StemCellFan
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Posts posted by StemCellFan
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Your offer shouldn't be rescinded for a D. They will want your transcripts after you graduate, but this is to verify that you actually graduated with your Bachelors. If this D doesn't stop you from getting your degree you're set.
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I don't think your numerical stats are what caused you to be rejected post-interview. A 3.3 GPA isn't awful. I think what you should focus on is research, securing better letters of rec if the ones you currently used aren't the best, and revising your SOP for the next round of applications. I don't know what your interviews were like, but the fact you were invited means that despite having a GPA of 3.3, they still were interested in inviting you out and meeting you in person. From what I've heard, from the admissions committee at my school because I asked this, is that they are looking for 2 main things when they interview someone: 1) do they really want to go to the school? People who really want to go to the program are more likely to be successful and happy there, and 2) are they able to demonstrate that they understood their projects at a deep level to communicate about them? What they are looking for is whether they were curious, were able to be at least semi-independent, understood the methods and significance of their project, etc. Because that is a predictor of success in graduate studies. They aren't looking for people who only did routine genotyping, for example, and didn't understand anything about the projects there were working on.
Point 1 is going to come from researching the institutions and applying for programs that you think will be a good research or program fit for you. I would think about what really excites you about science or your area of research and find a number of faculty at an institution doing that sort of research. If you are invited, really make it clear that you want to go there. Even if you aren't 100% sold on the program, make it clear that if you were accepted, you would be happy to consider that program.
Point 2 will come from more research experience, and will be communicated by what you are able to convey and what your recommenders will be able to say about you and your contributions to your projects. Conference presentations and publications will help with this too. The best way to do this, if you are able to, would be to work as a research technician for a couple of years in a laboratory that will let you work on projects.
If you want to do a masters degree, that is up to you, but given your GPA and GRE, I don't know if it's the best route to go because your stats aren't that bad. I would also consider a range of schools.
I think it does help if you work with someone who is known in the field. I found that it helped me communicate with PIs at some of the places I interviewed at. I know a few of my interviewers were like "oh, I see you worked with Dr. Soandso, I see you worked at this institution, I see you have experience with this, etc", and it helped open up a conversation.
I had to apply a second round for programs with a really bad GRE and a 3.42 cumulative GPA, and with 5 years of experience and a couple middle author papers and one first author in submission and 1 other first author in preparation, I interviewed at 6/7 schools and was accepted post-interview to all of them. I applied to a range of top 20 to top 100.
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On 2/8/2019 at 10:36 AM, failing_upward said:
I'm positive I was rejected all around this year. I put in 4 applications. Vanderbilt, UC-Denver, Wash U-STL, and Baylor. I was outright rejected by Wash U, and Baylor sent me from Micro(1st choice) to Developmental. Email to UC-Denver was replied to with "yes we sent out our invites, but you're pretty awesome so welcome to the hold list!" Email to Vandy was just responded to with we're still reviewing applications. That was a couple weeks ago. I've given up hope.
I graduate in May, and now I'm assessing how to be more badass next year. Hoping my honors thesis project goes awesome so I can maybe present a poster at some national events (SACNAS or ASM, etc) and I'll be doing a verbal presentation of the project at least twice guaranteed. I've already apllied for a PREP program and am looking into jobs as well. My GPA is 3.5 and I think that's the one that I graduate with, so that is set. I did mediocre on the GRE, so I am retaking that. I'm also rewriting all my essays/statements/papers with more "pop," and I'm definitely apllying to way more schools. I'm also thinking about also taking a couple of the subject based GRE or the MCAT to make up for the ok GPA. I don't know what else to do... Any suggestions?
I would not focus on the GPA or the GRE (your GPA is perfectly fine here). I doubt either of those two factors affecting your outcome this cycle. I would focus on getting more research experience, getting more or better letters of recommendation, and revising your personal or research statements. Unless you are interested in a niche area of research or have financial constraints, I would apply to more programs next cycle or widen your net (though the range of choices you have seems ok here).
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On 1/23/2019 at 7:33 PM, ChangYU said:
Hi all,
Hope everything is well for all of you! Congrats for those who got their invitations and offers!
I'm not sure if there's anyone in looking at this post and is at the same stage as me: got nothing but only rejection letters (5/9). I applied for 9 PhD programs and haven't heard from Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and UCB, but I see in the cafe that many people have got their invitations, and the interview dates are reasonably close. (One of the disadvatages I have is that I'm an international student, thus we are considered separately because of funding issue.) As a result, I need to move on and work on my plan B.
With all the advice I've got from friends, grad students and professors, I don't feel ready to make a solid plan by myself. Thus, I'm posting this up, and, hopefully, we can all share some ideas on how to make an alternative plan. So here's something about me (I'm not sure how detailed should I go for, please let me know if it's not appropriate):
I'm currently a senior, international student at UMass Amherst. I'm finishing a dual degree in biology and mathematics (applied/stats track). I have a 3.977/4.000 GPA, and received 40k+ scholarships over the years. In addition to my academic live, I also have 3 years of experience tutoring and 2 years of volunteering (BBBS kid mentoring program). I've only taken GRE once, and I have Q168, V151 and 3.5 (I'll definitely make this looks better if I apply next cycle or later). I'm in the honors college and doing a thesis. I have been in a plant genetics lab since the second month of freshman year, where I had various experience with wet lab experiments and bioinformatics/systems biology analysis. I am co-authoring a paper that will be submitted in February which is about analyzing and interpreting an RNAseq dataset. I'm working with this PI for the 4th year and he said that wrote me a very promising letter.
In addition to working with plants, I also had research experience during summers working with mammalian telomeres and interned at MRL at Boston on immuno-oncology targets. As for the computational aspect, my work on analyzing data in lab required me to use R, python and bash scripting. I also had intermediate/entry/entry levels of experience with SAS/Matlab/Java from project-based math/stats courses.
My original plan is to go straightly for umbrella PhD programs, which covered computational biology or systems biology. I want to use my advantage where I can do both biology and mathematics and to work in interdisciplinary fields. My passion originated from doing experiments, so I still want to keep up with my web lab skills (i.e. doing gene editing according to the results from computational analysis) which I think would also be valuable when I look for jobs later.
For long term goal, I would like to work in the R&D parts of the pharmaceutical industry. From the conversations I had with my co-workers during my internship, career-wise, it would be very helpful to have a PhD degree. Also, I don't want to limit myself to plant biology, so I need the transaction to focus on other systems. Also I want to keep all the lab work I deal with in vitro.
However, since the plan going for PhD directly didn't work out well, I need to start thinking alternatives. I think my CV would look better in a year or two when the paper is published (there's another one data analysis based that I'm working on as the first author). Also, there's a gap in between the data analysis I do in the bio lab and what I learned from my math/stats courses: I didn't have experience developing computational/statistical tools. I think it may be a solid plan to do something to fill in that gap.
The first thing I'm thinking of is getting a master in biostats. Although the deadlines for submitting applications have passed for a lot of good schools, I'm exploring options that are still available (i.e. Brown, UMich, UMinnesota, UCD, UPittsburgh, CWRU and UMass). One question I have is how much a biostat master degree would help if I want to go back to applying biomedical/compuational PhD programs? I do believe a master in biostats will open a lot of doors if I want to look for jobs, also if I want to switch to tracks such as data science. From what I have seen, all biostats programs offer the opportunity to do a thesis, however, if I want to apply to PhDs during the second year of my master, I don't think the thesis will be ready for publishing and I'm not sure how much points that will add to my application. So should I go for a thesis if I end up going to a master program?
The good thing is that, if I stay in the same school, I can finish the master with only one additional year. That being said, if I apply for PhD programs in the next application cycle, a thesis would definitely not in time. Yet, all the courses I take will be very coding heavy and project-oriented so would expand my skill-sets on the computational aspects dramatically.
I'm not sure how many bio/mcb master programs are still available now. If not going for biostat programs, I hope to get into schools that may help with my applications later. So please let me know if there's any program worth going for a try. I know the last option I have is the MCB MS at my school, which there's no doubt that I'll get into. One of the reasons I didn't think much of this option is that I need to take classes during the PhD programs anyway so I'd rather do something that I can learn more with the same amount of time and effort.
Another option is looking for jobs and gets experiences while working. As an international undergrad, I think it's hard for me to look for jobs in the US (although I have the 36 months OPT available), especially jobs that I can learn as much as a master program. It's hard to imagine finding a job that will allow me to do things that I don't know before (I'm still thinking about filling the gap in my experience/skills).
With everything going on in the U.S., I was advised that it's not such a bad idea to look for PhD programs in Europe, since I'll be international anyway. However I have no idea how this would work, so please let me know how I should start looking and what I should be expecting if going to graduate programs in Europe.
One addtional note is about grad school funding. My parents are funding me for undergrad (although I tried very hard to get as many scholarships as possible), and they can and are willing to fund for my tuition for master and PhD. However, I find it very not helpful when programs as me to bring my own funding while applying for PhD programs. I completed my undergrad in the U.S. so I'm not eligible for a lot of funding from my own country, also I don't want to sign contracts that force me to go back to work for a few years right after graduation (I'm not against going back but I want to keep all options available). And, to my knowledge, there's no scholarship that I can apply to before being admitted to a program (NSF grant requires citizenship). That leaves me no option to bring my own funding while applying, which makes me less competitive among international or all applicants.
I appologized that this is getting way longer that I planned for. Thank you if you have read this far. I'm just going to summary some major questions that I need help with:
1. What can I do better if I apply to PhD programs in the future? (Umbrella programs aiming for computation-based track). Are there any not famous but good phd programs that I can still apply for? I know WPI is still rolling and have a lab that may fit my interest according to a professor I talked to.
2. Is it worth it going for a master in biostats? Is a thesis helpful if it won't be ready as a submitted paper? How much help would it give to a future PhD application (systems bio/computational bio)? What specific programs that are still available? Would I be competitive for such programs?
3. Are there any worthy bio-based (i.e. mcb) master programs still open?
4. Guidelines for looking for jobs as an international undergrad. Is it possible that I can learn how to do more complicated computational analysis even if I had little experience with it before? (Although I can learn from colleagues, I imagine companies will want me to do things that I'm already good at.)
5. Where can I find possible fundings for grad school as an international student? The search engines don't really help much before one is admitted to a program.
6. Any other advice or question?
7. Thanks for reading all these! All the best luck for all of you!
I'm a domestic student, so I don't have advice for international students specifically. However, my general advice is to think about what your end goal is. If your end goal is a PhD, I don't know if a masters degree is what you need. It definitely won't hurt and it could help, but I only advise masters degrees for people who either have a poor GPA and need to boost it or are going into a different field and need more background experience before applying to the PhD (i.e. general biology to biomedical engineering). In your case, it sounds like you have a bit of research experience and an excellent GPA. In this case, my general advice is to see if there are any post-bacc or research positions open to work in a lab the next year or two and apply again.
If you decide to go the masters route, look for places that will at least give you some funding and partial/full tuition remission.
If you do apply again, I would select a range of schools instead of just the top programs. The top programs are already extremely competitive and competition for spots can be even worse for international students due to funding.
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On 2/3/2019 at 6:26 PM, MLC2019 said:
Is it customary that you send thank-you emails to all of your interviewers? Or just those whose work you were particularly interested in, etc.?
I sent thank you emails to the administrator, director, and faculty I interviewed with at my top choice program. I wanted the director to know that this was the program I really wanted to go to, and he said during the interview weekend to let him know if this was your top choice (which I also included in my thank you email).
I did get into all the places I interviewed at, so I think it's a nice gesture but I wouldn't say it's necessary.
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43 minutes ago, MMM7 said:
Hi, so I've started to get more interview invitations than I anticipated, and I was wondering how many interviews people typically go to?
Right now I have UNC, Duke, Utah and St. Jude scheduled. But I got news from Wisconsin yesterday, rejected from CMB but interview with Genetics. CMB was my preference. (for people who are familiar with UW Madison, does this make a huge difference?)
Also, I am still waiting on Vanderbilt IGP and UT southwestern which would be schools I would like to interview at.
I guess what I'm saying is how many should I go to?/ what is reasonable?
First-year at UW Madison but in a different program than CMB or Genetics. It doesn't usually make a big difference since faculty recruit students from different programs. There are some differences with regard to coursework requirements and possibly stipends (I didn't ask about other students' stipends though), you may be required to TA at some point, but the students in either of those programs who did rotations with me seemed happy in those programs. I heard that the first-year Genetics students were highly encouraged to submit GRFPs and I know a couple who did.
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I think it depends on the program you are applying to. I applied to biomedical sciences umbrella programs and I was told I didn't need to contact anyone, and that stating my research interests (and maybe name dropping a couple PIs) in an SOP was enough. Because some PIs don't really know what their funding situation or projects for students won't be, and depending on the program, it may be a year or two before you officially join a lab. I didn't contact any PIs when I sent in my applications and I got interviews at 6 out of 7 programs I applied to.
On the other hand, some programs encourage applicants to contact PIs and may need PI approval before accepting a student into the program. I would look into what the program's website says for this.
Some people I know who contacted PIs at umbrella programs got the typical "yes, I anticipate taking a student next year. I encourage you to apply to X program". But that PI doesn't necessarily have a ton of input into the admissions process.
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On 11/28/2018 at 12:27 PM, QuothTheRaven said:
Thank you for the helpful suggestions.
A lot of places have dropped the GRE requirement this year: which is SUCH a relief but then maybe that will lead to even more competitive applications so it's a catch-22.
What about industry placement after graduation at UWMadison? And how interdisciplinary are the programs??For your first question, I'm in a program somewhat geared towards industry (Pharm/Tox) so placement in my program might be skewed compared to general Cell and Molecular Biology or Genetics, for example. For my program it's about 40% postdoc/academia and 60% industry or other non-academic science careers. Industry positions range from scientists to project management or clinical development. I think most of my cohort, myself included, want to go into industry afterwards.
The programs themselves are highly interdisciplinary. In my Pharm/Tox program there are trainers who range from neurodevelopment to drug discovery/drug design. There are a wide range of faculty trainers and they will recruit from different programs, so that also means that in a lab, there may be graduate students from different programs there working on projects. It's also really easy for a faculty member to become a trainer for a program if a student is interested in rotating with them. My coursework is geared towards my program, but the electives add a bit of diversity.
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15 hours ago, Madison17 said:
Does anyone have any thoughts on applying to multiple programs at the same school? One of my schools allows up to three programs to be applied for with one application and most of the faculty I'm interested in are listed in multiple departments. I've read that this can make an applicant seem unfocused however, so I'm not sure if I should turn in more than one.
My school does this. From what my program coordinator told me, there are students that definitely apply to more than one program, and you can alter your SOP and LORs to fit an additional application. Students may get interviews at 2 of 3 programs, but interviews at all 3 is uncommon. I would reach out to a program coordinator to make sure you're going through the process correctly if you are unsure.
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On 11/25/2018 at 1:35 PM, coffeeveins said:
Hi all-- first time posting here so if something is off please be patient with me
I'm currently in the process of applying to neuroscience Ph.D. programs (hopefully with a computational neuroscience focus). I'm applying straight out of my undergrad and am absolutely terrified... I was convinced by my parents (mistake no 1) to apply to all the top tier schools in my field. Ie: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown, Princeton, NYU, Cornell, MIT. I'm also applying to Boston U, Mt Sinai (aka Icahn School of Medicine) as kind-of backup schools. (Realistically I think they're the only ones I have any shot at MAYBE getting an interview.)
I know everyone asks this here, but: do I actually have a realistic chance of getting in?
GRE: first attempt, 169V/162Q/5.0AW. second attempt, 164V/164Q/5.0AW.
GPA: 3.69 cum, 3.6 (biochem) and 3.7 (math) major GPAs at my current school, but they don't count my (two years of) transferred credits from community college. With transfer credits, 3.84 cum GPA, 3.73 (biochem) and 3.84 (math) major GPAs.
Math, biochem double major. I've been doing math research for ~1.5years, in a field that has neuro applications, but haven't actually done any neuroscience research. (1 publication as 2nd author; lots of poster/conference presentations.) My college is a mid-level public university, with no neuroscience program or coursework. However, I've tried to choose my electives so that they would help a grad degree/career in neuroscience.
I'm active in academic clubs on campus and have some leadership experience. I also have quite a lot of community service, if that helps. Without revealing personal details I am very "well-rounded" both on paper and irl.
I have 4 solid letters of rec, and am fairly confident with my statement of purpose. I interview well, but of course I have to get invited back for an interview first...
I've been in contact with some faculty from most schools. At the very least, an email back from them saying "you look like a great fit, email me again if you get an interview".
I'm sorry if this is a stupid thing to ask, but I'm nervous that I'll send out 11 apps and get 11 rejections. Please let me know what you guys think! Do I need more low-level schools? Are these all too much "reach"? Or would I be better off taking some time off to work as a lab tech or RA, and then applying in a few years from now?
Thanks in advance~
~coffeeveins
It's difficult to gauge whether you will be outright rejected since you are well-rounded on paper. It will come down to your LORs and your SOP since there's nothing here that indicate that your app will immediately get sent to the "no" pile. For applicants who don't have glaring flaws in their application, it really is a crapshoot since graduate school admissions aren't like med school ones. It really depends on whether YOU are ready to go to graduate school or not. Would YOU feel more comfortable taking a couple years off before applying? There is nothing wrong with sending out applications this year and taking a lab tech job for a couple years if you're rejected (except you're maybe out ~1000 dollars). There's also nothing wrong with taking time off--many students these days are taking time off before going back to school with stronger applications.
And like BabyScientist said, you should have at least 3 faculty at each program you are interested in working with, if not more than that, before you apply. Committees can tell if applicants are just fishing for "prestige schools" with no real research fit.
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On 11/24/2018 at 9:27 AM, QuothTheRaven said:
Thanks for the helpful advice!
Yes the SOP seems to be the deal breaker. I think most people are over confident about the SOP and hence don't really give it time and attention but the adcomms do.The SOP should be individualized for each program and explain why you are applying to that program, what you can bring, and what they can give to you to help you grow as a scientist, independent researcher, etc. And yes, you should have at least 3-5 faculty you would be willing to work with at each school you apply to. I think you have a shot with your background at the schools you listed but it's always good to have a range of places to apply to. I know for UWMadison, there are about 8 programs here that waived the requirements for the GRE if you are at all worried about that--but I also heard for my program, we are getting more applicants than in previous years because we waived the requirement. If you have any questions about the programs at Madison feel free to PM me!
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19 hours ago, Madison17 said:
Hi all,
Panicking a bit as I'm doing submissions and just hoping for some feedback on my profile. I'm applying to primarily umbrella programs with hopes of going into cell cycle regulation/cancer research or structural biology. Any input is appreciated!
Programs:
Michigan -PIBS
Wisconsin Madison -CMB
UNC -BBSP
Vanderbilt - IGP
Michigan State - Biomolecular gateway
Northwestern -DGP
Notre Dame - Integrated biomedical science
UVA - BIMS
Purdue - biological sciences
Profile:
Undergrad school: large state
UG GPA: 3.52
Major: cell and molecular biology
Minor: chemistry
Honors College Student
GRE: 159Q, 160V, 4.5W
Currently also working on my masters at the same school (combined degree program)
Masters Major: CMB, biotech emphasis
Masters GPA 4.0
Research Experience: 2.5 years in cell cycle regulation lab, 2 summers of full time NSF funded work there. 5 poster presentations at regional conferences. Oral presentation at departmental senior symposium where I won best presentation. No publications sadly.
Internship at a pharma company in technical operations- not directly related to field of interest but lots of analytical chem and stats work.
Not research but other experience: analytical chem lab tech for 8mo at a oral healthcare company.
Teaching experience: Tutor at acenter for high schoolers for a year, TA in a cell bio lab, currently scientific writing consultant for the department.
LoRs: one from my PI who I am really close with, one from my advisor that I had for several lab based courses, and one from a prof who oversaw my TA and who I had several literature review type courses with.
Any thoughts would be great. Am I being too ambitious in my choices? Also, for those that did not get accepted on your first application cycle - what did you do in your off year to strengthen your profile?
Thanks!
Hi, I think you have a decent shot at most of those programs on your list. I think you will be competitive for UW Madison's program. It'll come down to your personal statement, research experience, and letters of rec, so I'd make sure you are able to write a compelling and personalized statement for each of those programs.
I got in on my 2nd try, and I worked as a research tech in a lab. I made sure to join a lab that would allow me to do research projects rather than just genotyping, making solutions, or other routine work. This gave me more research experience to talk about and another strong letter of rec.
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On 10/10/2018 at 8:36 AM, cis-stem error said:
Undergrad Institution:
Local junior college
Major(s):
Arts and Humanities - AA; Teacher Education Preparation - AA; Mathematics and Science - AS
Overall GPA:
3.5
Undergrad Institution:
167 year-old private university mostly known for its dental, pharmaceutical, and international studies programs (university focus is not research-based)
Major(s):
Biology & Biochemistry - BS
Overall GPA:
3.4
Grad Institution:
Same private university as undergrad
Major:
Biology - MS
Overall GPA:
4.0
Position in Class:
Top 10%
Type of Student:
Domestic female
GRE Scores:
I took the exam as a formality three years ago (without having studied) when applying to my MS program and scored within the mid-50’s percentile across all three sections. I definitely plan on retaking the exam later this fall after having studied for it. Will update with actual results later.
Research Experience:
Biochemical research - one semester; Project focused on protein interactions and predictive models of protein folding. Not much came out of my time here other than some networking and a single conference presentation (no publications).
Biological research - 4 years; Project focused on morphological studies. Project approach was very integrative and resulted in two publications (first and second authorship), three published acknowledgements, and two more publications that are in preparation (first authorship).
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean’s list
Awarded graduate fellowship (from attending university)
Active Phi Kappa Phi membership
Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Graduate TA - human anatomy & human physiology
Substitute lecturer - human anatomy
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Resident presenter at annual research conference (four years running)
President of academic (non-greek) chemistry club (highly involved with local academical outreach)
President of several non-academic campus clubs (I’m hoping this shows interest diversity)
Special Bonus Points:
Female, first generation college student
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I took 8 years getting my 5 undergraduate degrees and 3 ½ years earning my master’s degree. This was due to ongoing family issues (I was the primary caregiver of an elderly stroke survivor which required an immense time commitment), but I’m worried that the amount of time taken to complete my education will negatively impact my chances of entering a PhD program. In addition, the duration of time spent means I’m older than most candidates (late 20’s), and I’ve heard this can also reflect poorly on applicants.
Applying to Where:
University of Washington - BS
Oregon State University - IB
University of New Hampshire - I&OB
Clemson - OB
Purdue - EEB
Lehigh University - IB
Boise State University - EEB
AMNH - CB
I hope I did this correctly (first post and all), if not my apologies. Feedback would be appreciated because I'm uncertain as to how realistic my school choices are. I chose programs based on my interest in the works of specific PIs at each of the universities listed. I'd be open to school suggestions if anyone feels I missed something that might be a better match for me. I'm really interested in integrative biology with a particular focus on comparative vertebrate morphology, as well organismal biology.
Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!
Hi! I think your school choice looks okay. You have a mixture of tiers in there which I think is good. I also wanted to mention that age does not matter for applicants, at least not in bio. I was 30 when I applied for school, got in, and no one batted an eye at my age. And there were at least a couple fellow prospectives on my interviews who were around my age. Everyone has their own paths to graduate school (and beyond).
I'm in a different area, so I don't know any other good schools to apply to, but I think if you focus on your fit with the school when writing your personal statement/research statement, you should at least get an interview if these programs do that.
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On 10/6/2018 at 8:44 AM, EnchantedR said:
Thank you for your suggestions! Yes I'm really interested in immunology and I've met some committee members of some immunology program. They all encouraged me to apply for immunology, tho my friend who's also applying for immunology told me these programs are even more competitive than BBS since many of the candidates already had some publications in immunology field and the pool is smaller but more competitive. I've never taken any immunology courses and neither of my PIs is well- known in this field. So I'm wondering if I should get into some BBS programs and then rotate to an immunology lab.
I would apply to a mix of both and see what happens! I'm not in Immunology so I can't verify what your friend says is true or not, but I don't think it hurts to apply to both Immunology and BBS programs (with the intent to rotate in Immunology labs). BBS programs will have you take more general coursework with the option to do electives in your area of interest. Chances are you will take Immunology courses in a BBS program anyway. Umbrella biomedical sciences programs will usually have a microbiology/immunology department you can join at the end of rotations. At the end of your PhD, what matters is whose lab you are graduating from. Unless the program is horribly disorganized or have impossible graduation requirements, I think you should be fine.
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To answer your question about the best programs to apply to, I would focus less on the particular program but more on the research interests of the faculty within that program. So if the faculty tend to cluster to biomedical sciences, apply there rather than general biology.
Other things to consider when it comes to program choice: Is TAing a requirement? Are there opportunities within the program that speak to your specific career goals? What are their prelims like? How might their committee meetings and graduation requirements differ (number of required publications, etc). I don't think the core coursework or the type of program should be a major determining factor, IMO.
I think if you are interested in Immunotherapy and Immunology and want to apply to those programs, throw a couple applications out there and see what happens! Umbrella biomedical sciences programs are also good for this since there are usually immunology faculty associated with those.
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On 10/2/2018 at 10:54 PM, AUROCH said:
Hi I would like to get a sense of my odds of getting accepted into some of the schools I currently have in mind
Furthermore, I am afraid my lack of publications might hold back my application although I have a decent amount of research experience (close to 2 years).
Undergrad Institution: UC San Diego
Major(s): Biology, Literature
Minor(s): Music
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.9+
Position in Class: Summa cum laude (top 2%)
Type of Student: Asian American
GRE ScoresQ: 170
V: 169
W: 6
Research Experience: Will have done almost 2 years of research in 3 biology labs but no publications yet
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Summa cum laude, Provosts honors every quarter and Phi Beta Kappa.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Did some TA work and independent research studies in various fields (e.g. musicology)
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: My interests so far has been pretty diverse although I do want to make a career in research in Biology. What might be a good way to showcase how this diverse background might benefit my suitability as a PhD candidate? LORs should be fairly strong coming from 3 PIs at the head of their respective fields.
Special Bonus Points: Will have finished undergrad and graduated in 3 years!
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I might hold the school record for taking the most classes in a quarter.
Applying to Where:
Harvard - BBS
Stanford - Biology
UCSF - Biology
JHU - Biology
U Michigan - Biology
WashU - Biology
U Penn- Biology
UCSD- Biology
I think it's really good you have diverse experiences in research. I think to help your chances, you should narrow your research interests down, even if it's something as broad as cancer biology or immunology. If a program your applying to has a defined field you are interested, highlight how your research interests coincide with faculty X, Y, Z, or the overall research program, because that will demonstrate how you fit into their program.
For example, if you've done research in toxicology, cancer biology, and developmental organismal biology, and the program you're interested in at U Penn is focused more on cancer bio, perhaps elevate your cancer bio research experiences to demonstrate how well you'd fit into their program.
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17 hours ago, corgibutt19 said:
Hi everyone
I'm applying for the second time this year -- last year I pretty much only picked top tier schools, but I also simply didn't have the experience as I was set on veterinary school through my undergrad and focus has shifted since.
Undergrad Institution: University of Connecticut
Major(s): Pathobiology; Animal Science
GPA in Major: 3.45 (combined both majors)
Overall GPA: 3.381
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: Domestic, female
GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 154 (56th percentile)
V: 165 (96th percentile)
W: 6I am retaking my GRE's this week with a hope of boosting my quantitative. I know GRE's are not so valuable anymore, but I'm hoping a solid GRE offsets my GPA at least a little.
Research Experience/Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Undergraduate independent study in "Gut Microbiota"
Multiple years (junior year of high school through senior year of college) as part-time lab assistant at major Boston hospital/Harvard affiliate in a research lab; no paper ever published although I believe it was submitted
3 summers of veterinary internships, including a week with the CDC Pathology department (again, was set on vet school in undergrad)
3 semesters/1.5 years doing undergraduate honors thesis (Ketosis in Pregnant Ewes): 1 published paper, 3rd author
1 semester in an equine extension/state equine program independent study: 1 published abstract, 2nd author
4 semesters in state diagnostics laboratory, some attached research projects that I contributed to indirectly
1 year post-bacc as a research associate in a parasitology/microbiology laboratory at a medical school; 3 manuscripts in process but won't be submitted before apps, 1 poster presentation at conference
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean's List (1 semester only)
UConn Sophomore Honors; (missed GPA for Honors gradation by 0.2 pts
)
Received a departmental merit scholarship every year
President of college outing club, social media chair of college riding team and of pre-vet club
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help/Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Worked since sophomore year of college, including in disability services and as a riding instructor (this has affected my GPA)
2017 thru hike of the Appalachian Trail/2019 attempt of the Pacific Crest Trail
Licensed MA Riding Instructor
Current PI worked at UCSD for over a decade and has connections with microbiome heads
Applying to Where:
UMass Medical School - GSBS - Microbiology/Immunology
University of Colorado Denver - BSP - Microbiology/Immunology
Baylor School of Medicine - GSBS -- Microbiology/Immunology
UCSD - Biomedical Sciences - Microbiome and Microbial Sciences
UCSF - BMS - Microbial Pathogenesis & Host Defense
Considering:
CU Boulder
UW Madison
University of Washington
Tufts Vet School
UNC Chapel Hill
Penn StateMy interests are chiefly in the microbiome and infectious disease, with a more translational approach and a focus on gastrointestinal microbiota (although I'm not very picky about this; skin and urogenital microflora are super interesting, too). For example, most of my reading focus has been on the development and alterations in the microbiome and how that effects pathogenesis of various disorders (GI infections, obesity, autism, etc.), namely in humans and other mammals. I work now in a laboratory studying STH infections and wouldn't mind getting involved in the microbiome aspect of this. I think I'd get incredibly bored studying the microbiota of leeches or plants, for example.
I don't feel very confident in my chances of getting into a graduate program, and am having a hard time finding mid-tier/lower-tier programs with research that cater towards my interests or will give me a leg up in my field. I applied to four schools last year (Harvard, CU Denver, Baylor, Tufts), and while I wasn't accepted at any, I didn't hear from any of them until April/May and had some professors from those schools add me on LinkedIn, which felt like an affirmation that I wasn't exactly at the bottom of the barrel. I do have contacts at Harvard, Baylor, UCSD, and in STH-microbiome laboratories through my previous labs. I have 2 very solid LORs, but am working on the 3rd (graduated college over two years ago now). I also plan on applying to one or two masters programs as a backup. One other odd point of importance: I'll be attempting a PCT thru hike this summer, with the hope of finishing early August. Programs that begin late Aug/early September are preferable to summer start or early Aug start programs.
I don't think your chances are that bad considering what you've told us here. I think 4 schools may have been too small a number to apply to last year. I would definitely look over your personal statement, reaffirm that you have 3 strong LoRs, and revise your CV--look to see what may have went wrong last year and open your net a little more like you are doing this cycle. I think you have a good list here.
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I think you have a good philosophy and I think that shouldn't apply anywhere you do not see yourself going. If you have one school on the list because it's a safety school but you would not be happy there or would never go there, I would not apply. I would take a year or two off and (re)apply to the schools you actually would be interested in going to.
That said, you have a tough list of schools there, and your scores are good and your research experience is decent. Do you have any presentations? Will you have 3 solid LoRs? I think the application season might be rough--but apply anyway. If you don't get in this season, take a year or two off, work in a research lab, and reapply.
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7 hours ago, Telepathy said:
Hello guys, I got two very similar GRE scores: V157 Q170 AW3 and V156 Q170 AW3.5 I probably won't take it again although they are still not that good. Now I have trouble deciding which one to send to schools. Do you have a suggestion?
I would go ahead and send the the second set of scores. Percentile-wise, there isn't too huge of a difference between your two verbal scores, but your AW jumps from a 17% to a 41%. AW is the score they care least about. Either way, your verbal scores are still pretty decent and are above the 70th percentile.
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1 hour ago, mcfc2018 said:
Hi, sorry if this has been asked on the forum before, but I'm updating my CV for grad school (neuroscience) applications and was wondering what I should be putting on it. Namely:
1. My current CV was made when I was a college freshman and as such contains a lot of my high school stuff. This includes: Summer research program, teaching experience, and certain extracurriculars. Should any of this be included or should I just toss out everything prior to college? Similarly, are extracurriculars worth mentioning? I include it in resumes but I don't know about CVs.
2. What's the order of headings should I go in?
3. How much detail should I add about my research?
Thanks for any help
Hi,
To answer some of your questions:
1) I would take out anything that's not related to research or teaching. It doesn't matter if you've done it as a high school student, if you've done research, I would definitely include it on there. Teaching I would put under a separate section
2) Mine starts with my name, education, research experiences, bibliography/publications, presentations, teaching experiences, I have a small section on the two undergraduate grants I wrote, if you have awards (like a poster award) you can add that, and I have my relevant volunteer information last (ex. science fair judging).
3) I went into a fair amount of detail with my research. I mentioned what my projects were or what my job duties were if I was a tech. I didn't go into background, significance, or into the techniques I used too much when describing my research in the CV. I saved that information for my research or personal statements.
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9 minutes ago, mcfc2018 said:
Cool thanks for responding. I feel like everybody has publications when you look at online forums haha.
Side note, what's typically considered a good impact journal?
No problem! I was a couple years out from my undergrad before I got a middle author paper from my thesis work and another from my work as a technician. And it's taken me almost 5 years post-undergrad to get to the point where I have a couple first publications coming out.
I think what's considered a good impact journal, outside of the prestigious ones, depends entirely on your field. I work in blood research right now, and the top journals for us are Blood (Impact factor: ~15), ATVB (Impact factor: ~6), and Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostsis (Impact factor: ~5.5). Journal of Clinical Investigation (IF: ~13) is also popular for us it seems. This will differ for people in the Neuro field. Journals that are associated with major conferences or societies generally have good impact factors and are well-regarded in those specific fields. I don't want to put too much emphasis on impact factors since that also differs from field to field, but even journals with lower impact factors (i.e. 1 or 2) would still look good to an admissions committee, as long as the paper went through the whole stringent peer-reviewed process.
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41 minutes ago, mcfc2018 said:
Thanks! Do they care about the journal that it's published in? And does admissions actually read publications or is it more of a checkbox to see if it's present? Kinda curious how it works.
Any pub from a reputable (as in, non-predatory) peer-reviewed journal looks good, but a high impact, prestigious journal like Nature or Science might make the adcomms look at your application more closely. Subfields also have their own high-impact, well-regarded journals. If someone is really interested in the work you've done, then they might look at your actual publications and read them more closely, but overall the committee will just look at publications as a measure of your research accomplishments.
During my interviews, I've had a couple PIs request to meet/interview with me because they read through one of my publications and wanted to discuss the work.
Having a publication or not won't make or break your application, and for undergrads, it's actually not as common as you may think for them to have publications--especially not first-author pubs.
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11 hours ago, BabyScientist said:
Out of curiosity, did you put that list together?
I didn't, and another user made a topic and posted this link here. The individual who did is Dr. Joshua Hall at UNC (Who directs admissions to the BBSP program there). His contact information is at the bottom of the spreadsheet.
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On 8/14/2018 at 9:50 AM, StHoly said:
Undergrad Institution: Good engineering/ life sciences degree University in Texas
Major(s): Chemistry
Minor(s): Biological Chemistry
GPA in Major: 2.89 / 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.12/ 4.0
Position in Class: Struggling because I took 2 years in community college and took the heavy classes in University which kinda screwed me a little. (And I was young... )
Type of Student: Green Card holder - domestic? Asian femaleGraduate Institution : Ivy League
Major : Biotechnology
GPA : 3.75 (Got a B in a really hard Chemistry Class - Nanoscale Materials)
GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 153
V:139
W:3.5
B:
TOEFL Total: 118
Research Experience:1. Undergrad researcher on protein characterization with NMR and 2D NMR (1 semester) in Undergrad University,
2. Organic Chemistry undergrad researcher (2 semesters) in Undergrad University,
3. Undergrad Teaching position for Veterinary microbiology (2 semester) in Undergrad University,
4. Associate Scientist for Medicinal Chemistry (4 years) in MD ANDERSON, (Intern for 3 months that led to permanent position)
5. Intern in R&D Assay development in IDEXX (1 summer)
6. Graduate Student Researcher for Master Thesis (1 year)
Publications : 2 patents and 2 publication (not first author) with MD Anderson, 1 book chapter in Translational Medicine (co-author), and I will be presenting in a conference soon on Orthopaedics biomaterials. I have one paper that I am first author that's been submitted and waiting.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: AFS Junior Scholarship in Texas A&M University and Scholarship in Tomball college (my community college before I transferred to my university)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Shadow many veterinarians during their work in the clinics, volunteers in many animal shelters, AVON 39 miles walk for breast cancer, Tutor high school chemistry for 1 semester, I worked as student worker in my Undergrad University for a few semesters
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I have travelled to Costa Rica/ Europe and Japan (I think Travelling is important part of self-development )
Special Bonus Points: Female, minority (asian), non-traditional student?
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Applying to Where:
MIT - Biological EngineeringBrown - Biotech
I would like to look for more schools around Boston / Rhode Island area. I am very interested in development/ application of biomaterials into bones (This is what my masters' thesis is about)
I am in Brown right now for my school, so I hope I can get into Brown Biotech PHD program. But do you think it's possible? I do not really want to take GRE again ? I hated the testing. I almost always do better during my practice but then my nerves just got on me when I did the test. (I have done it 3 times
)
Hi, I'm late to the party, but I wanted to mention that there are a number of PhD programs in biomedical sciences/biology that are waiving GRE requirements.
This link will give you more information on that: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MYcxZMhf97H5Uxr2Y7XndHn6eEC5oO8XWQi2PU5jLxQ/edit#gid=0
I know Brown isn't on the list, but I think it's worth it to apply. See if you can make a connection with someone there since you will be an alumnus, as BabyScientist suggested.
I'm not familiar with your field, but other schools in the area I know of are Harvard, Tufts, Boston U, UMass Medical School (Worcester), and Northeastern U that all have PhD programs. Whether there are faculty doing research you are interested in, I'm unsure about that.
Good luck!
2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results
in Biology
Posted
I might be playing devil's advocate here, but I would really think about which program is going to set you up for your career. You want to join a lab who's research is interesting to you, but ultimately that lab should have a mentor and environment that is going to set you up for success later on. You could join a lab that has the best research fit, but you don't mesh as well with the PI, or you could join a lab with less interesting research but the PI is amazing. In that case, I would choose the latter in a heartbeat. The PI, environment, and program support can be what makes or breaks your graduate school experience even if that research is extremely interesting to you. I think, as long as you are at least interested in the research at Duke, if you are committed to a career path that Baylor is very negative about, you might find better success at Duke. The PhD is a crucial step towards your career goals, but positions (academia and industry) are still competitive to land, and you do want to be as prepared as possible. Just my 2 cents.