Hi everybody,
I'm currently a senior pursuing biostatistics PhD programs. Now, I'm in a unique situation. I am currently only sixteen years old, and will be by the time I graduate - 17 by Fall 2020. I am part of a program at a university that has allowed me to skip high school (no diploma) and obtain my bachelor's degree right away. I currently don't know whether I should be playing this to my advantage, or if it will be detrimental in my application.
Undergraduate Institution: Unranked small private institution
Majors: Mathematics, Biochemistry (double B.S.)
GPA: 3.97/4.0 (cumulative)
Type of Student: Asian female
Programs Applying: Biostatistics PhD
Relevant Courses:
Math:
Linear Algebra (3 credits) (A)
Calculus I/II (A,A)
Multivariable Calculus I/II (A,A-)
Numerical Analysis (A-)
Discrete Mathematics (A)
Ordinary Differential Equations (A)
Real Analysis (A)
Statistics (A)
Physics I/II (A, A)
Biochemistry (relevant?):
General Chemistry I/II (A, A)
General Biology I (A)
Organic Chemistry I/II (A, A-)
Biochemistry I/II (A, A)
Analytical Chemistry (A)
Cell Biology (A)
Microbiology (A)
Genetics (A)
GRE General: 170Q/168V/5.5W
Research Experience:
Biochemistry senior thesis in immunology/biochemistry, presented at ASBMB conference and won award at school's Capstone
Mathematics senior thesis in CT scanning - radiology, implementing Python for numerical computations, current work in progress
Work Experience:
Tutor for mathematics for one semester
TA for multivariable calculus I, Genetics, one semester each
Intern at Truway Bio in Suzhou, China for pharmaceutical-related research
Volunteer EMT in local community for 1 year
Letters of Recommendation:
One from advisor for biochemistry thesis
One from head of math department, took half of my math classes with him, including real analysis
One from biology professor with whom I've taken many classes with and have a close relationship with
My recommendation letters should be quite strong, I come from a very small university where letters are often the strongest part of an application.
Schools I'm Applying to:
JHU
Stanford
UCLA
UWashington
Yale
Harvard
UPenn
MSU
Vanderbilt
Columbia
UC Davis
UMichigan
Ohio State
Duke
UC Berkeley
UIllinois-Chicago
My main problems with my application at the moment are the fact that I don't have much of a computer science background, but I am trying to bridge that the best I can by implementing Python into my current thesis. In addition, I come from a very small unranked institution, so I don't know how much of a benefit my GPA provides to my application. Will my age be a good or a detrimental factor within my application? Finally, I've picked a list of schools with many high-ranked Ivies or competitive schools, with three main safeties (OSU, MSU, UIC). It is really difficult for me to judge the competitiveness of my application at the current moment, so I'm not sure if my safety schools are even "safe" for me. I am trying to make my statement of purpose as great as possible. Thanks for any advice.