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Future plan is to get a phd and probably a teaching/research job.

I understand your point about research but at this stage i simply need some info on which universities are even worth mentioning in my preferences. I have no personal contacts in usa who can give me this info and i cant seem to find any resources on the internet specifically about ms programs. I am just trying to short list 10-15 universities that i can contact personally and would appreciate any help in this regard. Thanks

Thanks for the feedback. Before i got the scholarship, i had contacted a lot of universities about admission to phd but most of them were not very optimistic about my chances because i had absolutely no research experience and very few bio courses. It might be possible for local students but i think it is almost impossible for an international student who doesnt have a relevant bachelors degree, has zero research experience and needs full funding to get into a phd program. This scholarship is my best chance, the only downside being that it is strictly for 2 years so i wont be able to transfer to phd even if i want to. If i dont give my own preferences the institute of international education in usa would just place me at a university they think is most suitable. I guess i should just leave it to them.

There are a couple of reasons that I cannot get into a Phd program. Firstly, my bachelors degree is not directly related to biology and I dont have any research experience. Secondly, the scholarship i have been offered is for a two year masters program. There is very little chance that I would be able to get into a phd program and even if i do it will be very difficult for me to cover my living and educational expenses. This is a fully funded scholarship which will cover everything from education to living and insurance and is probably the only chance i have of studying in the US. I would appreciate if someone can give some advice about good ms programs. Thanks

Hello, I am an international student and have been awarded a scholarship for a masters in biology in the US. Although my final university placement will be decided by the scholarship granting body, they have asked me to list four universities preferences. I have been looking at the rankings of biology graduate programs but most of them are for Phd and very little information is available about masters programs. I have a gpa of around 3 but good gre scores (around 1500 in general gre and 90% in biology subject gre), so i want to list two top ranked universities and two safe universities. But I cannot find any information about the ranking of masters programs. The good universities that I have been able to come up with which offer MS programs are Michigan-ann arbor, New York University, Boston University, and UCLA. But really I have very little idea about the options open to me so I would appreciate any info about good MS biology programs. I have no preferences in terms of location and the finances will be completely taken care of by the scholarship so I am just looking for the best possible university that I can realistically get admission in. I am looking for programs in general biology and evolutionary biology. Thanks

Hello, I just needed some advice on what kind of lors should i get for applying to biology graduate programs. I initially did my bachelors in business but was always more interested in biology. After my bachelors I attended part time biology courses for 2 years along with my job and appeared for gre subject tests in biology and biochemistry (over 80% in both). Now i need three lors but most people i have worked with have nothing to do with biology. My professors from business school would write excellent letters for me but would a letter from a finance or business professor really make sense? Similarly my boss at my current job is willing to write a letter but he is a banker and my job at the bank has absolutely nothing to do with biology. Now i might be able to get at least one letter from some teacher of the bio courses i attended but none of them really know me very well and neither is the college very well known. So now i am confused if i should get the letters from my business school professors and my boss or from the bio teachers, Also if i do get the letters from business professors / bankers any advice on what i should ask them to focus on because my work with them is pretty irrelevant to the program i am applying to. Thanks

Hello, I am an international student and want to apply to masters in biology programs in the US (general biology or preferably evolutionary biology but willing to apply other biological science programs as well if that increases my chances of admission) . My problem is that I have a bachelors degree in business. I have been taking science courses for the last 2 years to make up for this but because I also have a full time job, I have only been able to complete a few basic courses and not with very good grades. However, i have relatively good gre scores (1450 in general, 88% in biology gre and 80% in biochemistry gre). I want to ask if i have a chance of getting admission in a reasonably good university based only on my business degree and gre scores. Also as i dont have very good grades in the science courses i have taken over the last year should i even mention them when applying or not? Any advice would be of great help. Thanks

Can anyone recommend a good book for the biochemistry section of the GRE Biochemistry? I have bought Lehninger Principles of biochemistry but i am finding it a bit too detailed (i have done some general bio courses but no biochemistry courses so i am basically starting from zero in biochemistry). I need some book that is a little simpler for someone like me who doesn't have a biology background. Also the cell bio and genetics sections of the biochemistry test have a lot in common with the GRE biology test, so would it be enough to study for them from Cambell Biology (provided that i have already used this book for the gre bio test and got a good score) ? Thanks

Well most universities i have mailed are telling me that it is really unlikely that i would be accepted based on my current qualifications and no research experience. So if you can recommend me some universities/ programs it would be a big help.

Sorry if this thread is getting too long but i just appeared for my gre and wanted to know about my chances now. My updated qualifications are: Bachelors in Business (4-Years including 1 year of calculus and stats) : Bachelors in Science (2 Year Degree with Biology and Chemistry majors, in progress but will be complete before the end of the year) GRE Subject Test Biology : 810 (88%) GRE : 1470 (750V, 720Q) GRE Suject Test Biochemistry : Will appear in Nov. So what are my chances of getting into a masters program in biology given i have zero research experience? I have mailed some universities but since i know only about the famous top ranked ones i don't think thats realistic. Names of some "less famous" universities where i might stand a chance would be of great help. Thanks

Received my gre biology result today. Scored in the 88th percentile (96% in organismal, 84% in cell bio) So now my qualifications are: Bachelors in Business (4-Years including 1 year of calculus and stats, mentioning this because i hope this would be of some help in improving my chances) 1 year of college level science courses - chemistry, zoology and botany with a gpa of around 3 (but the college doesn't follow the gpa system, gpa of 3 is just my guess and doesn't really reflect my grades) Also planning to appear for the gre subject test in cell bio/genetics So what are my chances of getting into a bio graduate program now? Will only apply for masters (not to phd because have zero research/practical experience)

Thanks for the reply. I had worked really really hard for this test and 80th percentile is the minimum i am expecting (of course this is just my expectation and the actual result might be much better or worse than this, you never know now about these tests) I just hope i get a good score because most people i have talked to are not very optimistic about my chances.

Just appeared for my GRE biology. Expecting a score of around the 80th percentile (or better if i get lucky). Given that i don't have a bio background is it good enough?

Thanks a lot for the quick reply. I am interested in evolutionary biology. I also thought that applying for ms would be better but it seems that most universities are only offering masters leading to PhD. If you know about universities offering only masters degrees please let me know. Thanks

Hello, I am an international student planning to apply to an ms/phd program in biological sciences. My problem is that due to personal/financial reasons i was not able to obtain a bachelors degree in biology. I have a recognized 4 years bachelors degree in business (with a good GPA and 2 years banking experience) but i always loved and wanted to study biology. For the last two years i have been taking some undergraduate science courses along with my job. Also i have studied very hard for the gre biology subject test and i am confident that i would be able to do very well in it in April. I have mailed some universities to ask if i can apply to a graduate/phd program in biology but am not getting any clear reply. Most universities say that as i have a 4 year degree (even though its not in biology)i am eligible to apply but competition would be very tough. What i want to ask is that even though i am eligible to apply, do i really have a realistic chance of getting admission? Would a good gre biology score make up for my deficiencies? Also i am not aiming to get get into the best universities, i would be happy to get admission in any reasonably good university. So which universities should i consider applying to? I would appreciate some advice as i really struggled through my business degree and am desperate to switch my field. Thanks