groverj3

The subject test went pretty well today, I think. I figure that if I do well it can only help my application. I can always choose not to send my subject test scores to places I'm applying to. Thanks for the input. I don't think I'll retake the general test right now. However, if I don't get in this year I will definitely retake it before applying a second time.

I suppose it's obvious that I took the GRE right before they switched to the new scoring system. This shouldn't be a problem, right?

Yeah, this is one of those "do I have a prayer of getting in" posts. However, I did read the post discouraging such posts. I have taken some time research this and I just wanted to bounce of thoughts off of someone. I received my B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State in May of last year (2011). Not the most prestigious of schools, but certainly not looked down upon by most. I enjoyed it there, in any case. I originally began as a pre-med, but knowing that I was interested in molecular biology led me to pick BMB as a major (since you can't get a degree in pre-anything anyway). I also completed a Chemistry major, but didn't get a degree in it because of a requirement of an additional 30 credits for a second degree. The additional major is listed on my transcript. I worked as an assistant to a post-doc in a lab researching plant genetics and biochemistry from my freshman year until I graduated. I didn't get published though. I did have a project I worked on for ~2 years, but the post-doc I worked with left for an industry job and the project was deemed to be too complicated for one undergraduate to work on (would require several thousand Arabidopsis thaliana plants to be grown and crossed, genotyped, etc.). The lab focused on Arabidopsis (really just a weed, but a great model organism) mutants with anomalous fatty acid levels. Mapping one of these phenotypes to possible genes was the focus of my work there. Since graduation I found a job as a research associate (basically just a lab tech) at a nearby biotech company. Mostly studying biodistribution of potential gene therapy vectors (ex. modified viruses), and stem cell-based therapies. Extracting DNA from animal tissues and looking for amplification of DNA specific to the virus or stem cell via real-time PCR. I figure this is good experience to have. So, as for metrics... I didn't set the world on fire, but not too bad. GPA: 3.36. GRE Verbal:560 Quant: 630 Writing 5 There is also a poster from my current lab that was presented at a meeting attended by some pharmaceutical companies to discuss stem cell biodistribution. Which I can include on a CV. The professor that ran our lab already told me he would write me a letter of rec. as well as the post-doc I worked for. I'm sure my academic adviser from undergrad would write me one as well. My boss, the senior scientist I work with now probably would too. However, I'd like to avoid informing them of my grad school ambitions unless absolutely necessary. I'm taking the Biochem, cell, and molecular bio GRE subject test tomorrow. That may help as well. Really, I'm interested in RNA interference and gene expression research. However, many areas of molecular biology interest me. I figure that I have about a 50/50 (or slightly lower) chance of getting into a mid-tier school, and I'm looking at finding ~10 schools to apply to. I'd like to get out of the midwest for a while as well, preferrably the west coast but I am open to other possibilities. Am I being reasonable, or am I overly optimistic? Apologies for writing a book.