[2021 Biology PhD Admissions Results]

18 hours ago, StemCells4Lyfe said:

So I just got off of an open house event, and some one asked a similar question, and the admissions board said don't do that. You should focus on applying to the Ph.D., and if you're not admitted then you have the option to apply to the masters. 

If you're comfortable, can you share the name of the school whose open house you attended in case others are planning on applying there. 

[2021 Biology PhD Admissions Results]

On 10/12/2020 at 12:29 PM, phd_hopeful_2021 said:

I have no particular evidence/insight, but I don’t see why it would raise a red flag. It seems like even the most qualified PhD applicants are worried about their likelihood of admission. Applying to a PhD program and a masters program indicates to me that the student has a career plan, and a back up plan/ willingness to work though a MS degree to ultimately obtain a PhD. Why are you thinking it may raise red flags?

I was worried if it would suggest I'm not confident in my Ph.D. application and if it is the same admission committee, it would be pretty obvious that the MS is my backup. 

[2021 Biology PhD Admissions Results]

Does anyone know how it looks to an admissions committee if you apply to a program's Ph.D. and Masters program at the same time? Given the limited resources as a result of the pandemic, I was thinking of applying to a few masters programs as a backup to my Ph.D applications, but I don't want it to raise red flags with an admissions committee. 

[2021 Biology PhD Admissions Results]

21 hours ago, Molec157 said:

Your list doesn't seem top heavy (I see a lot of pretty good target schools). However, I would suggest adding more schools to your list. I attended the NIH Graduate School Fair today and the program directors from Harvard, UT Southwestern, Augusta, etc all recommended that we apply to more schools this cycle (~12-15) due to covid affecting everything

Thank you so much, I’ll definitely add more to my list. 

[2021 Biology PhD Admissions Results]

 

Academics:

GPA: 3.51 University of Washington Seattle (No particular trends in GPA, graduated August 2019) 

GRE: 157 V/ 167 Q/ 5 AW

 

Undergraduate Research: 

1 year as a student research volunteer with Seattle Children’s research studying concussion prevention. Presented research at undergraduate research symposium at the University of Washington. Assisted with a paper but don’t know if it will be published. 

 

Post Graduation Research: 

8 months as a clinical trial assistant with a contract research organization (CRO). I helped organize sites for clinical trials in the start up phase through close out. I also helped manage IRB submissions, subject tracking, and site personnel. 

 

2 months (will continue this position until the start of my graduate programs) 

Clinical research coordinator assisting with orthopedic research at a large institution 

 

Extracurricular:

Team Manager for University’s Sports Team: traveled with the team, helped with practices and games, learned about conditioning, nutrition, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. 

 

LORs: 

1 anatomy professor 

1 undergraduate PI/supervising coordinator 

1 current PI 

 

Schools I’m Looking At: 

University of Washington Biology 

UCSF Biomedical Sciences 

Stanford Biosciences 

University of Oregon Human Physiology 

USC Biokinesiology 

UCLA Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 

UC Davis Molecular Cellular and Integrative Physiology 

UC San Diego Primary (Cellular, Molecular, Genetics) 

 

 

I know my research experiences aren’t for extended periods of time, but I’m hoping that along with my extracurricular they help reinforce my interest in sports medicine centered research. 

 

Based on my academics, is my list a little too top heavy? I’m worried I’m not applying to a variety of programs in terms of difficulty. I feel most of these schools are “reach programs” so I would appreciate any advice you may have on more schools or my current list. Thank you so much for all of your help!