Hi everyone, good luck with this application round! I'm hoping to get some advice regarding whether or not I should apply this round/what schools I should apply to. I'm trying to target middle/lower tier schools. I plan to apply to a ton of schools to increase my odds.
Undergrad Institution: Big, R1 state school with a good reputation in the sciencesMajor(s): BiochemistryGPA in Major: So far 4.0, but lacking some of the upper division classes. Will be taking them at the time of application.Overall GPA: 3.6Position in Class: No exact numbers, but I have been told by a couple professors that I was in the top 3 or top 10 of their classes.Type of Student: Minority - Mexican American/Latino, first gen, "non-traditional", community college transferGRE Scores (revised):Q: 160 (76%)V: 166 (97%)W: 4.0 (60%)Research Experience: I will have about 10 months of research experience in a biochemistry/chemical biology/protein engineering lab at time of application. I don't know how many hours this equates to, but I work a lot. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Phi Theta Kappa, NIH - MARC, Scholar award from the university's hispanic alumni association, random student of the month award, Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Peer mentor for other community college transfer students, preceptor for intro mol. bio. course, frequent panel speaker on student success and diversityAny Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I don't think so. I have an abstract submitted to ABRCMS, but I won't know for a while if it's been accepted.Special Bonus Points: Latino student, MARC scholar, I think that's it.Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My main concern is a lack of upper division classes and research experience. Because of transferring from a community college I have had limited research experience and I will be taking the bulk of my upper division science courses while I am applying. I also had a terrible GPA my freshman year (like 2.5), but have since gotten a 4.0 every semester. Applying to Where:
The list of schools that I want to apply to is probably too long. I'm targeting mostly mid-tier to low-tier R1 schools. I'll also be applying to pretty much anywhere that I can get a free application waiver to, assuming they have faculty that I'd want to study with. That being said, these are my top schools, including a few super-reaches:
University of Washington - Biochemistry
UCSF - Tetrad
Harvard - Chemical Biology
Ohio State - Biochemistry
University of Michigan - Biochemistry
Vanderbilt - IGP - Biochemistry
West Virginia University - Biochemistry/Biomedical
University of Nebraska - Lincoln - Biochemistry
University of Arizona - ABBS
University of Georgia - Biochemistry
University of Maryland - Biochemistry
University of Rochester - Biochemistry
University of Virginia - BIMS - Biochemistry
Columbia - Biochemistry
Penn State - Biochemistry
Indiana University - Biochemistry
University of south Florida - Biochemistry
UC Davis - Biochemistry
Louisiana State - Biochemistry