Undergrad Institution: Ohio State University, graduated in May 2020
Major(s): Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering, focus on Biochemistry
Overall GPA: 3.8
Major GPA: Around 3.7
Type of Student: International, Asian male
GRE Scores (new version): Q 170 (98%)/V 152 (54%)/W 3.5(37%), studying for new version, expect to score 330+
TOEFL Total: N/A since my bachelor degree is from a US institution
Research Experience: two years in a biochemistry lab and completed the senior thesis. Paper is in preparation and I will be either first-author or co-author, joined a state-level conference and presented the poster (first author). One summer internship in UCSF department of pathology and research is related to gene technology and aging (mid-author). One summer internship in the department of bioinformatics at OSU. After the graduation, I received the year-round internship offer from NREL, in there I aim to acquire more experience related to CRISPR and cell culture.
I have lab experience in cell culture, transfection, transduction, multi-color flow cytometry, western blots, ELISA, PCR, animal handling and organ harvesting, fluorescence imaging etc. I have letters of recommendation that will address my skills, work ethic in graduate school.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean's list: all the time despite the first semester of my freshman year
Scholarship for my undergraduate senior thesis
One year as the president of student government
Applying to Where:
While my experience is pretty diverse, in the early undergraduate career I was trying to find a suitable research area. My senior thesis is very relevant to NMR, molecular biology.But my interest is genetics and stem cell, which is also pretty irrelevant to what I learned in my undergraduate career. I think lacking relevant research experience is my main weakness, and I hope my intern at NREL can somehow compensate it.
Here are my schools -
Harvard - BBS
Stanford - Genetics or Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (probably genetics because I haven't see any international student in the scond program, although it's more attractive to me)
MIT - Biology
UCSF - Neuroscience or Developmental and Stem Cell Biology
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory – Watson School
Duke - Developmental and Stem Cell Biology or Genetics
UC, Davis - Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
UC, Irvine - Cellular and Molecular Biology
University of Wisconsin - Madison - Genetics
I always wonder what major I should choose. The advice from my research advisors is major doesn't matter, the lab you get in does. I agree. The professors I have contacted also gave me a feeling that your major won’t affect the lab you want to get in. For me, I want to get in the developmental and stem cell biology major in all schools which provided it. But the enrollment statistics show that this new major only accepts few international student or not at all. I’m wondering should I apply other majors (such as neuroscience or genetics) to increase my chance to be accepted?
Thank you!