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You sound competitive to me. You've obviously worked hard to prepare yourself for the new career you want. I don't see why you would be at any disadvantage compared to other applicants. If anything, you're ahead -- you probably have a better idea of what you want to do than most.

I like Americone Dream.

Since you will only be enrolling in these classes after admissions deadlines, you can tell the programs about your plans, but it might not count for much. Anyone can say they plan to do anything. It would carry more weight if you were taking the classes this fall, as the schools could actually be sent the grades you earned (they would require a transcript). If you do get grades before admissions decisions are made, definitely send your updated transcript to the schools you've applied to.

This is a tough one -- everyone registered knowing the class was listed as running until 10 pm. She may have planned her schedule based on this. I can see the benefit of just getting the work all done at once, especially if her days are full of other responsibilities. Is it possible to rearrange groups?

Taking classes before applying is a good idea, but don't take non-credit classes. Take rigorous FOR CREDIT classes and do well in them.

I disagree with Eigen about how damaging that GRE Q score is -- isn't it something like the 40th percentile? Would the OP even make it past an initial screening? I don't have any insider information, but I'd be very concerned that a score that low would be a problem.

I would not expect your chances to be very good. Admission is super competitive for international students, and most have much higher GRE Q scores (as you probably know). I would say you HAVE to retest and score better. Also, 6 months of lab experience may not be enough for most good programs. Many applicants come in with 2 or more years of lab experience, as they tend to start early in their undergraduate careers and spend summers doing research as well. That's not to say you won't get admitted anywhere, just that it is going to be especially tough with your current credentials.

I have access to my school's library databases even though classes don't start for another month.

I've posted on other threads -- but I'm starting a PhD in a biology subfield next month (I'm older than you are), WITHOUT the extensive lab experience. I have a fully-funded offer from a top-notch school. I am incredibly excited and feel extremely lucky. Deciding to apply was a major decision, and I was quite nervous about my chances, but I am very happy I did it. You may be surprised at how much support you'll get from friends and acquaintances. Feel free to PM me if you have questions during the application process.

I recently got accepted into a biomedical sciences PhD program, fully funded, at a major public university. I applied to a number of departments, but was rejected almost within days by the "biggies," including the ones you are interested in. However, my application was read by several other programs, and I got multiple interviews and, ultimately, an admission. I am older than you are, and I did not have any professional work experience in life science research. My total life science lab time was < 6 months. I think this probably prevented me from getting past the first screening in some programs. As Whatmeworry said, it is important to contact programs if you can. I also made the effort to talk to program directors whenever possible. Going in and talking to people was very helpful for me, as it gave me an idea of what various programs were looking for in their applicants. So, there's hope. Good luck!

I took the GRE early (in June), once the class I was teaching ended. I wasn't thinking of it as "practice," exactly, but I realized that the only way I'd seriously study for it was if I took it and really hated my score. Also, I found that going in thinking of it as my practice run greatly reduced any sense of stress I might have had about the test, which I think allowed mee to do my best on the test. Anyway, the strategy (whatever it was) seemed to work, and I ended up only taking the exam once.

I would not advise retaking the GRE. Your Q and V scores are fine, and based on the writing sample you have provided here, I don't think you will improve your AWA score that much, if at all, given the high-pressure, time-constrained format of the GRE. Your grades in your master's program have already shown that you are capable of doing graduate-level work in the US. Good luck with your applications -- you seem like a strong candidate!

Seems you're in the right range -- Go For It! You have no chance of getting it if you don't apply!

I have never TA'd, but I taught community college part-time for a while. English is my first language, but here are some things I noticed: -You must always be prepared (over-prepared is better). If you run out of topics to discuss, do not dismiss the class early. They may like it, but when they fail to do well, it will be considered YOUR fault. Always have more material that you are prepared to discuss than you think you need. -If you have any sort of accent, this will be the reason that students were not able to succeed in your class. Whether you are difficult to understand or not, be prepared for this. -If you try to get class participation during your sessions, you may have to work really hard. Many students are accustomed to sitting in class and resist having to do anything active, but others seemed to enjoy having a chance to do more than listen to a lecture. This seemed to vary class-to-class. -Most students will be fine (I really enjoyed teaching), but there will inevitably be a few every term who refuse to accept any responsibility for anything. Don't give them an easy way to shift the blame for their failures onto you. -Your experience may be different, but you may notice a lower level of respect from some students than you are accustomed to seeing. Some students may behave as though you are there to serve them, since they pay tuition (and, consequently, your salary -- or so they think). -Return assignments promptly. Almost ALL students have very little patience to wait for graded work to be returned. It is hard for me to say what you will need to do as a TA, as this varies from school to school. Some TAs help run lab sections, some just grade assignments, some lead recitation sections, and some actually teach entire classes. Some have to hold office hours in addition to their other responsibilities. Depending on what school you're going to, if you are teaching non-majors, be prepared for some students with very weak math skills. You may need to help students get more comfortable with simple algebra.

Yes, it is a lot of work. Make sure you budget your time so you don't have to rush at the end (too much, annyway). It IS worth it! Good Luck!!

Be prepared to say nice things about yourself -- if you find this difficult, write down what you've done that you're proud of and practice.

Most of the people I saw on my biomedical interviews did not wear suits. Most of the women (including me) wore nice slacks and tops - the tops I wore light sweater-type material since it was cold in February!

Yes, 750-800 is excellent. Congrats! You will be over the 95th percentile, I believe.

All I can add is that postponing the torture won't help with the motivation problem -- you won't feel like working on your SOP any more next year than you do now. So you might as well get it over with! Mine took several attempts and many weeks before it reached the "presentable" stage. Good luck!

I applied to 6 programs and not one of my profs complained about having to send too many letters. I'm sure if I'd applied to more, they would have sent more letters just as graciously. All of my LOR writers knew how important applying to grad school was to me, and they were all very generous with their time. In addition to writing letters, they also provided support and encouragement to a degree that I was not expecting and really appreciated. When I interviewed, most of the other applicants I poke with seemed to be applying to even more programs. The ones who were applying to 6 or less all seemed to have geographical limitations to where they could apply.

Also, be persistent. Even though there is a 4-year school near me (the one I'll be going to in the fall!), it is very difficult for non-students to get a volunteer job there. NOW, I could probably get in to a lab, but a year ago, I did not have the contacts to get in anywhere there. You just have to keep trying and keep talking to people -- it's surprising where you might make contacts. Let people know what your goals are. I had friends putting me in contact with people they knew in my area of interest -- not necessarily to give me a job or volunteer position, but just to talk about the field. Once you meet enough people that way, getting offers becomes easier, but it does take time to network. I am somewhat shy, so I was slow to let people know about what I was hoping to do. I'm glad I got over that.

The competition is incredible, and it's even worse for international students. I would be afraid that your scores are eliminating you before anyone even reads your application.

Try to get research experience. If you are at a CC, this may not be easy. I was lucky in that I was able to get a summer internship at a 4-yr school through a contact of my CC prof's. Perhaps you can ask your CC profs if they know anyone who would like a research assistant. As for reading biology articles -- do it! One of my CC bio classes required weekly journal article summaries. At first they took forever, as practically every other word needed looking up, but it gets easier. Just pick one article and read it, really working to understand what the research background was, why the work was done, what the conclusions were, and whether or not you think the authors' results support their conclusions.

One of my LOR writers was not a PhD, and 2 were CC instructors. One of the programs I interviewed with had problems with this (one of the interviewers told me they liked the letters to be from people they knew), and maybe some of the programs I applied to but was not interviewed by did too, I don't know. However, I am certain that all 3 of my LORs were critically important in getting me accepted to the program I will be starting in September. I was a non-traditional applicant,and I asked people who knew me well and who supported me and encouraged me as I worked toward my goal. I am sure they all wrote me fantastic letters. I also applied to life science programs. All I can say is that it will depend on the personal prejudices of your admissions committees, but to me your choices seem decent. You have people who will be able to talk about your lab experience and your potential to do research, and that seems to be what's most important.

When I first started looking into graduate programs, program advisors advised me to take a course or two in their programs, just so that I could get to know some faculty. However, the cost of taking classes as a graduate non-matriculated student was astronomical. I had already started taking classes at a local community college, and classes there were much more affordable. I don't know if not taking this piece of advice hurt me in the admissions process. My feeling is that it did not -- I was a long-shot admit for other reasons. I'm happy to say, everything worked out in the end.