OldGrad2012

Hi all, Does anyone use the LOR third party service like Interfolio? I do not think this service is helpful because each graduate school have their own online recommendatin system. For each school application, they require you to enter your recommender email address and they will instruct your recommender of what to do to submit the LOR. So I guessed using a centralized LOR service does not help. Don't you think so or am I wrong here?

Yes, taking classes can help raise your GPA even if you are not a matriculating students. That is what I did because I am out of school for 10 years just like you. My GPA 10 years ago was below 3.0. But be careful about the classes you take cause it can also lower your GPA if you do not do well. So it is also a risk. You may have a chance at a safety school not in the top 20 if you are going for your Master.

Hi, I am applying to different graduate program in biological sciences. Is it a good idea to tweak the SOP a bit for each school that I will apply to? Would it be a disaster to keep the same template to apply to each school? Any inputs is appreciated. Thanks

Hi Emmm, Where did you get in? What school is it? I am making a list of the potential schools in biomedical science or bioscience that are safety school to get in.

Wow, congratulation Watmeworry. It is inspiring to see someone over 50 to be accepted to PhD program. Now, I know I am not too old for graduate school. Does your school have PhD programs in molecular biology or genetic and genomics? I will look up your school to see if they have the graduate programs that I am interested in. So what did you mean to write and ask them before you apply. Did you asked them if age is a factor?

I am in the same situation as tt503. I have a cumulative GPA for my undergraduate college. Two cumulative GPAs for two community colleges that I had attended. One cumulative GPAs for my master programs. My applications does not have spaces to report all these cumulative GPA. They just have one space to report the undergraduate cumulative GPA and a space to report the graduate GPA. So my questions is what to do with the other cumulative GPAs from the community colleges? Should I average them out into the undergraduate cumulative GPA? I do not know what to do. Please help.

What is POIs stands for. I new to these forum. I am applying to 6-8 schools, but my list could be shorter. By safety schools, do you mean less competitive schools?

Hi, I am also applying for the Fall 2012 in molecular biology or biochemistry. I have not narrowed down my lists of school? Does any one know of good molecular biology or biochemistry program out there besides Stanford and Berkeley?

Hi all, I am a nontraditional candidate applying for Fall 2012 too. Yeah, I feel very discourage and unmotivated when applying to grad school. I cannot decide where to appy. To make thing worse, applying to grad school is very different than applying to other professional school because you have to do each application separately tailored to each school requirements. I wish there is one central application where you only have to click to pick the schools that you want to go to. Would that be much easier and more convenient?

Hi all, I am confused about the undergraduate GPA that graduate application ask. So when they want your cumulative undergraduate GPA, does they mean all undergraduate coursework even from different schools combined together. My situation is that I went to UC Davis and after my bachelor degree, I went to take more undergraduate courses at a community college to improve my GPA. Can I considered the grades for those courses at a community college to calculate my overall undergraduate GPA? My overall academics UC Davis cumulative GPA : 2.92 DeANza college: 3.33 San Jose State: 2.80 Graduate GPA : 3.46 The first three school were all undergraduate courses, so do I average the GPA from all 3 schools that I taken undergraduate courses?

Hello all, I really need you guys input because I do not want to waste my time applying. Do you think my stats below give me a chance at some schools that I listed? Should I picked some low ranked school also? Please give me some advice?

Hi, I am in the same situation as you. My GRE score is lower than yours ( Q: 680, V: 590, and a 3.5 in AW). I wonder if my GRE scores alone is good enough because my GPA is low like a 2.9 undergraduate, but a 3.46 master graduate GPA. I have long years of research experience though, and I hope that my research experience should offset my low GPA. Please give your input. I will apply in the Fall.

Hi KitKat, Did you receive my SOP? Actually, it is a personal statement. I also have to write a Statement of Purpose also. However, you can review my personal statement and let me know what you think of it. Thanks

Thanks Latte, Thank you for agreeing to review my SOP for me. Are you applying in the Fall 2012 too. Maybe I can do the same for you. But what is your personal email so we can exchange SOPs and review them?

Hi all, Could any one review my SOP for grammars and mistakes and give some inputs on how to improve it. I will post it on this forum.

thanks Eigen My field was microbiology as an undergraduate with 2.92 GPA from UC Davis. My Master field was in Biomedical Science with 3.46 GPA so would the adcom weighed the graduate GPA more heavily?

Hi all, Please give me input on this questions. Does the adcom emphasize more on GPA from an undergraduate or a graduate GPA? My graduate master GPA is higher 3.46 compared to a low 2.92 undergraduate GPA. So does the adcom take the average GPA of the two or do they only concerned with the undergraduate GPA? Any input will be appreciated.

Hello, Here is my situation, low undergraduate GPA, but decent graduate GPA; my undergraduate GPA is 2.92 in microbiology from UC Davis. I think I have an overall cummulative undergraduate of 2.86. My MS is in Biology from SFSU with GPA of 3.46. GRE score : Verbal (590): Quantitative(680), Anaytical Writing : 3.5 (very bad) I have 10 years of research experiences both in academia and industry. My SOP is geared toward my research experiences. I have not gather my letter of recommendation yet since it is early. I applying to Stanford. UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, University of Washington, WSU, Univ of Arizona, and Oregon Health and Science University. What are my chances.? How can I improve my applications? Is there a way to review the SOP through this forum?

Hi all, Does the graduate school require all transcipts from every colleges which I have taken or only the transcript related to the field that I am going into for PhD? I have gone to four colleges, one being a community colleges. So do I have to provide the graduate programs with transcripts from all colleges? Please let me know. Thanks

Hi all, I am in a dire situation here for I am applying to PhD programs, but I am out of school for +5years now. I do not have any professors for which can write me a great LOR. I can go back an asked them, but I do not think none of them remember me. I have taken community classes so would it be good to ask a professor from a community college. As of now, my LORs will be from my PI at Stanford University whom I have work with. But I need 2 more LORs. Here are my options. Option 1: 1 LOR from my current PI 1 LOR from my previous boss 1 LOR from a professor who barely knows me Option 2: 1 LOR from my current PI 2 LORs from my previous supervisors or bosses at biotech or research industry Ultimately, my question is that is it necessary to get LORs from past professors who barely know me? Any comments is appreciated.

Hi all, I am a nontraditional applicant. I will turned 36 this year. I want to get my PhD after +10 years of working in research and biotech industry. I will applied this year. Do you think I have a chance with adcomm?

Hello, Here is my situation, low undergraduate GPA, but decent graduate GPA; my undergraduate GPA is 2.92 in microbiology from UC Davis. My MS is in Biology from SFSU with GPA of 3.46. GRE score : Verbal (590): Quantitative(680). I have 10 years of research experiences both in academia and industry. My SOP is geared toward my research experiences. I have not gather my letter of recommendation yet since it is early. I applying to Stanford. UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, University of Washington, WSU, Univ of Arizona, and Oregon Health and Science University. What are my chances.?

Hello, I am in the same situation as Johndg2; my undergraduate GPA is 2.92 in microbiology from UC Davis. My MS is in Biology from SFSU with GPA of 3.46. GRE score : Verbal (590): Quantitative(680). I have 10 years of research experiences both in academia and industry. My SOP is geared toward my research experiences. I have not gather my letter of recommendation yet since it is early. I applying to Stanford. UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, University of Washington, WSU, Univ of Arizona, and Oregon Health and Science University. What are my chances.

Hi all, If my GPA is around Undergraduate: 2.9 Master: 3.4 Overall : 3.1 GRE: verbal: 590 Quant: 680 I am a non-traditional applicant with 10 years of research and industry experience in biotech and bioscience. Are these stats good enough for graduate programs in school such as: Stanford U, University of Washington, UCDavis, UC San Diego, Washington State, University of Arizona, UCI, and UCSF. Please fill me in on your input. Since, I have been out of school for a long time, my LOR will not be from recent professors, but will be from scientists whom I work with. Does that have a major impact on my chances? Does anybody in the forum got accepted into these schools and does any one know other good biomedical or bioscience graduate program out there? Please, any comments is welcome. Thanks

Hi, Sorry, I am not big on acronyms, but what is SOP stands for anyway?