Hey guys,
So origionally I was set on medicine but after a considerable amount of thought and deliberation and I think with my drive for research and teaching the Ph.D. route is best suited for me. I'm familiar with med school requirments and competitiveness but as for grad schools it's a shot in the dark. I don't really know where I'm at and where I should apply in terms of how competitive my profile is. I am taking a gap year atm (about to graduate from undergrad this may!!) and planning on applying this next cycle - fall 2018.
Any and all help would be super duper appreciated!! - thanks in advance
Undergrad Institution: University of Texas at AustinMajor(s): Public Health Infectious DiseasesMinor(s): noneGPA in Major: 3.6Overall GPA: 3.50, hopefully higher at the end of this semester Position in Class: top quarter? I'm not sure. Type of Student: domestic, male, LGBTGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q:V:W:B:
- i havn't taken the GRE yet. I plan on studying and taking it this summer.
I have taken the MCAT and scored at the 87th percentile on the "Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems". - if that's any relevant indicaiton. I know for some schools they accept MCAT as a sub for GRE but I probabbly won't do that. I scored dissapointingly low on the CARS reading section... apparently I'm illiterate!? idk.
I'm taking the GRE anyway since the vast majority of grad schools require it. Research Experience:
Behavioral neuroscience lab for 3+ years that investigates rehabilitation in animal models (rat and mouse models) after ischemia to the motor cortex. The lab does a lot of studies into vasculature and dendritic spine recovery during neurorehabilitation and neuralrepair after infarct. so it's much more neuro oriented than the "behavior" part.
I just finished the draft of my manuscript and submitted it to my PI for review. Our goal is to submit it for publicaiton by the end of this semester, early summer. For the same research, I presented it at the Clinically Applied Rehabilitation Engineering symposium at my university. I was also one of five abstracts selected to present orally at the American Society for Neurorehabilitation annual meeting in san diego. co-poster presentation at the society for neuroscience annaul meeting, also in san diego.
So my issue is here that all my research experience is in a neuro lab and I don't know how applicable that is when applying to a molecular/micro/virology phd... I'm gonna try and supplement this by joining a virology lab that I have my eyes on during my gap year but I don't know how significant my contributions can be if it's only for a year.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
like dean's list once or twice and I got an honors scholarship ($1000) at the end of my freshman year. Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
-TA for Genetics for 2 semester, I got really good reviews from the students course-instructor surveys at the end of it.
-clincial observership program at MD Anderson in houston for 1 summer. I did rotations in leukemia and surgery. This was mostly for when I was pre-med so idk how pertinent this is for grad school.
-for my gap year i was just hired for a lab assistant at a pediatric clinic. It's just a tech job so i don't really think that counts for much except for experience. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
I was an officer and team captain of the Polo team at my school. it's just a fun thing i did on the side.
I have a significant amount of community service in a couple different organizations. Special Bonus Points: being gay? it's 2017 and idk if it counts for anything anymore. I probabbly won't "declare" this on the app specifically unnless there is a specific part where they might ask.
I'll also have a very strong rec letter from the PI that i work for.Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I had to Q drop two classes but I can explain my way through those. I got a C+ in calculus. I can't do math to save my life SOS.
Applying to Where:
For grad schools, I really want to try to find something in the NYC area, since I love the city in general, so if you guys have any suggestions there that would be great (or anything in the new england area).
My research interests are in virology, specifically studying viral methods for gene therapy. I think that's pretty speicific and not many institutions will activley and specifically be doing research into this but I would apply broadly to microbiology/molecularbiology/virology programs.
I don't really know what would be considered in my reach so these are just schools that I'm looking into.
- weill cornell
- columbia
- NYU biology
- NYU sackler (anyone know what the pro's and con's are of doing a traditional university based Ph.D. or one at a med school? I'm assuming the clinically applied research there?)
- cornell university in ithica
- baylor college of medicine
any suggestions?
