leeal0011
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Posts posted by leeal0011
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2 hours ago, BabyScientist said:
I didn't do a master's so I can't speak too much to this, but from what I can tell they actually look at undergrad grades even if you have a masters. 3.5 isn't despicable, but it's also worth setting your bar at working with a top scientist rather than going to a top school. Maybe you don't get into a top school, but you get into a mid tier school and work with someone great - you could end up at the same place regardless.
I don't like when people start with "my dream is to go to a top school" because TOP school shouldn't be the dream. The dream should be to go to graduate school at all to study some important thing and figure out something others haven't. Down the line, the science you do, the connections you make, and the skills you gain will benefit you beyond just what a "top school" would, so focus on going to a school with research you're interested in and strong mentorship - those matter more.
Good luck.
I totally agree with BabyScientist. The undergrad mentality is to be at the best school with the most prestige etc. Grad school is different, in the end a PhD is just a PhD no matter where you get it. What matters the most is who your advisor, and the work (publications, conferences etc) you do during your PhD.
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1 hour ago, thrasher88 said:
Hey everyone, thanks for starting this thread @benmaterials! I just committed to the MS in Analytics program, and have started looking around for housing in the downtown Evanston area (off-campus). The only thing I wonder is how soon one should start the process.
I haven't seen a forum for admitted students thus far, so I think it would be great to start a facebook group for admitted grad students to connect, find housing, etc.
I agree, I am currently looking for housing as well, and potentially a roommate.
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Hey! I am heading to Northwestern as well, and will be joining the IBIS PhD program. However, I am planning on coming to the Chicago-area late July. ?
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59 minutes ago, KecoChen said:
I was deciding between the biological science program at Columbia morningside campus and Weill Cornell BCMB program. Specifically, I am looking into molecular biology (nucleic acids and proteins). I tried not to restrict myself to a particular field as I wanted to explore more areas during rotation.
I can't necessarily speak about those programs, but when I decided on a program I took into consideration many factors. The most important factor for me was that there were more than a handful of PIs (4-5) that I'd like to work with. Next thing I'd considered was whether or not those handful of PIs had sufficient funding and are planning on taking students - take with a grain of salt as funding situations can change at any time. If you're unsure whether or not a PI has funding, one way to check is here: https://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm. After that, I'd consider where most of those students end up going after completing their PhD. Next are logistical things like cost of living, location/safety, overall satisfaction of current students in the program.
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1 hour ago, 7layermagik said:
We should do a first year beach party
Let's throw the biggest beach banger! ?
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Hi guys I'll be attending Northwestern's IBIS program, and will be starting a summer rotation! It would be nice to get to know some of my cohort. Also, any tips on living in the Chicago-area would be greatly appreciated. ?
Low M.S. GPA
in Biology
Posted
@Throwawaydnf99 No problem! I can totally understand your worries, but think of it in the greater scheme of things. Sure, being smart as indicated by GPA, standardized test scores etc is important, but what's even more important is having direct research experience (publications, strong LORs from professors whom you've done research for etc.). Having such experience demonstrates to adcoms that you know what you are getting yourself into, and not just getting a PhD to "figure out" the next step in your life. Think of it this way, if you were an employer and you had two applicants, one of which is book smart, 4.0 GPA etc, and the other had applicable experience to job, but average GPA. More often than not, the employer is going to choose the more experienced applicant over the bookworm any day. This applies to PhD programs as well. It doesn't matter if you are a walking textbook reciting facts left and right. What truly matters is being able to take those facts, and design experiments to answer certain questions/tackle problems. So fret not, and good luck!