HiiII, Thank you for creating the thread. I am also international, so definitely wish to start early as well. Honest (brutal) feedbacks are appreciated!
Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Top5 Engineering in the USA
Major(s): Bioengineering
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.85/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.85/4.00
MS GPA:N/A
Demographics/Background: Asian/Female
GRE Scores: good enough
LOR: 2 from undergraduate research PIs, and 1 from industry research boss (who has previously been a faculty at one of the schools I wish to apply)
Research Experience: Undergrad - almost 3 years at two different labs: studies cancer and the other microbial metabolic engineering. 6 months industry experience in clinical sciences, currently working on individual honors thesis.
Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 publication (4th author), and 1 oral presentation
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing major
Fellowships/Funding: none
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 2 summer internship at a mid-cap biotech company in research position
Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: Honor societies etc
Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): Recommenders are well-connected and know some of the PIs that I am interested in working with. But does it really help? ?
Research Interests: Synthetic biology
Institutions/Programs: so far considering: (all BioE) MIT, Harvard, Berkeley-UCSF, Caltech, Stanford, UPenn, BU, UW, UChicago, Johns Hopkins
Am I being too ambitious/optimistic? Thanks!