. Got nervous. Congrats! Maybe we will see each other in the fall haha. Waiting on Biochem to release hopefully next week.

Which DBBS program?

Thanks! This weekend! Good luck on your interviews.