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NoG4C2forYou

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Posts posted by NoG4C2forYou

    2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    On 4/11/2019 at 3:31 PM, MouthPipetter said:

    I think by cold they mean the Boston weather!! I will be starting at MIT this fall in the biology program, and I chose MIT over UCSF so I'm happy to talk about my decision making process if you want to PM me! (I've been a grad cafe lurker for a while now, but I made this account legit just to reply to this post lol) 

    I'm kind of in a similar boat. Right now I'm trying to decide last minute between UCSF, Stanford, and MIT.

    2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

    in Biology

    Posted

    Undergrad Institution: State school with a strong reputation in biochemistry
    Major(s): Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, and Mathematics
    Minor(s): Chemistry
    Overall GPA: 3.61
    Type of Student: Gay, hispanic male

    GRE Scores (revised):
    Q: 161/77%
    V: 170/99%
    W: 5.0/92%


    Research Experience: Three summers in a cell biology lab at the state school's medical campus starting while I was still in high school. I used techniques like IF, confocal microscopy, cloning, etc. One publication where I am third author.

    One academic year in a cell biology lab at my college. I worked on an independent project where I designed and expressed a variety of fusion proteins to get at the functional domain of the protein of interest. Project ended when my PI took off to become dean of a school in another state.

    I spent the following summer in an RNA biology lab focusing on the relationship between transcription and splicing using RNA-seq. I was awarded a competitive internship to fund that summer and I gave a talk on my research at the end.

    I did an REU (competitive) in Mathematics at my university, where I focused on functional analysis, geometry, and nonlinear partial differential equations.

    I have over two years in my current lab, which researches RNA biology, the integrated stress response, and neurodegeneration. I have worked on two projects, where I independently conceived and designed the second project. In my first project, I used RNA-seq to identify viruses. My current project involves lots of in vitro biochemistry, cell biology, and advanced imaging and analysis techniques. I independently design, execute, and analyze experiments, as well as make figures and write. I am writing a first author paper which I hope to submit by year end. I am collaborating with other lab members on another paper that will be submitted soon as well. I should be second author or even co-first author depending on how much time I can devote to it. I am writing my honors thesis on my work in those two manuscripts. I recently gave a 30 min talk on my research.

    Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Alumni association scholarship, Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon

    Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I spent a year as a private tutor and a semester as a grader for a partial differential equations class

    Special Bonus Points: My PI is very well-known and well-liked, and apparently he wrote an outstanding rec letter (I haven't seen it though). He's also an HHMI investigator. One of my former PIs is now a Dean at another school, and similarly is well-known (he's another letter writer). My final letter writer is another former PI, who is big in the transcription field. I'm interested in doing research in RNA biology and neurodegeneration, and my letter-writers are well-connected. 

    Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have taken multiple grad level classes in differential geometry and organic synthesis. I have been Team Captain of my mock trial team for two years running.

    Applying to Where:

    - Stanford Biochemistry

    - UC Berkeley MCB

    - UCSF Tetrad

    - Harvard MCO

    - MIT Biology

    - Columbia Biological Sciences

     

    I worry that I'm aiming too high given my lack of publication and relatively weak GPA and test scores, though.

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